Chapter 4
CHAPTER FOUR
Rush
My brother Gris is a fucking asshole.
I glare as he smiles and charms my new assistant. That’s Gris. He’s head of public relations for a reason, he’s always been a natural at making people feel at ease. Much of our company has been built on his ability to push deals through in a single dinner.
It’s why he’s come.
But if he thinks he’s slipping off or getting under my new assistant’s pencil skirt, he’s got another thing coming.
And what a skirt.
Well, perhaps it’s not the skirt as much as the ass it encases. My new assistant, Gigi, is a twelve out of ten.
She’d be a thirteen if it weren’t for the blonde hair.
The color doesn’t even make sense. Most women who dye their hair blonde want to be seen. Gigi, despite her beauty, gives the distinct impression that she is trying to hide.
She’s demure in every other regard. She barely makes eye contact, she seems to avoid conversation, and she moves out of other people’s way reflexively.
Except for Gris.
That’s the first time I’ve seen her really smile since I met her and I fucking hate that he’s the one who made her relax like that.
Which is stupid. She’s my assistant, not a woman that I’m trying to date.
Though my first reaction when I saw her across the lobby was one of attraction. Hourglass figure, plenty of tits and ass, all wrapped up in a silk blouse and a pencil skirt. And then she turned to look at me. Big brown eyes, delicate features, full mouth.
She is my brand of fucking sexy and then…. Then she dipped her chin and stepped back out of the elevator. Like she just knew how I like it.
I could just picture her on her knees, looking up at me while she sank that mouth over my cock.
A fantasy I will not act on.
Because one, I’m not currently dating.
I made a promise to myself that I’d live without distraction until I got the New York division of this company off the ground and standing on its own legs.
As a company, we started in Las Vegas. We own casinos, hotels, apartment buildings, shopping centers. But we’ve cornered as much of that real estate as is possible in that city and the only way to expand is to gain a foothold in a new location.
There are six Smith brothers in total; I’m the youngest, which means I’ve got everything to prove.
Each of my brothers has an iron-clad role in the company. That’s why I was sent to New York.
This is my chance to prove I deserve a seat at the table, which is why I’m not fucking it up by dating. Even a woman as gorgeous as Gigi.
Besides, her deferential nature makes her an excellent choice for my assistant. I want someone who is willing to do as I say without a thousand questions.
And then there is her law knowledge. She understood three times as much in this morning’s meeting as any assistant I’ve had prior to her.
Truthfully, she ought to be placed in legal, and likely would have been, if I hadn’t interceded.
But since she’s smart and talented enough to work for me, I might as well stare at her gorgeous ass and amazing tits while I’m practicing celibacy.
But if my brother thinks he’s hitting that, he’s got another thing coming.
Gigi catches my gaze, her chin dropping, the smile disappearing from her lips. Gris’s brows lift as he looks at me. Then, he follows me into my office, where I slam the door closed.
“Is it just me, or do your assistants keep getting hotter?” he asks, ignoring the force I used to close the door, as he makes his way over to the leather sofa that sits under a large bank of windows.
“I will call Arabella,” I growl back, knowing that I won’t. Youngest brothers learn there is nothing worse than being a snitch. I’d get pummeled on the regular by my older brothers growing up, but if I told…then it was three times as bad the next time.
Makes a man tough.
“Relax,” he says, lounging across the couch. “My wife is all the woman I can handle.”
“Good. Because I hired Ms. Hope because she is talented, not because she’s attractive.” I move around my desk, tossing myself into my chair.
I’ve been on edge since coming to New York. Maybe it’s the fact that I’m not dating, or the move.
Or maybe it’s because I’ve got everything to prove.
But mostly I think it’s due to Vigo fucking Sinclair.
That Mafia capo wanted the Jersey deal for himself. Since I blocked him, he’s made my life difficult any and every way he’s been able.
From keying my car, to blocking my permits, he’s been a real prick.
I know he thinks I ought to be intimidated. In Vegas every manner of criminal has attempted to take our business or our lives…or both.
He doesn’t scare me, but he is pissing me off.
“That’s total bullshit, little brother.” Gris puts his feet up on the Italian leather sofa, stretching his long frame out on the cushions. “I haven’t seen you look at a woman with that kind of intensity for a long time.”
My lip curls. “Mind your business, Gris.” The truth is, he’s right. Last night, I fell asleep to the fantasy of Gigi sucking my cock and I woke up to a dream where I had her bent over that very couch, her ass on full display.
Maybe hiring her was a bad idea. And moving her into the only other apartment that’s on the same floor as mine…
Technically, she hasn’t moved in yet. I could still change my mind. But I’m not going to. I never do.
But also, I just like the idea of Ms. Hope being close.
The fact that her bedroom wall is next to mine, my hand spreads out on my desk. I wonder what she sleeps in…
My interoffice phone chimes. I lift my hand from the cool wood, pressing the button. “Ms. Hope?”
“Your brother, Mr. Killian Smith, is on line one.”
“Just Killian,” I say automatically. “He’s not a last-name kind of guy.”
“Of course,” she murmurs and then her line goes dead.
If Gris is the carrot of our family, Killian is the stick. They are rarely together, and it strikes me as odd that one is calling while the other is here.
I hit the button to pick up the phone. “Why are you calling?”
Killian snorts into the line. “Put me on speaker.”
I do as he asks, because it’s the shortest path to an answer.
“Hey, Kill,” Gris rumbles from the couch. “Flight landed?”
“Yes. On my way.”
I slap the top of my desk. “You’re in New York?” My family must be concerned about my ability to handle Vigo if both Gris and Killian are here. Fuck.
They think I’m going to fail.
“Just in case,” Killian answers. “But don’t worry. You’ll hardly even know I’m in the city.”
Killian’s nickname is The Shadow. He manages to dig out information no one else seems able to find.
Bodies also tend to disappear around him, or they did, until he married.
“I am well aware of your stealth abilities. What I’d like to know is why you’ve come?”
I look up at Gris and catch his grimace. “Our brothers have determined a plan for dealing with Vigo Sinclair. First we’re going to offer him a counter deal, and if he doesn’t accept…”
“Absolutely not. I can handle Vigo myself.” I don’t need my brothers cutting me out when I’m so close to locking this up. This is finally my game, and I don’t need help playing it.
Gris lets the silence hang before he finally answers. “You’re taking too long and there is too much at stake. We’ve got massive assets tied up in New York and it’s time for them to start moving forward.”
I thump my fist on my desk. “I’ve got it under control.”
“Progress would suggest otherwise,” Gris says with that cool smile he uses to make people squirm, it’s so fucking confident. I hate it.
“Give me a little more time,” I say through gritted teeth. We are entering a negotiation, and I would be a fool not to understand that I’m going to need to give some ground. “Another week and I’ll get the permits locked down.”
I hear Killian rumble in dissent.
But Gris cocks his head. “It would give us time, Kill, to assess the situation and figure out which of us is needed here in New York.”
“It’s an either-or situation?” I ask, leaning back in my chair.
“That’s right,” Killian answers. “Either Gris will negotiate with Vigo, or I’ll use other methods to make certain he complies.”
“Vigo is the center of New York’s crime syndicate. Your methods, Killian, could cause far more problems than they cure.” But I’ve calmed now. I can get the permits done in the next week, I’m sure of it.
My family will understand my worth and my power by the time this is done.
I’ve waited a lifetime for this moment. Nothing and no one are distracting me now.