Leslie LaFoy by Jacksons Way Read Free Book Online Page A

“That's not going to happen while I'm still breathing.”
    “There's an intriguing possibility,” she countered. “Do you have a Will, Mr. Stennett?”
    He smiled ruefully. “Actually, I do. It names Billy as my heir. Which I suppose would, when the lawyers are done with their wrangling, put it all back into the hands of whoever controls the MacPhaull Company.”
    “My hands, Mr. Stennett.”
    He chuckled and winked at her. “And eventually Henry's, Miss MacPhaull.” Heading back to the sideboard, he added, “All things considered, it looks to be in your best interest to be sure I don't step in front of any runaway carriages, doesn't it?”
    Lindsay shook her head and smiled at his back. “Whether you strip fifty-two and some-odd thousand dollars from the company or Henry gains control, the end result will be the same: the destruction of the MacPhaull Company. I might as well have the satisfaction of seeing you trampled in the street.”
    He laughed, set his glass down, and then turned to lean against the sideboard, his arms crossed over his chest. “Do you play poker, Miss MacPhaull?”
    An intriguing turn.
“I beg your pardon?”
    “Billy taught me to play. It occurs to me that facing you across a table and a pile of chips would be a lot like playing with him again.”
    Very intriguing.
“Are you suggesting that the ownership of the MacPhaull Company could be the stake in a game of cards?”
    “Not at all. I own it and I'm not about to risk it on the turn of a card,” he answered, shaking his head slowly and studying her all the while, a knowing smile tilting up the corners of his mouth. “What I'm thinking is that you have your father's way of coming at a high-stakes game. You've been dealt some lousy cards, but, by bluff and bravado, you're going to make the best of them. You're going to do whatever you have to to keep Richard Patterson alive for as long as possible so that you can keep the reins in your hands. You're not going to let anything happen to me and you're going to do your best to control how I get what I need out of the MacPhaull Company assets.”
    He was very good at judging character as well. She wasn't surprised. There was one inaccuracy, however, and she wanted it corrected. “Richard Patterson is like a father to me. To suggest that my concern for his life is based on business concerns is not only callous, but intentionally cruel.”
    “Death is inevitable, Miss MacPhaull,” he countered, his eyes just as hard as his voice. “And feelings aside, there are consequences of it that practical people acknowledge long before the actual day of reckoning. Billy was like a father to me, but that didn't prevent me from knowing what his gambling and dying would mean to me in a business sense. It's not callous; it's not cruel. It's life. And you know damn good and well that when Richard Patterson goes to meet his maker, you lose control of the MacPhaull Company. You're Billy's daughter and you'll fight tooth and nail to keep your fate in your own hands.”
    “You would appear to be equally mercenary in your quest to do the same,” she observed.
    “I am. And I'll make no apologies for it. Neither am I going to take offense that you understand that. You don't have any reason to take offense, either. There's nothing wrong with being realistic.”
    “Well, if realistic is what you want, Mr. Stennett,” she said, setting her sherry glass on the corner of the desk, “then you might take a look at this morning's correspondence.” She motioned to the chair, adding, “Make yourself comfortable. I'm going to have Mrs. Beechum prepare a room for you. I'll be back shortly to answer any questions you might have.”
    “You're actually going to allow me to stay here?” he asked as she headed toward the door.
    “It's your house,” she replied without looking back. “And then there's the fact that you never allow a player to leave the table with cards in their hand.”
    He laughed and called after