“What if we can have the best of both worlds?” Her voice was still sleepy and sexy.
“I’m not sure I know what you mean.”
“Well, we both need to take a shower, right?”
Bingo. Noah was ready to launch himself out of bed. “I’ll start the water.”
Lily laughed and threw his pillow across the room.
Even after a long stay in the shower and a quick breakfast, Lily and Noah were only five minutes late for work. It felt a bit like they were conspiring when they stepped off the elevator, especially when they ran square into Sawyer.
“Good morning,” he said, but there was nothing good-sounding about it.
“What’s wrong?” Noah asked. Whatever it was, it couldn’t bring him down. His brother could hurl one hundred problems at him today and it wouldn’t matter. Noah reached for the door to their office.
“No. Noah. Out here. We can’t talk in there.”
“What the hell? Why not?”
Sawyer ushered Noah and Lily to the far corner of the hall, next to an empty office. “Dad called me about an hour ago. He knows about the Hannafort deal. He knows the details of the term sheet and everything. He knows that we lied to Lyle about your engagement and he’s threatening to out us unless we meet his demands.”
“Demands? What demands? He can’t do this. It’s blackmail.”
“He wants the Grand Legacy back. I think this is what all of this BS has been about. He just couldn’t get over the fact that I inherited the hotel and not him.”
“He can’t do this. It’s blackmail. We should call the police.”
“And tell them what, exactly? He made the threat over a phone call. It’s not like I had a tape recorder going. And I dislike him as much as you do, but he’s our father. I don’t want him in jail.”
I do. Noah forced himself to take deep breaths. There was a war being waged inside of him right now. He was furious with his father, but not just for what he was doing and what he was after. He was mad because he’d gone to Sawyer first. Everything always boiled down to Sawyer. “Why didn’t you call me the minute this happened?”
“Have you even looked at your phone, Noah? I left you a voice mail.”
Noah dug it out of his pocket. Sure enough, there was a notification for a missed call from his brother. “We have to call that security company. The one that specializes in corporate espionage.”
“Already done. They’ll be here any minute.”
Of course. Sawyer had everything under control, as he always did. “What can we do in the meantime?”
“Nothing. They told us to touch nothing. They don’t even want us going into the office.”
The elevator dinged and the doors slid open. A handful of men and women wearing black pants and matching black shirts, all carrying armfuls of equipment stepped into the hall. Sawyer rushed over and introduced himself to one of the women, then waved over Noah.
“We’ll do a full sweep of the office for listening devices and cameras,” the woman said. “We’ll also run diagnostics on every computer, looking for spyware.” She glanced down at Noah’s hand. “Is that a work laptop?”
“Yes.”
She reached down and took it from him. “I’ll need that, too.”
“How long will this take?” Sawyer asked. At least he had enough sense to ask the question. Noah was still reeling. Lily was standing over in the corner, seeming equally confused.
“Not long for an office of your size. A few hours. I’d go get a cup of coffee or something.”
The woman opened the door to their office and her team followed her inside.
“As if today couldn’t get any crazier, I’m supposed to meet Kendall at the obstetrician’s office in a half hour. You two should find some way to keep yourselves busy.”
Now you tell me. Noah would’ve much preferred to be at home with Lily, back in the shower. “Okay.”
“Call me if you find out anything. I hope to be back before they’re done.” Sawyer jabbed the button for the elevator. “Then we start strategizing on what to do about Dad.” He stepped on board and the doors closed behind him.
Noah ran his hands through his hair as Lily approached him. “This is so weird.”
She took his hand. “I’m sure it’ll all be fine. You and Sawyer have faced bigger challenges.”
“Aren’t you the least bit worried about this? Your nest egg is on the line if the Hannafort deal falls through.”
She nodded. “I know. I just don’t want to get all stressed out about something that might end up being nothing.” She popped up onto her toes and kissed his cheek. “Now come on. Let’s go get that cup of coffee.”