Hostile Takeover

Chapter Two

Gray must've been looking at the smashed up Thermomix on the floor for a good ten minutes now. It was not that he was concerned about the broken machine despite its expense, it was still a drop in the ocean for him, but it was such a pointed message. Quinn really hated him. While he'd accepted that reality months ago, the violence of seeing the machine on the floor was a shock. He truly had no idea how things had come to this and what was worse was that he had no idea how to fix it. He was about to get divorced. Again. He was mildly surprised that the media hadn't caught on, at least not yet. It wouldn't take long for word to get out that he and Quinn had split, especially given she worked for the press. Not even his family knew, well except for Evie who lived here with him and had pretty much become Quinn's best friend.

But he knew once the press got a hold of this story, they would be relentless and he needed to prepare himself for what was to come. He knew Quinn would hate the attention, she'd never gotten used to it in their two years of marriage but he no longer cared what happened to Quinn. He was angry and hurting and feeling very selfish right now. Their mediation this afternoon had been a disaster. He'd actually gone in there with the best of intentions, hoping that maybe by being generous toward Quinn she might not see him as such a bad guy. But Quinn had gone in ready for a fight and it had made him mad as hell. She wasn't prepared to listen to the truth about Lina and she had insulted the house that he'd built for them to live in and be happy in. For a time they had been, but then things started to change.

Gray raked a hand over his face, his weariness settling in bone deep. He didn't have the energy to deal with his broken marriage as well as the threat of losing his newspaper. He stepped over the remnants of the Thermomix and opened the fridge door. He was starving. Maybe after a decent meal and a good night's sleep he'd be able to work out how to at least save his newspaper because his marriage was a goner. He found a prawn Pad Thai in the fridge left there by his housemaid Isla and placed it in the microwave to warm up. He took a seat at one of the bar stools at the breakfast bar while he waited, his eyes taking in the sight of his half-packed kitchen.

It stabbed at his heart. It was only four months ago that Quinn was standing in here preparing dinner for the two of them to eat on a Saturday night while the sounds of the Hilltop Hoods blared from the speaker system that had been built into the house. He hated that band but Quinn loved them and they had danced around the kitchen while they cooked, drank wine and ate. It was such a simple memory, but so cherished. Maybe he needed to get out of here, just for the weekend so that Quinn could pack and be done with it all. He could give Sim and Taryn a call after dinner, see if they were around.

The microwave pinged and he moved around the bench to retrieve his meal from the microwave thinking the whole time that if Quinn wasn't so stubborn they might actually be sitting here right now doing the same thing. He remembered the first time he met her just over two years ago when she came into his office fighting like her life depended on it. He had hated her that day, he was ready to drown her, but her tenacity and fighting instinct had impressed him. More than impressed him, it turned him on. Seeing her today, hurt and angry and in full fight mode made him remember just how formidable she could be, but she'd never been unreasonable before. He'd always found a way to make her listen to him.

Gray shook his head in defeat and focused on his Pad Thai. He was about halfway through when his phone started to vibrate on the bench top. He looked at the caller I.D. It was Ronan, Quinn's brother but also his financial controller. Whatever the reason for his call, Gray knew it was not going to be good news.

"Ronan, talk to me," Gray said, putting the phone on speaker so he could talk and eat.

"Gray, I've got bad news."