Hate to Love You Strong Brothers #4)

by Ajme Williams

  "And you’re choosing out?" Hunter stared at me hard, and I didn’t like feeling guilty. I wasn’t leaving the family. Why did they treat me like a traitor for wanting something else?

  "Nobody's going to push you out of this family, Noah, but I have to wonder if maybe that's really what you want."

  For some reason this conversation was going off the rails quickly. "I don't want out of the family, Hunter, I just want to be free to do what I want to do and be who I want to be. It doesn't seem that much to ask considering the rest of you do that. I don't remember people telling Carter, he can't travel, or you not being able to open a restaurant —"

  "No, but we're still here for the family, for the company, even though we do those other things. I know you Noah. I know you're thinking of moving away. Of course, you are. Silicon Valley is where your tribe is, and we really do want to support you in whatever it is that you want to do. My point is that you should be sure that it really is what you want to do. Are you just running? Are you prepared to be away from Gran? From dad?”

  “Silicon Valley is less than six hundred miles from here. It’s not like I’ll be the moon and can’t come visit.”

  He nodded. “It just feels like you’re fighting something. Or maybe you’re trying to prove something. The point is, I’m not sure your goals are for the right reason, and I’m just saying that whatever you do, make sure you’re being true to what you want. Riding your motorcycle, sowing your oats, that’s all fine. You’re young. But it’s not something to build a future on, even in Silicon Valley. Someday you have to grow up, Noah.”

  “Not so long ago, I would have thought you’d be the last person in the world to tell me that my lifestyle was wrong.”

  "There's a time you would've been right, but I've learned that sometimes we think we know what we want, but in fact the choices we’re making are all about avoiding something else. And what we really want we’re too afraid to believe in or go after."

  I scoffed. "Now you're contradicting yourself. One minute you’re telling me I shouldn’t go after my dreams because I might not really want it, and now you’re saying if I don’t go after them, I might regret it."

  "What I'm saying is you want to be sure that what you think you really want is what you really want." Hunter stood with his hands on his hips. "All that techie computer stuff, you can do that here. You can't tell me that this Hong Kong thing isn't right up your alley.”

  I nodded and conceded that it was.

  "So, what's the big deal? Why is it that you're so adamant that the thing you want to do can't be done here? You’ve got a great situation handed to you here. Anyone else would be thrilled."

  I looked away, because I wasn't about to admit to Hunter that I didn't feel comfortable being handed a job because I knew I wouldn't be respected as having earned it. And then of course there was Andi.

  Hunter looked outside the door as if he was checking to see if anyone was there. Then he closed the door slightly. "This trip we know is exactly the type of thing that you like to do. So, I'm wondering if part of your reluctance has to do with Andi?"

  How the fuck did he know? "Why would you say that?"

  Hunter smirked at me. "You might have everybody else fooled, but I see how you look at her when you don't think anybody notices. You've got the hots for Gran’s assistant. And now you're about to go off on a trip to Hong Kong working in close quarters."

  I waved his comment away. “You should get your eyes checked because you’re seeing things Hunter. You don’t seem to have noticed that she hates my guts.”

  He grinned. “I wouldn’t be so sure about that.”

  There had to be something seriously wrong with Hunter if he believed Andi thought anything more of me than pond scum.

  “You know, you two remind me some of me and Natalie. We didn’t like each other either, but it turned out all that negative tension was actually a potent attraction. You can’t tell me you don’t think Andi’s attractive.”

  “Do you?” I’d have to kick his ass if he said yes, which was annoying because I wasn’t supposed to care.

  He laughed. “You and her make sparks. Maybe you should figure what that’s about.”

  "You’re doing it again. You're thinking that I want what you have and that's not the case. I want to be free to do my own thing and make my own way."

