When Empires Fall (17 page)

He held Grant’s eyes with determination, his lips slightly quirked in a salesman’s smile, though he knew it would make no difference with his brother. His mother and sisters were eyeing him with mixed expressions, Kennedy agreeable and optimistic, his mother hesitant and unsure, while Madison was looking back and forth between him and Grant, prepared to interfere if necessary. Discussions of changes to the hotel and the company were always a testy battleground.

Grant saw the fire in his brother’s expression, had heard the passion and the determination in his voice. But there was just no way he could go along with the idea of so drastically altering the foundation of the Vasser Hotel empire, and the traditions their forefathers had put in place and expected to be continued faithfully.

“No.”

Linc’s nostrils flared as his temper sparked, even though Grant’s answer had been predictable. “I see, so it’s not even worth an explanation on
why
you don’t want to give it a shot?”

Grant, determined to hold his ground on this, shook his head. “We will not compromise our traditions simply because you want to chase a new market share.”

“So we’re just supposed to live in the dark ages, huh? And never consider growing or progressing?”

“Our business model is not broken, therefore it does not need to be fixed,” Grant insisted, his own smoldering temper kept meticulously in check.

“Right.” Linc got to his feet then, monumentally frustrated. He threw down his napkin on his empty plate and downed what was left of his beer before slamming the glass down on the table as well. Before any of them could get a word in, he turned to Grant one last time and shoved his fisted hands into his pockets, lest he be tempted to go to blows over this. “One year, Grant. That’s all there is between you and I, and yet you have all the fucking authority. How do you think that makes me feel, huh? To know that I will never have any goddamn say in this company for as long as I live, simply because of your seniority over me?”

Grant said nothing. With a disbelieving laugh, Linc shook his head and stalked from the restaurant, shaking with fury. He headed out into the lobby, thinking he had to get outside, had to clear his head and go for a walk, only to stop short as he spotted Lynette.

She was just leaving, having just dropped off her parents. He took it as a sign from God that she just happened to be there, right when he desperately needed to talk to someone, anyone outside of his family. Even someone who was essentially a perfect stranger.

“Hey, Lynette, right?” Linc rushed up beside her, following as she walked through the lobby doors and out into the cold, winter’s day.

Startled, Lynette paused just outside the doors and eyed him strangely, her heart leaping up into her throat at the sight of him. He looked nothing like what she had seen before, the charm and the kindness oddly gone. No, now he looked broody and frustrated and, of all things, miserable.

“Yes. Linc, right?” she returned, noting the shifty way he ran his hands through his hair and the aggravation that was so clear in his eyes. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah, no. No, I’m not,” he told her, shutting his eyes for a brief moment and taking a deep breath. “I’m sorry, I hate to do this, but can I just walk with you? I need to get away from here right now, and if I’m alone I might just punch a hole in something.”

While she started to say no, Lynette found she didn’t have the strength to. How could she turn him down when he was looking at her with so much pain in those honest, open eyes of his? Besides, she still had awhile till her rehearsal later that afternoon, so what did it hurt to have some company until then?

“Okay.” She started to walk down the sidewalk and he fell into step beside her, his hands still tucked into his pockets. For a while, neither of them said anything, but instead walked at a consistent and steady pace, neither rushing nor lethargic.

She realized then that she was nearly the same height as he was, only an inch or two shorter, and that when they walked it seemed as though their steps fell into an old, familiar rhythm. Shooting a glance over at him, she saw that his jaw was clenched and his eyes hardened with strain. Just what was it that had upset him so badly?

“Do you want to talk, Linc?” She asked, keeping her hands firmly tucked into the pockets of her coat. Around them, a brisk winter wind shivered through the air.

He sighed, looking straight ahead now as they continued to walk. Though part of him knew it was stupid to unload all of his problems onto a complete stranger, the rest of him found that it just wasn’t possible to keep it all inside any longer.

And so he told her. He unleashed all of his frustration over his brother’s superiority, the clear lack of respect any of them had for his ideas, the bitterness he felt of knowing that one year was all that separated he and Grant, and yet Grant received all of the authority, all of the praise and admiration while he was left to beg for scraps.

Lynette listened quietly, stunned by just how much animosity he had inside of him. He had appeared so carefree before, when really he had had all of this building up inside of him.

When he finished, he let out a steadying breath and turned to her, a sheepish smile on his face. “I’m sorry, that was probably too much.”

“It is too much,” Lynette agreed, meeting his eyes cautiously. “Do you not have anyone to talk to, so you unload on a stranger instead?”

He laughed then, rubbing his face in his hands. “I have my friend Greg, but he’s always looked at me like I’m some prince of a wealthy kingdom. He’d just tell me to shut up and be grateful. Which, hell, I know he’s right. I’m bitching over spilt milk like a spoiled kid.”

“It sounds to me like you’re just wanting to be treated as your brother’s equal,” Lynette said thoughtfully. “There’s nothing wrong with wanting that.”

“No, I guess there isn’t.” Linc stopped then as they came to a crosswalk with a red light. He turned to her, his lips quirked up into a grin, feeling monumentally better after having said it all out loud. Funny how that really works. “Well, now that I’ve just poured out all my problems to you, are there any problems you’d like to unload onto me?”

Lynette laughed, shaking her head. “I think I’m okay right now.”

