Grand Passion

crazy? Kim could never pull that off.”
    “She could with your help. You're on the board. Jason appointed you a member the day you married Kimberly.”
    “Yes, but you know as well as I do that I'm only on the board because I'm one of the family through marriage. It was understood from the start that I'm not supposed to actively interfere with Curzon operations.”
    “Jason's gone, and the situation has changed,” Max said. “We all know that Dennison hasn't got what it takes. Left to his own devices, he'll probably drive Curzon into the ground within three years. Kimberly knows that, too.”
    Roarke's expression was grim. “She knows it, but she's still trying to please her Daddy.”
    “She only thinks she wants to please Dennison. What she really wants to do is prove she's as good as any son he might have had.”
    Roarke eyed him thoughtfully. “Is that a fact? You're a shrink?”
    “No, but I hung around the Curzon family for twelve years. I know them all fairly well. If Kim takes a good hard look at the situation, I think she'll realize that what she really wants to do is show him that she's capable of running Curzon International just as well as the son Dennison always wanted and never got,” Max said softly.
    Roarke folded his arms across his chest and watched Max with the respect and wariness of one predator sizing up another.
    Cleo was fascinated.
    “What makes you an authority on Kim? Your famous six-week engagement?” Roarke asked finally.
    “Try to be objective, Winston. Why do you think Kim let herself get talked into getting engaged to me three years ago?” Max showed no sign of emotion. He sounded as if he were talking about an excruciatingly boring incident in the past.
    “I've often wondered what she saw in you,” Roarke said dryly. “You're not exactly her type.”
    “I'm aware of that,” Max said.
    “You were, however, Jason's best friend and confidant. You knew more about the inner workings of Curzon management than anyone else in the whole damn company, including the Curzons.”
    “That was as far as it went. I wasn't quite good enough to become a member of the family.”
    “Hell.” Roarke gave him an unconcealed look of surprise. “Do you think the Curzons are crazy? If they'd made you a member of the family and put you on the board, you'd have taken complete control of the company in about one month.”
    Max said nothing. Cleo noticed, however, that no denial sprang instantly to his lips. With a chill she realized that Roarke was right, and Kimberly's fears were not entirely groundless. In one way, Max would have been a serious threat to the Curzons if he had gotten a seat on the board. He would have taken control of the company. His talents and aggressive instincts would have made that outcome inevitable.
    What the Curzons had not understood, Cleo thought, was that, as a member of the family, Max would have been one-hundred percent on their side—more of a Curzon, in fact, than any of the rest of them. He would have used his power to protect the family and its holdings.
    Cleo knew in that moment of shattering insight that Max cared far more about belonging to a family than he did about making money or running a company.
    “Don't give me any bullshit,” Roarke said into the sudden silence. “We both know that the only reason you wanted to marry Kim was so that you could get your hands on Curzon.”
    Max continued to gaze at him impassively. “You're entitled to your own opinion, of course.”
    Roarke appeared almost amused. “Damn right I am. I know that all you ever wanted from Kim was the chance to control Curzon International. Hell, I don't even blame you, if you want to know the truth.”
    “No?”
    Roarke lifted one shoulder in a negligent shrug. “For all intents and purposes, you were second-in-command for years. Everyone knows it was you who helped Jason turn Curzon into what it is today.”
    “Thank you,” Max said. “I'll assume that's a compliment.”
    Roarke smiled briefly. “Hey, I'm not arguing that you had a right to try to grab the whole shooting match when the opportunity arose. But don't expect me to approve of the way you tried to use Kim to get what you wanted.”
    “I think,” Max said, “that we're going down a dead-end road as far as this topic of conversation goes. Why don't we get back to our original subject?”
    “You want me to help Kim pull a coup and unseat her father? Nice idea, but it's pure fantasy.”
    “I disagree.