  Hunter shrugged. "All I'm saying is that if you like her, maybe you should take the time to explore that on this trip. I'm not saying you have to marry her, but it hasn't escaped my notice that for somebody who doesn't want to work here, you sure spent a lot of time and always find opportunities to get in her way. You’re like a schoolboy, Noah.

  My hackles rose, probably because he was right. “She works for Gran, that makes her off-limits. Even if I did like her, which I don't.”

  Hunter grinned even wider. “I think you protest too much. And remember, you don't actually work here. And if you do this trip, you definitely won't be working here so she's not off-limits.”

  “She works for Gran, so that by definition makes her off-limits."

  “Gran would never get in the way of love,” Hunter said.

  I shook my head wondering how Hunter's brain had gotten so addled.

  “Don’t deny it, little brother. You’ve got the hots for her. Trust me, I know the signs.”

  “Again, you need your eyes checked. Would I mind heating up the sheets with Andi? No. But that’s all it’s about. I'm not going to jeopardize her and Gran’s relationship simply to get my rocks off one night.”

  Hunter studied me for a moment, and then said, "All right, if you say so. But I know first-hand that Cupid has an odd sense of humor, and he'll get out and shoot his arrow up your ass without you even noticing it."

  "Cupid is not shooting his arrow at me," That, I was sure of.

  4

  Andi

  Up until a few years ago, Strong, Incorporated was primarily distributing its footwear through the United States. By the time I was hired, Margaret had stopped traveling, and instead was letting her grandsons deal with that aspect of the business within the United States.

  The European expansion was mostly Ryan's doing, while the Asian expansion had been Carter's. As a result, I had never had a chance to travel for the business. So now, sitting on an airplane flying to Hong Kong, I was excited. Most of my travels through my life were throughout California and the Southwest, with my only international trip down to Tijuana, Mexico when I turned twenty-one.

  Excited wasn't the right word for this trip. Giddy was more like it, but I wasn't going to let Noah know. The last thing I needed was for him to think I was a silly girl, an unworldly one at that.

  The flight was long, about eighteen hours, so I booked us in first class which had the wider seats that reclined for sleeping. Because of the short notice, I wasn’t able to get the fancy flights with separate sleeping berths, which would have been preferable than sitting and sleeping next to Noah.

  Even so, I couldn't imagine sleeping on this trip. The flight would be several hours to Hawaii, another place I'd never been, and wished I'd been able to arrange a stopover. And then we would be on to Hong Kong, a city that seemed so far away and exotic to me.

  As the plane's wheels lifted off the ground, I held in the squeal of delight. I bit my lip, looking out the window watching as the ground dropped away. I reminded myself that this was a working trip, and I couldn't get too caught up in the travel aspect of this journey.

  As the plane began to level out, I glanced at Noah, who was being a typical rich kid who didn't understand how many opportunities his life had afforded him, and therefore I was pretty sure he didn't appreciate them. He was flying to Hong Kong, but he looked bored. I was sure he would much rather be on his motorcycle cruising up the coastline.

  But he was here. He was going to help his grandmother out. Of course, he wasn't being completely altruistic in helping his grandmother deal with this problem in the business. It was surprising how disappointed it made me that whe
n we were back, I wouldn't be seeing him anymore. He was such a pest. Like a gnat that I often wanted to swat away, and yet the idea of not finding him in Margaret's office, teasing and poking at me, was sad.

  A flight attendant came by offering champagne. I wasn’t able to stop the quick flash of my grin at the idea of having free champagne in first class, but I quickly tamped it down before Noah would catch on. I took a glass of the golden bubbly, sipping and enjoying the way the bubbles tickled my nose.

  "I'll have a whiskey on the rocks," Noah told the flight attendant. She smiled and I noted that she was a beautiful Asian woman and I wondered if Noah was thinking about asking her out when we arrived in Hong Kong. Now that Hunter was married and off the market, Noah seemed to be taking up the Strong reputation for womanizing.

