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‘I don’t.’ She fought the need to pout.
‘Well, calling him an idiot wasn’t one of your better moves. What did he say to that?’
‘I didn’t call him an idiot. He assumed I thought he was. And he was—surly…’
Jake chuckled. ‘Yeah, I’ll bet he was.’ He checked his heavy wristwatch and closed the file before pushing his chair back. ‘You know he’s got a genius level IQ? One fifty or sixty; something close to the highest level they measure it at. Bugged the hell out of me when I was a kid; made me feel real dumb in comparison.’
‘You’re kidding me, right?’
‘Nope.’ He lifted his jacket off the back of his chair and pushed his arms into the dark sleeves. ‘Dad reckoned it was part of his restlessness. No matter how many grades he skipped he was still bored. He didn’t want to be groomed as a child prodigy, so he rebelled. I think Dad blamed himself for never being able to keep his mind actively interested in anything long enough to stay out of trouble.’
When Jake chuckled at her expression a realization hit her. So Roane dropped her face into her hands, her voice muffled. ‘Oh, God.’
‘What did you do?’
She peeked over the tips of her fingers, opening them a little so Jake could hear her. ‘He quoted Voltaire and Kerouac at me.’
‘And you said?’
Dropping her hands, she sighed heavily. ‘I asked if they were quote of the day.’
Jake snorted with laughter, then saw her woeful expression and controlled it, his dark eyes still sparkling with amusement as he reached for a hand to draw her out of her chair. ‘I can’t believe he’s here less than twenty-four hours and you’ve already had a fight with him. You’re s’posed to be the friendlier one of the two of us. I have more to argue about with him than you do and I’ve managed to stay calm.’
Yeah, but he didn’t have the same issues with Adam she did. Not that she could tell him that.
‘Just promise you’ll be nice until he signs the papers. Then you can say whatever you want to him. I know I intend to.’
She let Jake guide her to the door. ‘Do I have to?’
‘You do. For me. If I didn’t have you to be nice to guests and clients while I’m up to my eyes in work I’d have to go out and find myself a wife, wouldn’t I?’
Roane rolled her eyes. ‘Poor you.’
‘Exactly.’ He held open the door and stepped back to let her through. ‘You’re as near to an actual Bryant as be damned, Ro, and you know it. That makes it your duty.’
When he nodded wisely Roane chuckled, lightly punching his upper arm as he fell into step beside her in the corridor. ‘I hate you.’
Jake swatted the back of her head with his file. ‘No, you don’t. You love me. You know you do. I’m adorable.’
Her smile faded when they rounded a corner and found Adam standing by the doors to the boardroom, his hands pushed deep into the pockets of his dark trousers.
His dark gaze crashed into hers. Immediately she felt a flush rising in her cheeks. Damn him. She really didn’t like him one little bit. Regardless of the new information she now had to explain a very small portion of his behaviour.
Feeding the façade, she turned on her heel and stood on tiptoes to press a kiss to Jake’s cheek, smiling at the surprise in his eyes. ‘I do love you. But you owe me for this one. Big time.’
Jake blinked at her. ‘O-kay.’
With a deep breath she turned and walked towards Adam, her chin held high despite the sparkling of silent amusement in his stunning eyes. ‘I’ll be back after the meeting. Jake tells me you’re staying at the penthouse.’
‘Will you be acting as tour guide?’ He smiled lazily, his deep voice lowering. ‘Or making sure I don’t skip town again?’
Roane blinked innocently, unable to resist baiting him with a small pout. ‘Babysitter possibly?’
Adam’s gaze rose to watch the people filtering into the boardroom. Then he took a step closer, invading her personal space to within inches and surrounding her with his enticing scent while he lowered his head.
‘Nice to see there’s as much fire in your relationship with Jake as there is in ours.’ He turned his head closer to her ear so she felt the movement of his lips against her hair. ‘Let me know when you’re ready to upgrade…’
Roane took a deep breath, ignoring her dancing pulse while she turned her face towards his. ‘I’m not so sure it would be an upgrade.’
When a smile threatened the corners of his tempting mouth she took another breath, reminding herself that she’d told Jake she would be nice to his brute of a brother. ‘Have fun at your board meeting.’
