“Why? You’re insanely impressive, and—”
“Don’t say it.” I moved up to the Rembrandt and adjusted it before cocking my head to the side.
“And he might be the one.” Dallen moved up and readjusted it back to the way it was before I touched it. “Leave it alone. It’s perfect. I promise.”
“All right, I’ll take your word for it.” I wrapped one arm around my waist and lifted my thumbnail to my lips, nibbling at it as I continued my walk down the hallway. I wasn’t looking for a man in my life. They were messy, and love clouded the waters of success.
“That he might be the one?”
I laughed sharply and paused, turning toward my associate. “No. He’s my, I mean, our new boss. Nothing more.”
“We shall see.” He waggled his eyebrows and walked past me.
I turned and started back for the Rembrandt. “Whatever.”
“Don’t touch that painting. Find someone else to pick on.” He laughed, and I tried to chuckle with him, but my emotions were twisting and turning inside of me.
One more person to try and prove myself to.
Great.
3
Hawke
“Pass the syrup.” I nodded at Lars as we sat in Catz Deli in downtown Seattle. A quick breakfast before going to visit with Dad’s lawyer had been Zak’s idea. He was the oldest and ringleader of the group.
“No.” Lars picked up his fork and scooped up a huge bite of eggs. He half-grinned at me as he shoveled the big bite into his mouth.
“Good God,” Zak mumbled and grabbed the syrup. He handed it to me and gave Lars a look. “Try not to start any shit today, okay?”
“What?” Lars mumbled through his mouthful. “I hate sticky shit.”
Zak wiped his hands for a few seconds and turned his attention to Kade. “Did you get any information on what’s in the will? A pre-read of any sort?”
“Of course not.” Kade leaned back in the booth beside me and wiped his mouth with his napkin. “You know Dad wasn’t the type to give out anything early.”
I snorted. “Remember that year he made us stay in bed until 7:53 on the fucking dot on Christmas morning?”
“Yes. It was your fault.” Lars gave me a look. “You just had to paint the walls of the playroom without asking.”
“I recall you helping, bitch.” I leaned forward and narrowed my eyes.
Lars lifted up a little and squared his shoulders. “What did you call me?”
“He called you a bitch, which you’re being.” Asher wiped his hands a few more times and dropped his napkin. “How the hell are all of us still single?”
A cute waitress walked by as if on cue. We all followed her with our gazes until she turned around the corner.
“I’m not interested in commitment. I like to fuck and fight. Period.” Lars shrugged before stealing a piece of bacon from Asher’s plate.
“Nothing has changed then.” He smiled and crossed his arms over his chest before focusing on me. “What’s the deal with you?”
“What? Why me?” I looked around at my brothers, none of us looking a damn thing like the other, which made sense.
“Because you’re the most likely to hook up with someone. You’re more feelie, you know?” Kade reached for his coffee cup.
“Pussy,” Lars mumbled before shoving more food in his mouth.
“I do like pussy.” I nodded and shrugged. “I haven’t found the right girl, and honestly, I haven’t been looking.”
“Been too busy painting the town?” Asher laughed at his own dumbass joke. The rest of us ignored him.
“I’ve been trying to make ends meet.” I folded a piece of toast in half and ate it quickly. Knowing Lars, he’d keep eating off everyone’s plates until none of us had anything left.
“I feel that.” Kade rubbed his chest. “I should have gone to college when Dad offered it.”
“No, you shouldn’t have. I did, and it was a waste of my time.” Asher glanced around at all of us. “I hate my job. Every day, I have to drag my ass out of bed. I’m praying like a motherfucker that Dad had something planned for each of us.”
“Nope. Fuck that.” Lars shook his head. “I’m not interested in being a pawn in Dad’s game from the grave.”
“I’m with him.” I nodded toward Lars. “Life’s not a bucket of roses, but it’s mine to make my own decisions with.”
