“He offered me a job,” Andi said.
I looked at her, thinking how funny it was that she accused me of betraying the company, while she was off getting a job offer from him.
“Did he tell you his plan?” Ryan asked.
She looked at me and for the first time I saw in her eyes that she knew she’d been wrong about me and Chen. “Not specifically.”
“He told her I was the hacker,” I said, not letting her off the hook.
Hunter snorted. “He is a dumbass.”
At least the people who mattered most didn’t buy what Chen was selling about me.
“There’s been heavy trading on the stock. It’s not his company, but maybe he’s using some sort of other front.”
“So, he’s trying for a hostile takeover,” Gran said.
“That’s what I suspect. After Noah’s call earlier, I thought Chen just wanted control in Hong Kong, but if there’s stock buying, I think we need to consider he’s making a play for the company,” Carter said.
“So, we buy up more shares ourselves,” Hunter suggested.
“I don’t think that will be enough. At least not soon enough,” I said. “I think we should buy Chen’s business.”
“What?” Ryan asked.
Even Andi looked at me like I was nuts. Then again, she thought I’d betray my family.
“If Chen’s company ends up owning Strong Incorporated, then if we own Chen’s company, we still own Strong Incorporated.”
“Brilliant,” Hunter said.
“And it means we control the supply chain there,” Gran said.
“We should have thought of that before,” Carter said. “I have the valuations of his company. I think it’s doable.”
“It will take some interesting maneuvering,” Ryan said.
“If you boys pull this off, I’ll know for sure that I can retire,” Gran said. “Now that we know what’s up, you two should come home. Phil will know what to do there.”
“I still haven’t found the entry for the hack,” I said.
“What does it matter now? We know the scheme is Chen’s,” Carter asked.
“Because it’s possible it’s someone in the company. At the very least, if there’s a vulnerability, we need to find it,” I said. I didn’t want to work for my grandmother’s company, but also, I didn’t want to leave a job undone.
“Can you do that from here?” Ryan asked. “Aren’t all the computers connected?”
I’d been through all the computers here, so he had a point. It also meant that it was possible the breach had been made through the main office; in which case it would be better to be there.
“Yeah, okay. We’ll come home.”
We said our goodbyes and I hung up, reaching for the bottle of scotch again.
“Should I book us flights?” Andi asked.
“Yes. Actually, find us a charter. It will be faster and give us that space you so desperately like.”
She exhaled. “Noah, I’m—”
I stood. “I’m going to pack. You should do the same. I’ll meet you downstairs.”
An hour and half later, we were stepping into a sleek private charter jet.
The co-pilot welcomed us on board. “I’m sorry sir, we don’t have an onboard steward at this time. We’ve been looking—”
“No problems. Just get us back to San Diego.”
“The kitchen and bar are fully stocked. Simply help yourself,” he said.
“Thanks.” Twenty minutes later we were up in the sky heading east to California. “It’s late and we have a long flight. There’s a bed back there. You can take it,” I told Andi.
“Where will you sleep?” she asked.
I nodded toward the couch. “If I get tired, I’ll lay down there. I have some work I need to do.”
“For the company?”
I glared at her. “No. It’s my own project. The one you think I’m wasting my time on.”
She looked at me with sad eyes. “Noah, I was—”
I held up a hand. “There’s no need. I knew this would happen. Well, not this but I knew that pursuing you would end badly.”
“I’m sorry.”
I shrugged and opened my laptop, not wanting her sad face to sway my feelings. She’d hurt me. I didn’t want her to make me feel bad for being angry at that by having to see her regret and shame.
“C’est la vie, eh?”
She watched me for a moment and then headed to the back of the plane to the bedroom.
I started to work on my new project but wasn’t in the right frame of mind to deal with it. Annoyed that Andi had taken even that away from me, I pushed it aside and stared out the window. It was dark except for a bright moon. What I’d do to fly there and get away from all this bullshit.
“Noah?” Andi startled me.
“What? Is something wrong?”
She nodded and only then did I notice tears in her eyes. She’d been crying.
“What?” I stood, worried that Chen had done something nutty or she’d heard that maybe Gran was sick.
“Me.”
I frowned. “What’s wrong? Did you hurt yourself?” I scanned her body looking for signs of injury wondering how she’d have gotten hurt in bed.
“Yes. Worse, I hurt you.”
I stilled as I realized she wasn’t injured. She was feeling guilty. While I appreciated that she recognized what she’d done, that didn’t mean I was ready to forgive her.
I shrugged. “I always knew you didn’t think much of me—”
“That’s not true.”
“You’re tired. Why don’t you get some rest?” I said, not wanting to have this discussion. I was angry, but I also hated seeing her in such distress. I knew it would impact me. It might even cause me to forgive her.
“I can’t. Not until you let me say my side of the story. I know it won’t change anything, but I need you to hear it. Please.”
I blew out a breath and leaned against the back of the seat crossing my arms. “Alright.”
“I was wrong. I didn’t believe it really.”
I arched a brow at her because I didn’t believe her.
