What had happened to her to make her so bitter? So jaded? He’d asked her once, but she had looked down her nose at him, huffed, and said, life. “Andrew doesn’t even want my job. He told me so.” He shoved his hands into his pockets and forced a calm expression. “Your threats are empty, Mother. You have no play to make here, so I’m calling your bluff. The truth is, I just don’t believe you anymore.”

“Why do you think Andrew was with me last night, then, if he’s not ‘interested’?” She laughed. “You foolish boy. I had the highest paid members of the board, their wives, and your brother over for dinner last night—while you were playing house with that woman.”

His gut clenched tight, making him feel sick to his stomach. “What?”

“The motion has already begun. I’d hoped to knock some sense into you, but if you insist on this foolhardy plan to marry someone without a penny to her name…you’ll be finished. Ruined.” She crossed her arms. “And you’ll have no one to blame but yourself.”

He stepped back, unable to believe she’d actually initiated the no confidence vote against him. Her own son. “Why do you hate me so much?”

“I told you I was willing to do what needs to be done to protect the things I care about the most,” she said, ignoring his question. “I refuse to watch you ruin the company to which I dedicated my whole life, because you found a woman who makes you happy.”

The things she cared about. He, obviously, was not one of them.

“Why is being happy so damn bad? Actually, never mind.” He laughed, an angry, bitter noise. His mother wasn’t just upset with him, or disappointed in him for his failure. No, she hated him. Actually hated him. “What kind of mother are you?”

She lifted her chin. “The kind who will stop at nothing to win. What kind of son are you? Oh, dear. We already know the answer to that, don’t we? You’re a wastrel and a scoundrel who is too busy to come to his dying father’s bedside.”

That stung like a bitch, and the all too familiar cloak of guilt suffocated him, choking the breath out of his lungs. “Wow. Guess the gloves are off now.”

“They’ve been off,” she admitted, smoothing her short brown hair. “You’ve just never noticed before.”

He took a step closer, anger rising inside of him like an unstoppable tidal wave. “I’ve done nothing but try to make this company my life. To try to make up for not being there. I’ve never wavered from doing my best for the company, and I am one hundred percent committed to the success of my father’s life work, even if I didn’t…” He shook his head slowly. “I was practically a kid when he died. You can’t hold that against me for the rest of my life.”

Maggie wrapped up her talk with Andrew, shook hands with Sarah, and made her way over to him, smiling and waving. He lifted a hand in reply.

“I can, and I will.” His mother noticed and stepped closer, lowering her voice, but not answering his question. “You have until Monday night to lose the girl. If you don’t, I’ll move forward on my motion. Enjoy the show.”

She walked over to Andrew, completely ignored Maggie as she passed, then smiled and hugged her favorite son. Anger, pain, and shock rocked him hard. His mother was always threatening shit, but this was the first time she’d actually gone so far as to get things moving, or actually given him a deadline to do her bidding…or pay the price.

He had to lose Maggie, or risk losing his job.

If she had enough votes—it could happen. He could lose his rightful position as head of Gale Incorporated. And all because…what? He hadn’t picked a socialite to marry. Because he made a mistake years ago, while he’d still been in college?

No. There had to be more to the story. Some reason that people besides his mother were prepared to kick him out. What was he missing?

“Everything okay over here?” Maggie asked, stopping in front of him. She cocked her head. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“Not a ghost, exactly.” He said, still staring at his mother. She stared right back at him, looking way too pleased with herself. “It’s nothing.”

Now wasn’t the time to talk to her about this. He needed to think. To figure out his next move. If it came down to his job or her…he’d be forced to make a choice. But first he wanted to understand why.

“It obviously isn’t nothing. You’re upset.” Maggie followed his line of sight. “What did she say to you?”

“Just the usual.” He squared his shoulders and got his shit together. He was showing his mother that she’d gotten to him, and he couldn’t afford to do that right now. Holding his hand out for hers, he asked, “Ready to go in?”

“Ah, there it is again,” she said softly, without moving.

“There what is?”

“The beast.” She bit the corner of her lip. “You don’t have to talk to me if you don’t want to, and I won’t pressure you to tell me what she said, but it’s okay to be upset. You can let me see it. Let me in.”

His heart twisted, and he stepped closer to her. Smoothing her hair out of her face, he shook his head. “You said you couldn’t read me.”

“I guess I’m a little better at it.” She rested her hands on his chest and stared up at him, her gray eyes matching the stormy sky above them. “Tell me the truth. Are you okay?”

“Yeah.” He covered her hands with his and squeezed. “I’ll be fine.”

“Still want to go in?”

He glanced over her head. His mother watched them closely, her shrewd stare not wavering in the slightest. She was even better than he was at hiding his emotions. If he left now, she’d see that she’d rattled him. He refused to give her that satisfaction.

“Yes. Let’s go see the show. I’ve heard it’s excellent.”

She nodded once, not pressuring for more. As they headed for the doors, she asked, “Want me to go say ‘whore’ to her, so you can watch her faint from the vulgar language from her son’s even more vulgar fiancée?”

He blinked down at her. The mental image of Andrew flailing at his mother’s side, fanning her cheeks like a good little son, and everyone else running around like chickens with their heads chopped off, played out in his mind. “I—” He chuckled and then broke into laughter fully, cutting off midsentence. And there was no stopping it once it started.

When he tried, he only laughed harder.

Jesus, what was wrong with him?

When the ostentatious woman in front of him shot him an incredulous look, he clutched his stomach and kept going even though it hurt, and he couldn’t stop. Nothing short of a punch to the face would make him, and even then, he probably wouldn’t quit.

By the time he’d regained control, Maggie had joined him, her musical laughter mixing with his. His mother no longer looked quite so unaffected. She seemed pissed.

“Darling,” he said, swiping his hands across his face. “You’re killing me.”

She smiled, her face lighting up. “It worked.”

“What worked?”

“I made you laugh.” She blew her bangs out of her face with a short puff of breath. “That’s all I wanted.”

“You.” He yanked her into his arms and pulled her into his arms. She gasped, resting her hands on his chest. “You’re amazing. You know that, right?”

She shrugged and scrunched her nose up adorably. “I may have heard that a few times last night…”

“And you’ll hear it again.” He kissed her jaw. “And again.” Her nose this time. “And again.” He kissed her fully on the lips, and she clung to him.

By the time he pulled back, they were both out of breath.

She smiled up at him. This. Right here. This was what he wanted. And come what may, he’d fight to keep her and his job, too. He didn’t want to lose her yet.

Hell, that wasn’t true. He didn’t want to lose her period. Ever. So whatever it took, no matter the cost—well, he guessed he was more like his mother than either one of them suspected.