Chapter 3
CHAPTER 3
Morgan
God, he was sexy. But I was here to do a job, not hook up with some random guy on vacation with his brothers. I watched Rick and his mistress get up from their chairs and grab their bags. Grabbing mine, I followed behind them. As we stood at the elevator, he stared at me.
“Enjoying your vacation?” he asked.
“Very much. It’s beautiful here.”
“Isn’t it?” The woman half his age grinned. “I didn’t want to leave the pool.”
“You know we have to get ready for dinner, sweetheart. We have reservations at Su Ren at six-thirty.”
Perfect. He was making this way too easy for me. When I returned to my room, I set my bag on the counter, grabbed my laptop, and took it out on the terrace. I hacked into the hotel’s system and made a reservation at Su Ren for six thirty.
After showering and wearing a maxi dress, I headed to the restaurant.
“Good evening.” The friendly hostess behind the podium smiled .
“I have a reservation for six-thirty. The name is Morgan Ashley, room 2501.”
“Follow me.” She smiled, grabbing a menu.
I scanned the place and saw Rick and his mistress sitting at a table for two.
“Can I please sit at that table?” I pointed to the one next to them.
“Of course.”
Sitting down, I hooked my purse on the back of the chair.
“Hey, you.” The mistress smiled.
“Hi. Wow. We keep running into each other.”
“I’m Cassie, and this is my boyfriend, Rick,” she said.
“Morgan.” I nodded. “It’s nice to meet you both.”
“Are you here alone?” Rick asked.
“Yeah. I needed some me time.” I smiled, picking up the menu.
As I looked over the menu, I heard a familiar voice.
“We meet again.”
Glancing over at the table next to me, it was him.
“This is my brother Julian and my other brother Parker.”
“It’s nice to meet you.” I glanced back at the menu.
Seeing him in his swim trunks was nothing compared to how he looked in his beige linen pants and white button-down shirt. Damn. He stood six foot three, maybe four, with dark wavy hair, blue eyes, and a perfect face with a five o’clock shadow along his strong masculine jawline. I wouldn’t lie. All three of them were sexy as hell and looked the same age.
“Are the three of you triplets?” I had to ask.
“No.” Roman chuckled.
“We can be if you need us to be,” his brother Julian spoke, and Roman smacked his arm.
“Ignore him. ”
“Trust me. I am.”
The server walked over. “Welcome to Su Ren. What can I get you to drink.”
“Scotch, no ice,” I said. “Make it a double.”
Roman looked at me and smiled.
“What?” I asked him.
“Nothing.” A smirk crossed his lips as he looked down at his menu.
While waiting for my food, I pretended to scroll on my phone while listening to Rick and Cassie’s conversation.
“When will the new house be ready?” she asked him.
“I spoke with the contractor earlier. He said another couple of weeks.”
House? I opened my notes app and typed it in to check on it later. I glanced at Roman, and he winked at me. I quickly looked back at my phone.
“Where are you from?” I heard him ask.
“I would happily tell you, but it’s none of your business.” I picked up my drink.
His brothers laughed.
“Excuse me.” He leaned over, holding up his finger to get Rick’s attention.
“I live in New York,” I quickly said, shaking my head at him.
“I never would have guessed that,” he said. “You don’t seem like a New Yorker.”
“I’m really not.”
He conversed with his brothers as I ate dinner, and I was grateful for that. However, he was going to be a problem on this trip, and I needed to put him in his place.
“How about a drink after dinner?” I glanced at his table.
“It would be my pleasure, Morgan.” A handsome smile crossed his face. “Where do you want to meet? ”
“The firepit by the pool.”
“I’ll meet you there.”
That shut him up for the remainder of dinner.
“Excuse me,” I said to Rick and Cassie. “Would you mind if we took a picture together? I want to make this a memorable trip.”
“Not at all.” Cassie smiled.
“I hate to interrupt your dinner, but could you take a picture of us?” I handed my phone to Roman.
His eyes narrowed at me momentarily as he took my phone from my hand and snapped a picture of the three of us.
“Thanks.”
After signing the check, I went to the bar, ordered another drink, and took it to the firepit, which glowed amid the night sky. As I sat there, taking in the beauty of the night, Roman walked over with a drink in his hand.
“May I?” He pointed to the space on the couch next to me.
“I did ask you to meet me, didn’t I?” My brow arched. “We need to talk.”
“I agree.” He smiled.
“You’re interfering with my work, and I don’t like it.”
“How am I interfering with your work?” He tipped the glass to his lips.
“By threatening to tell Rick about me.”
“Who’s Rick?”
“The man I’m spying on.” I cocked my head.
“Oh, him. I have to say. Having me take a picture of the three of you was smart. Is he from New York also?”
“Yes.”
“Good. Then I don’t have to worry about him hiring my firm when his wife serves him with divorce papers, especially with the evidence you’ll provide her attorney. ”
“You’re a lawyer?” I narrowed my eyes.
“I am, and so are my brothers. We run our own law firm in Los Angeles.”
“Interesting.” I took a sip of my drink. “What do you practice?”
“We’re defense attorneys.”
“So you defend criminals?”