She huffed out a breath. “I second guessed you and that was wrong. I feel so horrible about it.”
I realized that until I did give her a sign that I’d forgive her, she’d be needing to convince me she felt bad. “I understand,” I said. “You’re not the first and won’t be the last to think what you did.”
I moved to sit down.
“Why did you sleep with me?”
I closed my eyes because that was definitely a discussion I didn’t want to have. Finally, I faced her. “I told you.” I’d fucking opened myself to her and she shit all over me.
She swallowed. “I’d have probably said yes.”
Now I was lost. “About what?”
“If you’d asked me to ride off with you that first day you gave me a ride on your bike, I might have said yes.”
That felt like a million years ago.
“I’d probably still say yes. It scares me, but I’d say yes.”
At first, I was offended that she was scared, but I realized I’d been scared too. “Well, we knew it would blow up in our faces.”
She shook her head. “You thought that.”
“And I was right. I should have never touched you. I should have just left everything as it was.”
She wiped a tear and I wondered why that comment hurt her so much. “I should have trusted you. Not just with Chen’s accusations, but when you touched me. When you told me you liked me. If I had—”
“Maybe it’s best that we don’t go there.”
“I can’t stop. All I can think about is how I hurt you, and how if I’d put more faith in us maybe we could see where things went. I messed that up and if I knew how to fix it I would. Can I fix it, Noah? What would it take?”
I could feel my heart softening in my chest. It started when she said she’d have gone with me if I’d asked her. She would still go with
me.
“Why?”
Her fists clenched in frustration. “I told you why. Just because I messed up royally doesn’t mean I don’t want you.”
“I think it does. How can you want me if you’d think I’d betray my family? If you think I’m a slacker living off my inheritance. I doubt that opinion has changed.”
She covered her mouth as if she was trying to stop a cry. “In Hong Kong I saw a smart businessman. You wielded power and authority. And I don’t know what you do with your projects, but I’d like to know. And if me or your family has made you feel dismissed or unvalued, I know we’d all like to fix that.”
“You want to give me what I need?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t want anyone to give me anything. The entire world thinks I’ve been given everything. For once I’d like to earn my respect, not just get it from being Margaret Strong’s grandson.”
She stopped short and I realized I’d said too much.
“Is that why you don’t want to work for the company? Because you think she’s giving you the job to keep you out of trouble?”
I went to the kitchenette area and found the tiny little liquor bottles. I grabbed a couple, not caring what they were.
“Oh Noah. Do you really think Margaret would hand her company over to anyone, even you, if she didn’t think you could do it?”
“I didn’t earn it,” I snapped.
Andi came to me and wished I wasn’t on the plane because her nearness was discombobulating. “Do you think Ryan, Carter and Hunter didn’t earn their place?”
I shrugged. “They didn’t have to. They have nothing to prove?”
She frowned at me as I downed the first shot. “Why do you?”
I looked at her. “I’m the baby, Andi. I can barely remember my mother. That makes them all feel sorry for me. And so, they give and give, and give more when I try to get away from their pity. In school, any success I had, it was because of them. In life, anything I do, it’s because of them.”
“I’m sure they don’t mean to—”
“They don’t have to. Look at you. You think the same as they do. I couldn’t even fucking earn you.”
I walked away feeling raw.
“You’re wrong.”
I scoffed.
“It was me that didn’t earn you. And I’m about to betray your grandmother, but you need to know, she’s so proud of you. She wants you in the company because she knows if you were, this wouldn’t be happening.”
I whirled on her. “So, this hack is my fault?”
Andi let out a small growl. “No. That’s not what I’m saying and not what she believes. She knows you’re the best at what you do. That’s why she begged you to go. That’s one of the reasons she made the deal.”
“One reason?” What did Andi know?
She sighed. “She knows you want to do your own thing. And she wants you to.”
“She wants me to work for her.”
“She wants you to stop hiding from her. She wants you to stand up and take charge of your life. Yes, she’d like it to be with Strong Incorporated, but if not, she wants you to fulfill your dream.”
I had that strange feeling in my chest again like when Gran told me she trusted me. “Why is this a secret?”
“It’s not a secret per se, it’s just not for me to say. Margaret expects my confidence.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose feeling exhausted emotionally.
She let out a sigh. “I know you plan to leave, Noah. That’s probably partly why you said I was a mistake.”
Jesus, was she going to harp on that again?
“I want you to know, it wasn’t a mistake. Even if you never forgive me, I won’t regret it. None of it. Starting with the years of sparring with you.”
I couldn’t stop the upward twitch of my lips because I’d liked the sparring too.
“The sex. The fighting. I loved all of it. The only regret I have is how disastrously I hurt you.” She let out another long breath. “I’m going to lay down now. I want to be fresh when we arrive.”
I nodded and watched her head to the back. I stood there for a few moments unsure what the fuck I was feeling. I started back to the bedroom.
I opened the door, looking in. Andi was on her side facing away from me, but rolled to her back when I entered. “Is something wrong?”