“Ah, the introverted type,” he mused, chuckling to himself as they started to cross the street towards Central Park. “Well, if you don’t want to spill the beans on any dark secrets, then I guess I can’t force you.”

“Nope.” Lynette grinned, enjoying his company now that he had settled back into what she remembered him being like. Charming, carefree, handsome. Although, if she was being honest, seeing the misery and the frustration in him had disarmed her in a way that wasn’t altogether bad. She’d gotten to see the side of him that she bet he didn’t show too often; the man behind the charismatic mask. “You know, maybe your brother would take your ideas for the hotel more seriously if you were to present them to him in a more practical way.”

“Like how?”

“Well, you could do the market research yourself and put together charts and graphs showing how doing what you’re suggesting has benefited your competitors, and prove to him that your hotel is behind the curve in the industry and that its time for a change. Have an economist put together figures on projected profits, cost/benefit analysis, etc. Once he has all of that, he’ll not only see that you’re serious, but maybe he’ll even agree with you.”

Linc stopped dead in his tracks and stared at her when she turned to face him, her lips curved into a soft smile. He laughed, then swung his arm over her shoulders and kissed her forehead with relish.

“Good God, the girl is as smart as she is beautiful,” he declared, beaming at her. “They teach you economics and marketing in dance school?”

“No, but just because I’m a dancer doesn’t mean I’m devoid of intelligence,” she countered, one copper eyebrow raising incredulously. “I’m the daughter of a senator, Linc. I know a lot more than I bet you think I know.”

“Well that’s just scary.” He chuckled, amused. “One day I’ll have to coax you into filling me in on all those government secrets your dad told you.”

“It’s a date.” She smiled, not realizing what she had said until it had already come out. She felt her face flush accordingly with her embarrassment as she turned away from him.

“You know, Lynette, if you’re gonna ask a guy out on a date, you should really be a bit more specific about the time and place and all that,” Linc told her conversationally, not faltering for one minute despite how embarrassed she was. “But since I have a feeling you haven’t done this before, maybe I should take the lead.”

He came to a stop mid-step and pulled her with him, so they were eye-to-eye and closer than she felt comfortable with. But she met his eyes anyway and found it hard to look away.

“I didn’t intend to ask you out,” she managed, her breath caught uncomfortably in her throat at the direct and predatory look in his eyes.

“That’s too bad, because I think it’s a great idea. From the second I saw you, I was working it out in my head how I was gonna get a date with you. Funny how it’s worked out that you subconsciously asked me.” He held her eyes for a moment longer, then stepped back, tucking his hands back into his pockets casually, mentally releasing her. “But since you’re having doubts, I’ll hail you a cab so you can get home. But the next time I see you at the hotel, I hope you’ll reconsider that date.”

Lynette blinked, taken aback by the abrupt way he had suddenly left her hanging. But as she walked towards him and the cab he had just gotten for her, she made up her mind and leaned in to lightly kiss his cheek.

“Goodbye, Linc.” She smirked as she climbed into the cab, shutting the door behind her and leaving him standing on the sidewalk, his lips curved into a mile wide grin as he watched the cab take her away.

Family feud, check. Hotel idea shot down, check. Kissed by a beautiful southern belle, check. Looks like all his bases were covered.

Later that evening,
Quinn shut down her computer and packed up her things, slipping into her coat and tugging on her scarf. She sang to herself, some old Motown song that had been stuck in her head all day, as she straightened up her desk and prepared to let Grant know she was leaving. Before she could knock on his door, however, he suddenly swept out of it, startling her.

“Oh!” She jumped, clutching her hands to her heart as she let out a shaky laugh. “You scared me.”

“I apologize.” Grant watched her laugh at herself, and as he did so he could feel his lips subconsciously curve into a slow smile. “Was that Marvin Gaye?”

She froze, feeling her cheeks flush with embarrassment. “You could hear me?”

“I’ve been listening to you sing to yourself for the last hour.”

“Wow, that’s great. Just perfect.” She smacked her forehead and laughed again, feeling foolish. “Was I any good? Be honest. I can handle the truth.”

“You were awful.”

“Ouch.” She crossed her arms over her chest and eyed him deviously. “I’ll have you know that I am the reigning shower singing champion in my house and, according to Ma, I have a real shot at the big time.”

“There’s no possible way she told you that with a straight face.”

Quinn grinned, her features glowing with humor at the memory. “Yeah, it was actually more like ‘Quinn, if you don’t shut the hell up, I’m gonna send you to the convent and let the nuns deal with you!’”

Grant was bewildered to find himself so amused by her. “You wouldn’t fare well in a convent.”

“Probably not. I’d talk the nuns ears off until they ran me out of town with nothing but my rosary for company,” Quinn mused, smiling up at him. “Anyway, I was just about to let you know that I’m leaving. Did you need something else before I go?”

“Yes.” He handed her a sheet of paper, almost immediately settling back into professional mode. She found she instantly missed the humor she had seen briefly in his eyes. It had been a nice change. “I need you to drop this invoice off at the front desk on your way out.”

“No problem.”

They stared at each other for a brief moment, both in limbo over what to say or do next. She saw the strain behind his eyes that had been present all week, but accompanying it was something more, something darker and deeper that had been there since he’d returned from lunch. She regretted that he wouldn’t want her to pry into his business, when she was sure she could somehow make him feel better.