respect and affection. It took him a long time to realize that nothing he accomplished would make him lovable and worthy to his parents.
But he was their son and heir and he would protect the family empire. He could not allow anything to taint their reputation. Any rumor about his father’s business practices would be a failure.
“Felipe was as pure as snow, was he?” He dipped his head until his face was almost touching hers. He refused to let her faint perfume distract him. He wouldn’t think about how he was just a kiss away from her mouth. “Check your facts, sweetheart,” Cooper said gruffly. “You forget that he betrayed his business partner.”
“My father was a victim, but I never suggested he was innocent.” Serena’s golden eyes glittered with knowing. “I mean, we all have skeletons in our closets, Mr. Brock. I just happen to know every last one of yours.”
He pulled back before he could stop himself. It wasn’t an act of guilt but Serena’s smile was triumphant as if she had hit her target. Did she know everything? His instincts said no. Only he and John Harrington, Jr., knew about his most shameful secret.
“What are you accusing me of?” he asked in an angry hiss. “Go back and look at every deal I’ve made. I have nothing to hide.” Except for one but he had learned his lesson. Sure, some of his deals skirted along the edge of the law, but he had snatched himself back.
She pointed an accusing finger at him. “You know what Aaron did to build his empire and you kept quiet.”
“This is what I know—my father had nothing and made something of himself through blood, sweat and tears.”
“That’s the legend, but you and I know that’s not true.” She poked her finger against his chest. “Your father built his business by extortion, blackmail and corruption. And I can prove it.”
IMPOSSIBLE. THE WORD reverberated in his head. There was no way that Serena knew about his father’s transgressions. Aaron Brock would never have left behind damning evidence. Serena Dominguez had to be bluffing.
Cooper was tempted to close his hand around her finger pressing against his chest. He wanted to step closer so her finger would curve and rest against his breastbone. Prove to Serena that she was no match for him and force her to drop her hand.
The maître d’ hesitantly approached them to let them know their table was ready. Cooper closed his eyes and reined in his anger. As much as he resented the intrusion, he needed it. Serena was baiting him as if she had predicted his primitive response.
As they silently followed the man to the restaurant, Cooper automatically reached out to guide Serena, splaying his hand on her back. His fingers accidentally stroked against her bare skin. Cooper’s breath hitched in his throat as desire slammed against him. He felt Serena’s tension soar before she pulled away and walked ahead of him.
The restaurant was a blur of blue and white as his troubled thoughts clouded his senses. If anyone had greeted him, he wouldn’t know. His mind was churning as he ruthlessly pulled back the need to fight. Roar. Defend his territory and his family name in the most elemental way.
He waited until they were alone and seated at the table before he spoke. “I’m calling your bluff, Serena,” he said in a low tone as he ruthlessly controlled his temper. “If you had any damaging information, you would have publicized it.”
“And how would I have benefited from that?” she asked in an absent murmur. Serena didn’t look at him as she studied the oversize menu. “How do you feel about caviar?”
“Serena,” he warned.
She glanced up from the menu. “There is a reason why I’m successful in the financial world. Anyone can find information if they’re willing to keep digging for it. It’s how you use that information to your advantage that matters.”
“True,” Cooper said. “How you use unsubstantiated rumors matters, as well. Try to act as if these stories are true and it will backfire on you.”
She smiled as if his prediction was nothing more than a fanciful idea. “How much do you know about your father’s dealings?”
Did she really think he was going to give a direct answer? This socialite might be used to getting everything she asked for but he wasn’t going to indulge her. “I’ve worked in the family business for over ten years.”
Serena set down the menu and rested her arms on the smooth white tablecloth. “That’s not what I asked. I know of four instances when your father willfully broke the law to crush another company.”
A chill swept through him and he struggled not to react. Serena was correct. How had she found out? No one but him and his father knew the details. Cooper was privy to three of those deals because he had been working for his father during that time.
Those were the rare circumstances when Aaron Brock had almost lost a fortune but managed to snap the power from the jaws of destruction. He knew his father wasn’t proud of those moments or of his actions. Not that Cooper would admit that to Serena. Nor would his father’s conflicted emotions matter to her.
But it meant something to him. Cooper knew his father was driven and goal-oriented. Strong-willed and decisive. Those were the traits they shared, the qualities Aaron Brock developed in him as he taught his only son everything he knew.
Cooper still remembered the sickening feeling that permeated through him when his father had shared those secret details with him as a cautionary tale. He had been appalled by his father’s choices. Disturbed that his flesh and blood would be that merciless. And he wondered if time and circumstances would prove that he had inherited those traits.
Cooper didn’t agree with his father’s methods and refused to follow his lead. It had been a point of contention between them for years. He wasn’t close with his parents, yet he was a dutiful son. But would he break the law to save them? He didn’t know the answer and that concerned him. How far would he go to protect the family?
Or was it to protect the family business? Cooper gritted his teeth as he realized where his train of thought was turning. The Brock family and the Brock business were so entwined that he couldn’t separate the two.
All he knew was that it was his responsibility to protect his family. Even when his father’s sins had come back to haunt them. Cooper needed to take any threat seriously. If that meant protecting the Brock name and the business, he would do it.
“Tell me about one of these instances,” he encouraged Serena. “This should be entertaining.”
“Which one should I mention?” Serena glanced out of the window that overlooked the beach and tapped her finger against her lips. “I know. The deal that happened in Hong Kong. In fact, you were there,” she said with nonchalance. He knew she couldn’t determine just how much he had been involved with the outcome of that deal. “It had been your first time in charge of negotiations for your family’s company and you weren’t even out of university.”
Cooper remembered. He had believed the people he had been negotiating with were honest. He had almost lost the deal that could have weakened the family’s business. It was the first time he had seen just how hard and ruthless his father could be. It was also the last time he