  I knew I had hours and hours before we arrived, but I pulled out my phone to review our schedule. I sent Phil in the Hong Kong office our travel plans and itinerary before we left. He said he would arrange to have transportation for us from the airport to the hotel.

  I booked a two-bedroom suite in the hotel which would give Noah and I space while at the same time, a place to work that would be safe from prying eyes, especially since we were going to have our own VPN for secure online access and communications between us and the Hong Kong office, as well as back in California.

  "Here's to not annoying each other to death," Noah said, holding up his drink.

  I clicked my glass against his and worked to avoid saying something snarky. He was in charge on this trip which sort of made him my boss. I didn’t want to do anything that might jeopardize my employment.

  As I sipped my drink, Noah studied me for a moment, and I worked not to shift uncomfortably in my seat.

  "I guess you've probably traveled with Gran, huh?"

  I shook my head. "No, your grandmother hasn't traveled for business since I started working for her."

  Noah seemed to think about that for a moment. "Do you like to travel? What places have you been to?"

  I suspected that I would like to travel given how excited I was about this trip, but I hadn't spent any time traveling since I started working for Strong Incorporated. "I don't really travel very much. Not since I left college and started working."

  Noah frowned. "Surely, Gran pays you enough you can afford to take a nice trip every now and then."

  Noah's grandmother paid me very well. Well enough that I'd been able to save for a deposit on a cute little bungalow in a quaint neighborhood. Since it was just me, I didn't have many expenses beyond my mortgage. I’d already paid off my car. So, all my extra money went into savings and retirement. At 24, I was financially quite secure. Not bad for a woman who grew up in foster care. I was lucky that I didn’t have the horror experience that many had. I simply got what I needed and when I turned eighteen, set off to make my way in the world. I was strong and smart, and with Margaret as my mentor, I’d achieved my goals.

  "She does, but I've invested my money into my home and my savings.

  Noah drooped his head and started to snore.

  Anger grew inside me as once again I knew he was suggesting that my financial plan was boring, which was rich considering the family he came from. He didn't have to earn anything. He worked when he wanted and spent the rest of his time riding his motorcycle, or fucking as many women as he could come across.

  "You're a jerk, you know that Noah?" I turned and looked out the window although there wasn't much to see anymore since we were over the Pacific Ocean.

  "You're too young to not be taking some me time to use that good income to enjoy your life."

  I turned to look at him working to hold my anger in check. "And you still need to grow up and realize that not everybody is born with a silver spoon in their mouth and can do whatever they want because their grandma and their brothers will support his bacchanalian lifestyle." I glared at him. "Have you earned anything you've ever gotten in your life Noah?"

  He flinched and his jaw tightened as he turned away from me. It wasn't the reaction I expected, and I wasn't quite sure what it meant. But the fact that my comment seemed to have landed was all I needed to know.

  Noah pulled out his laptop opening it up and I nearly made a joke about wondering if he was going to watch porn, but he pulled up some sort of program that had coding in it, so apparently, he was going to work.

  There was nothing I needed to do on the trip, so I decided that I would watch a movie. The movie I ended up choosing was a sexy little romcom that on the one hand I thought was stupid, because let's face it, real life doesn't end with happily ever after's, but at the same time thought it was sweet. I suppose it tugged at something inside me that wanted a true love. I'd seen Ryan and then Hunter and now Carter find it, but I knew it wasn't something that was out there for me. I was smart and independent, but I also knew that being outspoken and sometimes prickly, as my last boyfriend had called me, made it so that many men felt I was more than they wanted to handle. And I wasn't one of those women who was going to try and change to win a man.

  I settled in and began to watch the movie.

  The plane droned on, and I leaned my head back in the seat. I turned to look at Noah whose head was facing me, his blue eyes piercing, and his smile sexy as sin.

  “What are you looking at?” I asked.

  “You. Do you believe in all that happily ever after, bullshit?” he said nodding toward the screen playing the movie.

  “No.”

