CHAPTER EIGHT
Daniel gripped the metal bar and groaned as he pulled, feeling the extra weights he’d added this morning. The burn felt good. He did four more reps, then let it clang back into place and stood.
Why he let Harper Kane get to him, he didn’t know, but he had.
She wasn’t the first person, nor would she be the last, to assume he’d lived a perfect life because of his wealth. But fuck, it was such an ignorant point of view.
What pissed him off even more was how her story about her father had momentarily moved him. What an asshole thing to do. Marry a woman, get her pregnant and then go start a new family.
Yeah, that guy had been an ass.
He imagined it would’ve been very upsetting and destabilizing as a child. It was unlikely she trusted men and explained her cynical view of love.
In that, they were matched.
So why then, when he was showing interest in her physically, was Harper not reciprocating? He could tell she was attracted to him.
His mind whirled.
It was unlikely she was a virgin.
Daniel pulled on his gloves and began punching the hanging bag.
Maybe it was best to sit this one out. She might not think she wanted love, but Daniel got the feeling Harper was trying to write her own love story.
His phone rang.
“Siri, answer call.”
“Daniel,” a deep voice said when the device answered.
Finally!
“Josh,” Daniel replied. “I’ve got a job for you. You available?”
“Depends. What are we looking at?”
“US senator trying to blackmail me into marrying his daughter,” he said, hardly believing he was saying those words out loud.
“Ah, that old nugget,” Josh replied sarcastically. “Timing?”
Daniel pulled off his gloves, dropping them on the mat as he stepped closer to his phone. He leaned against the wall and crossed his arms, looking out over Waikiki. “We’ve got about three weeks, then they’re threatening to go public with an announcement. If you’re on board, I’ll email you the details.”
“Who are we looking at here?”
“Mackenzie.”
Josh let out a growl. “That fucker.”
The senator wasn’t a well-liked or popular guy, and more than once, Daniel had wondered about his father’s association with him.
“What does he want?”
“Shares. He’s doctored some documents to extort my father. Further negotiations ended up with me being included. Apparently, the daughter has had her eye on my nether regions for some time. I guess they see this as a win-win.”
And Daniel was going to make sure both of them fell from grace for this.
“How do you want to play this?”