Chapter 6
DEX
I walk away, leaving Brazilian Beauty Queen and Rio together.
I don’t trust her and I’m still trying to figure her out. Why is she here? Why would someone like her, someone looking like that, agree to an arranged marriage? It doesn’t make sense.
I need to know what the others think. I step out onto the penthouse balcony and find Jett and Cari. Huddled together. Kissing.
Jesus. At my father’s penthouse, on the balcony? They can’t seem to keep their hands off each other, which is weird as hell because Cari’s usually too sensible for putting on public displays of their affection. But she looks just as wrapped up in Jett as he is in her.
“Get a room, you two,” I say, casually. Jett doesn’t even look embarrassed. Cari turns, her expression flustered, but she doesn’t move away from him.
What is it with people being in love?
“Good conversation with the Brazilian Alliance?” Jett asks. Cari swats him gently across his arm. “Don’t be so nasty.”
“What? It’s the truth,” Jett counters.
“You don’t know that.” She looks up at him, her eyes shining. “She’s nice. I think she’s really nice and brave for coming here, for meeting you all.”
“You’d think Charles Manson was nice.” Jett drops a kiss to her lips, but she backs off.
“I would not. I like giving people a chance, but not serial killers and their kind.” Then she tiptoes up and kisses him again. “You were extremely cold and indifferent to her. You should apologize.”
“The hell I will,” Jett growls. They kiss again.
“Can you two stop that?” I turn away in disgust.
“What do you want?” Jett’s face twists.
“I thought you were leaving to read to Brooke,” I counter.
“Her nanny said she was already asleep.”
“In that case, get a room.”
Jett chuckles. “Lexi still away? You feeling lonely?”
“Screw you.” I hadn’t even thought about Lexi. But seeing Jett and Cari stare at me, arms wrapped around each other, like I’m a spare wheel on their bike, makes me want to bolt. “I’m trying to figure her out. This Daniela Oliveira,” I say, putting on what I think is a Brazilian accent.
Jett chuckles. “Looked like you two were getting along.”
“No. I was trying to figure out why someone who looks like her would agree to this .”
Cari frowns. “What do you mean? Is it still going ahead? The deal?”
“That’s the only reason our father would bring her to our attention. As for the deal? I have no idea. That man doesn’t tell us until he needs to,” Jett replies.
I sigh heavily. “More like he doesn’t tell us, but expects us to piece things together.”
“This was a perfect coup we walked into.” Jett rubs his hands up and down Cari’s arms, warming her up.
“Why are you both so cynical?” Cari asks. “Imagine how Daniela feels, walking into this place. It’s so intimidating. I think she’s brave for coming here. You don’t know if she’s come to look for another Knight, or if it’s something else. Your father is always looking for business opportunities.”
I blink at Cari. “You sound like a cheerleader for the Brazilian Beauty Queen.”
“Don’t call her that.” Cari looks outraged. “We women need to band together. Have you read the room? It’s full of testosterone.” She wrinkles her pert little nose.
“You’re not wrong,” Jett says. “We do need more women in business. It’s a cutthroat world filled with ruthless men right now.”
“You think having more women is the answer?” I ask, then think twice because of the way Cari’s glaring at me. I move to deflect the conversation to something that’s bugging me. “She told you she got here a few days ago, right?” I say, looking between them.
Jett frowns. “Yeah, and… ?”
“So, in a couple of days, the old man somehow managed to set this whole thing up?” I shake my head. “Think about it. He got CEOs, investors, and important people together, just like that. Normally, these people’s calendars get booked months in advance.”
Jett looks confused. “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying maybe he’s been trying to get this deal, this alliance together, behind our backs, even though you told him you weren’t interested. He’s not let it go.”
Cari chews on her lower lip. “That would be typical for your father.”
“Yeah, yeah,” I say dryly. “Welcome to the family. Oops. Sorry. Premature. Jett hasn’t put a ring on your finger yet.”
Cari’s lips twitch like she wants to say something but thinks better of it. Jett gives me a hard stare, like he doesn’t want me talking about this. “We’re taking things slow.”
“Cari’s been working for you for three years, man. Define ‘slow.’”
His face darkens slightly. But hey, the guy is happy and who am I to begrudge him his happiness?
“What do you think of the heiress?” I ask him.
Jett shrugs. “I don’t.”
“Come on, brother.”
“I don’t think of her,” he repeats. “I never have. The arranged marriage deal was something I’ve never paid much attention to, even before things between me and Cari got serious. I would never marry someone for money, or to make a deal, and definitely not with someone I didn’t know.”
Cari rolls her eyes. “Jett, he’s just asking for your opinion.”
“Yeah,” I add. “We all know you didn’t want to marry her. You didn’t want the alliance. I get that. But don’t you think there’s something off about her?”
Jett shakes his head. “I don’t know. Arranged marriages happen all the time. In some cultures, they work quite well.”
I take a long swig of my beer. “Yeah. But someone who looks like she does, why doesn’t she already have a line of suitors?”
Cari gives me a pointed look. “She has a name. You should say it. It seems to me that you find Daniela attractive. You should admit it.”
“I do not find her attractive. I mean, she’s beautiful,” I say with some reluctance. “But she’s not my type.”
“She’s more than beautiful,” Cari counters, “She’s Movie-star level, Hollywood-level beautiful.”
Jett sighs and cups Cari’s face in his hands, pressing his forehead to hers. “You are beautiful,” he murmurs. “You are gorgeous, and perfect, and all mine .”
Cari blushes, eyes softening.
Jesus Christ. “Possessive much?” I mutter.
“Shut the fuck up, Dex,” Jett growls.
