by Tara Rose
But Taj and Jeff’s ancestors had been greedy and ruthless. The original inhabitants of the island were escaped criminals from several Caribbean islands. They’d come here to hide, and had brought with them a blend of religions, including Santería and various forms of voodoo and black magic. From what Alaina had been told over the years, no one knows for certain who conjured what, but the story was that a demon was involved once the men took over the island and their dynasty had been built. They made this island their private retreat for sex games and debauchery, and that’s also why they renamed it Sybaris Cove.
The demon’s curse was designed to teach the four the error of their ways. They couldn’t leave the island until they learned to stop exploiting others and lived useful, virtuous lives. That never happened. William, Robert, Iago, and Agapito each died trying to leave the island, and any of their males descendants who also tried to leave died before they got very far into the Gulf of Mexico.
Alaina had no idea if the curse was real or not, but since everyone who lived on this island believed it was, she went along with it. But curses and demons weren’t going to solve this issue. She wasn’t going to lose her job because Alex kept screwing up his. She didn’t care whose back pocket he was in.
“We can do something about it. We’re in charge of this department.” Taj’s firm voice snapped her back to the present, but Alaina couldn’t help but remember the prior conversations she’d had with them about Alex. Nothing had changed. “We’ll take care of it.”
“All right. I can’t ask for more than that. Thank you.” She wasn’t satisfied, but what else could she say? If she pushed this any further, she’d risk losing their respect. And now that she knew something was going on behind the scenes, she could do a little digging on her own. She wasn’t simply going to let this drop. Losing Restraining Orders was too much of a risk.
Jeff frowned. “You don’t look convinced.”
“I just don’t know what else to say. There are too many secrets I’m not privy to. I feel outnumbered and I don’t like it. And as I said, we’re not only talking about my job. We’re talking about a customer. A big one.”
“We know that. I promise you that we will take care of it.”
She took a couple of steps backward. “Thank you. I appreciate you both listening to my concerns.”
As she turned to open the door, Taj moved off the desk and his arm brushed hers as he reached for the knob first. Alaina wished she could ignore the sparks of electricity running up and down her spine from that quick touch, but it was impossible. He stood so close now that she could see the flecks of gold, deep in his eyes. He had just a touch of gray coming out on his temples, but that only increased her desire to run her fingers through his thick, dark hair.
“Did you need these back?” Jeff was next to her now as well, and Alaina stared at the paper in his hands, wondering what it was. She had to avert her gaze because she couldn’t seem to focus her thoughts.
“No. No, that’s all right. They’re copies. Keep them. They’re proof of what Alex did.”
That did it. The fog cleared, and she made her way down the hall, fighting the urge to glance over her shoulder to see if they were watching her ass as she walked away.
This was ridiculous. How long was she going to worship them from afar? They weren’t off limits, at least not that she was aware of. And obviously no one frowned upon hanky-panky inside these walls. Alex’s shitty job performance was proof of that.
Why shouldn’t she have some fun as well? She’d been gun shy for too many years now. Maybe it was time to let loose a bit?
Just before she turned the corner, she risked a glance behind her, and nearly tripped over her own two feet. Both men stood in the hallway, and it was not only obvious they’d been watching her, but that they were embarrassed to be caught.
Alaina smiled as she turned the corner. Maybe this hadn’t been a waste of time, after all?
Chapter Two
Taj clapped Jeff on the back as the two returned to his office. “I’m glad she smiled.”
“Yeah. Especially after we basically blew her off and pulled the manager speak thing on her.”
Taj closed the door again. “I know that. But we had no choice. You know that. How can we tell her what’s going on? Your sister would kill us, and she’s just stupid enough to fire Alaina once she realized the secret was out.”
“Asa and Uncle Tim both would kill her if she did that. Alaina has brought in a lot of big companies since she took over her current role. Uncle Tim has a giant blind spot where Sallyanne is concerned, but I can’t believe he’d leave the sales department without someone like Alaina to balance out Sallyanne’s incompetence.”
