The Temporary Wife - By Jeannie Moon Page 0,1

town house. The child goes to public school. This is not acceptable for anyone with Campbell blood.”

There had to be a way to stop his niece from becoming a pawn in his parents’ game, but he didn’t see how. They seemed to have every angle covered.

His analytical brain started working the problem.

Think.

“So using your reasoning,” Jason began, “if Meg were married and lived in a McMansion she’d be acceptable?”

“Well, no . . . ” His mother crossed and then uncrossed her legs while practically twisting her fingers into knots. “We’d still want Molly with us, but I’m sure the courts would view it as a more stable environment than what’s in place now. God knows how many men are there in a given week.”

A spasm tightened his jaw. Just the way his mother talked about Meg made him want to hit something. Meg may have been single, but he was fairly sure she didn’t have a parade of guys in and out of her place. He remembered the girl she used to be, his first love, with her bright smile and eyes that sparkled when she looked at him.

That carefree teen was long gone. He hadn’t talked to her in years, but the last time their paths crossed, Jason had noticed that Meg had become more aloof, more cynical. Of course, that could have been the effect he had on her, but he did know she worked hard, made her own way in the world, and obviously Grace entrusted her with the most precious thing in her life. Meg didn’t deserve to have her name being dragged through the mud.

His parents’ tactics didn’t surprise him, though. They always made the Rossi kids feel like second-class citizens, but Jason envied Meg’s family. While her dad managed the Campbell estate, her mother taught school. Meg and her brother and sister seemed to have everything—stability, love, and the chance to be themselves.

It was the exact opposite with him and his siblings. There was no nurturing support in his family—unless it came from a string of nannies, and his parents had done such a thorough job establishing their power base in the community, there were few people who were willing to risk getting in their crosshairs. As a result, there weren’t many close friendships, because too much could have gone wrong. There was a lot of feigned cordiality and polite indifference, but, to put it bluntly, people were scared shitless to make a wrong move around any member of his family. His father had ruined more than a few fortunes, and his mother was the queen of her social circle, moving other women around like pieces on a chess board. His parents were made for each other. They were supremely confident and felt fully entitled to do whatever they wanted to whomever they wanted.

Jason wondered how they slept at night. He also wondered how they managed to raise three kids with morals. Well, maybe two. The jury was still out on his brother.

“Jay.” His father stretched his arm across the back of the chair. “You and your sister turned your backs on the family, on your legacy, and your brother may be part of the firm, but I don’t know that he’s ever going to settle down long enough to produce an heir. Molly gives us the chance to pass on what it means to be a Campbell. Don’t get in the way of this. You’ll regret it if you do.”

It took a bit, but when his father’s words registered, he felt his blood pressure start to rise. “Are you threatening me?”

Puffing on his cigar, his father’s mouth turned up at the corners. “I don’t think I’d call it a threat. Consider it a friendly warning.”

There was a protracted silence, and Jason was sure his father, always so fucking cocksure of everything, felt that familiar thrill of victory.

Not this time. “Well, thanks for the warning, Dad, but I’m good.”

“I guess, but let me explain things to you, boy. You tech guys may be cutting-edge and all, but I could buy that company of yours and still have enough money left over to do it again.”

That was the long and short of it, right there. It was all about buying and selling. Money. Power. The fact was, Will Campbell probably could have bought his son’s company, but he wouldn’t know what to do with it. Jason had two PhDs from MIT in computer systems and security. His firm designed software and operating systems that kept