Ruthless Heir (Ruthless Billionaires #5)

Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Asher

We’re at Josh’s place now. The drive here was horrendous. The last two and a half hours pure silence, pure hell.

“Good night.” Harper tosses the words over her shoulder with a grudge in her tone. She makes her way up the stairs, her long ponytail bouncing with every step, and I try not to notice her shapely legs or her lush, round ass.

“Good night,” I answer but she doesn’t look back at me. I didn’t expect her to.

Maybe we shouldn’t talk tonight. Besides, I can’t stand those jade-green eyes of hers staring back at me with so much hate.

I’m a bastard at the best of times. But even I have to admit that I ripped into her too hard.

I couldn’t help it. What she did was insane. All of it—going to Massachusetts and lying about Europe, then getting in trouble with her landlord.

Harper’s wild, ballsy streak has always fascinated me, but none of that sounds like her. Neither does getting involved with a murderer like her ex.

This isn’t the first time I’ve felt that life went to hell for her after my rejection.

Her bad luck began with the accident. Not a day goes by when I don’t think

about it or blame myself.

After I rejected her she ran from me and ended up in a head-on collision that took her memories and almost her life.

Honor stopped me from taking her in my bed that night. Honor to my best friend.

That night feels like a dirty secret between us. Except only I remember her offering herself to me.

Maybe it’s better that I’m left with the memory and she isn’t. At least that’s what I keep telling myself. Then I feel like a coward for thinking so.

I shouldn’t feel thankful that Harper doesn’t remember what happened between us. And I’ll always feel ashamed that I left out the real reason she was at my place when I told Josh what happened.

On top of that I’m an asshole for holding on to the memory of her naked body spread out against my satin sheets. That image never ever left my mind. It renewed itself tonight the moment I saw her in the jail cell.

It’s still there now, along with the reminder that Harper St. John is Josh’s little sister. She’s still eight years younger than me and absolutely, positively, completely off limits.

Those things are still true even though I’m aware she’s more beautiful now than ever. The few years we’ve spent apart have given her the face of a goddess and the sort of body that could rule a man.

Harper’s long gone from the top of the stairs but I continue staring. The same odd feeling from earlier pulls at my gut, whispering to me that she was lying.

When she said there was nothing more to tell me something felt off. The same something that feels off with her entire story about going to Massachusetts.

As a senior financial analyst it’s my job to know when something is wrong.

The same wrong feeling I get when I know an investment is not worth my time is spiking my nerves now.

I’d bet my entire billion-dollar fortune and the damn silver spoon she thinks is shoved up my ass that her friend Beth knows what’s going on.

I could go to Beth and try to get the intel from her, but it’s not my place.

I could also have pushed Harper but I know she wouldn’t have cracked.

I’ll always help Josh whenever he needs me. However, there’s a line I can’t cross when it comes to Harper. The respect privacy line.

At least I know she’s safe. Now I can get back to my own problems with my father and my waning future at Le Blanche Global, my family’s multi-billion dollar investment and hedge fund company.

As great as my father is, I know that if I don’t find a wife in the next few months I won’t have the future I deserve at the company.

Then it will be my life that will go straight to hell.

The following night Josh drops by looking like he’s been through all the wars of this world.

His usually-neat black hair is a ruffled mess, his beard looks like a bird’s nest, and dark circles surround his eyes.

I was working out downstairs in my home gym when he arrived, so we headed back down there to talk.

We sit on the treadmill and I toss him a beer from the mini fridge. He catches it and glances at the bench press across from us with the weights stacked to a hundred and sixty pounds.

“Geez, are you sure you can manage all that?” He looks me over, sizing me up.

“Of course. Can’t you?”

He laughs out loud as if my dig was the funniest thing he’s ever heard. “I can lift that awake and asleep.”

We’ve had this running joke about who’s the strongest since high school, when we started to match each other in height and build.

“Need me to spot you?” Josh cocks his head toward the weights again then opens his beer and takes a swig.

“You look too wiped out to spot anyone. And I’m sure you didn’t drop by to razz me about how much weight I can press.”