“Hold up. Damn.” Kade turned toward me a little. “Dad wouldn’t impose on us, but you know he had a lot of businesses. The man was a billionaire.”
“And a greedy one at that,” Lars said.
“True, but we’re all getting something, guys. You can decide if you’re going to work in the business he gives you, or if you want to sell the damn thing, sell it.” Zak was the voice of reason.
“Guess it depends on what he gives me.” I leaned back and licked at my lips. “I’m honestly surprised he would give us anything.” I laughed, thinking about how strict our father had been about money. “He most likely put it into a trust, and we’ll all have to take a pee test to get our first ten bucks out of it.”
A collective laugh came from my brothers.
“Well, finish up. We need to get over there. Dad’s lawyer is expecting us in thirty minutes or so.” Asher moved out of the booth and stood up. “I’m going to wash my hands.”
“Sticky?” Lars gave him a shit-eating grin.
“Fuck you too, little brother.”
“Not my type, but thank you.” Lars turned back to the table and poked his finger in the middle of my remaining pancakes. “You gonna eat that?”
“Well, shit. Not now.” I pushed it toward him. “Fat ass.”
“All muscle, baby. Be jealous.” He waggled his eyebrows at me.
I had no doubt that we would all eventually settle down, but Lars would be last. There was no woman in the world that could put up with him and his tendencies, at least not one I’d met.
“Bill is paid. Let’s go.” Zak stopped beside the table and motioned for us to get up. We followed him out and squeezed into his beat-up Toyota Corolla.
“I still think Jagger is onto something. That fucker is living the life.” Lars leaned back and let out a long sigh. “He doesn’t have to deal with any of this shit.”
“Yeah, and he doesn’t have running water most likely.” I glanced back from the front passenger seat. “No thank you.”
“Who knows where he is?” Kade reached up to the front seat and turned the air conditioner on. “I’ll tell you one thing, though. I wouldn’t be living off the grid. I like cold beer, strip clubs, and air conditioning way too fucking much.”
“I hear that.” Asher pressed a few buttons on his GPS and drove us toward the huge skyscraper a few blocks away with my father’s name on it. We parked and got out, each of us keeping our thoughts to ourselves.
My stomach tightened at the thought of my father trying to force me into being a business man once again. Being the only one that stayed back in Seattle, he kept his eyes on me more than the other guys, which was good and bad.
My art was the only thing that mattered, and it was the source of my small income, but a huge part of my joy, my purpose.
“Let’s get this shit over with.” Lars moved up and held the door for us, surprising me a little. He tripped me as I walked through after Zak and Kade.
“Fucker.” I turned around and popped him in the chest.
“Fuck who?”
“Her.” I hit him again and smiled. “Idiot.”
“Yeah, but I’m y’all’s idiot.” He moved up beside me and elbowed me in the side. “I hate shit like this.”
“Join the club.” I walked into the elevator and took a deep breath before leaning back. A blond beauty walked into the elevator with us, the scent of her perfume filling up the confined space as the door closed.
Every one of my brothers stood taller, their shoulders back, chins up.
I held onto my laugh until she got off the elevator.
“She�
�s way out of your league. All of you.” I rolled my eyes.
They spent the short trip down the hallway talking about how each of them could easily have the woman wrapped around their fingers.
“And this is why we’re single.” I took my seat at a large oval table and tried to keep the mood light with a few jokes here and there. Nothing too heavy.
A middle-aged man stuck his head in moments later. “Morning, guys. I’m Henry Collinger, your father’s attorney. Anyone want coffee? Tea?”
“No, we’re just ready to get this show on the road,” Lars informed the poor guy. “Some of us are trying to get back home later today.”
“Oh, yes. Sorry.” He walked in and laid a large file on the table in front of his chair before sitting down. “Where is your fifth brother?”
“Jagger?” Zak asked. “He’s off the grid, man. We have no clue how to get a hold of him. Sorry.”