  “Are you a virgin?”

  I gaped. I was going to threaten to call HR, but I was over the Pacific Ocean. Actually, honestly, my girly parts flared to life louder than I was incensed.

  “No.”

  I didn’t think it was possible for his smile to grow. Not just wider, but more lecherous. “Are you a member of the-mile-high club?”

  “You know I’m not.”

  “You have an opportunity to join.” His fingers brushed over my nipples shocking a gasp out of me. I looked around the plane but there was no one there.

  I turned to look at him again, wondering what was going on.

  “Do you ever touch yourself, Andi?”

  “Sometimes,” I admitted. In my brain I was screaming to shut up. Why was I having this conversation with him?

  “Do you ever think of me?” his hand slid down over my thigh and under my dress, which was odd because I’d boarded this plane wearing slacks.

  “Sometimes.” Good God, he would definitely use that against me. I didn’t even want to admit to myself that he was front and center when me and my vibrator were in the tub.

  “Do I make you come?”

  I moaned as his fingers rubbed over my clit. “Yes.”

  “Good.”

  I wanted to ask him the same questions, but his fingers were doing delicious things to me. My head rolled to the side and my hand pressed over his chest, my fingers gripping him as my orgasm hit and rocked through me.

  I jerked awake, disoriented, wondering where I was. I opened my eyes scanning my surroundings. Airplane. Oh God. I didn’t just let Noah finger me, did I?

  I looked at the seat next to me. It was then that I realized that my head was on his shoulder, and my hand over his heart. I looked up at him wondering if he was going to give me a hard time about it. But then I noticed that his head was back and his eyes were closed. Stranger still, he had his hand over mine on his chest. It was all a little too close for comfort, and not something I wanted to have to acknowledge to myself, much less to him. So, I gently pulled my hand out from under his and straightened in my seat.

  "At least you don't snore," he said, his eyes still closed.

  Somehow, I survived that embarrassment, and hours later we landed in Hong Kong.

  True to his word. Phil had sent somebody to take us from the airport to the hotel. As the car wove through the city it was really difficult for me to hold in my excitement. There was so much. Lights and sounds and scents. It was all overwhelming my senses and I couldn't help but grin at the beauty and e
xcitement of it all.

  A little concerned that I was giving Noah something to tease me about, I looked over at him. He was watching me in a way that I hadn't seen before. It wasn't his usual cocky smirk.

  "I guess you've seen this all before," I said allowing myself to give in a little bit about how new this was for me.

  He gave a nod. "I've been fortunate to travel a lot. After college I traveled to as many places as I could."

  I looked back out the window holding back a comment about how nice it must be to be able to travel without concerns about a job or cost.

  We arrived at the hotel and entered the lobby. Since I had made all the arrangements, I was the one who checked us in.

  "You’re in our presidential suite on the top floor."

  "What?" Noah asked next to me. "I asked for two rooms."

  The clerk looked at him a little bit surprised, and then at me with an expression that seemed to ask what should she do. She looked down at her computer and then back up at Noah. "I'm sorry, but that's all we have right now."

  He glared at me in annoyance, although I didn’t know why. In my gut, I took his reaction personally. Like he had a problem being around me.

  Since there was nothing that could be done, Noah had no choice but to go with it.

  "Here are your keys, and we’ll make arrangements to have somebody bring up your bags for you. Is there anything else you need?" she asked, and I wondered if going the extra mile was because they were dealing with Noah Strong rich playboy, or if they gave that kind of service to everyone at the hotel.

  Noah and I got in the elevator and I pushed the button for the floor.

  Noah turned to me. "Why are we in the same room?"

  I bristled, but worked to not reveal how hurt his attitude towards me was. "You can relax Noah, there are two rooms. I booked a suite because we're working here to find out who is hacking your company's system, and it seemed to me that it would be better to work in a private suite than out in the open where it makes it easier for people to know what you're doing and hack some more."