Chapter 17
SEVENTEEN
COLSON
The sound of my phone didn’t wake me; my hard-on had kept me up since Sophie had left my room.
But a call at seven o’clock in the morning did surprise me, considering everyone I loved was on the West Coast and it was the middle of the night there.
I grabbed my cell off the nightstand, relief flooding through me when I saw Walker’s name instead of my ex’s.
I swiped my finger across the screen and held the phone to my ear. “What’s going on, Walker?”
“We’re done.”
I sat up in bed, pushing two pillows behind my back before I leaned into the headboard. “You’re telling me the menu is finished?”
“As of about an hour ago. We stayed awake to wrap things up. Not just the menu, but everything. I completed the necessary food orders with our distributor. Both Charred and Horned, nationwide, will have everything they need. The head chef at each Charred location has been informed of the replacement dishes and will be testing the recipes today to ensure they’re prepared.
I’ll be flying to San Antonio, Eden will be going to Portsmouth, and Hart is going to Charleston to make sure the Horned restaurants can handle and execute the new menus.
As for the actual menus, those will be printed at sunrise and will be delivered tomorrow. ”
“Where do you need me?”
“Keep doing what you’re doing. We’ve got this handled.”
I glanced toward the open windows, where it was just starting to lighten outside. “It’s over.” I let out a loud breath. “You fucking did it, brother.”
“It wasn’t pretty, but it feels so damn good that we didn’t cave to the Gordons’ demands.”
“Those motherfuckers thought they had us by the balls.” I tucked my palm behind my head. “Does Troy know about the new status?”
“He’s the only person who doesn’t. I wanted to talk to you before I made that call in case there’s something you can think of that I’ve forgotten.”
I scratched the center of my chest. “Menu, food, training, printing.” It was early, and without any sleep, my brain was working well, but I was confident when I said, “I think we’re good to pull the Gordons’ financial plug.
” A smile crept over my face. “I’m not going to lie—saying that out loud kinda made my dick hard. ”
He chuckled. “Fuck them and their attorney.”
I took a deep breath. “Walker … damn it.” My eyes closed, and I banged the back of my head against the wood behind it.
“I don’t like the sound of that.” He paused. “Are you about to tell me something I don’t want to hear?”
“Things are … messy.”
“How so?”
I got out of bed and went over to the window. The second my hand touched the glass, I was brought right back to last night. How Sophie had put her hand on the same spot—not in the bedroom, like I was, but in the living room—the act no different from what I was doing.
“Did I happen to mention her brother is the broker I’m using in Fort Lauderdale?”
“Hell no, you didn’t.”
“Troy hooked us up, and unbeknownst to me, she decided to visit her brother.”
“You mean now? While you’re there?”
I sighed. “Correct.”
He groaned. “Let me guess—she’s lying next to you at this very moment.”
“Overhearing us shit-talk the Gordons? Come on, man. You know I’d never let that happen.” I turned around, glancing at the empty bed.
When I had fingered Sophie in the bar, I’d had all intentions of having her spend the night so I could start my morning with the taste of her pussy on my tongue. But she didn’t let that happen and left me with a raging hard-on. Had I deserved that? Maybe. Did I like it? Fuck no.
“She’s not here. I’m alone.”
“But has that been the case all night?” When I didn’t answer, his breathing got a bit more ragged. “Colson, do I need to remind you that we’ve been in this situation before? It didn’t work out for our brand, and it most definitely didn’t work out for you.”
My fists clenched as he mentioned my past. A history I didn’t like to think about.
“Sophie is representing the Gordons,” he continued. “She—”
“Was representing the Gordons.” I faced the window once more. “As of this morning, there’s no longer anything pending with them.”
“With this case, yes. But the Gordons aren’t leaving our industry, and they’re seething with jealousy over what we’ve built.
It’s only a matter of time before they’re sending us a cease and desist or we’re issuing one to them for some shady fucking move they pulled.
As long as we continue to compete against one another, which I assume will be until we decide to sell our empire one day, Sophie Rivers is going to be in our lives.
