reluctantly accepted his help as she got up from her seat. She had found a perverse joy in having dinner with Cooper. It was like playing chess with a grand master. He had a sharp mind and was a brilliant conversationalist. He could have her laughing one moment and debating vociferously with him the next. She had to think several moves ahead of him and that was unusual for her. Most of the time she was waiting for her dinner companions to catch up with her.
And at some point during the evening Cooper had decided on his negotiating tactic, Serena thought as they left the restaurant, the cool breeze wafting over her skin. He was going to use his sex appeal and raw masculinity to soften her stance. It was a risky move on his part since she had refused him all these weeks.
He was definitely using his charm to gain her sympathy. Did he think that one encounter with him would turn her head? He had great confidence in his skills if he thought she would eventually find it difficult to destroy him.
It wouldn’t work, she decided with a grim smile. She knew how to be ruthless. How to hold on to the anger and feed from it to get the job done. It had been the only way to get out of sudden poverty and provide for her family.
Cooper tilted his head back as the breeze ruffled his short blond hair. She found it surprising that a man with such wealth and power, a man who had everything, would find pleasure in something so simple.
“Let’s walk along the beach,” he suggested.
Have a moonlit stroll? Could he be more obvious? She wanted to roll her eyes but she found herself giving a nod. She was curious to see what his next move would be. Serena slipped off her stiletto heels and walked with Cooper on the pristine beach, staying at least an arm’s length away.
The sand was soft and cool against her bare feet. She heard the rhythmic roll of the waves and the breeze tugging at the palm trees. For a moment she remembered one of the many beach getaways she and her family used to take. Those stolen moments had been fun and adventurous, filled with love and laughter.
When was the last time she had taken the time to enjoy the world around her? Serena glanced at Cooper. Or had been alone with a man late at night?
A long time, she admitted to herself as she followed Cooper to the water’s edge. Too long. She often told her matchmaking relatives that she didn’t have time to date. It took commitment to build a fortune that could protect her and her family. While her friends were getting on with their lives, she had been caught in the past, researching the Brock empire and following every lead so she could take them down.
And once she had readjusted her target to Cooper Brock, she gradually found that no man could compare. It wasn’t his achievements that she found fascinating, but rather the way he had handled disappointments and the rare failure. The man didn’t have the Midas touch everyone assumed. But his tenacity and intelligence grabbed her attention. She also admired that he did not abuse the power that was always in his firm grasp.
Of course, he never faced the need to break the law, Serena reminded herself. Aaron Brock did the dirty work and Cooper reaped the benefits.
But soon he would know what it felt like to lose everything. To be collateral damage and not have the power to stop it. Suddenly and without warning. He would find out what it was like to be alone and afraid.
It shouldn’t matter how Cooper would handle the reversal of fortune. She didn’t want to care if or how he would recover. Why was she curious? No one cared how she had survived. No one thought about her. She had been an innocent bystander. Voiceless. Powerless. Meaningless.
But the Brock family would remember her name after this week. Her revenge had been an intense and exhausting journey but it was almost over. Once she dismantled the Brock empire, she could relax and…
Serena frowned when she couldn’t complete that thought. And what? She wasn’t sure. She hadn’t allowed herself to think that far ahead. She didn’t know what to do with the rest of her life. What would make her get out of bed each morning? How would she find the happiness that had eluded her? She couldn’t remember the last time she had been happy and fulfilled.
“You’re very quiet.” Cooper was watching the waves as he slid his hands into his pockets. “Are you still plotting my demise?”
The teasing lilt of his voice rankled. Did he find her revenge a lark? Was her lifelong mission humorous to him? “You don’t take me very seriously, do you?” Her voice sounded rough to her ears. “That would be a mistake.”
He turned away from the ocean and looked at her. He didn’t seem surprised by her angry expression. He paused and she knew he was choosing his words carefully. “I believe you have very strong emotions about what happened,” Cooper said. “But fourteen years is a long time to hold on to the need for revenge.”
It was. Her journey in and out of poverty had not defined her as much as her drive to destroy the Brock empire. She didn’t give up or accept her circumstances. It had lit a fire in her that made her believe she could accomplish anything if she worked hard enough.
“You had plenty of opportunities to come forward with this so-called evidence,” he said. “Why now? Why not two years ago?”
She wished she had acted two years ago but she hadn’t felt ready. She knew she needed more. More information, more power, more courage. She was facing a giant alone. She had no support and no one was watching her back. Her parents were too afraid, too traumatized, to even discuss the idea of vengeance.
“I’m not reckless like you,” she finally said, clasping her evening purse and shoes against her. “I made my fortune by being methodical.”
“But you are not diabolical,” Cooper pointed out.
“You don’t know that.” For all he knew she could be on her best behavior.
His eyes narrowed as he studied her. “You know what I think?”
She looked away and stared at the crashing waves on the shadowy beach. “I’m breathless with anticipation to find out.”
He took a step closer and her muscles locked. Serena felt as if she was in fight-or-flight mode. She truly didn’t know which choice she would make if he reached for her.
“Either you don’t have the proof,” Cooper said softly, “or you don’t have the killer instinct.”
Serena turned her head abruptly. Why was he taunting her? Did he think she would unsheathe her claws the moment he questioned her determination? She had more control than that. “And you make this assumption on what? The fact that I’m a woman?”
“Not at all. I’ve known women who could be dangerous and vengeful.”
She was sure every one of them had been an ex-lover.
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