When she impulsively patted his arm, Adam’s chin dropped, disbelief lifting his brows and furrowing his forehead when he looked back up at her. It was a very, very small victory, but somehow it was enough for Roane.
His eyes narrowed when she smiled a little brighter, but then Jake interrupted, ‘You ready, Adam?’
‘Yeah.’ He glanced down at Roane. ‘Later.’
Roane scrunched up her nose with feigned glee. ‘Can’t wait.’
Adam had to grit his teeth through the majority of the board meeting. They’d dumbed it down for him. Assuming he wouldn’t have a clue about anything they were talking about was a serious mistake on their part. But he remained silent throughout.
Let them think what they wanted.
‘So you see the problem.’ Jake waited for the room to clear before he turned towards him.
‘I do.’
Adam looked at his sibling with new-found respect. The kid knew his stuff. He’d led the meeting with a firm hand and was savvy about every aspect of the company’s businesses. Where someone had to open a file to quote figures, Jake was able to correct their mistakes off the top of his head. He gave credit where credit was due for good work, was able to hand out recrimination with a glare. There was no doubt who was the captain of the good ship Bryant. Good for him. Just a shame so many members of his crew were useless.
‘And you hire this lot or are they inherited?’
‘Some are inherited.’
Adam bet he could name them without Jake’s help. ‘So cut the dead weight.’
‘It’s not that simple.’
‘Never is.’
‘Some of them are shareholders.’
Well that explained that, then. Losing the majority hold on shares was Jake’s biggest threat. It was the reason Adam was there. He doubted Jake would have bothered looking for him otherwise. Especially if he knew the truth.
Jake stared calmly at him while Adam moved his head from shoulder to shoulder to ease imaginary tension in his neck. ‘What do you want to do, Adam?’
‘Are you going to give me options?’ Adam stopped what he was doing and looked his brother in the eye. ‘See me here with a nice little corner office, do you?’
‘No.’
‘Good. I’ve never spent a day of my life in an office, and I’m not starting now.’ It would be suffocating.
‘You’ll sell to me, then.’
‘Maybe.’ He laid his palms against the gleaming table and pushed his chair back, stretching his long legs out in front of him. ‘Where are you getting the money?’
When Jake studied him with suspicion Adam thought he’d overplayed the nonchalance card. So he leaned forwards, bending his knees so he had a place to rest his forearms. ‘It’d take time to liquidate enough assets and you’d need permission from the board for that—which you’re not going to get if anyone stands to make any money with a takeover bid. So where would it come from?’
Jake pursed his lips.
So Adam pushed off his knees into an upright position, ‘You either want me to have the full picture or you don’t.’
‘What difference does it make?’ Jake’s voice remained calm. ‘You don’t need to know where I get it any more than I need to know what you do with it.’
Fair point. Except he did want to know. If his little brother wasn’t going to tell him, then he’d find out on his own.
Adam glanced around the large room, taking in the changes since the days he’d been dragged along for the obligatory heir-to-the-kingdom tours. Instead of heavy oak and opressive panelling there were shining modern surfaces and spotlights immitating stars in a jet-black ceiling. He’d bet his father hadn’t initiated the changes, which made him wonder just how long Jake had held the reins. And how much of the conglomerate’s current problems were actually his doing…
‘Four years.’
Adam looked at Jake.
Who leaned back in his chair and formed a tent with his fingers. ‘I’ve been running it four years. That’s what you were wondering.’
Adam hid his surprise at the unexpected spark of insight. ‘You were young.’
‘I didn’t have much of a choice, did I?’
‘Everyone has a choice.’
‘Not if they give a damn, they don’t. Then they make decisions based on what matters. Or what should matter.’
Adam shook his head, exhaling a soft snort of derisive laughter as he pushed to his feet. ‘Don’t pretend to know what mattered or didn’t matter to me, Jake. You don’t know anything about me.’
‘And whose fault is that?’ Before Adam could reply Jake pushed to his feet, gathering files together as he continued, ‘You might not care about this company, Adam, but I do. So if you’re selling, let me know. If you want to learn more before you decide, then say so. The door has always been open.’
