Chapter Six
ANNOYANCE SPREADS THROUGHme with each tick of the clock on the wall. Blake said to meet him at eight am, but it’s 8:05 and he still hasn’t met me in my office like we agreed upon last night.
What makes matters worse is that I know he’s here. Parked out front is the shiny silver Lexus he loves so much. I’m not much of a car girl, but it’s not the flashiest car I’ve ever seen. Even so, it still screams money. Just another one of Blake’s ways to say, “hey, look at me. I’m important.”
It’s just the extra nail in the proverbial coffin of any cordial business relationship we might have. He can say he is interested in my ideas all he wants. But right now, his actions speak louder than any words.
Another ten minutes pass before my door swings open. He steps into my office without a care in the world. His freshly pressed suit clings to him in ways that make my eyes travel down the length of his body of their own accord. He looks like he has done no work. There isn’t a single crease in his clothing. My jaw tightens at the very sight of him.
“I brought you some coffee.” His baritone voice rattles through me, sounding more like he just rolled out of bed than I would deem appropriate. If he wasn’t such an ass and someone else, it would be the kind of voice I’d want whispering in my ear at six am. But he’s not someone else, and he is an ass, so I push any lingering thoughts of how good his voice sounds out of my head.
Stepping forward, he places a cup on my desk before settling himself into the chair opposite me. A flicker of shock passes through me, because that was actually a kind gesture. I really didn’t believe Blake was capable of kind gestures. “Thanks, Blake. That’s surprisingly nice of you.”
He smiles before taking a sip from his own cup. “It’s the least I can do for our first meeting.”
The outer layer of my anger waivers under his stare. It threatens to wane away completely under those ocean eyes. Maybe he isn’t the biggest self righteous tool I’ve ever met.
Taking a tentative sip. I expect sweetness and cream to hit my taste buds, but what I find is bitter and dull.
It’s black.
Of course, the coffee wasn’t a kind gesture. How could I have been so na?ve?
I amend my previous statement. Blake Emerson is the biggest self righteous jerk I have ever met. Who in their right mind drinks their coffee black?
I try not to spit out the vile bitterness and force the sip down my throat. He brought me black coffee. I resist the urge to grind my teeth, because if I keep this up every time he annoys me, I won’t have any teeth left.
The coffee was just an excuse for being late. But I will not let him off so easily. He needs to know how seriously I take this job even if he doesn’t.
Taking another sip of my coffee, I keep my face neutral even as I swallow the warm drink. Every part of me dislikes it, but I won’t give him the satisfaction of showing my disgust. I’ll never let him win, not even in this.
Shuffling my notes in my hands, like I’m searching for the correct one, I chastise him with a stern tone. “When you schedule a meeting, try not to be late next time. I won’t tolerate tardiness.”
My lack of comment on the coffee doesn’t dissuade his normal cocky attitude. I can guarantee he was hoping for a bigger reaction than the one I gave him, but if he’s disappointed, he doesn’t show it. Much to my surprise.
He stares at me for a long moment before the corner of his lip tilts up in a smirk. “Well, aren’t you just a ray of sunshine this morning?”
The papers in my hands drop back to my desk, my gaze flashing to his face. My cheeks blaze at hearing my nickname coming from his mouth. I don’t think I’ve ever disliked someone calling me Ray more than at this moment.
He doesn’t deserve to call me that. He hasn’t earned the right.
“Don’t call me that.” I can’t help the way I bite out my words, each one coated with venom from the anger that burns deep in my chest.
I told myself I was going to play nice. But he calls me by my nickname one time and I’m already burning with anger. He gets under my skin faster than any person I’ve ever met. It’s like his special skill or something.
The corner of his smirk drops the tiniest amount as confusion washes over his features. A glimmer of mischievousness twinkles from his eyes as he tries to understand my sudden flash of rage. “Call you what? A ray of sunshine?”
My jaw tightens as I realize my blunder. He doesn’t know my nickname. Abby never told him. I’ve let too much of my emotions slip, and now he knows. Something I’ve grown to adore is going to be ruined by Blake. Everyone knows how much he loves nicknames.