Taj had never asked the question, but he had to do so now. This was ridiculous. Alex Nesfield was a total fuck-up, and it wasn’t fair that Alaina had taken the fall for yet another of his debacles. “Does Tim know what Sallyanne is up to?”
Jeff shrugged. “I wish I knew the answer to that. And you know if I ask him, he won’t tell me.”
“He’s impossible to talk to.”
“Always has been.”
“So how are you going to keep your promise to her? You were fairly adamant that you’d fix this.”
Jeff sighed out loud. “I know. I don’t have a choice anymore. I have to go to Asa. Of the two, he’s the one most likely to do something about this, whether he has his uncle Tim’s blessing or not.”
“Your sister will know you outed her.”
“I don’t give a shit anymore. This is insane. She has a fucking job to do and she’s not doing it. Everyone has always turned a blind eye to Sallyanne and her carryings on because they didn’t hurt anyone, but this is different. This is hurting the bottom line. Uncle Tim will have to pay attention to that.” He picked up the papers Alaina had handed him earlier. “She knows her stuff. Far more than my idiot sister does. She can see the long-term consequences of this and Sallyanne can’t.”
“Then she shouldn’t be in that job.”
Jeff snorted. “No shit. But try telling that to my uncle. She can do no wrong. Just ask Dallas.” Dallas was Tim’s son, and next in line for one of the CEO positions. “There are times he feels certain that he’ll be passed up for Sallyanne.”
Taj shook his head. “God save us all. Can you imagine?”
“Yes, I can. It would be the end of everything. And the worst part is we’re stuck here. We can’t leave. She’ll have us cleaning the toilets in this entire complex.”
That image made Taj chuckle, even though there was an uncomfortable kernel of truth in it. He decided to change the subject. Talking about Jeff’s sister always gave him heartburn. “Alaina looked really hot in that skirt, didn’t she? Floral prints suit her well.”
“Floral prints? Dude, you know you really scare me when you use words like that.”
Taj picked up a pen and tossed it at Jeff’s head, but he ducked and it fell on the carpet instead. “Fuck you. It was a floral print. What should I have called it?”
“A skirt. Just a skirt that was the perfect length to show off her legs.”
“She does have nice legs.”
“And a nice ass.”
“We sound like horny teens.”
Jeff chuckled and moved off the edge of the desk. “Well, we aren’t teens, but I’m betting we’re both horny as hell. It’s been too long.”
“So do something about it.”
“Right. Cause it’s so easy to have any kind of a sexual relationship with the subs who throw themselves at us during every munch or play party we attend, just because they think we can get them a better job. And as for the women who aren’t in the lifestyle, forget it. They won’t come near us.”
“It gets old, doesn’t it?”
“Too fucking old. I’m off to find Asa.”
“Want me to come?”
“No. That’s okay. I know you’re behind. Catch up. I’ll take care of this. Wish me luck.”
“You don’t need it. He’ll listen
to you.”
Jeff picked up the pen and tossed it onto Taj’s desk. “Thanks for the vote of confidence. Let’s hope you’re right.”
Taj was behind on his work, but after Jeff left he couldn’t concentrate on it. He kept picturing Alaina’s long, dark, curly hair, and those startling blue eyes. They made his dick rock hard every time he looked into them, which wasn’t often enough. Even flashing with anger and confusion as they’d been earlier, they were beautiful. She was beautiful. He knew she had a reputation as a tough-as-nails woman who was ruthless when it came to doing her job, but that’s what he liked about her.
He rose and looked out over the palm trees and deep blue sky. Endless paradise. That’s what his grandfather, Mendo Durante, had told him this island was. That’s also what his great-grandfather, Iago, had called it. Taj hadn’t learned the truth of how his great-grandfather, Iago’s cousin Agapito, and their long-time friends William and Robert Raleigh, had basically stolen this island from the natives until he was a teen. Taj had always found it more than a bit hypocritical that crooks had justified buying the island for pennies on the dollar from the natives, simply because those natives had been ex-cons, hiding from the law.