“Everyone is innocent until proven guilty. Tell me about you, Morgan.”
“You already know about me. I’m from New York and a private investigator.”
“How did you get into that line of work?” he asked.
“I just did.” I finished my drink, staring at him.
“I don’t mean to interrupt,” Julian walked over. “We have a problem, Roman.”
“What problem?” he asked.
“Olivia’s been trying to call you, but it goes straight to voicemail, so she called me. The judge moved the court date for the Turner case to two weeks.”
“Two weeks? What the fuck? We aren’t ready yet. We had another two months to prepare.”
“I know. Apparently, he’s going on vacation and wants his docket cleared.”
“Fuck. Give me your phone.” He held out his hand. “Olivia, it’s Roman. I need you to get access to Turner’s bank records. What do you mean you can’t? Keep trying.” He ended the call and handed the phone back to his brother. “She said they’ve tried everything. Without those records, we don’t stand a chance of winning this case.”
“I don’t understand, Roman. We get bank records all the time. What the hell is the problem?”
“She said the bank put in a new system, and it’s highly encrypted. There’s no way to access it. ”
“There’s always a way,” I said.
“Excuse me?” Roman cocked his head.
I couldn’t believe what I was about to say, but I had no choice if I wanted him to leave me alone and keep him from telling Rick who I was and why I was there.
“If I help you, will you promise to leave me alone and stop threatening to tell Rick who I am?”
He stared at me momentarily. “And how can you help us?”
“Do you promise?” My brow arched.
“Bro, if she can help, promise her. You can’t lose this case,” Julian said. “And we need to view those records first before getting a court order.”
“Fine. I promise. But I don’t understand how you can help.”
“Gather your other brother and come to my suite. I’m in room 2501.”
“We’ll meet you there.”
I stood up and went back to my room. Opening the refrigerator, I popped the champagne and poured a glass while waiting for Roman and his brothers. Shit. I didn’t have a choice to do what I was about to for them, but Roman was a sly motherfucker. I could tell. And he wouldn’t hesitate to tell Rick everything to get what he wanted. And what he wanted was me.
I opened the door when I heard the knock.
“Come on in, gentleman.” I gestured.
“I still don’t understand how you can help us,” Roman said.
“Oh, Champagne. Do you mind?” Julian pointed to the bottle.
“No, go ahead.” I sat down at the table and opened my laptop. “Look at me, Roman. ”
“Trust me. I am.” A sexy smirk crossed his lips.
“Enough.” I held up my finger. “You are to listen to me very carefully. I know you’re a lawyer and most likely lie ninety percent of the time.”
“Excuse me?” His brows furrowed, and his brothers laughed.
“You heard me. I’m doing something for you that will probably save your ass. In return, I want your word that you’ll leave me alone for the remainder of my time here.”
He stared at me momentarily, his blue eyes fixated on mine.
“Your word, Roman,” I spoke authoritatively.
“Bro, stop thinking with your dick for once,” Parker said. “We need her help. This is important.”
“Fine. You have my word, Morgan.”
“Okay. Name of person and bank.”
Roman rattled off the information as my fingers quickly clicked the keys.
“Hmm. I stared at the ‘access denied’ displayed on the screen.
I typed in a special code, one that my father created.
“It looks like I don’t have to keep my word after all,” Roman said. “I’m not sure why you thought you could get access to the records when even the best people in my office couldn’t.”
I looked up at him. “I’m in.” I turned my laptop around.
“What the fuck?” His eyes widened.
“Shit.” Julian laughed, shaking his head.
“Sorry, Roman.” Parker patted his shoulder.
“How—how did you get in?” Roman asked.
“Are you a professional hacker or something?” Julian asked .
The smile on my lips told them everything.
“A private investigator and hacker. Can’t say I’m not a little turned on right now.” Parker smiled, and Roman smacked the back of his head.
“I need these records. Can you email them to me without sounding off any alarms?” Roman asked.
“I can. What’s your email address?” I turned my laptop around. “Wait. Let me pull up my email first,” I lied as I quickly created a new one. There was no way in hell I was giving him my email address. “Ready,” I said.
He rattled off his email. “I only need the last six months,” he said.
“Done.”
He pulled his phone from his pocket, brought up his email, and raised his brow at me.
“[email protected]? You just created that email account, didn’t you?”
“Did you really think I’d let you have my email address?” I smirked.
His right eye steadily narrowed at me.
“And if you think about emailing me at that address any time in the future, I’ll never get it. I already deleted the account.”
“Come on, bro. We need to get back to your room and figure things out,” Parker said.
“I agree,” Julian spoke. “It’s been a pleasure meeting you, Miss Morgan Ashley.” He took my hand and kissed it.
“The pleasure is all mine, gentlemen. Enjoy the rest of your evening.” I smiled, standing up and opening the door for them. “Good luck with your case. I hope you win,” I said to Roman.
“I never lose.” He stared at me as he walked out the door .
I inhaled a sharp breath, grabbed the bottle of champagne, and took it out on the terrace. Sitting in the lounger, I brought the bottle to my lips. His last name was Hamilton—Roman Hamilton, Esquire—a sexy name for an incredibly sexy man.