And the side she’s going to be on is not ours. ”
I could tell he wasn’t done, so I said nothing.
“Again, that puts us in a similar scenario as before. A vulnerable scenario—and you know I don’t like feeling vulnerable. Personally or professionally.”
I didn’t either.
But I couldn’t change who she was, even if he was technically right.
“Maybe the Gordons will stop using her.” A suggestion that was as ridiculous as it sounded in my head, but I had to say something.
“Why would they ever do that? She’s a fucking shark. The shit she pulled with this case, not every attorney could make that happen.”
I understood the similarities he was referring to, but in my head, I could justify it. Sophie wasn’t anything like her—the part of my past that I kept buried because, otherwise, it pissed me off.
Did I feel that way because I liked Sophie?
Because I wanted more?
Because I wanted to believe Sophie was different from her?
Fuck me.
I glanced at the water, the peak of the sun illuminating the white tips at the crest of each wave. “We despise each other, Walker. I don’t think what you’re inferring is going to be a problem.”
“Yet you can’t stop fucking her.” He paused. “Am I right?”
“It’s just fucking.”
“Is it?”
My forehead pressed against the glass. “What are you getting at?”
“You need to be careful—that’s what I’m getting at.
I don’t care how much she loves your dick and how much you love giving it to her.
Her loyalty will always lie with the Gordons as long as she represents them.
Remember that. And remember how, last time, that fucked us.
And that right there is a major goddamn problem for our family. ”
“I know we have three more yachts to look at, but I’m telling you right now, this is the one,” I said to Hayden as we pulled into the marina behind his office, finishing our second sea trial of the day.
Regulations prevented the potential buyer from boating in and out of the marina; the broker had to do it, which was why Hayden was at the helm.
“Do you want me to cancel the other showings?” He lowered the wake even more as we approached the dock and looked at me through his aviators.
“No, I’d still like to see the other boats.”
I stood not far from his seat, holding the top of the staircase, memorizing every bit of the interior.
The linen, textured wallpaper, the gold sconces, the undermounted lighting, the molding around each doorway.
My feet sank into the white carpet runner beneath me that matched the plush leather couches inside.
A color that wouldn’t be easy to keep clean with a daughter Ellie’s age, but that was what detailers were for.
The moment I had stepped onto her, I had known she had to be mine.
Over ninety feet of pure perfection, she had triple inboard engines and four staterooms, three heads, and a full galley.
More than enough space for two, even three families aboard.
Off the stern was the captain’s quarters, should I decide to hire one instead of driving myself.
I knew I wouldn’t find a vessel that had absolutely everything I was looking for, but this one was as close as I could get.
He shut off the engines as we reached the dock, the deckhands waiting to tie us up.
“I was hoping you were going to say that.” He put the key in his pocket.
“Don’t forget, you extended your trip a day so you could see this gem I’d been telling you about.
I think you’re going to be shocked when you lay your eyes on her.
All I’m saying is, keep an open mind. No decisions until you’ve stepped foot on her. ”
“No decisions yet,” I assured him. “But this one is at the top of the list.”
“Noted.” He nodded toward the deck off the stern. “Let’s sit and recap.”
I opened the sliding glass door and took a seat on the wraparound couch that hugged the edge of the stern, my arms extending across the top of the cushions.
Hayden glanced at his watch when he sat across from me. “Or we could do this over a drink at happy hour. It’s almost five. Do you have plans for dinner?”
“You have family in town.” I crossed my legs, my foot shaking. “Go spend the evening with them.”
“I wasn’t able to attend last night. I feel bad about that.”
“Don’t. It was a bit of a shit show. You should be glad you weren’t there.
” There had been no mention of last night’s dinner during any of the hours I spent with Hayden today.
But for me, it was the elephant in the room, and something needed to be said.
“I don’t know if Jones or Callum said anything to you about it? ”
“There are no secrets in our group.”
I figured.
“Listen …” I slowly filled my lungs. “My situation with your sister is complicated.” I let my head fall back a few inches, my fingers brushing through the strands of my hair.