“Yes, please do not call me that.” My words come out strained, even to my own ears. There’s a hint of vulnerability that I don’t like threaded through my voice, but there’s nothing I can do to hide it. I’ve always been cool and collected, but something about Blake makes me quick to react.
Taking me in with a long look, he considers my words. To my surprise, his blue eyes soften, something akin to sympathy flashing through his eyes. He nods his head in agreement, a small smile playing on his lips. “No problem.”
His words should relax me, but they don’t. I’d like to think I can read him better than that. My eyes narrow as he takes me in with a contemplative look.
This is bad - this is really bad.
Dread slips down my spine like a cube of ice. Blake gives people terrible nicknames. He called Abby Abs for years and I cringe to think of what name he’ll give me. Because I can’t explain how I know, but I know it’s coming.
After setting his coffee on my desk, he leans back in his chair, arms crossing behind his head. The material flexes where his muscles press against it. He looks the epitome of ease and charm. His blue eyes shine with a devilish gleam, and my stomach shrinks. “Let’s get down to business. Shall we, Sunflower?”
My breath catches in my lungs the second his nickname for me leaves his lips. My heart thuds erratically in my chest as anger courses its way down my spine, erasing the icy path in a flash of heat.
Somehow, Sunflower is exceedingly worse than being called Ray.
This name will probably stick with me for as long as we work together.
A groan leaves my lips, and he responds with a smug smile. “You can’t call me that either.”
“Sorry, Sunflower. You’ve already used your one favor with me. I promise to never call you Ray.” The smirk on his face only deepens the longer he stares at me.
A single quiver of anger flutters through my chest. I don’t know how, but I’m sure he’s making fun of me. Just like everyone does when they lovingly call me Ray. Even if they don’t mean to, I know it’s meant as a jab. From everyone but Abby and Riley, that is. Because I’m no one’s ray of sunshine. I am more like a bottomless pit than something bright and cheerful.
My glare burns into him, but he only stares back with that stupid, self-satisfied smirk. He is so pleased with himself. It’s written all over his face. Chewing on my lip, I force all my arguments to the side. If I tell him how much the name bothers me, he’ll only use it more. Just to get a rise out of me. Maybe if I say nothing, it will die off on its own. At least, I can hope that’s what will happen. He did eventually stop calling Abby Abs. I’ll have to ask her how she got him to stop.
I click the screen on the wall to life and pull my laptop closer to me, placing it as a small shield between us. Through a tight jaw, I force us back to the task at hand. “Let’s get to work.”
As I begin my presentation, I see a flicker of surprise flash across his face before he safely tucks it away. The look causes a smile to tilt the corner of my mouth. He really thought I wouldn’t get it done?
He doesn’t know me at all.
Blake sits through dozens of slides on my ideas for our business. I discuss everything from clothing and food drives to book sales and movie screenings.
“As you can see, Blake, I believe we aren’t reaching the community enough.” I click the screen off and he turns to face me once more.
He’s been suspiciously quiet through my entire presentation, and the longer he sits silently, the more knots form in my stomach. His silence sets me on edge. I know there are a thousand arguments going on inside his head, but he doesn’t voice them. Not one.
That surprises me more than anything he could have said.
A crease forms between his brows and he leans forward in his chair, supporting his chin with one fist as he mulls over my words. His silence threatens to overwhelm me when he looks up at me through his eyelashes. I’m stunned by the depth of concern in his eyes. “You’re right.”
A wave of emotion crashes over me all at once: surprise, excitement, and most of all, skepticism. All I can do is stutter out a single word. “What?”
“Don’t make me repeat it, Sunflower.”
My nickname mixed with his words sends a flush of heat to my cheeks. Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined those words on Blake’s lips.
Settling back into my chair, my mouth open into an o. “Wow.”
“Don’t gloat, it’s not attractive.”
Holding up a single finger in his direction, I smile. “Just give me a minute. I want to bask in this feeling.”
Shaking his head, he looks back at the empty screen, a troubled look crossing his face. “Enjoy it, because it won’t happen again.”
Despite the flash of concern on his face, my elation doesn’t falter. “Don’t worry, I will.”
Crossing his arms, he looks back at me, a frown tilting his lips down. He looks more serious than I think I’ve ever seen him.
The smile on my face falters, and I sit up a little straighter in my chair. “What’s wrong?”
