If Tom lost his shit about Ronan’s offer, this situation had the potential to go pear-shaped fast. I needed him on board with the plan so I could return to Lennox Securities after the month was done. Staying on at King’s Security just wasn’t a legitimate possibility.

I went directly to Tom’s office and paused outside to knock. He kept the door shut whether he was in or out; I’d never understood why.

“Come in,” he called.

As I entered, I was struck by the difference between this place and King’s Security, where Fiona had escorted me to the boss’s office. Tom didn’t have an assistant because he went through them like disposable napkins. When he desperately needed help, he got it either from me or from a temp agency.

He gestured for me to sit. “What did he want?”

I gripped the arms of the chair and winced, knowing he wouldn’t like what I was about to say. “He offered me a job.”

Tom exploded to his feet, his blue eyes burning with fury. “What the fuck?”

“Take a breath and listen.” I raised a hand and kept my tone even. My brother had always been the more emotionally fueled of the two of us. I was the quiet one. The responsible one. “He said if I worked with him for a month, and at the end of it I didn’t think our company would be better off in his hands, then he’d abandon his plans to take over.”

“No.” He shook his head, pouting in a way that reminded me of when he’d been a petulant teenager. “He wouldn’t agree to that, and no Lennox will ever work for a King.”

“Something seems strange about the offer,” I said. “But if there’s any chance at all that he could successfully stage a takeover, then maybe we need to take him up on it.” Besides, it would give me an excellent opportunity to gather intel we could use to protect our company or win back former clients.

“We can come up with something else.” He picked up a paperweight and bounced it on his palm. “The answer is no.”

Annoyance flared. “If it’s what the company needs, then we should do it.” I’m not sure when I’d decided I wanted to go forward with the offer, but now that Tom was arguing, I felt certain in my gut that it was the right thing. “It would only be for a month. Then I could come back and he’d leave us alone—assuming he’s telling the truth. If he’s trying to pull one over on us, then I’d have an entire month to figure out his plan and find information we could use against him.”

He cocked his head, considering it, but then shook it again. “No. Absolutely not. We’ll find another way.”

“How?” I asked because I’d been under the impression we were pretty much out of options.

He sank into his chair. “I’ll think of something.”

I gritted my teeth. “If you told me exactly what was going on, I’d be able to help more.” It frustrated me that he wasn’t being completely open about our circumstances. “I have no idea where our money has gone or how we got into this situation in the first place. I feel like you’re keeping me in the dark.”