Free Give Up On Me by Tressie Lockwood Page B

probably knows every detail about our financial standing and how we’re hanging on by a thread. He knew he was doing us the bigger favor, but if he did, then he should have had the decency not to string you along!”
    “It’s business, Janae.”
    “No, it’s something else. I might not know him, but I know you. Dad, you’re not telling me something. You might as well spill it because I always get it out of you eventually.”
    He grumbled. “I don’t need my daughter lecturing me.”
    She waited, jaw tight, and just as stubborn as he was.
    “All right! Maybe I should make you the negotiator. You’re hard as nails, Janae.”
    “When I need to be.”
    He heaved his shoulders in a huge sigh. “I told you Bennett and I hit it off so well we could be friends. It wasn’t all on my part. He said because he felt like we could have played golf together, he would level with me.”
    “You don’t play golf.”
    “I would have tried it. Anyway, that’s beside the point. He said late last night, he got a call from Margaret Foust.”
    Janae’s mouth fell open. “You mean Matt’s grandmother?”
    “Yeah. What it boils down to is she told him if he does business with us, he will regret it.”
    Janae’s temperature rose. “She threatened him?”
    “Not in the way that I said it. I’m just telling you what it amounted to. She said if he does business with us, he’ll find himself blocked in a whole lot of other directions that will lose him millions.”
    “She’s a hotel owner! What could she do?”
    “She has a lot of influential friends, including congressmen.”
    Janae swore. She could attest to the truth of Margaret’s connections. The faces and wealth at her party told the story, and Margaret knew she knew. “That bitch.”
    “Janae.”
    “It’s true, Dad.” She paced, rubbing her temples, which had started to pound. “We can figure out something else, maybe work with smaller clients, cut some bigger deals. Heck, going residential might not be such a bad idea.”
    “I have a few names in my address book, old clients I might be able to stir up. There were some small renovations they put off. Maybe now is a better time.”
    “That’s the spirit. We’re fighters.” She tugged on his arm until he rose, and she got him moving toward the door. “First, go home and take a shower because for real, you’re lighting up the office. I’ll do some more thinking and come up with a few other ideas. We’ll beat this. I promise you.”
    Her dad grinned. “What would I do without you, Janae?”
    She didn’t answer, and he tottered over to his office. Her dad wasn’t stupid. He knew Margaret wouldn’t pressure his potential client unless she wanted to send Janae a message to stay away from her grandson. Janae had just told him Matt was talking about marriage. One would have to be blind not to see the manipulating witch for what she was, and Janae wasn’t going to stand for it.
    She left her dad’s company to drive over to the hotel on Boylston Street. The opulence of the front desk and lobby impressed her—a super wide winding staircase, a tiled floor so shiny she saw her reflection like looking in a mirror, a bouquet table spread big enough for six men to have to transport it, and tranquil mood-inducing recessed lighting. However, she didn’t give a damn about design right then. All she cared about was punching Margaret Foust in her snooty nose. Of course, she wouldn’t do it.
    “Hello, can you tell me where the management offices are?” Janae asked the clerk.
    The woman smiled, and today it grated on Janae’s nerves. “Is there a problem, ma’am. I’d be happy to help.”
    “No, you can’t help. I need to see Margaret Foust.”
    “The owner?”
    Widened eyes. Did no one ask for her here? Maybe their management offices were somewhere else. Now that she was here, she realized that must be true. She felt like an idiot, which soured her mood even more.
    “No,” she answered the stupid question.