Irrefutable (The Apprehensive Duet Book 2) by Kimberly Bracco Page A

over.”
    “But he might tell me,” Jordan says with a calculated smirk that leaves me feeling very unsettled.
    “Why would he tell you?”
    Leaning back in his chair, Jordan rests his ankle on his knee and lets the smirk fully overtake his face. “Because we’re going to play him just like he’s playing you. I’m going to go to him and tell him I don’t want to marry you, but I do want revenge for you making me look like an asshole. I’ll tell him I want to continue merging the companies, but we need to get you out of the way because you fucked me over and I want you gone.”
    The whole suggestion sounds fishy as hell. He’s going to tell my dad he wants revenge? “Is this your way of getting back at me for lying to you? Are you going to join forces with him while I sit here stupidly helping you, thinking we’re doing one thing but it’s really me digging my own grave?”
    Jordan’s facial expression goes from cunning to pissed off instantly. He sits forward asking, “Is that a serious question?”
    “Yes, it’s a serious question. You’re angry with me, and this plan seems to fit your actual mood.”
    “Yeah, I’m pissed, Quinn,” he fires back, “but I’m not a fucking monster. One argument and you don’t trust me anymore? If anyone should have trust issues now, it’s me.”
    “Okay, I’m sorry. That was uncalled for,” I admit shamefully. Jordan doesn’t have the ability to be that cold-hearted. But when you take hit after hit, you need to be constantly on defense. “How the hell are we going to pull this off? And what are we planning to do with the information?”
    “We find the fraudulent files and hand them over to the FBI.”
    We sit in silence for a few minutes as I try to process the plan. I’m not convinced. My mind’s running a mile a minute as my gears spin thinking about all the ways this could backfire in our faces. “What if he doesn’t take the bait?”
    “I’ve put a lot of thought into this part. I don’t think he ever had any intention of leaving the company. Or handing it over to you. Ever. Think about it—what does he stand to gain from the merger if he was going to really leave?”
    “His legacy,” I interrupt.
    “It’s more than that. His legacy wouldn’t really be affected by this. Yours would. With everything we know about him, he doesn’t give a damn about your reputation. But this would be huge for him. He’s just using you to get it. I think he plans to execute whatever he has in play regardless.”
    “You really think so?”
    Jordan’s head nods as his lips start moving again. “I bet there’s something, somewhere, with a legal clause in it stating you’ll be let go if there are any legal charges brought against you. Probably your VP promotion. I can almost guarantee there was a contingency attached to it you’re unaware of. Or he could’ve just forged your signature on it. He’s going to blow the lid on whatever he has right after we start formal proceedings for the merger. Why else go through all this trouble?”
    Or … “Do you think the whole thing is bullshit and there never was anything tampered with?”
    Jordan shoots me a look that screams “Really?” before answering, “Why take the risk if you called his bluff? Does that seem like your dad at all, Quinn?”
    Oh, he’s not a bullshitter. But I’d never considered that I’d be going to prison either way. Jordan’s point is valid though. None of this makes any sense. How could I have not thought about this sooner? When has my dad ever done anything the way he says he’s going to? He’s always screwing me over anyway he can. Why would this time be any different?
    My anxiety is in overdrive and an unsettling feeling washes over me. “At this point, I’d believe just about anything. But do you really want to entice him to pull the trigger? I really don’t want to go to prison.”
    “We need to make it convincing that you’re really fucking me over,” he explains.
    “Why