6. Wade #2
Chloe pouted, her lower lip jutting out as her eyes widened. “Please, Wadey,” she cooed, using that heartbreaking sing-song voice she’d used on me since we were kids. I hated that it always worked. “It’ll be right around the time the season’s ending. It shouldn’t be too difficult.”
I sucked on my teeth, flicking through the resort’s calendar for the weekend she was requesting.
I watched her from the corner of my eye, batting her lashes and leaning forward onto my desk, hoping to get a better view of my screen.
Such a menace. “You’re so lucky I don’t have an event already booked,” I sighed.
Her chair shifted as she sat up. “Does that mean…?”
I cracked a grin as I glanced at her. “I suppose we can make it work.”
The shriek that ripped from Chloe made me jump, and from the way Ray turned in her chair and stared at the glass that separated us, I knew she’d heard it too.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” Chloe beamed.
She threw herself across my desk, bleached blonde, wavy hair flying, and wrapped her arms around my neck.
“You are the best big brother in the entire world.”
“Yeah, I know,” I laughed. Over Chloe’s shoulder, I watched Ray’s eyes narrow as she kept her gaze trained on what she couldn’t see. Heaven knows what was going through her head. “But you owe me big time.”
“Anything. Anything at all.” Her smile was damn near infectious as she pulled away from me, smoothing out her dress before plopping back into her seat with the kind of drama only she could wield.
“Would you be able to block out a section of the resort a few days before the wedding, too? I know Zane wants to fly in early, and Mom’s coming early too.
I haven’t heard back from Dad yet though. ”
I groaned and slid deeper into my chair. “You’re inviting Zane?”
The happiness on her face slipped away, leaving only a blank, annoyed stare behind. “Of course I’m inviting Zane. He’s our brother, dumbass.”
“ Step brother. I don’t want him at the resort.”
“Yeah, well, you’re going to have to suck it up. Mom wants him there and I don’t have a problem with him, so he’s invited.”
This was just getting better and better.
I pushed myself back up and leaned forward over my desk, pressing the little button next to my phone. “Ray, can you come in here please?”
I watched Ray as her spine straightened and the color drained from her face, her eyes turning once again toward the one-way mirror. Installing that PA system was the best choice I ever made.
“That’s weird, you know,” Chloe said, following my gaze and watching Ray fumble to her feet. “Are you some kind of voyeur now?”
“It was there when I bought the property. Normally the blinds are down.”
A hesitant knock on the door to my office echoed through the small space. “Is it… uh… are you decent?” Ray called, her voice smaller than I expected.
Chloe snorted. “Fucking girls in your office lately?”
I leveled a glare at her.
She stood from her chair, crossing the hardwood floor to the door and opening it for Ray. “If he wasn’t decent I’d already be running for the hills.” She stepped to the side, letting her in, and gave her a small smile. “I’m Chloe. Wade’s sister. You must be new.”
“Oh my God.” Ray looked between the two of us, her cheeks deepening once again. “I’m so sorry, I just assumed?—”
“It’s fine. Chloe is going to be holding her wedding at the resort in about two months’ time and there are a few things she needs sorted and scheduled.
Can you help her with that?” I asked. I clicked the top of my pen with my thumb, the sound keeping me distracted enough to not fall into my thoughts about our stepbrother.
“Of course I can.”
“Perfect,” Chloe grinned. “It’ll be nice to get to know you.” Ray returned the smile.
“Well, I have work to be getting on with so if you two don’t mind…” I started, motioning toward the door in the hopes that I could avoid asking them to please leave me alone.
“Of course. I do have one other thing to talk to you about though,” Chloe said.
She grabbed her bag from behind her chair, pulling out a massive binder with the words Wedding Planning in swooping, curling letters across the front.
She placed it in Ray’s waiting hands before saying, “I’ll come speak to you in a minute, okay? ”
Ray nodded, slinking out the door with the binder and shutting it behind her.
I didn’t have the patience to deal with it anymore.
Weddings were stressful enough on their own when people hired out our space, but getting my sister’s wedding sorted was going to be an absolute ball-ache if I didn’t get an immediate handle on the situation.
“Can you make this quick, please? I have a meeting in twenty.”
Chloe stood and walked behind her chair, placing her hands on the black leather. “You’re looking for an investor, right?”
I nodded. “Yeah, for the land next to the resort.”
She leaned a little further over her chair, pursing her lips as if she were trying to figure out how to say what was on her mind. “Dom’s parents might be interested. But you didn’t hear that from me.”
Well, that piqued my interest.
“They’re looking for more projects to get in on. The wedding might be the best place to, ya know, have a conversation with them. But they’re kinda, well… you know how they were with me and Dom, old-fashioned . They’re not going to want to work with a playboy.”
I blinked at her, the words taking a moment to settle in. “Then don’t tell them that I’m a playboy.”
“They kind of already know.” Her grin was sheepish as it spread across her lips. “Maybe just bring a date? Someone you’re a bit more serious with? Your reputation has been heard throughout the family. Show them that’s not you.”
I laughed and leaned back, lifting my legs up onto the desk. “I don’t have any serious bunnies, Chloe. And you know I stay away from the media at all costs. It’s not like there’s going to be pictures and stories flooding the papers about me to back any of it up.”
She shrugged, pushing herself up to her full height. “I don’t know what to tell you. If you want an investor, they’re your best bet. Think about it. I’m sure you could figure out a way to sell it to them.”
I looked back to the glass that separated me and Ray, watching as she flipped through the binder with her head resting on one hand. With her nose and forehead scrunched, she looked every bit as stressed as I felt.
“I’ll think about it.”