He looked Adam in the eye on his way past. ‘Whether you thought it was or not.’
Adam stood in the empty room for a while after Jake left. He’d been there one day—hell, not even that long—and already he felt as if the walls were closing in. Dropping his head back, he scowled at the ceiling; it was as if he’d stepped back in time and hadn’t learned a single thing in his twelve years away.
Turning on his heel, he dropped his chin—and met Roane’s gaze through the vertical blinds. She was standing still in the middle of the bustling hallway, watching him. Lit by the bright light streaming through the office windows, her skin glowed, her hair shone like ripe corn fields in summer sunshine—and wearing a red jacket she stood out in the sea of greys, blacks and charcoals like a beacon.
For a split second he almost smiled at her. But instead he frowned at the fact she might have seen even a hint of how he was feeling. He didn’t want anyone to see. It was a weakness. So with a silent mental shake he gathered himself together, stepping out through the doorway and striding confidently towards her, determined to pick up where they’d left off. But before he got to her a middle-aged man from the meeting stepped over.
‘Good to see you, Adam.’ His voice was laced with thinly veiled disrespect. ‘We thought you were dead.’
Adam was a step away from him when he stopped. He clenched his jaw. Talking a measured step backwards, he turned his face towards the man, his voice cold. ‘Sorry to disappoint.’ He looked him over. ‘Jeffries, right?’
The man swallowed hard. ‘That’s right.’
Adam nodded, slowly turning ninety degrees to tower over him. ‘Well…Jeffries…a word to the wise…’
He paled. ‘Y-yes?’
‘Ever treat me like a fool the way you did in that meeting again and you’ll wish I was dead.’ When he lifted his arm the man flinched, and Adam smiled inwardly as he swiped an imaginary piece of lint off his shoulder before lowering his head to add, ‘Have a nice day.’
Roane blinked wide eyes at him as he walked by her, her voice choked. ‘Bye, Malcolm.’
‘Roane…’ Malcolm Jeffries was too busy scurrying away to pay much attention to her.
A quick glance over Adam’s shoulder told him she was following him to the elevators, so he punched the button and waited. When she got to his side Adam glanced sideways at her, ‘You got something to say, then spit it out.’
‘Nope. Nothing to say.’
‘Good.’
‘Except he probably deserved it,’ she said after a moment of silence. ‘Malcolm can be a bit of a jerk. Office lech too, from what the girls say. Wandering hands…’
Adam’s face jerked her way so fast he almost put his neck out. ‘He touched you?’
One arched brow rose as she rolled back onto her heels. ‘That would be your problem because?’
Damned if Adam knew. But it took a gargantuan effort not to turn round and go right back down the hall for another tête-à-tête. The elevator better get a move on. He glanced up at the numbers: forty-two, forty-three… It was the slowest elevator in New York.
‘Jake didn’t have a quiet word?’ Bitterness rolled off the tip of his tongue. But if he hadn’t, then he’d just dropped in Adam’s estimation.
‘Why would he—? Oh…’ When she faltered Adam turned to study her expression, the fact she wasn’t able to look him in the eye making him suspicious even before a hint of colour started to appear on her cheeks. ‘I didn’t say he touched me—I said the office girls mentioned it. It wouldn’t have been Jake’s problem even if he had. I can look after myself.’
Adam turned towards her, calmly folding his arms, ‘Anything else you want to set straight?’
She looked up at him, her luminous blue eyes filled with curiosity. ‘How come you didn’t tell me the reason you don’t like flying?’
She’d been asking questions about him, had she? That was interesting, but, ‘That wasn’t what I meant.’
She blinked blankly at him.
One of the things Roane Elliott needed to learn about him quick smart was that he wasn’t that easily diverted. ‘Are you or are you not involved with Jake?’
‘I am.’ She nodded firmly.
Adam knew he’d worded it wrong. ‘Sexually.’
Her eyes widened, gaze darting nervously around them and her voice lowering. ‘Do you mind?’
As it happened, yes, he did. He minded a whole heap.
They stepped into the elevator together, Adam waiting until the doors closed before he moved and effectively boxed her into a corner with his body.
‘Yes or no.’