“All good. I’ll save his part for another time when he’s here.” The guy sat down in his chair, pulled at his tie a little, and opened the file. “Let’s get started. Your father bought multiple businesses just after your mother passed a few years back. Each of you will be getting a penthouse here in Seattle in a different building around downtown and ownership of one of these businesses. There are more of them than there are you, so some will be sold off and the money put into a trust for your children.”
“Told you.” I shook my head before turning my attention back to the lawyer. “Is there a pee test involved?”
My brothers cracked up, but the lawyer seemed confused.
“Um, no.” He flipped through a few papers before lifting one. “Kade?”
“Here.” Kade reached for the paper.
The lawyer proceeded to hand out a piece of paper to each of us before speaking again. By the time his voice broke the silence, we were each fully immersed in reading the document in front of us.
“Asher, the construction company is yours. Kade the private jet business. Lars the high-end body shop for luxury cars, and Hawke, the art gallery.”
My stomach tightened initially. An art gallery. I had no clue how to deal with the business side of things, but knowing that I would be surrounded by art and artists left me feeling better.
“It’s a second chance at life.” Kade glanced at Zak. “None of us have really done shit with our lives.”
“I agree.” Zak glanced down at his paper and a smile lifted his lips. “Looks like we’re all moving back to Seattle.”
“Nope. I’m not leaving Cali. Sorry, boys.” Lars handed the paper back to the lawyer and stood up. “Sell my shit, please. I’ll take the cash and start my own shop in LA.”
“Not how it works, but good try.” The lawyer put his file back together and stood. “My secretary will be in shortly to get you to sign papers. If you don’t take the business and make good on it, then you get nothing. The business will be taken from you and sold off.”
“Good. I suck. Take mine now.” Lars winked at the lawyer.
“And the proceeds will be split between your brothers. You get nothing.” It was the lawyer’s turn to wink.
“Well, shit balls,” Lars muttered and dropped back down.
“Should have handed over the syrup this morning, ass wipe. Karma is a bitch.” I smiled and enjoyed the sound of Zak and Kade chuckling.
“Morning, guys.” A soft voice stole my attention, and we all turned to see Mr. Collinger’s secretary.
Of course, it was the blond, and her shirt opened beautifully as she leaned over, allowing us access to see the creamy tops of her breasts.
We wrapped things up, and she walked out, but we all stayed in our chairs.
“You first.” I nodded to Lars.
“Fuck you too. You know I have a hard-on.”
Kade laughed heartedly. “We all do. Dad would roll over in his grave.”
“And get stuck on his side,” Lars grumbled, adjusting himself.
“How so?” Zak asked.
“He’d have a hard-on too, you idiot.”
“Too much.” I stood up and untucked my shirt. “Way too much.”
“That’s what she said.” Lars snorted and got up too.
Having my brothers back in town was going to be great and not so great.
Hopefully, my father knew what he was doing, giving us such a big responsibility.
“You guys ready to fuck up Dad’s inheritance?” Kade asked and moved out into the hallway.
“Yep. One boner at a time.” I smiled and moved to the front of the group.
Who the fuck knew what we were getting ourselves into?
4
Jenna
“You look like hell. Long weekend? Dick too big?” Dallen gave me a cute smile.
“No, you idiot.” I moved around the sunroom, a place where we stored our extra art under the right type of lighting to keep it safe. It was bright like the sun shining through a hundred windows. It felt safe, warm, beautiful to me. “I’m just stressed.”
“You seriously need to get laid, Jenna. You’re always under stress, and if you’ll let me speak freely, you’re always here.” The punk-rock looking guy gave me a knowing look.
“If I’ll let you speak freely?” I snorted and laughed. “As if you’ve held your tongue since day one. You need a filter like I need a dick.”
“Hmm... that’s a big need.” He reached up and covered his mouth with his hands, his blue fingers nails catching my attention as he mumbled his next words through his hands.
