Top Floor
. . .
Cade Westbrook
My building’s private entrance was closed for maintenance.
It shouldn’t have been a problem. But after spending months in the UK to pull off a deal Westbrook Capital’s board had told me was impossible, staying up all night to comb through the final details, and weather delaying my flight back to the US—I wasn’t in the mood to show my face in public.
Sneaking in through the back held much more appeal.
Instead, my driver had to circle the block and fight for a drop-off spot at the front curb of the Nightingale. I used the time to scroll through work emails on my phone, catching up on any fires from the day and fighting back a yawn.
When we got a spot at the curb, I pocketed my phone. “Appreciate it, Grady. Take the rest of the day off. I won’t be going anywhere.”
“Will do, boss.” He tapped the brim of his burgundy bowler hat with a smile. “It’s good to have you back.”
At least someone was happy to see me.
Next to me, the head of my security team undid his seat belt and slipped on a pair of dark shades. “Maybe wait for me to actually get around to your side of the SUV this time.”
The corner of my mouth twitched. “Always wanting me to make your job easier, Mac.”
“Shut up.” He slammed the door behind him with a grunt, and I watched patiently while his head of dark hair rounded the back of the SUV before I opened my door.
Mac slid into place behind my shoulder, shadowing me through the sidewalk traffic and up the two dozen steps to the high-rise’s doors. I wasn’t sure what he anticipated happening on the short walk, but he’d always been an uptight bodyguard.
“Commotion at one o’clock,” he warned quietly when we reached the landing.
Ahead, a short woman with shockingly blue hair argued with our doorman, Hughes. One hand clutched a green duffle bag to her side, and the other flew in every direction as she said her piece.
“I’ll take care of it,” Mac said, keeping his voice low.
He moved to step in front of me, but Hughes caught sight of us and slapped a hand over the woman’s mouth, shoving her behind him. “Welcome home, sir.”
I dipped my chin. “Hughes.”
He nudged the girl back again—ignoring her yelp—and freed a hand to open the door. “Good trip?”
“Very.” The UK acquisition had made us even more filthy rich.
“Wait, please!” the girl cried around Hughes. Her big blue eyes pleaded with us. “I need to get inside that building. It’s an emergency.”
“Don’t mind her.” Hughes wedged his foot to hold the door open and quickly covered the girl’s mouth again. When she stomped on his toes, his smile turned strained. “Apologies for the disturbance. We should have the private entrance back in working order shortly.”
“Glad to hear it.” I paused in front of the door as she wrestled against his arm. “… Are you sure there isn’t a problem here, Hughes?”
“Nothing I can’t handle, sir!”
A vein in his forehead bulged with his efforts to contain her, and Mac snickered. But my exhaustion trumped any curiosity to watch this play out.
Sparing one more glance at the blue-haired girl—who was going pink in the face in her struggle to get free—I strode inside ahead of Mac.
“Miss!” Hughes cried just as I cleared the entrance. I stopped long enough to see the small woman trying to follow us in, but Hughes grabbed her arm. “I’ve told you. Only residents and approved visitors are allowed inside.”
She gave a strangled yelp and broke free. “And I told you—I have an appointment. I promise!”
When she darted away from Hughes and lunged at the door, Mac swooped in front to block the way—and she smacked into his outstretched arm like it was a brick wall.
“Oof!”
Hughes tugged on her duffle bag strap to pull her back out the door, swiftly shutting it behind us.
I blinked before shaking my head and carrying on.
Staff bustled around the large marble lobby, each one pausing to smile or welcome me back. Too tired to try very hard, I answered with a fleeting smile.
I headed straight across the open space to my private elevator, cocking an eyebrow at the new strut in Mac’s step and the shades he still wore. “You sure look proud of yourself.”
“Why wouldn’t I be?” He brushed nonexistent lint off his shoulder. “You’re always saying you don’t need a bodyguard, but you’re lucky I was there. Who else would’ve stopped that girl from taking you out?”
Oh, he was an ass.
“You thought that was an attack?” I couldn’t help smirking. “She was barely five feet tall and trying to run past me. I think I would’ve been fine.”
“Don’t be so sure.” He glanced back at the entrance—where Hughes was surely giving the blue-haired girl a stern talking-to.