I roll my eyes. But my mind is still stuck on the heiress. Because I just don’t buy it. “Seriously. Just think about it. You expect me to believe that she couldn’t find anyone to marry her? That she—”
“Daniela,” Cari says.
“Yeah, her,” I continue, “she had to get on a plane and fly all the way here to make a sneaky deal with our father?”
“But it was our father who approached them,” Jett reminds me. “Remember? He was in Brazil in the summer.” I nod slowly, the memory clicking into place. “I don’t know if you were on the call or if it was Zach,” Jett continues, “but he was talking about the company. Said he needed to wine and dine them. I’m pretty sure it’s the same company.”
“So you’re saying the old man approached them again?” I ask.
“Yes.”
I narrow my eyes. “Then why would the heiress agree? If their company was thriving, she wouldn’t need to do this.”
Jett shrugs. “You know what the old man is like. When he wants something, he goes after it. And he doesn’t stop until he gets it.”
It’s true, but even so, something about this doesn’t make sense here. I find it odd that the heiress couldn’t find someone in Brazil with the wealth she’s looking at us for.
Cari sighs. “Dex, you’re looking for holes where there aren’t any. Your father is diligent. His legal team and finance guys would have gone through everything with a fine-tooth comb. If he’s going through with this deal, it means the company is legit and has serious potential.”
I grunt, taking another swig of beer. She’s right.
“One of you is going to form the alliance,” Cari adds. “Not Jett, because he’s taken, and he’s mine .” Another shiny-love-soaked glance at him. “Are you considering it?”
I nearly choke. “Fuck no, but I know someone who’d agree to it in a heartbeat.” I look behind me, through the large windows and see Rio talking to Daniela. Jett and Cari turn their heads.
“For someone who is such a cool, hard dude, this man looks pussy-whipped without even tasting any.”
“Dex!” Cari cries.
Jett looks annoyed. “Cool it with the vulgarity.” He glances at Rio and the heiress again. “He does look obsessed.”
“Yeah,” Cari agrees, eyes wide.
I don’t want to expose Rio, but the guy is making it too damn obvious.
“When did he turn into a wuss?” I mutter. “Rio is usually calm. Sharp. Guy has big dick energy that women love. He’s slick and sharp, and has attitude. But now?” I shake my head. “He looks like a wet mess over this woman.”
Cari frowns. “He’s not talking much.”
“No. He’s gawking. Like a spotty teenage boy at his first strip club.” I sigh. “Let me go save him.”
I walk back inside.
The room is dimly lit, jazz music floating through the air. The scent of expensive perfume and catered hors d’oeuvres lingers. People are talking, making deals, laughing over glasses of aged scotch.
Rio and the heiress are still standing together and it looks like they’re talking. Zach and Enzo are back, too. These two are like puppy dogs. Zach more than Enzo. I’m not sure about Enzo. He seems quiet but deadly. In any case, they don’t stand a chance. The heiress is too much woman for them.
I stride over. “You okay, Rio?” I glance at the Beauty Queen. He nods stiffly. “You need another drink?”
“He sure looks like he could do with a couple of shots.” Enzo grins. Rio mumbles something and disappears.
“So touchy,” Zach says.
Before I can go after him, the old man steps into view.
“Daniela,” he says smoothly to the woman at the center of our group, “come with me.”
The heiress hesitates but follows him, seeming a little flustered. Or maybe she’s just glad to be free of Rio eyeballing her so blatantly. I exhale, feeling a sense of relief that she’s gone.
“What do you think she’s doing here?” Zach asks.
“You interested?” I examine his face, notice that it’s flushed. Notice that his pupils are dilated.
“In what?”
Jesus. This kid hasn’t even pieced it all together. He’s just been busy admiring the goods.
“Maybe she’s here for a business deal?” Enzo suggests. It’s strange that we don’t often get together in a social setting like this, that it’s always been around the dining table or the conference room table, always doing deals. This is different, and usually when our father hosts events like these, they’re in a big hotel suite, and there are hundreds of people around. It’s easier to go all evening without running into the rest of the Italian Knights.
But, being around them this evening, I see they’re not so different from us. Rio and I get along, sure … but, the other brothers?
I shake the thought from my head. It’s too raw and painful because thinking about the old man’s secret family brings back bad memories. Things I’d rather forget. Things I’m ashamed of and hate myself for. The guilt never leaves.
I feel his gaze first, a prickling across the back of my neck and I realize that my father is watching me. When I turn to look, he motions me over, so I go to him, shoulders tense.
“It’s been a long day for Daniela,” he says. “Do you mind dropping her back to her hotel.”
I blink back shock. “What?” Yes, I do fucking mind. I open my mouth to protest. I don’t want to take her home, and I quickly scan the room looking for Rio but can’t see him.
“You were probably going to leave soon anyway,” the old man persists.
“I wasn’t.”
“You can come back,” the old man counters.
“I do mind dropping her back.”
“Don’t be so rude,” he snaps.
“No, no, it’s okay.” The Brazilian Beauty Queen steps around me, her deep, rich and lightly accented voice catching me by surprise. “If Dexter doesn’t want to …”
Shit. I didn’t realize she was standing nearby.
“Don’t make me ask you twice,” my father says.
I have no choice but to comply. I just hope Rio doesn’t see me leaving with her.
“And try to be nice, Dex,” my father says in a patronizing tone that grates on me. “I’m only asking you to take Daniela back to her hotel. Nothing more.”
I glance at her again, and she’s looking everywhere but at us. She looks uncomfortable and awkward. Like she can’t wait to leave this place.
At least we share something in common.