I stalked to the bed and then crawled on it, moving my body over hers. “Would you go with me to Silicon Valley if I asked?” Remembering how fond she was of my grandmother, I added, “When Gran retires?”
She swallowed hard and her hand came up to my face. “I’ll go now. If you ask.”
My heart broke open then. I was still scared shitless that she didn’t trust me enough. But my heart didn’t seem to give a fuck. All it wanted was her.
So be it.
I lowered my body down, pressing her into the mattress. Her hands tentatively looped around my neck.
“Are you going to forgive me?” she asked.
“It appears so,” I said.
She nodded, although I could tell my answer wasn’t as definitive as she’d like. “Will you touch me again?”
“Yes.” Then I stopped all conversation by pressing my lips to hers in a firm kiss.
24
Andi
The first time I had sex with Noah I’d thought I was dreaming. The next time it was like a dream too. But this time, I had to be dreaming because it didn’t make sense that he’d want to touch me after what I’d accused him of. What had I been thinking? I’d known he wouldn’t betray his family and yet I let Chen’s arguments cloud my judgement.
Noah had been angry, and I wished he’d confronted me harder on that. Instead, what I saw most was pain. I’d hurt him and that was difficult to bear.
So why was he kissing me? Touching me as he removed my clothes?
Whatever the reason, I held on to him and committed myself to making amends anyway I could. I soaked up his kisses. I melted from his touch, and then I turned the tables. I pushed him back, and straddled him.
He looked up at me and while I saw amusement and desire, the pain lingered as well. I leaned over to kiss him again, wishing I could kiss his hurt away. I wish I could take back what I’d done or make him forget.
I lifted my head, hovering my lips over his as I gazed down on him. My hand caressed his cheek. I’d seen Noah often over the last few years, but I’d never really looked deep into him. I’d fallen for the bad boy on the bike from day one, but had been resentful since that he’d pushed me away when he learned I worked for his grandmother. If that wasn’t proof of his commitment to her, I don’t know what was, and I’d messed that up.
“You’re thinking when we should be fucking,” he said, his hands gently caressing my thighs.
“I’m sorry.” The words felt so inadequate. So, I did the next best thing, I caressed his body, my kisses following my hands as I did. He sighed and groaned, and I was so pleased he was relinquishing his pleasure to me.
“Fuck me, Andi,” he said on a hoarse breath. It made me wonder if he needed this connection as much as I did.
I rose over him. “Noah.”
His eyes opened and looked straight at me. Only then did I sink down, taking him as deeply as I could.
He levered up, threading his fingers through my hair and pulling me to him for a firm, thorough kiss. I closed my eyes, taking it all in. I couldn’t know what was going to happen in the future. But in this moment, he was mine. He was inside me, pulsing with life. He should be rejecting me, but instead, he was holding me.
His arms slid around my back, holding me to him as his kisses trailed away from my lips, over my jaw and down. He sucked one of my nipples into his mouth and all thought flitted away as sensation shot to my pussy.
“Just fuck me,” he murmured.
How he knew I was perseverating on what I’d done, I didn’t know, but he asked me to push that away, so I did. Instead, I focused on him, sliding up and down, rocking back and forth
, taking in every groan he let out when I did.
He fell back, his hands gripping my hips guiding me as I rode him. His body moved with mine, rising and falling in sync with me.
“Fuck…I’m going to come,” he growled. “Come with me. Take me over.” His thumb slid over my clit, and any control I had flew away.
“Noah!” I cried out as pleasure whipped through me like a summer storm. It gripped my pussy and radiated outward to the rest of my body.
“Yes! Fuck yes, Andi,” he growled as he bucked up in his own release. We moved with abandon, riding out the pleasure until we both were spent.
I wanted to lay on him and take in his warmth, but didn’t feel worthy. I moved off and to the side. His arm snaked out, wrapping around me and pulling me to him.
I wonder what this moment was about. Was this our last hurrah before we landed in San Diego. I knew he planned to leave. He inquired if I’d go with him if he asked, but he never really came out and asked.
“I didn’t realize you always thought so much,” he murmured next to me.
“I’m sorry.”
He turned his head. “You don’t have to be sorry about everything, Andi.”
“I’m sor—” I turned away, feeling like a complete idiot.
“Andi.”
I couldn’t look at him. He pulled me to him, until I had no choice but to face him.
“I made mistakes too. Let’s just move on.”
“What mistakes?”
“Well, I accused you of sleeping with me and Chen for one. And I can’t fucking believe you went out with him again.”
My instincts had me bristling at his words. Was he accusing me again? Or just being judgmental?
“He could have hurt you.”
I didn’t expect that. “I didn’t think he was dangerous.”
“We don’t know if he is or not. But money makes people do crazy things sometimes. I don’t want to find out if he’s dangerous by sacrificing your safety.”
My heart melted again. “I feigned seasickness to get off the boat.”
He smiled. “You’re quick on your feet. Please don’t do it again.”
I nodded. “I don’t have any plans to see Marcus.”
Hate to Love You Strong Brothers #4) Page 14