Walden Inc., though, is the one company that my father still actively runs. Any such purchase will have to go through him.

I’d prefer not to involve Jack. But if I have to… “It’s our only shot, isn’t it?”

“The only one I can think of. Will you have trouble convincing your father?”

Considering how Jack feels about Celia, I’m sure that won’t be a problem. “No. He’ll do it.” I push the intercom to my secretary. My meeting with Norma was early, but it’s gone long enough that Patricia should be in by now.

“Yes, Mr. Pierce?”

“I need my father on the line in about fifteen minutes, please.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Okay then,” I say to Norma. “Anything else?”

Norma scratches a note on her legal pad then looks up. “Not that I can think of. If all this goes well, we will need to be in L.A. next week for the final signatures. And no, I can’t do this for you. You’ll have to be present.”

“Great. Thank you.”

She stuffs her pad in her briefcase and sits forward as if she’s about to stand. But she pauses. “Hudson, are you all right?”

I don’t have to guess why she’s asking. I’ve been grumpy and distracted for the past few days. The sources of my stress can be broken down into two things—or people, to be precise: Celia and Stacy.

The former has begun stalking Alayna. I’m sure it’s simply a scare tactic—that Celia won’t do anything to physically harm my girlfriend—but I won’t take any chances. This deal with GlamPlay should end any interaction with Celia at all. Now if we can just survive until the deals are signed.

Stacy, on the other hand, is still an unknown quantity. The video she’s sent me…

“Hudson,” Norma prods. I’ve left her waiting too long for my answer.

“I’m fine. I just have a lot on my mind.” Understatement of the year.

I stand, hoping that will prompt her to as well. I have other business to take care of, starting with a heart-to-heart with my father. “Thank you for meeting with me early. I appreciate all your work on this project.”

She stands and nods at me. “Of course.”

“I don’t need to remind you that this all must remain confidential?” Keeping this purchase secret is vital. I haven’t even told Alayna about these plans. I wouldn’t want to get her hopes up, in case something falls through.

“Completely.” Norma says. “Oh, by the way, I wanted to thank you for hiring Gwen.”

Alayna had officially hired Norma’s little sister at The Sky Launch only the night before. “I can’t take any credit. Thank Alayna.” I suddenly remember something Alayna had said about her new manager. “Norma, may I ask why Gwenyth was so eager to leave the Eighty-Eighth Floor? I thought she was happy there.”

Norma sighs. “She was. Long story. Let’s just say there was a man.”

“Oh.” I give a tight smile letting her know she needn’t say more.

“But on that subject, Gwen would really like to not be found. Do you have any suggestions how we might make that happen?”

It was almost comforting to know I wasn’t the only one with secrets. “We’ll need to pay her under an alternate social security number. That’s illegal.” I pause to make sure she’s with me. “But I could arrange it.”

“I’d very much appreciate whatever you can do.”

“No problem.” There are few people who I’d ever make this sort of offer to. But Norma has been with me through thick and thin, and has navigated more than one not-so-legal deal in our time together. I trust her. I make a mental note to get Jordan on the task.

It’s only a few minutes after Norma’s left that Patricia has Jack on the line.

“Hudson. What a surprise. Is it my birthday?” His charm has never worked on me. Not since Celia, anyway.

I should just ignore his play, but for whatever reason, I don’t. “Your birthday is in December. It’s July seventh. So no.”

He tsks through the line. “Always so serious. How on earth can you possibly be my son?”

“Come on. We know you’re my father. The physical resemblance is irrefutable. The real question is: who else on earth is your son?” I have no idea why it feels so fucking good to be an ass to the man, but it does.

He chuckles. “So far only three are taking claim. And at least one of them would probably prefer not to.” There have been rumors that Chandler isn’t Jack’s, but he’s referring to me.

I think about that for a moment. Would I really prefer not to be Jonathon Pierce’s son? It’s a hard question to answer and not one that serves any purpose in dwelling on. I am his son, for good or for bad. With all that I’ve done to further his legacy and Pierce Industries, I’d like to say I’ve made the most of it. But now as I start to see the world differently through Alayna, maybe there’s more I could gain from Jack. Something not measured in stocks and bonds.

Anyway, it’s not for today. What I need from him now is much more tangible. “While I’d love to consider the pros and cons of being a Pierce further, I called for another reason.” I hesitate. It’s harder for me to ask than I would like. It’s the only choice I have, so I plow on. “I need a favor.”

“Ooh, that’s intriguing.” There’s a creak in the background. I can picture him in my head, sitting back in his chair, his feet crossed on his desk in front of him. “Do tell me more.”

Where in the world do I begin? There’s no good place, so I just start talking. “It may not come as any surprise to you, but it has become necessary to remove Celia Werner from my life.”

“No, really!” he gasps in mock astonishment. “Glad you’ve finally come around to see the light. That girl is fucked up.”

It’s strange that there is still a part of me that wants to defend Celia. Except for her most recent actions, she’d done nothing worse than I’d ever done. And, as always, I can blame the way she behaves on me.

Stranger is that my father, who I would never describe as intuitive, seems to guess at my feelings. “She’s not like you, Hudson,” he says. “I know that you think she is, but she’s different. She wants to hurt people. You just want to understand them.”

I’m stunned at his insight, but I try to hide the shock from my voice. “You’re right. She’s not like me.” It’s a big admission, and I could spend more time trying to evaluate how I feel about this. But it doesn’t really matter. “Celia’s been stalking Alayna.”

“Fuck. Are you kidding me? Jesus.” He curses some more, things I can’t make out, then asks, “Is Laynie okay?”

I grit my teeth. “She is. A bit shaken, but I have a bodyguard on her. She’s safe.”

“Thank God.” My father’s always been fond of Alayna. It’s bothersome. Is his attraction to her fatherly or something else? Even if he came right out and told me, I’d likely have a hard time believing it.

But it’s because of his fondness for her, and because of his loathing for Celia, that I know he’ll help with my plan. “Celia hasn’t broken the law yet and talking to her has done no good. I need another way to convince her to stop her game.”

“And I’m sure you have an idea already in the works. Hit me with it.”

As succinctly as possible, I tell him how I’ve already convinced GlamPlay to buy into Werner Media, and how, if combined with the shares I already hold, it would be possible to own the majority stock in Warren’s company. “If I purchase GlamPlay—”

“Then you’ll be able to boot Warren out,” my father finishes.

“Right. I don’t want to actually take control of Werner Media, I just want to have the power to do so. And since I need it to be covert, I need to buy GlamPlay under a different entity.”

“You want to use Walden Inc.” My father catches on quickly. I shouldn’t be surprised. He was the one who taught me. “Of course. Tell me what to do, and it’s done.”

I spend the better part of the next hour working out the plan with Jack. He’s smarter than I remember, quick to solve problems that come up during the conversation. It’s…nice, actually. A bit like coming home.