“Our father had two huge assets: his partnership in the bank and his personal estate. The bank’s operating agreement dictated that his shares could only go to the nearest living male relative, so they went to Uncle Oscar. His personal estate was another matter. He had complete freedom to dispose of his estate however he chose, and he left every dime of it to me. He left no provision for you.”

Liam’s eyes narrowed, and he lifted his chin. “And you’re cutting me out of it.”

“I haven’t said so.” Her father would have wanted her to split the estate with Liam, and she would, but she refused to show all her cards at once. Liam was about to become a very powerful man, and they needed to cooperate with each other. “I know what Father would have wanted. He was a great man and would want me to give you half . . . provided that you use your shares in the bank to support the college.”

Liam studied her as silence stretched between them. “So that’s how it’s going to be. You scratch my back, and I’ll scratch yours.”

“That’s one way of putting it. I’d rather suggest that we help each other. You will encounter difficult businessmen at the bank, and I can teach you the best way to negotiate with them.”

Liam snorted. “I learned about businessmen when I dropped out of school in the eighth grade and joined a union. Come at them hard, fast, and don’t take no for an answer. Your fancy college means nothing to me. Any power I claw away from the Blackstones will be used on behalf of the workingmen of this world.”

She silently cringed. Everything about Liam, from his brash manners to the pride he took in his eighth-grade education, was destined to be a catastrophe in the Blackstone boardroom.

She swiveled her eyes to Patrick, silently begging for help. He needed no prompting.

“You are about to walk into a den of snakes,” Patrick said, making no effort to mask his Irish brogue. “These people don’t fight with fists or words but with alliances and legal technicalities. I’ll have your back and so will your sister, but nothing in this world comes for free. She’s going to expect you to come through for her, and she’s not wrong in asking for it.”

Then Patrick directed his strong, Irish brogue toward her. “Gwen, you can’t expect Liam to walk away from a crusade he’s fought all his life. It would drain him of the fire that’s made him the survivor he is. Like it or not, you two are going to have to get along with each other.”

She rocked back in her bench. Liam was the one who needed fixing, not her.

Suddenly, her optimism about their three-week retreat to the Queens campus seemed far less certain.

24