"More likehefound me. If you ever saw us together, you'd see the resemblance."
"Ididsee." I bit my lip. "I mean, I saw a picture."
He gave me a wry look. "Yeah, I can guess which one."
"You mean the one after you guys partnered up?"
This made him grimace. "Partnered…that's a funny word for it."
"How so?"
As I listened, Griff went on to tell me that his dad had come across a news story featuring Griff and his business. The family resemblance and the location where Griff was born had piqued his curiosity.
He'd reached out, played the charming long-lost father card, and once the DNA test came back, he shifted straight into business mode – offering to broker a deal that would earn Griff a fortune.
Griff finished the story by saying, "And dumbass that I was, I jumped all over it."
Dumbass?I hesitated. "What do you mean?"
"You wanna hear what that vulture did?"
"What?"
Griff's mouth tightened. "He destroyed it."
I sucked in a breath. "You don't mean your company?"
"That's exactly what I mean. He gutted the whole thing, sold it off for parts."
I considered what I knew. "But that can't be true. I mean, it's still a brand, right?"
"Yeah, and that'sallit is. He stripped out everything that made it good."
"Wait…hestripped out everything? As in he did it personally?"
"Yup. Turns out the buyer was him, working through a shell company."
I was horrified. "You're kidding."
"Nope. And by the time he got done, he made twice the moneyIdid – and put some good people out of work." Under his breath, Griff added, "Asshole."
I was still reeling. "So you had no clue he was the buyer?"
"Not a one. He made damn sure of it."
"Wow," I breathed. "No wonder you don't like to talk about it."
"Yeah. But I should've…with you." His voice grew quiet. "I'm sorry."
I shook my head. "No,I'mthe one who's sorry. I should've given you time." I gave him an embarrassed smile. "But for what it's worth, Ididtry to knock on your door – except, well, by the time I got there, the door was gone." In a near whisper, I added, "And so were you."
Once again, he leaned his forehead against mine. "But not for long."
"But it felt like forever," I laughed. "Why didn't you answer my text?"
"Can I blame the bet?"
I tried to look stern. "No."