“No. I owe you for picking up Harper last night.”

“No worries. How is she?”

“Don’t get me started. She pissed me the hell off, but I had to fly back to check on her.”

“I knew you would.”

“I owe you money, too, bro. I transferred the fee for her bail and the rent arrears to your account. I need to know how much more you spent.”

“Don’t worry about it.” I grab a towel and wipe the sweat off my face. “It’s cool.”

“Come on, Asher, don’t do that to me.” He gives me a worn-out big-brother smile. “You must have paid a hell of a lot to get that guy to drop the charges and cover the damages on his car.”

I know Josh is doing okay now, but he doesn’t have an extra twenty-five thousand dollars to drop on me. “Consider it an early wedding present.”

“That’s one very expensive present, but thanks. I guess all I have to do now is propose to my girl.”

“You didn’t propose?”

His shoulders sag and he shakes his head. “I’ve rearranged it for this weekend. But the good news is Lisa has no idea what I’m up to, so I can still surprise her.”

“I’m sure she’ll say yes.”

“Yeah. She’s wanted to get married for a long time.” He looks proud, but seconds later the haggard expression returns. “I have a huge favor to ask. One that I shouldn’t.”

That doesn’t sound good. The last time he asked me for a favor like that I ended up babysitting a fucking pig. It was our high school rival football team’s mascot. He and some of our other friends had stolen it. “What’s going on?”

“Harper’s timing for being rebellious couldn’t be worse. I thought she’d be in Europe for the next two months, then she’d live on campus at NYU. But she’s here now, my lease is up next week, and I just got confirmation of my new position. I’m being deployed on a submarine mission for the next nine months.”

“ Nine months ? Whoa.” That’s the longest he’s ever been away on a submarine mission.

“I know. But when I get back I’ll be in charge of a special unit in North Carolina, so I’ll be working at the base most of the time. I’ll still have to travel overseas, but not as often. It will be good for my marriage.”

“That’s a lot to digest, but good for you for getting a promotion.”

“Thank you.”

“Now, what’s the favor?” I straighten and give him a thin gaze.

“Harper. Could she stay with you for a few months? She got turned down for housing and there’s nothing near campus that won’t cost my entire month’s salary.”

I’m still stuck on the first words he said and I’m sure I look dumbfounded.

“ Me ? You want her to stay with me ?”

“I promise it will only be for a few months. Just until she gets campus housing. I swear she won’t cause any trouble.”

I toss him a look filled with so much skepticism that he gives me a big grin.

“Okay. We both know my sister is trouble. But I really need your help, Asher. The shit from last year with her ex really messed her up. And I swear she’s still not completely healed from the accident.”

At the mention of the accident guilt tugs on my insides, melting my resolve.

“I need her to stay with someone I can trust.” He keeps his gaze trained on me.

Trust . It’s strange he should say that. I remember a time when I was sure he didn’t trust me around Harper. I understood why.

I was the ultimate playboy and Josh was my partner in crime. Having a firsthand view of what I was like with women, he knew me.

Years ago, I foolishly slipped up when Josh caught me looking at Harper.

What followed next was a scathing warning to stay away from her that I’ll never forget. The harsh words he spoke that day told me he would never approve of me being with her, much less trust me around her.

That was nearly six years ago. We never spoke about that incident again and as the years flew by it seemed he was satisfied that I was no longer a threat he needed to worry about.

“I need her to stay with someone who will look after her the way I would.” Worry fills Josh’s eyes and I realize he’s asking this favor because he’s desperate.

It’s clear he’s more worried than ever about Harper and is in a situation where he can’t help her without jeopardizing his job.

Any issues we might have had in the past no longer apply because it’s better to treat with the devil you know than the one you don’t. And my best friend knows that I’m the devil who will always have his back.

Allowing Harper to stay with me could be the worst idea ever. Not only because of the past or the fact that she and I will probably kill each other, but because there’s too much shit going on in my life.

But Josh needs me. Which means she needs me too. Agreeing to help may also give me a chance to redeem myself for the part I felt I played in Harper’s accident.

