King's Treasure (Oil Kings Book 3) Marie Johnston (books to read to get smarter .txt) 📖

every few years. Chief had spent most of his career in or around Washington, DC. Not that his service wasn’t important, but he judged everyone else on how much action they’d seen, or how many troops they were in charge of.

“No,” Xander answered and Chief’s hopefulness faded. “I prefer to travel to more remote regions, less popular if you will, and capture what life is really like.”

“Where have you been published?” Lex asked like a shark scenting the first drops of blood spilling into Chief’s seas.

“A few local news outlets have picked up some of my photos over the years.”

“In the States?” Lex prodded.

Xander’s eyes flicked to his dad before he answered. “I’m working on getting my foot in the door.”

That’s what he’d been talking about when he admitted to not measuring up to his dad. He thought he should be further ahead in his career, and his dad did too. Notoriety, maybe an award or two, and at least one major publication or news source under his belt.

We had more in common than our family’s wealth. “I’ve seen his work. It’s good.”

Chief barely spared me a glance. “What did you go to school for?” He adopted a charming grin he used in meetings to attract clients. “I have to ask. It’s my job as a dad.”

I resisted rolling my eyes. Chief hadn’t attended school plays or any ceremony other than graduation. But I sat close enough to Xander to feel him tense.

“I, uh, majored in business media design and I . . . quickly became more interested in the media and design side.”

That was the only moment I’d ever seen Xander ill at ease. I was sure I’d learn the story eventually, but since we’d known each other less than twenty-four hours . . .

“And that was where?” There was that hopeful tone in Chief’s voice again.

“University of Montana.”

Chief’s mouth worked. It killed him not to make a statement about the lack of an Ivy League education. It was the same look I’d gotten when I’d told him I didn’t want to go to Georgetown. “Staying close to home. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

Good thing Chief wasn’t Pinocchio. His nose would have hit the wall and kept going.

Gentry jumped in. “Missoula is in the same state, but in Montana that still means he was six hours away from home.”

Lex chuckled and I bristled, bracing myself for an attack. “That’s where those private planes come in handy. Though now that you’re married to Savvy, you won’t be able to use them anymore. She’ll quote the statistics about how much worse for the environment they are.”

Well . . . they were.

All eyes turned to me. Xander pushed his mashed potatoes around on his plate. “I don’t usually use the private plane unless I have to rush home for some reason. Then I can’t deny the convenience.”

“It certainly makes doing business around the country much more expedient.” Gentry’s smile was professional, and I couldn’t tell what he was thinking, unlike Chief, whose hand was clenched around his fork. Lex had mis-stepped in front of the client and Chief couldn’t say anything. “But I agree, it comes at a great cost that isn’t always monetary.”

I wanted to laugh and point at Lex. The private plane is Gentry’s, idiot.

Chief relaxed, but it was only a show—his blood pressure would likely worry his doctor. “Sapphire is a bit of an environmental enthusiast.”

Leave it to him to minimize my biggest passion in the world, the thing I’d dedicated my life to.

To Gentry’s credit, his expression was pleasantly curious as his gaze met mine. “Good. We need more people like that.” He chuckled and glanced at Chief and Lex. “You don’t grow up working the land with your bare hands and not develop an avid appreciation for the earth we live on.”

I sat straighter.

Kendall’s smile was equally as friendly and enthusiastic. “We’ll have to get together sometime. I’ve done several reports for our investors regarding wind energy and what we can do to support it.”

“What about solar energy?” I didn’t add that I’d looked into the ways they incorporated new solar techniques into their headquarters to reduce the cost of heating. If Gentry wasn’t going to ask me if I had been the one to cancel on him today, I wasn’t bringing attention to it.

She grinned. “That’s a great question. We’ve been looking to incorporate it into our energy solutions plan, and we’ve looked at both active and passive technologies.” She chuckled, but her eyes were bright. I wasn’t the only one passionate about the topic. “Some of the bigger oil companies prefer to concentrate on oil and natural gas, but ultimately, it’s a finite resource. Gentry’s goal is to keep King Oil relevant for centuries to come.”

For the rest of the meal, I geeked out with her. She was a wealth of knowledge and my respect for Gentry grew along with my appreciation for how Xander had defended Kendall against my initial stereotype.

I didn’t know how the rest of my marriage would go, but at least we’d make it through lunch.

Xander

After the college question, my steak tasted like sawdust. I’d managed to answer it without lying, but not telling the truth was just as sour.

Chief wasn’t done asking the blunt questions Dad had been needling me about for years. “Where do you live, Xander? Where’s my daughter getting whisked away to?”

There was no sugarcoating my answer. “I use my brother’s place for a physical address, but otherwise my home is wherever I land and can find work while I take pictures.”

Silence descended around the table. Dad bypassed doing that awkward thing where he made excuses for me, and I had to give him some credit. He didn’t belittle me in front of Chief and Lex. He let me answer for my own damn life, which at the moment seemed worse.

“You’re homeless?” Lex asked in a flat tone. Chief shot him a disapproving glare, but it was probably for the sake of my dad. If I weren’t a King, this would be a slaughter.

“In