Mac shrugged. “The most dangerous attackers are the ones you least expect. If I were hiring a hit man, she’s exactly the type I’d go for.
Attractive. Na?ve-looking. Too small to be threatening. ”
I wasn’t sure whether to be impressed or embarrassed for him. “You got all that just from walking by her?”
“I got enough. Most people judge a book by its cover, and her cover screams ‘harmless.’ She’s wearing a sundress with her hair in a braid.
Now, the blue is odd and attracts too much attention, so it’d have to go if she were a hit man.
And we’d have to work on those reflexes; she didn’t even try to duck under my arm.
But I can guarantee she’s the last person you’d expect to stab you with a poisoned knife. ”
I shook my head. “You read too many books.”
“No such thing,” he shot back just as we reached the private elevator tucked behind the corner. A bellhop had already called it down, and the teenager smiled eagerly at us.
“Welcome back, Mr. Westbrook.” He gave a short bow and gestured into the lift. “Your elevator’s ready.”
“Thanks, kid.” I stepped into the sleek space. The same marble from the lobby continued into the lift, but its walls were made of mirrors. “Hurry up, bodyguard. Before my reflection jumps out and attacks me.”
Mac glared at my dry tone but joined me in the lift.
I pulled up the calendar on my phone as the elevator ascended silently. “Anything else on the agenda before the Tokyo call tonight?”
“We cleared the other meetings, which just leaves a cleaning service coming this afternoon,” Mac said. “They’re only washing windows today, but I can have Nina reschedule them for tomorrow if you don’t want to be bothered.”
“It’s fine. Just have them stay out of my room. Are they the same cleaners who dusted the Van Gogh?”
The restoration expert claimed there wasn’t any lasting damage to the piece, but my art curator had ended up in the hospital when he heard someone had taken a feather duster to it.
“Nina switched companies while we were gone. The new one is called”—Mac scrolled on his phone and snorted—“Steve’s Cleaning Services. How original.”
At least it wasn’t a cheesy name like the dry-cleaning service my estate manager hired.
Wrinkle Warriors.
I refused to ever say their name aloud.
“What are your plans?” Mac asked.
“I need to check in with Tobias, then I’ll catch some sleep before the call.”
He glanced at his watch. “You’re not concerned about jet lag? It’s two in the afternoon.”
“I’ll risk it. That deal took months to close, and I couldn’t get any sleep on the jet.” A quiet ding announced our arrival, and we walked straight into the penthouse’s foyer. “You hanging around?”
He waved toward the sunken living room. “I’ll stick around for a while. Maybe do a touchpoint with the security team.”
“Wake me if anything pops up.”
Mac gave a short salute before taking off. I turned to the hallway on the right and dialed my grandfather.
He picked up on the second ring. “Cade, my boy. I hear congratulations are in order. Are you back home yet so we can celebrate?”
“I just landed in Westport an hour ago.” I grinned. “You heard the news?”
“Got an email from George saying the deal was finalized and you were getting on the jet. Well done. I can’t wait to rub it in the board’s faces that my grandson was the right man for the job.”
The pride in his voice made all the long hours worth it. Tobias Westbrook had built Westbrook Capital from the ground up decades ago, and it’d grown from a family business into an unstoppable empire. The biggest name in mergers and acquisitions on the East Coast, but our ambitions didn’t end there.
“Now, tell me all about London,” my grandfather said. “Meet any nice women in the pubs?”
“Pubs?” I almost laughed. “There wasn’t time for pubs. I was there to close the deal.”
He clicked his tongue. “You were overseas for months. Tell me you didn’t spend the whole trip in a stuffy old office building.”
“You know how important this acquisition was. Of course I spent the whole time in the office.” I would’ve spent years in the office until I got it, because nothing felt as good as watching the ink dry on a big deal. “Feel like talking strategy for Tokyo now?”
“No, no, no. Don’t even think about that merger yet,” he ordered. “You just raised my portfolio by a couple billion. Take a few weeks off. You’ve earned it.”
“I’m fine, and we need to use this momentum while everyone’s talking about us.”
“Work can wait. You’ve earned some fun. Hell, you should join your brother on his trip.”
