Cause and Effect (Hamilton Brothers #2)
Chapter 1
Chapter One
Julian
“God, that was good.” I rolled on my back, trying to regulate my breathing.
The woman whose name I couldn’t remember for the life of me lies beside me, stroking my chest with a smile. I knew that smile on women. It’s the “I can’t wait to see you again” smile.
“It was incredible, Julian. How about Friday night?”
‘Friday night?” My brows furrow.
“To go on a date again.” A grin crossed her lips.
I climbed out of bed and grabbed my boxer briefs from the floor.
“Listen, sweetheart. I have plans on Friday night. Besides, you know we aren’t doing this again. I told you before we went out that I don’t do relationships,” I said, buttoning my shirt.
“Who said anything about a relationship?”
“You just did by saying you want to go out again.” I pulled on my pants .
“That doesn’t mean we’re in a relationship, Julian. We’re just dating.”
“And dating is a form of a relationship.” I grabbed my watch and slipped it on my wrist.
“So you’re not going to call me?”
I inhaled a breath. I hated explaining this to every woman I slept with.
“No, I’m not going to call you. We had fun.” I smiled. “Let’s savor the memory and not make things complicated.” I leaned over and kissed her forehead. “Thanks for last night.”
“Fuck you.” She spat in my face.
Grabbing a tissue from the nightstand, I wiped my cheek and tossed the tissue into the trash can.
“Very mature and lady-like. If I considered calling you again, you can forget it now.” I grabbed my suit coat and left her apartment.
I climbed into my white Escalade parked at the curb and slammed the door.
“I take it you told her you won’t be calling her again?” Sam, my driver, chuckled.
“That bitch spat in my face, Sam. Can you believe it?”
“Yeah, boss. I can. Women are crazy.”
When I arrived at my office, I went to the closet, removed one of my suits, entered my private bathroom, and changed. When I opened the door, Parker and Roman sat in the chairs across from my desk.
“Where were you last night?” Parker asked.
“With a woman.” I sighed, sitting down behind my desk.
“Who?” Roman asked.
“I can’t remember her name. But I remember she spat in my face this morning when I told her I wasn’t calling her. Fucking psychopath. ”
Parker and Roman chuckled. “She seriously spat in your face?” Parker asked.
“Yep.” I leaned back in my chair.
“Maybe you need to stop fucking around and find someone to settle down with,” Roman said.
“Oh really? Now that you and Morgan are engaged and have a baby, do you think we all should be like you? Good for you, bro.”
Roman let out a sigh and shifted in his chair. “I didn’t say that.”
“Actually, bro. You did,” Parker said.
“Thank you.” I pointed at my brother. “We love Morgan, and we’re happy for both of you. But it doesn’t mean we want the same life you have. Right, Parker?”
“I have to agree with him, Roman,” Parker said. “It wasn’t all that long ago that you were right here with us.”
Roman stood from his chair. “Well, love changes people. I’m done discussing this. I have a client to meet.” He left my office.
“She really spit in your face?” Parker’s brows furrowed.
“She sure did.” I shook my head.
“Don’t forget Laurel starts on Monday,” Parker said.
“Thanks for further ruining my day,” I said.
“Come on, Julian. We talked about this. Let it go.”
“I have let it go.”
“No, you haven’t.” He stood up and pointed his finger at me. “Don’t make things weird at the firm.”
“Keep her away from me, and I won’t.” I grinned.
He sighed, rolled his eyes, and left my office.
The last thing I needed was to be reminded that the woman who was incredibly rude to me in San Francisco was starting on Monday—even if she was the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen.
I looked up and saw Morgan strolling past my office .
“Morgan!” I shouted.
“Yes, Julian?” She smiled, poking her head inside my office.
“Have a seat.” I gestured with a smile.
“Do you need me to work on something?” she asked, sitting in the chair across from my desk.
“Yes. Actually, I do. I need you to find out everything you can on Laurel Evans.”
“The new lawyer who’s starting on Monday?” Her brows furrowed.
“Yes. Go on and report back.” I leaned back in my chair.
She brought her finger to her lips and cocked her head before speaking.
“Roman warned me that you might do this. The answer is no.” She stood from her seat.
“What? Morgan, come on.” I held out my arms.
“No, Julian. If you want to know anything about her, you’ll have to ask her yourself. And I know what you’re doing.” She pointed her manicured finger at me.
“Oh yeah? What am I doing?”
“You want dirt on her so you can hold it over her head because you’re pissed off she turned you down. You men and your egos.” She shook her head and left my office.
“Melinda, get in here!” I shouted to my secretary.
“What is it, Julian?”
“Shut the door and have a seat.”
“Did I do something wrong?” she asked.
“No. Have you heard anything about the new female attorney starting on Monday?”
“You mean, Laurel?”
“Yes.”
“No. I haven’t heard a thing. But I met her, and she seems so sweet.” A smile perched on her lips .
“I have news for you, Mel. She’s not. She’s rude, heartless, and has no soul.”
Her eyes narrowed at me for a moment. “And you know this how?”
“I met her in San Francisco,” I said, picking up a pen from my desk and twirling it between my fingers.
“Ah, I see what’s going on here. You tried to sleep with her, and she turned you down.” A wide grin crossed her face.
“That is not true.” I pointed at her. “All I wanted to do was buy her a drink, and she started talking about marriage.”
“What?” She threw her head back and laughed.
“She said she doesn’t do one-night stands, and if I wasn’t going to marry her, I could forget it. Is that a sign of a psychopath or what?”
“So let me get this straight.” Her head cocked. “You wanted to buy her a drink, hoping that she’d have sex with you, and when she told you she doesn’t do one-night stands, you think she’s rude, heartless, and has no soul?”
“Yeah. I do.”
“Listen, boss. I have a lot of work to do today, which doesn’t include sitting here listening to you whine about a woman who turned you down.”
“You would never turn me down, would you, Mel?”
“If I swung your way, no. I would sleep with you in a second.” She smiled, standing from her chair.
“I knew it.” I grinned. “Tell Donna I said hi.”
“I will.” She shook her head. She stopped in front of the door. “Donna would sleep with you, too.” She winked.
“You know that’s right!” I pointed at her with a grin.