He shook his head and sat back down, determined to get some work done, but his mind kept wandering to Alaina. He knew next to nothing about her personal life. No one did. He knew that she and Alex had known each other in California, but he and Jeff had been told that their both ending up here was nothing more than a coincidence. And he knew she’d attended Pepperdine, earning first an undergraduate degree in Business Administration, and then her MBA.
She’d worked for an engineering firm of all places for a year or so, and then had flown here for an interview in sales. Tim had hired her on the spot. Taj imagined that both Jeff and Alaina wished that Lucas, Jeff and Sallyanne’s father, hadn’t retired early, putting his idiot daughter in charge of the sales division, before Alaina had had a chance to move into that spot. If they waited a few more years, Sallyanne would run the department into the ground, and then the company would go with it.
He’d admired and lusted after Alaina from afar for too long. Maybe it was time to try and get to know her better? What did he have to lose? She obviously didn’t hate them. Whenever she was near them her voice got breathy and her eyes went soft. Discounting fifteen minutes ago, of course. That was different. She’d come here to fight for what she knew was right. And if that wasn’t also sexy as hell, Taj had no idea what was.
Fuck it all. He’d do it. He’d ask her out for a drink. What harm could that do? The worst thing that could happen is she’d say “no,” and then he’d be in the same situation as before. At least he would know whether or not he had a chance with her. Time to man up and make the first move.
* * * *
Jeff was surprised to find Asa in his office. That rarely happened. If he wasn’t out on the golf course, he was in a meeting or holed up with Melinda Summers, his latest in a long line of girlfriends. The man was sixty-six years old and Jeff was absolutely certain he had far more sex in one week than Jeff had in a month.
“Well, hello there, Jefferson. I haven’t seen you in a dog’s age.”
Asa always called him by his full first name. He had a firm grip and a sharp eye, and he’d never lost that, even after three divorces. He’d never lost much money either. The legal team at Phoebe’s Playthings was far too experienced to let that happen. “How are you?”
“I’m great. But you look like the weight of the world just fell in your lap. What’s going on?”
That was one of the things Jeff loved about Asa. He didn’t bullshit around with useless small talk or phony flattery. Jeff, like Taj, preferred direct people. It was one of the reasons they both admired and secretly lusted after Alaina.
Jeff took a seat and forced his thoughts back to the reason he was here. “We have a problem in our department, and it involves Sallyanne’s latest boy toy. I don’t give a shit what my sister does on her own time, or even in her own office for that matter, but this has affected our bottom line, so I need your help.”
“I’m listening.”
Jeff handed Asa the papers Alaina had brought them, and summarized her conversation. As he watched Asa look over the papers, his frown deepening as he read, he hoped like hell that he and Taj were wrong about Tim naming Sallyanne as CEO one day instead of Dallas.
Tim and Asa were distant cousins, but they were as close as brothers. Tim was the oldest son of Daniel, one of William Raleigh’s sons. Daniel had married Aria Durante, one of Agapito’s daughters, thus joining the two families by marriage as well as friendship. Further bonds were forged when Mendo Durante, one of Iago’s sons, married Betty, one of William’s daughters. Their son Henry was Taj’s father. And when Aria’s brother Emilio married Marion, one of Robert’s daughters, Marion, Asa was born.
Most days, Jeff lost track of who was second, third or fourth cousin to whom. There was a family tree on a piece of parchment somewhere in his house, but it hardly mattered. What mattered was that the company existed, and the days of both families acquiring land or money illegally were, thankfully, long over. Asa and Tim might disagree on some things, but both cared about this company and keeping it successful.