“This whole time I’ve been having us focus on the wrong thing.” His hand moves to his hair, messing up his already messy blond hair. He always looks like he just rolled out of bed in a disheveled model kind of way, but this makes him look wild.
“You didn’t know. Don’t take it so hard.” My words make little sense to me. Why am I trying to comfort him? He’s just acting the way any other elite would in this situation. So I add, “Anyone from your background would do the same.”
His eyes flash to me like I’ve slapped him.
“You’re one to talk. Don’t you have the same background I do?”
Shrugging my shoulders, I offer him no further explanation, because I don’t owe him one. He doesn’t know me, and he doesn’t need to. “Listen, Blake. We are here to support the community. The type of events you’ve been holding only cater to the rich.”
I stand and cross around to the front of my desk. “I get it. Those are the type of events you’ve been attending your entire life. You know nothing else.”
His blue eyes swirl with a dark emotion, like he doesn’t like the way I’m describing him.
“If we want the community to trust us to help them, we need to be here for them. That starts out small. We do small things to establish that trust, then we move onto bigger things.”
He stares at me silently, and for once I can’t help but feel like he’s actually listening to me. “Golf tournaments and galas don’t show the community that we are here to serve them. It shows them we are here to serve ourselves.”
He opens his mouth to argue, but I hold up one hand to silence him again. “Even if it’s not the truth, that’s what they’ll see.”
His eyes fall to the floor as he mulls over my words. This is the longest I’ve ever seen him go without smiling and it’s unnerving. When he finally looks up, there’s a resolve in his eyes I’ve never seen before. “Where do we start?”
His words hit me like a bolt of lightning. Leaning back against the desk, I find myself right in front of him. He isn’t even going to fight me on this? He wants to know what we need to do. Shock mixes with mistrust. “We start by reaching out to the community. We need to get our people on the ground and find out what the community needs from us. Then we can move on from there.”
I don’t need to trust him for this to work.
He’s about to say something else when a knock sounds from the door. Our eyes both move to it, confusion washing over Blake’s face.
Running a hand down my pin skirt, I slide further down my desk, putting distance between us. I hadn’t realized we’d gotten so close.
The door opens, and a tousle of black hair and sweatpants walks through the door. In an instant, I’m pushing myself off the desk and running across the room. “Riley!”
His arms wrap around me, and I’m instantly at home. We embrace for several moments before I pull back to inspect him. “Why didn’t you call me?”
One shoulder lifts in a shrug, a small smile tugging at his lips. “I wanted to surprise you.”
“Well, you know how much I hate surprises.” There are circles beneath his eyes, and I can’t tell if it’s from sleep deprivation or jet lag. His once round face is now sharp lines. I can’t help but worry about how much weight he’s losing.
“Too bad.” His eyes move past me to the man standing behind us, and I take a small step back, remembering where we are, and who’s in the room with us.
“Blake, this is my brother, Riley.” Looking back at my brother. “Riley, this is Blake Emerson, my co-director of Emerson Group.”
I know full well Riley knows exactly who Blake is, but I have appearances to keep up.
Riley nods his head and takes a step past me with his hand extended. “Emerson. I’ve heard a lot about you.”
Their hands clash in a war of dominance, and I roll my eyes at the male equivalent of a pissing contest.
Blake flashes Riley his most stunning smile, despite his hand being crushed. They both are in shape, but even I can tell it hurts. “Good things I hope.”
“Not really.” Riley says without missing a beat.
I sputter, completely surprised by Riley’s audacity. I shoot a glare at him, but he only beams at me, knowing exactly what he’s said.
Blake blinks, but rebounds faster than I do. “Ah, well. I’ll leave you two to catch up. Reach out later to set up a plan for the first steps and we can get started as soon as you’re ready.”
He steps past us, nodding to Riley as he does. Just as he steps through the door, he turns back to give me one last look. “Good work, Sunflower.”
I stare after him through the closed door. His compliment threatens to slip under my skin. Before it can, Riley snorts beside me, pulling me out of my daze. “Sunflower?”
Riley’s voice is a mix of astonishment and irritation, sounding like he finds the name as insulting as I do.
All I can do is shake my head. “Don’t ask. It’s kind of his thing.”
