Rafe cocked an eyebrow at him. “You’re asking me for advice? What about Ransom? He’s the big brother, advice giver and everything rolled into one. Why don’t you ask him what he thinks?”
Ridge gave him a cutting glare. “Because, dear brother, I don’t want to ask Ransom. And I don’t want to ask Ryder either so don’t even go there.” Leaning forward, he rested his elbows on his desk. “When you were trying to get Anya you asked me for help. Now it’s your turn to tell me what you think will work.” Then he chuckled. “You’re the one who always prided himself on knowing tons of women and how they think. So what should I do about Lani?”
“Oh, Jeez.” Rafe exhaled and put his hands on top of his head, his fingers interwoven and his elbows sticking out to the sides. “I never tried blackmailing a woman before. You got me with that one, Ridge.” He lowered his hands and then he, too, was leaning forward. “And I’m a married man now so all that talk about me knowing lots of women, just keep it on the down-low, will you? That kind of stuff’s behind me now.”
“Yeah, sure.” Ridge shrugged. “Anya won’t hear it from me. But that still doesn’t help me with my situation. Lani turned me down flat, bro. Walked out the door and never looked back. Looks like it’s time for me to draw for plan B.” He grimaced. “The only thing is, I don’t have one.”
“Hey, bud. Don’t you know you’ve got a wild card?” Rafe was looking at him like he was slow. “You’re in the oil business. Tell her that. Money talks. Don’t you know that?”
Ridge shook his head. Now it was his turn to look at his brother like he was slow. “Did you hear what I said?” he asked. “I already offered her money, enough money to cover the cost of her research and her lab for more than a year. She turned me down cold.”
“Not good enough,” Rafe said drily. “Give her an extra half-a-million on top of that and you’ll be good to go.”
Not liking the sound of that, Ridge frowned. “I don’t know,” he said slowly. "That smacks of all-out bribery.”
“So what do you call the offer you made her before?” Rafe shrugged. “Same thing but with the extra mil you’re sweetening the pot. She won’t just be covering her expenses. She’ll have some money to spend on herself.”
Ridge shook his head. “That would only make things worse. If you knew Lani you’d have figured that out.”
“And that’s the thing,” Rafe said, getting up from his chair and walking over to the big bay window. “I don’t know this Lani of yours. How come I never heard about her before now?”
“Because,” Ridge said slowly, “she and I have never been…romantically involved.”
Rafe’s eyes narrowed and he turned to face Ridge. “Then why the hell do you want to get married to her?”
Ridge grimaced. He drew in a deep breath then let it out. “It’s hard to explain.”
Rafe gave him an impatient look. “Try me.”
For a moment Ridge didn’t reply but then he decided to spill it. "Her name’s Lani Donatelli. She’s a big-time research scientist who runs a lab. Allied Labs, it’s called.”
Rafe looked intrigued. “Since when did you run in those circles? A research scientist?”
Peeved by his brother’s disdainful tone, Ridge made sure to set him straight. “We both happen to be members of the Houston North Academy school board. I fund some of their extra-curricular programs and she’s their advisor for the science programs. I’ve known her for almost a year.”
“And you’ve been lusting after her ever since, I bet.” Rafe was grinning now.
“Why doesn’t your crudity surprise me?” Ridge shook his head. “Anyway, the important thing is, I kind of like her.”
“Kind of?”
“Okay, I’m attracted to her. A lot. It’s just that she’s never given me the time of day.” He sighed. “And it doesn’t help that we haven’t seen eye-to-eye on a few issues being dealt with by the school board.”
“So you’ve been pissing her off, huh?”
“You could say that.”
Rafe chuckled. “No wonder you’ve had to resort to blackmail.”
Ridge gave him an exasperated look. “Yeah, well not all of us were blessed with your gift of gab.”
“The ladies call it charm,” Rafe said, looking way too pleased with himself.
Ridge didn’t bother answering that one. Instead, he went right to the heart of the problem. “So what’s your suggestion, Mr. Expert? I called you here for advice. Now give it.”
Rafe was smiling as he walked over and dropped back down onto the chair. “You know what, big brother? It feels good to have you coming to me for advice for a change. After all those years of you trying to bully me and boss me around I’m in the driver’s seat now.”
“Trying?” Ridge scoffed. “I bossed you around because you were the runt of the family and you still are. Don’t you forget it.” The kid had grown pretty tall, topping out at six foot three, but he was still no match for Ridge who bested him by an inch, not to mention forty more pounds.
“Yeah, but a runt who’s got the key to solving your problem,” Rafe said, looking like he didn’t give a damn what Ridge had just said. “Right now you’re desperate so I’m the one in charge.”
“Is that right?” Ridge regarded him with a cool stare.
“That’s right,” Rafe said, “so listen up.” He straightened up then sat forward in his chair. “Now here’s what we’ll do-”
A call came over the speaker phone, cutting him off. “You have a visitor, Mr. Kent.” His assistant’s voice came in, clear and crisp. “Miss Lani Donatelli.”
Surprised, Ridge glanced over at Rafe just as his brother raised his eyebrows. “Bring her in,” he told Miss Poole.
“I think that’s my cue to exit,” Rafe said and got up out of his chair.
“Wait.” Ridge got up, too. “What’s the idea you had for plan B?”
Rafe shrugged. “That’s irrelevant now. The lady’s already here. Improvise.”
And with that he turned on his heel and walked to the door just as it opened and Lani stepped in.
“Good day, Miss Donatelli,” Rafe said with a smile and a polite nod, making her eyes widen in surprise. Then, before she could respond, he went through the door and closed it firmly behind him.