“Alright. She can stay with me.”

Josh sighs with the relief of a man who’s just had a ton of weight lifted off his back. “Thank you. Seriously, I owe you again.”

“Have you spoken to her about this yet?” There’s no way he did.

“No.”

“You know she won’t agree to it, right? She’s going to raise hell and then some.”

“I know, but she doesn’t really have a choice.” Josh downs the rest of his beer. “Her life is a desperate mess.”

The comment pushes my previous concerns back into my mind. “Did she explain why she didn’t go to Europe?”

“She said she couldn’t afford the living expenses. She didn’t want to ask me to pay because I’ve always had to help her.”

Harper said similar things to me but I still have that off-key feeling. “Maybe she can have a fresh start now.”

“Yes. And I know she’ll be safe with you.”

“She will.” That’s the one solid truth I know I can promise him.

I grab my beer and take a gulp, wondering what I’m getting myself into.

“What’s happening with the company? Found the next Mrs. Le Blanche yet?” Josh grins.

“No. Not yet.”

“Come on, Asher.” He smirks. “You have so many women to choose from. Can’t you just pick one?”

“It’s not that easy.”

He wouldn’t understand. Not anymore. In fact I have very few people left in my world who would understand that I’m absolutely not ready for marriage. Neither do I have the desire to get married.

My brother, Hunter, got married last year and he’s head over heels in love with his wife. They have a baby on the way.

My cousin Luc is the same. Married to a woman he’s obsessed with and now they have a baby on the way, too. Josh is the last bachelor in my circle, but he’ll be marrying Lisa.

“Asher, you’re a man of many talents. I’m sure you could make it easy if you wanted to.”

“Sure, except I’ve never wanted to get married. All my life I knew I’d have to if I wanted to become CFO of the company, as per my grandfather’s terms of inheritance. Unlike most people I even knew who my wife would be.”

Annoyingly, my grandfather took care of that, too and signed my life away with a contract binding me to marry his friend’s granddaughter, Priscilla De Rosa.

It may have been a bid to secure wealth between the families but it fucked with my choice.

I managed to escape the marriage a few months back when I discovered that Priscilla was not just having a secret affair but was pregnant with another man’s child.

“At least you don’t have to marry Priscilla.”

“Yes, but I still have to get married.”

His brows knit and he looks like he doesn’t know what more to say to me. “Have you spoken to your father?”

“He’s supposed to call me in a little while. I know it’s not going to be a good call. I’ve been dodging him for days.”

The change in the company occurred last year when my father decided to hand over the New York branch to Hunter and me while he’d look after the international division. That activated the need for a new leadership structure.

Hunter at the head as CEO and me as the CFO. At thirty years old I’d be the youngest Le Blanche in the family to have such a role. If I get married.

“Between the marriage thing and the shit with the Fairchilds, I’m not sure which I should be worried about more,” I seethe.

My father’s dear best friend, Nigel Fairchild, owns a brokerage company that has been in partnership with Le Blanche Global for over thirty years. Nigel wants seats on the board for himself and his son, Nolan.

My father is ecstatic about the idea but I’ve always hated Nigel and Nolan, so I’m completely against it.

The position on the board opened up with the restructure and the passing of Archie Blackstone, an old mentor of mine. Neither Nigel nor Nolan could ever hope to fill his shoes.

“I think the Fairchilds have shady-as-fuck ulterior motives. I just can’t prove it.” I bite the inside of my lip. “And I can’t tell a guy like my father that I have a hunch his best friend is a shifty motherfucker.”

Nolan has been my fucking nemesis for as long as I can remember. He’s always coveted my achievements and status to the point where he’d go out of his way to sabotage me in my own family’s company.

Like what he did to me last Saturday.

I hooked up with an actress at a party, not knowing she was tied up in a federal drug investigation. The next day a scandal broke when the feds raided her home and found all manner of drugs. Then a bunch of photos of us together in her house surfaced on the Internet that made it look like I was part of the scandal.