“Stop that,” I barked and reached up to pull his hands down. “I was just kidding.”
“I wasn’t.” He put a hand on his hip and lifted one shapely eyebrow. “You need to find someone or something else to take up some of your time. You’re going to grow old here.”
“Maybe.” I turned around in a slow circle. I missed dancing, but I’d been relieved years ago of my position with the New York Academy Company. Something about not being good enough.
It was a bit of a theme in my life.
“For sure.” He reached out and grabbed my shoulder, pulling me a little closer. “Look at me.”
“I am.” I held my breath and tried to dismiss the shitty realization that nothing was better in the gallery because of me. There was order from chaos, but I didn’t have the artistic eye that most gallery owners or managers had. I was a dancer with a dream of doing something I loved. When the music stopped playing and real life stepped in, the job for the gallery seemed like a Godsend.
“Go to the salon. This place is dead on Mondays.”
“That’s because we’re closed, nuggethead.” I rolled my eyes and let out a laugh, releasing the breath I’d been holding.
“I knew that would draw a smile from you.” He rubbed my shoulders as his expression softened. “You were here all weekend at the open house showing. Go get your hair did or your nails done.”
I smiled at his silly words but nodded. “You’re right. I’ll go see Lisa for the afternoon.” I glanced around. “You sure you’re—”
“Yes. I love this place like you do. I’ll get everything put back in its place, and I’ll unload all of the shipments from last week.”
“Lay them out in here so we can make some decisions tomorrow on what our next month’s theme will be.”
“Will do, boss. Now, go enjoy a little bit of time out of here, okay?”
“Okay.” I offered him a smile before moving out of his grasp. After grabbing my purse and locking my office, I was in my Mini Cooper, on my way to Lisa’s salon. My best friend since coming to the city was as wild as they got, but I was grateful for her.
I smiled at the thought of how we’d become friends just three short years before.
My life had been in shambles, and my mother made me feel better by reminding me that my hair looked like shit. Her visit to Seattle all those years ago was her first and last.
“The city is filled with too much color. It smells rancid, and everyone looks like they’re dressed up in their parents’ cloth
es, trying to play adult. It’s disgusting. You’re wasting your life.” Her voice rang in my ears, the memory as real now as it was back then.
My first stop after the airport to drop her off was a cute little hair salon down in the art district. The walls were bright and filled with color, the music loud and fun—rebellious.
Lisa was everything I wasn’t, and I fell in love with her the first time we met.
I turned up the music in my car as I drove her way, pondering on how much I appreciated the chance encounter with her. Outside of her and Dallen, I’d kept to myself. My job at the gallery was full-time, which meant most nights and weekends, I was up there. Not that I minded. Wasting away around such beautiful expressions of emotion felt somewhat liberating.
“I’m going to waste away somewhere.” I pulled up to the shop and got out. After tugging my hair from the high ponytail I had it in, I walked into the shop and smiled.
The smell of ginger and soy sauce filled the air, and some Jamaican-sounding tune played from the speakers.
“Jenna! Come over here, girl.” Lisa’s smile was so big that I could see the side of her back molars. “We still on for our dinner and ballet date tomorrow night for my birthday?”
“Of course we are. I can’t wait!” I couldn’t help but offer the same type of smile. “Hey. Thanks for fitting me in last minute.”
She chuckled. “I’d fit you in anytime. You know that.”
“Oh yeah?” I moved into her arms for a warm hug. How she felt like family was beyond me, but I wasn’t willing to question it. Life was lonely enough as it was. “You’d bump some high-paying lady for me?”
“First of all, ain’t nobody high-paying coming here, and secondly, yes. I’d just tell the client that something came up. Like vomit.” She pulled back and giggled. “I’m terrible.”
“Going to hell terrible for sure.” I released her. “I’m not sure what you want to do with this mop, but Dallen forced me out of the gallery.”
Hawke: The Miles Brothers Series 1 Page 2