But instead of scowling, with Lola at his side, Duncan was smiling as they walked into the corner office. Which ended up being exactly the right move to throw his brother off. Alastair would have assumed Duncan would enter guns a-blazing. But relaxed and smiling?
He would have never seen that coming.
“Duncan.” Alastair’s voice was smooth. He shifted his calculating gaze, which transformed into a leer as he said, “And you must be Lola.”
In lieu of replying, she squeezed Duncan’s left hand while he reached into a leather bag with his right. He placed the condensed report—a document with less than a quarter of the evidence they’d found, but all of it damning—on his brother’s desk.
“This is for you,” Duncan said.
Alastair was clearly dying to see what was on the pages in front of him, but instead of giving in to the urge, he continued ogling Lola. “You’re even more beautiful than you appeared in the pictures I’ve seen online. A girl like you could go far with your looks. Especially if you’re smart enough to sell them to someone who is willing to pay you what they’re worth.”
Alastair was so predictably egotistical and power hungry that Duncan wasn’t sure he’d ever stop beating himself up for not having seen it sooner. He needed to try, though. Not only did Lola deserve him at his best, rather than being forever chained down by the past—he deserved it too. No matter how difficult it might be to finally let go of, and forgive himself for, his past mistakes, he was determined to prevail.
His desire to be a better man for Lola—and the fact that she was more than capable of defending herself—was all that kept Duncan from leaping across the desk and wrapping his hands around his brother’s neck.
“You are even more of a dirtbag than I heard you were.” Lola spoke softly, but there was steel behind her words, something Duncan knew she got from her mother. “A guy like you thinks he can get away with manipulating everyone around him for his own gain, but you always end up having to pay for what you’ve done. Especially if you’re dumb enough to overestimate your own worth.” She bared her teeth in a snarl, rather than a smile. “Looks like it’s your time to pay…although there aren’t going to be any pretty girls where you’re going.”
Duncan couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen Alastair betray surprise. But Lola had obviously stunned him speechless, and not just because of her looks. She was whip smart. And one of the bravest people he’d ever known.
Working to recover his composure, Alastair turned back to Duncan and drawled, “She speaks remarkably coherently for such an attractive woman. It’s nearly impossible to find that combination in the fairer sex. She might be a gold digger, but I can see now that she could also be an asset on your arm at parties…and certainly in your bed after the parties are over.”
Yet again, Duncan was sorely tempted to land a solid right hook on his brother’s jaw, but Lola’s firm squeeze on his hand helped to remind him that Alastair would be far more thrown off if his insults were ignored. “I’ve come to tell you it’s over. This is your final chance to admit to your crimes. There’s no guarantee that the FBI will cut you any slack for coming clean, but I’m assuming you’ll have better odds for leniency if you don’t try to run from them.”
Though his brother leaned back in his large leather chair and laughed, to Duncan’s ears it seemed forced. “Perhaps you should take your own advice,” Alastair stated in an easy voice. “Word on the street is that both the FBI and the Securities and Exchange Commission are both chomping at the bit to speak with you.” He adopted a somber expression. “You should know that I’ve asked them to give you a chance to make things right with everyone you defrauded at Brilliant Funds. In fact, I’ve suggested that they let me oversee your restitution to the clients you wronged so badly behind my back. If you’re lucky, you might be able to avoid a lengthy prison sentence by agreeing to those terms. Of course, I would still be happy to take over your company so that none of your clients suffer for your misdeeds.” There was steel in Alastair’s eyes as he added, “I’m on your side, Duncan. I always have been.”
This time, Lola was the one who looked on the verge of leaping across the desk to wrap her hands around Alastair’s neck.
Duncan turned to face her. “He can’t touch me anymore,” he reminded her in a low voice. “He can’t touch us anymore.”
“If you’re not going to accept my offer,” Alastair interrupted, “then I’m afraid you’re on your own with the feds. And now, if you two little lovebirds could take your nauseating gushing outside, I have work to get back to.”
Duncan had needed to make this final visit. To look into his brother’s eyes one more time to see if the sixteen-year-old boy who had vowed not to let the foster system tear them apart was still in there. At last, he accepted that though he’d always be thankful to the boy his brother had been, he wouldn’t miss the corrupt man he had become.
“For so long,” Duncan said, “you weren’t just my brother, you were the most important person in my life. And even when we didn’t see eye to eye, I gave you the benefit of the doubt and respected your decisions, because I thought that’s what family was. I thought that’s what love was. But I’ve learned otherwise. Whatever respect and trust and love there was between us is long gone. Your actions, your crimes, have betrayed my trust in the worst possible ways. I wish I could say you’ll one day feel remorse for what you’ve done, but I very much doubt you will. Still…” Duncan took a final long look at his brother, who had once been the center of his world. “I hope you can find happiness one day. Real happiness that comes from what’s inside of you, rather than the illusive trappings of wealth and power.”
With that, Duncan and Lola turned to leave. They were almost out the door when Alastair spoke again.
“When you get tired of slumming it, sweet Lola, I’ll be here waiting to give you absolutely everything you could ever desire.”
She whirled around, a furious goddess. “Duncan is everything I could ever desire. He is the man of my dreams. And now that I’ve seen just how vile you truly are, I love him even more for rising above you, in every possible way.”
With that, Lola and Duncan walked hand in hand to the elevator. Before the door closed, Duncan could see his brother at his desk, looking red-faced with rage as he read through the papers Duncan had given him. No doubt, Alastair would spend the next several hours calling in every last favor to try to keep himself out of jail.
Once they were out of the building, Duncan drew Lola into his arms. “I’m sorry for everything he said to you, for the way he looked at you, for the way he dared to treat you.”
“You have nothing to be sorry for. And it was really satisfying to tell him exactly what I think of him, especially when it clearly hit the mark.”
“He’s usually unflappable,” Duncan agreed. “But he never counted on coming face-to-face with a woman like you.” He gently stroked his fingertips over her cheek. “Neither did I.”
“Just like I said in my parting shot to him, the fact that you remained so honest and good with a father figure like him is truly amazing. Compared with that, the feds are going to be a breeze to deal with.”