They had more motivation to do so than money. It was their mode of survival. No male descendant of brothers William and Robert Raleigh, or cousins Agapito and Iago Durante who had tried to leave the island survived. Each one of them had died in freak boating accidents, caught in storms that literally came up out of nowhere. One had died from a shark bite, and another from a jellyfish sting.
Jeff wasn’t entirely certain he believed in demons or curses, but the history of how these men had died was written down. It was documented. And if there was one thing Jeff understood and respected, it was the written word. Consequently, he wasn’t about to try and leave the island. Neither was Taj. And he knew that Asa and Tim wouldn’t try it, either. They were here for good. So it was important to keep this company in good standing with their customers. And Sallyanne carrying on with Alex Nesfield had put that in jeopardy. They had to do something about this.
Asa looked up, his eyes cold and hard.
“Well? What do you think of all this?” asked Jeff.
“I think your uncle Tim has his head up his ass.”
Jeff bit back a laugh. He knew Asa well enough to know it wasn’t the right time for humor. “What would you like me and Taj to do?”
“Fire Alex Nesfield.” He picked up his desk phone. “I’ll deal with Tim and Sallyanne.”
Jeff rose. That was his cue to leave. “Thank you.”
Asa waved him away, which was just fine with Jeff. He had what he wanted.
After checking with their HR representative and making sure the paperwork was taken care of first, Taj and Jeff handed over the job of firing Alex to his immediate supervisor. They rarely took care of hiring or firing on their own. Jorge Da Costa had worked for them for fifteen years and they trusted him completely.
By noon, Jeff was starving. He usually ate at his desk, but today he needed fresh air. He grabbed a sandwich and a bottled water at the deli, then went outside where dozens of employees sat at picnic tables and on the grass, eating and talking.
He rarely came out here during break time or lunch, and quite a few people cast him curious or suspicious looks, but he couldn’t help that. He walked around to the lake and ate his sandwich as he watched a sailboat. That would be his great-uncle George, Daniel’s brother. He was retired now as well, and practically lived on the lake. He’d once told Jeff that since he couldn’t sail in the Gulf, he’d make do with the man-made lake.
What must it have been like for William and Robert’s children when their fathers died like that? Did they believe in the curse then, or had they each chalked it up to a freak accident? Would any of them ever discover the truth about the curse? The details weren’t written down anywhere that they knew of, and no one seemed to know much about it. Which of course made Jeff suspicious
that it was real, but at the same time, he wasn’t going to be the next to try and leave.
A woman in a flowered skirt walked toward him, from the opposite direction. At first he didn’t realize it was Alaina, but once he did, his dick grew hard and his pulse raced. He waved, and she smiled. Did she have any idea how fucking pretty she was when she did that? Probably not. She wasn’t the sort of woman who seemed aware of her good looks, which made her all the more desirable.
Why did she work so damn hard? Was it merely the need to prove herself in a company that didn’t exactly go to great lengths to hide its tendencies to keep executives in the family? Or was something else going on? She was an enigma, and Jeff was drawn to her because of that. He also admired her work ethic. They’d hired plenty of people from the mainland US in the past, but few had turned out to be as dedicated as Alaina.
She stopped when she reached him, and Jeff wished they were standing next to this gorgeous blue water under different circumstances. “I see I’m not the only person who came outside today. It’s too pretty to eat indoors.”
Jeff nodded. “I rarely come out here, but today I needed some warm sunshine.”
“I understand.”
Should he tell her that Alex had been fired? No. She’d find out soon enough. He didn’t want to place her in a difficult position with Sallyanne any sooner than necessary. “I wish I could bring my laptop out here and work.”
She smiled. “That’s not a bad idea. Maybe we both should do that? We could start a trend.”
He laughed. “I can see it now. Ten thousand employees all trying to find a spot on the grass around this lake. Can you imagine?”
“And all of us trying to work on Wi-Fi and cell phones.”
He shook his head. “You’re right. It would never work. Maybe we should just take the windows out of the building instead?”