“And those complications were reignited at dinner. That wasn’t the place or the time or the appropriate audience for us to go at each other.
I acknowledge that. But the two of us”—I hissed out a breath—“we’re like fire and water. ”
“After witnessing her reaction to you in my office, I’d say that’s the perfect description.
” He waited for me to look at him, and when I did, he stayed silent for a few seconds, moving his glasses to the top of his head, revealing eyes that were a deeper shade of green than mine.
“Is there anything I need to know, Colson?”
The shift in his voice and the hardness in his stature told me he’d just gone from broker to brother, but to confirm, I said, “What do you mean?”
“My sister isn’t normally the spicy one of the family. Sure, she has an opinion, and she lets it be known, but she’s not one to fight with anyone. Yet the way she acts around you tells me there’s something deeper going on. As her protector, I need to know what that is.”
“I have a sister whom I feel the same way about.”
He leaned his forearms on his thighs, the muscles in his jaw flexing as he ground his teeth. “So, you understand me when I say I would kill a motherfucker for her.”
My nose flared as I exhaled—for reasons he couldn’t possibly know. “Trust me, I do.”
“Are you telling me that whatever has happened between you two is nothing I need to worry about? Or has something gone down that would make my hands want to reach for your fucking throat?”
I smiled and chuckled. “I appreciate a dude who’s willing to sacrifice a deal over integrity.”
“Colson, my man, I learned at a young age that money isn’t everything. It helps, of course, and it makes life a hell of a lot easier, but family is really what matters most. I will put them above everything.”
“I like you, Hayden.”
“You haven’t answered my question.”
I waited several beats. “I think you have a pretty good idea of why your sister is fiery when it comes to me.” I let that settle within him, although I didn’t think he was shocked by a single morsel of that admission.
“But what I can assure you is that I would never do anything to put her in harm, and my intention isn’t to hurt her—personally or professionally. ”
Man to man, I wasn’t going to deny something Hayden had already assumed, which I could see in his eyes.
Lying wasn’t who I was. Besides, he wouldn’t want to strangle me for fucking his sister.
He would, however, want to strangle me for causing pain or damage.
Underneath everything he had said, that was what he was really asking.
His arms lifted off his thighs, and he pushed back into the couch. “Word is bond in my book.”
“Mine too.”
After several seconds, he reached toward me with a closed hand. “So, we understand each other?”
I pounded his fist. “We do.”
I certainly wasn’t going to ask Hayden for Sophie’s number. After the conversation we’d just had on the boat, that didn’t seem right. So, when I got off the yacht and went into his office building, I veered off to the restroom, and as I was headed down the hallway, I stopped outside Callum’s door.
He was at his desk, on the phone, rocking in his chair. When his stare connected with mine, he said, “Let me call you back.” He set his cell on the desk. “What’s up, buddy? You have a good day out there on the water?”
“It was great.” I nodded toward his window, where just outside was the boat Hayden and I had taken out. “I’ve got a question for you.” I stepped in. “More like a favor.”
“All right.” He brushed down his light-brown hair, like the wind had taken control of it.
“Is there any way you’ll give me Sophie’s number?”
He laughed, his arms crossing over his chest. “Wait. You’re serious?”
“I can’t ask Troy. It would be a work conflict.”
His brows rose. “And Hayden?”
I stopped in front of his desk. “You’re fucking kidding, right?” I squeezed the lip of the wood. “We both know I’m not going there with her brother.”
His exhale sounded like a whistle. “She’ll kill me.”
“She won’t know it’s you.”
“Oh, she’ll figure it out—I have zero doubt about that.” His arms went to his desk, and he leaned toward me. “What are you going to do with her number?”
I could lie. But again, that wasn’t me.
“I’m going to ask her to come over.”
He was trying to hide his smile. “You’ve got more work to hash out with her, brother?”
“You know … endless amounts.”
His chair bounced once, twice, three times before he picked up his phone. “I’ll deny it to my grave.”
“I already gave Hayden my word today. You have it too.”