Chapter 2
Chapter Two
L iam
“If I would have known I was joining a love harem, I would have found another office to work in.” I scowl at the four partners of Chase, Parker, I prefer grapes. Did you know that Victoria’s favorite fruit is mangoes? She said she had the best, most juiciest mango in Jamaica when her dad took her last year, and I said I wanted to go to Jamaica, as well, to try them. So, can you take us to Jamaica instead, please?”
“I wasn’t aware that I was taking you anywhere.” I can’t help but laugh. I know my younger sister well. She’s seven years younger than me, and while she is wickedly independent, she loves the perks of having an older brother who is doing well.
“Not just me. Both of us. And maybe Victoria and Kayla, if you want them to come, too. They would have to ask their?—”
“No, no, that’s quite all right.” I interrupt her quickly. “I think I can plan a quick trip for you and your mum, but I don’t think I have room for your friends.” There is no way on God’s green earth that Daisy wants to chaperone Harriet and her friends, and I have zero interest in being around three ten-year-old girls. “I’ll speak to your mum and see if we can arrange something.”
“Thank you, Uncle Liam. You’re the best.”
“Remember that when I’m old and need someone to wipe my butt.”
“Eww, Uncle Liam.” She giggles. “I will hire the best nurse. You just have to promise not to complain so much, or she’ll quit.”
I burst out laughing then. If even my little niece is aware of how hard it is for me to hire and keep good staff, then maybe I do have a problem. I’m not one for self-introspection, and I don’t normally take on the thoughts of others, but I trust my family and my attornies more than anyone in the world. I’ll have to give some thought as to how I interact with my staff in the future.
“Are you being a good girl for Mummy?” I ask, knowing that Harriet is precocious and wild and often up to tricks.
“I’m always a good girl. Please tell Santa that.”
“I’m meeting with him next week, so I’ll put in a good word.” I laugh as I walk through the lobby and onto the main street. I stare at a honking yellow cab as it speeds down the road as if it is attempting to make it to the finish line first at a Formula 1 race. It barely misses hitting an older lady that is crossing the street, and I can see her screaming and shaking her hands at him.
None of the passersby even look up at the obnoxious sounds of the horn or the expletives coming from her mouth. They are too busy chatting on their phones or staring at their screens to realize they missed a near-death. I wonder if they would have looked up if she had been hit and screamed a blood-curdling scream. Maybe to record the incident and post it on social media as a way to say, “ Look what happened to me today and caused my eardrums to burst.”
When I’m in big cities, I am always reminded of how insular life is, even with millions of people around. There are throngs of people and yet we are all invisible to each other. The lack of care and concern should be heartbreaking, yet it makes me feel nothing. The ice-cold wall around my heart is three feet deep and covered in steel. I, like most people, only really see those I love and care about. Life has hardened us.
I think back to my uni days at Oxford, as a young man floating by on emotions and philosophy. I used to be different back then. Thinking and caring for those around me. Until my first girlfriend cheated on me with the son of a duke and casually broke my heart, causing my worldview of love and compassion to come crashing down.
And with that suffering came my lack of care for others and eagle-eyed focus on making money and ensuring that no one would ever break my heart again. Nietzsche once said, "To live is to suffer, to survive is to find some meaning in the suffering."
Charity Elizabeth Montgomery caused me to suffer, and because of her, I am now one of the richest men in the world. I wasn’t gentry or rich enough for her then, but I used those feelings to change my life. I got my degree in philosophy, politics, and economics and never looked back.
“Uncle Liam, can we go to Disney World in Florida? And Universal Studios? I want to ride the Hogwarts train.”
“We’ll see,” I say, slightly distracted as I see a slightly familiar gaggle of women headed toward the firm. They are so far away that I’m not sure how I know them...until I see the unmistakable red hair of Skye and realize that she is with Lila, Juniper, and Skye’s best friend, Elisabetta, who I’ve met twice before but have never really had a conversation with. The women are laughing about something, and I wait for them to see me and give me some sass. “Harriet, I’ve just seen some...work colleagues approaching and I want to say hello. Can I call you tomorrow?”
“Okay, chat tomorrow,” she says and hangs up. I lean back against the building and study the four women. Each one is beautiful but strikingly different. All of them are off-limits to me, though. Lila, Skye, and Juniper because they are all taken and Elisabetta because she just looks like bad news, with her defiant chin, challenging light brown eyes, and deliciously long raven hair. Her lips are juicy and bright red, and she’s wearing knee-high boots with fishnet stockings, a short black skirt, and a silver sequined top that shows off her ample bosoms. She stands out among the women.
“Don’t even think about it,” I lecture myself under my breath as she looks up and makes eye contact with me. Her eyes narrow for a few seconds before she turns to her friends.
“Look who crawled out of the sewer,” Elisabetta says loudly, almost as if she wants me to hear her insult. She looks over at me again, and I smirk. It will take a lot more than a comment like that to offend me. I step forward and walk over to the women in a deliberately languid fashion.
I sense a small amount of trepidation in the air as if they are not that happy to see me, so I plaster on my most charming smile. First, I look at Skye. She's been the friendliest of the women thus far, then I look at Lila and Juniper. I save my most dazzling smile for Elisabetta, who just grimaces in response. It takes everything in me not to burst out laughing.