He looks at me for further explanation, but I wave him off, pulling him to the chairs at the front of my desk. I take the seat Blake just vacated, and the warmth of his body lingers with a whiff of his cologne. The scent of spices floods my senses, mixing with something sharp and invigorating. It sinks into me along with his warmth, unwillingly wrapping me up in him.
I shake my head to force my thoughts to clear. “It’s so good to see you. Did you just land?”
“Yeah, I came straight here.” He nods his head, his eyes looking me over in a way I would describe as evaluating. But that’s my job.
“So, where did you come from?” I take a moment to recall the last location in a long string of locations he’s been living. “Paris?”
He shakes his head. “No, I haven’t been to Paris in weeks. I just came in from California.”
California?
His words trouble me. He never even told me he was in the states. “And this is the first time I’m hearing about it?”
He can hear the disapproval in my voice. “I don’t have to tell you where I am at all times.”
My eyes narrow, taking in his sun kissed skin. I want to be disappointed in him, but I don’t want to sour our reunion. “Regardless, I’m happy to see you.”
“Looks like you and Blake are growing into chums.”
A laugh bursts from my lips, because I’ve never heard something so ridiculous. “You’ve been in Europe too long. And Blake is just Blake. There’s nothing I can do there.”
Acute eyes look me over, but whatever he’s looking for, he doesn’t find it. His expression softens. “I hope you ironed things out with Abby.”
“Yes, we talked it over last night.” Without the weight of the anger on my chest, I feel like a new person.
His gaze moves around my office, taking it in. “I guess you didn’t need me after all.”
His words hit me right in the stomach. “Don’t say that. I will always need you.”
A smile moves his lips, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. His eyes hold a haunted quality I recognize all too well. He doesn’t want to be in Aspen anymore than he has to, just like Abby.
“Riley. Is everything okay?”
He nods his head, but I know in my gut that it isn’t the truth.
I’m about to do what I do best, and drill the answers out of him, when another knock pulls both of our attention to the door.
I want to be irritated by the interruption, but I’m not. It’s important to me that my employees feel like I have an open door even when it’s closed. “Come in.”
The door opens, and a stone drops heavy and uncomfortable in my stomach. Golden skin and green eyes peek into the room. She freezes the moment her eyes land on the man sitting across from me. Terror fills her eyes.
“Jade.” Riley’s voice is breathless, like he can’t believe his own eyes.
Out of the corner of my eye, my brother stills, a similar expression crossing his face.
In an instant, the temperature in the room drops. My gaze drifts between them and I’m not sure who is more shocked at the sight of the other. My heart twists for my brother. I can’t imagine what he’s feeling right now. Their breakup floods through my mind. Watching Riley fall apart as Jade strode away unscathed. Leaving only me behind to help pick up the pieces. He’s never been the same since. No matter what he says to convince himself otherwise.
The door swings open, her hand falling limply to her side as she releases the doorknob. Her voice trembles as his name slips unbidden from her lips. “Riley.”
“Jade, it’s not really a good time.” I may not know best, but I will not allow her to hurt my brother again. I want her to leave, but I know it’s pointless. Whatever is about to happen will happen, no matter what I do or say.
Her eyes move to me, but I can tell the action is forced, like she doesn’t want to look away from him because if she does, he might disappear.
Riley pushes himself to his feet. “I’ll see you later, Ray.”
My eyes snap back to him, and I’m already nodding in acknowledgment. I’d be running if I were him, too.
“Here, why don’t you head to my apartment? We’ll have dinner.” I toss him my keys. “Make yourself at home.”
He catches them without looking, his eyes still glued to the woman standing in the doorway. “Yeah. See you later.”
When he steps past Jade, he doesn’t look at her. It’s like she’s not even standing there. My mouth opens in astonishment at his cold behavior towards her. He’s a stronger man than I could ever be. Her head turns to stare after him as he leaves, her green eyes wide with unshed tears.
When my brother is safely out of sight, she turns back to me with one hand pressed to her mouth. “I’m so sorry. Please excuse me.”
She runs from the room, tears falling helplessly down her face. I remain seated, bewildered by the scene that just unfolded before me. I guess Riley didn’t know Jade was back, either.