I rolled my eyes toward the ceiling, grateful he couldn’t see me. When was my brother ever not on a trip? The prick partied like he didn’t have a care in the world.
And maybe he didn’t.
I strolled over to the wall of windows that overlooked the city. “Where’s Harrison going this time?”
“He’s taking my yacht out for a week with the new wife, and they’re spending a night on the private island. Sounds like fun. You should go.”
“Right.” I rubbed my temple, anticipating a headache just at the mention of Harrison. “Nothing more fun than being my little brother’s third wheel.”
Grandfather snorted. “You know that boy doesn’t go anywhere without an entourage. You’ll be in good company. Drinks. Sun. Friends. Doesn’t that sound like a better use of your summer than all those long meetings and paperwork?”
It sounded like torture.
“We should get a jump on me taking over the UK operations instead,” I reminded him. “I’ll be ready to relocate this fall.”
“Whoa. Slow down, tiger.” He chuckled. “I don’t recall saying you got the position yet.”
I squinted before turning away from the windows. Tiger?
“I just closed a deal our board claimed was impossible,” I told him carefully. “You said it yourself; this thing was DOA before I stepped in. Not to mention you’ve been grooming me for the UK gig for years. Why the hesitation now?”
“Relax, Cade. I’m not saying no. Just that nothing’s been finalized yet.”
My mind raced, trying to make sense of it. What benefit he’d gain by stalling. “The only reason it wouldn’t be finalized is if you had someone else in mind. Who else could you possibly be considering for the promotion?”
“Don’t go jumping to conclusions now. You know big moves like this take time.” He sighed. “That’s enough business talk. I’m having dinner with Harrison at the pier tonight. Come join us, and we’ll celebrate the deal.”
My jaw clenched. “Can’t make it. I have a call lined up with Tokyo’s board later.”
“Already?” A pause lingered before he added, “You can’t keep working at this rate. You’ll burn yourself out.”
“Says the man who’s worked a lot longer than I have, yet you’re doing just fine.”
He snorted. “I vacation every summer, go on enough golf trips to make your grandmother turn in her grave, and take a siesta every afternoon. When’s the last time you took even half a day off?”
I pressed my lips together, not giving him the satisfaction of knowing I couldn’t remember.
“How about the last time you came for Christmas?” he pressed. “Or one of our family trips on the yacht? I can’t recall when I’ve last seen you outside of work.”
“I wasn’t aware attending Christmas was a requirement for the UK position,” I said dryly.
A long, heavier sigh came through the phone.
“Let me tell you something I wish I’d learned earlier in life.
Being the person who works the hardest isn’t always a good thing,” Grandfather explained.
“Being the first one in the office and the last to leave? That’s just less time spent with the people important to you.
You need to stop and smell the flowers before your whole life passes you by.
Look at Harrison. He’s got a new wife. All those friends and get-togethers.
He joins me and your mother for dinner once a week.
When’s the last time you even called your mother? ”
I hadn’t expected a lecture when I called him. “You’re saying your hesitation to promote me is because I don’t call my mother enough?”
“Don’t put words in my mouth. We both know you’re the best fit for the role, but there’s more to life than work.
You’re just too blinded by your ambition to see it right now.
What kind of grandfather would I be if I encouraged you to waste your youth and keep going at this rate?
” Background noise picked up on the line before he sighed.
“Call your brother. I’ll take care of the empire while you two do some family bonding on the open seas. We’ll talk when you get back.”
He hung up without letting me get another word in, and I muttered a few choice curses.
I loved my grandfather. I did. He’d stepped in for me and Harrison after our father passed when we were young.
Our mother had been too busy avoiding her grief and hopping from husband to husband to raise us, so Grandfather had picked up the slack. I’d always been grateful for him.
But now he thought he could order me to take time off, like I was a child he could ground from work?
Now wasn’t the time to slow down and lose momentum. Other deals were ripe for the picking, and the last thing I was going to do right now was tag along on my brother’s little yacht trip.
I just needed to rest my eyes for a few hours before the Tokyo call.
Too exhausted to even activate the blackout shades on my windows, I kicked off my shoes and slid out of my suit jacket before sliding onto the bed.
I’d change the old man’s mind tomorrow.