"Fancy seeing you beautiful ladies here." I nod my head in a small bow, though I can’t keep my eyes off of the sultry and tantalizing Elisabetta. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"
"There's no pleasure here for you, Liam," Elisabetta retorts immediately, her fingers playing with her long dark hair as she gazes at me dismissively. "Lila has come to see Max and drop off some files he left at home, and then we're going to grab drinks and perform some songs at karaoke."
"You sing?" Disbelief drips from my tone. “They have autotune at karaoke?”
"I’m probably a better singer than you."
"I've been told I do a wicked Tom Jones impression," I say in my best Welsh accent. She stares at me blankly. I almost forgot he was a singer best appreciated by people my grandma’s age. "I also do a mean Barry Manilow."
"My great-grandma listens to Barry Manilow."
"Oh, so sorry.” I hold my hands up in forgiveness. “Who do you cool kids listen to now?" I pause and run my fingers through my hair. I can see the nerve in her neck pulsating as I take a step forward. "Would you prefer me to sing ‘Baby Shark do do do do do do do do do do...’" I pause. "However many do-dos he does. That seems up your alley."
"Oh, of course." She licks her lips. "That's exactly the music I listen to on Spotify. It's number one on my playlist."
"Do you want to know what's number one on my playlist?"
"Not really." She shakes her head, and the other women giggle. I'd almost forgotten they were there.
"‘I'll make love to you...’" I grin. "Or my other favorite is ‘Wicked Slam’ by Beenie Man."
"Who?" She frowns, and I know I've got her.
"You don't know Beenie Man? He's a Jamaican dancehall superstar." I shrug. "Wouldn't have thought I was cooler than you."
"How do you know a Jamaican dancehall superstar?" she asks curiously, and I can see her sizing me up.
"I grew up in Southeast London. I know many things." I wink at her. She doesn't have to know more than that. Even though I’m pretty sure she knows nothing about Southeast London and the diversity of people I went to Primary school with before I was shipped off to boarding school, thanks to money from an old aunt, who wanted to see me get a proper education. "I'd be willing to share with you sometime."
"No, thank you." She looks over to her friends. "Lila, isn't Max waiting for you inside? Shouldn't we be headed in?"
"Uh, yeah.” Lila nods. “Good to see you, Liam.”
“You, too. Looking as beautiful as ever." I step back toward the entrance. "Let me take you back up. I only came down to make a call, but it is done now." I hold open the door, and the women walk through in silence, and then we all walk over to the elevator. “So, who has the pleasure of working for me next week?"
"Umm, I'm afraid Remington has a project for me," Juniper says quickly and shakes her head. "So, I won't be able to take any of your projects next week."
"Pity." I like working with Juniper. She is no-nonsense and the best assistant out of the three of them. None of them are as top-notch as legal assistants with plenty of experience, but they are all honest and trustworthy, which counts for a lot in my world. I look over at Lila and Skye, who are both avoiding eye contact with me.
“I would if I could, but I can’t,” Lila says finally and shrugs, giving Skye an apologetic look. “Something came up and?—”
“So I guess it’s you and me, Skye.” I cut Lila off as I don’t really need to hear her excuses. “Do me a favor and do some research on the Epoxy project happening in Harlem. I want?—”
“She didn’t say yes.” Elisabetta’s voice is sharp as she gives me a no-nonsense look. Her brown eyes seem to be breathing fire at me, and I lazily note that there are iridescent specks of green in her irises.
“Well, it seems like she’s the only one left.” I grin. “Unless you want to take the position, Ms. Franco.”
“Me?” She raises an eyebrow.
“Oh, yes, I forgot, you don’t actually know how to work, do you?”
“Excuse me?”
“You’re excused.”
“What do you mean, I don’t know how to work?”
“You’ve never worked a day in your life, from what I’ve heard. I very much doubt you’d be suited to working for me. I need someone competent and smart and?—”
“Skye is busy. It’s me or you find yourself someone new from HR.” Elisabetta smirks like she thinks she is actually a better option than a seasoned professional that HR could give me. I want to laugh at her confidence. She has no idea what she’s getting into. I make a vow to myself to show her exactly how difficult I can be to deal with. I am quite excited by the challenge.
“I guess I can give you a try...” I let my voice trail off as I stare at her lips. She blushes the most delicious color of pink, and I am pleased she caught my innuendo.
“Excuse me?”
“Is that a new saying you learned or something? Or just being redundant?” The fire in her eyes catches me off-guard as she glares at my comment. I feel my lips twitching as she puts her hands on her hips, and I wonder if she’s going to give me a good telling-off. I’d quite like that.
I’m disappointed when she turns her back on me and looks over at Skye. “Somebody please tell me the directions to the nearest patience shop because if they don’t, the law firm may soon be losing one of its biggest clients.” She pauses then and swivels her head to the left. Her eyes meet mine, and a frisson of electricity passes through me. She’s a spitfire. And I have no idea why I thought it would be a good idea to have her working for me, even temporarily. Because the last thing on my mind as I gaze at her luscious lips is getting work done. I’ve done many stupid things in my life, but even I know that I do not need to complicate this situation by have sex with her.
I am a man on a mission, and I can’t allow anything to stop that mission from taking off.