Hunter and I were able to do damage control to some degree. While doing so we found evidence that suggested Nolan could have paid my publicist to get dirt on me to make me look unfit to run the company.

“There must be something you can do.” Josh furrows his dark brows. “You can’t let that shit slide. I have no doubt that Nolan was involved.”

“I’m working on it.” I won’t stop until I find whatever I need to eradicate Nolan and Nigel. It’s better if they’re out of the picture completely.

Hunter and I are the next generation of Le Blanche Global. I don’t think it’s wise to place people on the board who could mess with us or the company in the future.

My phone buzzes on the table and I check the screen. “That’s my father.”

“Good luck. I’ll leave you to answer that.” Josh stands, crushes the can and tosses it in the trash. “Let me know what happens.”

“Sure. Catch you later.”

He heads out the door and I grab my phone, hoping like hell my father gives me the news I want to hear.

“Hello, Father.” I imbue my voice with my usual cool confidence.

“Asher Le Blanche, you’re a hard man to reach. Considering we work in the same building on the same floor, that seems rather odd to me.”

I can almost see him, the great Preston Le Blanche, sitting in his office at home still dressed in one of his well-tailored black suits at this hour. In my mind’s eye I imagine the disgruntled look he usually reserves for times like this when he’s pissed at me and trying to control his rage.

“I’ve been busy.”

“So I hear.”

“What’s going on?” I ask as if I don’t know. It’s just that there are so many things to choose from, I’m not sure which he wants to talk about first: the search for a wife, the scandal, something else, or all of the above.

“Seriously, Asher? I can’t believe you can ask me that.”

“I’m trying to get a handle on everything.”

“I’d love to know what that means. There’s the scandal we’re still trying to do damage control on and the matter of you getting married. Hunter told me that you guys felt Nolan might have had something to do with your publicist’s betrayal. Why on earth would you boys think that?”

Here we go. My father is the emperor of his empire and one of the most powerful men in America but he’s completely blind when it comes to the Fairchilds.

“Father, I’m sure Hunter told you that we found an email conversation between Coraline and Nolan discussing my suitability to run the company.” I can’t keep the anger out of my voice. Saying those words outside my head makes me realize how bad and outrageous the situation is. “Nolan asked her to keep an eye on me. Then we found evidence that she was paid by someone to follow me, take pictures of anything suspicious and send them to the paparazzi.”

“Hunter has told me all of that. But the problem is there’s no evidence suggesting that Nolan paid her off.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me. You don’t think that’s enough?”

“I think it’s unacceptable for Nolan to have contacted Coraline with such a matter and question your leadership. But until I see facts I can’t put the blame on him. Definitely not when he didn’t set you up for a fall. Your taste in women did that.”

He’s making me sound like the playboy I used to be in my early twenties. I haven’t been that guy in years.

At the same time what the hell can I say? Nolan didn’t set me up with the actress. I picked her and fell right into his trap.

“Father—”

“No, Asher. You need to listen to me. I have faith in you and I have no doubt you can run the company. That will never change, no matter what anyone says. However, I have to be realistic.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means I have to go by your actions.”

I stifle a groan. “Father, I’ve been working nonstop.”

“I know, but you haven’t tended to the most important aspect of your future. We severed the marriage contract with Priscilla almost six months ago yet you’ve made no effort to find a suitable wife. I gave you the choice of using the time wisely to explore your options but time is no longer on our side.”

Again, he’s right. “I still have a little over six months. I’ll sort it out.”

“You said that months ago. Back then I agreed but now, I’m stepping up.”

“You don’t have to do that.” Shit. I don’t want him to meddle with my life.

“I have other things to worry about, Asher. It’s time I move on. You’re not taking this seriously, so I have a solution.”

“What’s that?” My breath catches in my lungs, turning to lead.

I hear him take a quick breath. “I want you to consider marrying Portia Fairchild.”

A boulder drops into the pit of my stomach and plummets to the floor, then my ears burn, going from hot to cold and hot again. I stand and my heart kicks up a beat, pounding as fast as if I’d just finished a ninety-minute spin class.

“ Portia Fairchild ? As in Nigel’s daughter?” The female fucked-up version of Nolan. My father has clearly lost his mind.

My free hand curls into a tight fist. I want to hit something and smash the hell out of it until there’s nothing left.

“Nigel and I think it makes perfect sense for the two of you to marry. Nigel and I have been friends since we were children. And you grew up with Portia. You know her.”

That’s why this idea sounds just as bad as driving into an active volcano full throttle.

People think I’m ruthless and callous but Portia has been the devil incarnate since she was little. If she wasn’t stealing and lying, she was physically hurting people and blaming others for her cruelty. As she got older she became the woman who’d spread her legs for the man with the deepest pockets.

“No. I won’t do it.” My answer is as sharp as the tip of a knife. “I’m not marrying Portia.”

Father is silent. My father loathes that word—no. Only a handful of people have uttered it to him in his lifetime and lived to see their next minute unscathed.

“This is beyond outrageous,” I rant. “You know how I feel about the Fairchilds yet you want me to marry Portia. Like fuck. I’m not doing it.”

“Asher, control yourself.” He sounds more like the domineering leader he is and less like the understanding father I know him to be.

“No. You’re not going to sign my life away like grandfather. It’s unfair to shove me in that position again. Even you must see that.”

He’s silent again and I hope I’ve appealed to his better senses.

“Asher, things have reached a stage where I have to be firm. You’ve known what you needed to do to get the CFO position. There’s no way you can disagree that you’ve had sufficient time.”

I exhale through gritted teeth. “No, I can’t disagree.” And I can’t explain why I couldn’t pick one woman in the sea of choices I had to marry . I just couldn’t find the right one. “I can’t agree that this is right, either.”

“Alright…” He pauses for a beat and drags in a breath. “Here’s what we’re going to do: I’ll give you two weeks to find a potential wife. Two weeks will place us at the six-month mark. If you find a girl I’ll allow you three months to date then prep for marriage for the following three months.”

My entire body sighs with relief. “I’ll find someone and sort it all out.”

“I hope for your sake that you do. You do realize you’ll essentially have three months to get to know this unknown woman.”

“I know.”

“If things don’t work out with her you may choose another but you won’t get any more time. If you’re not ready for marriage at the end of the term and you still want the position in the company then you’ll have to marry Portia. Is that understood?”

“Loud and clear.” This is a fucking nightmare.

“Asher, I’m allowing this because I know how you felt being tied up in the previous contract. I want you to meet someone and have the kind of relationship I have with your mother.”

That might be my only saving grace. Even though my father knew we’d have to have arranged marriages he wanted us to have the real thing, like he has. I’m not sure he understands though that it’s not that easy.

“I get it, Father.”

“Good. I hope you can get over this distrust you have for the Fairchilds, too. I’m moving forward with putting Nigel on the board, and I’m allowing Nolan the chance to trial for a seat. As such, he’ll be working on the tech company with you.”

Damn it to hell. I saw this coming. That company is exactly what they were after. It belonged to Archie. “That company is supposed to be under my care. Archie wanted me to have it.”

“Don’t push me, Asher. Archie left the company to Le Blanche Global . That means it’s under my care. I just gave you a chance. After that scandal you’re lucky you still have a job. If you weren’t my son things would be different.”

Translation— shut the hell up or get out .

“Fine.” The Fairchilds have won this battle. I’ll allow them that but it’s not fucking over yet.

“I sincerely hope you can make this work.”

“Of course.” I try to keep the sarcasm out of my voice but know I fail. My father knows I’m agreeing because he’s pushed me against a wall.

“I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“See you.”

He hangs up and my chest caves. I allow the phone to slip from my hand and fall to the floor. A surge of anger washes over me and I shove the exercise bike to the ground.

I usually have an answer for everything, but this is shit. And it’s my fault.

I had time to find a wife. If I had found one I wouldn’t have hooked up with the actress. Now I have to deal with the consequences of my actions.

In the last hour I’ve agreed to let Harper move in with me and it feels like I’m caught in a war with my father.

I have to figure this out.