He dips his chin in greeting, not showing any hint of the battle we had last night; however, I know it’s not fully resolved, simply held back for the sake of our client and business relations. The last thing I would ever want is bad blood between me and one of my brothers, especially over a woman. I’ve got to find a way to fix what I’ve broken.
“Good morning, Mr. Ellis.”
“Morning, Ms. Renner . . . Royce.” I focus my gaze on the client. “I trust you slept well?”
She smirks. “Not as well as I could have if someone here hadn’t turned down my offer of dinner and drinks.”
I slide my gaze back to Royce. He turned her down last night? I don’t have time to fully digest her comment before he cuts in.
“Yeah, well, family needed me, and as sweet as the thought of having dinner with you is . . . when family calls, I answer.” His response digs a hole into the meaty muscle of my heart, right where he intended the blow to fall.
Rochelle clucks her tongue. “Pity. We could have had a little more fun before I zero in on one of the delectable specimens Parker has set up for me.”
A dark shadow passes behind Royce’s eyes before he blinks it away and is all business. I want to call Rochelle out on her bullshit, but Royce reminded me last night that it isn’t my business. Made it very clear I need to back off.
“Yes, well, we can’t always have fun, now can we. There’s also work to be done.” Royce’s irritated tone cannot be denied. “Speaking of, I worked with Keehan to narrow down the list of potential employees who may be stealing from you. I added one more to the list you may not like, but it has to be considered . . .”
I’m proud of him for tossing her a grenade. The woman needs to see she’s playing with fire. Curious, I walk over to her desk to see the name he added. I’d already gotten the list from Keehan and had Wendy working on it.
While Rochelle reads it, I note her entire body goes ramrod straight, and she pushes back from her desk until her fingertips are barely holding on to the glass edge.
“It’s not possible.” Her voice is tight, irritated.
I scan the list and note the single familiar name scrawled on the bottom in Royce’s penmanship. Damn it all to hell. The single name has me working hard to put myself in check. He’s trying to push her, and it’s not cool. I tilt back my head and sigh at the sky.
Fuck.
This will not go over well, and worse, I have to wonder if Royce is suggesting it to get Keehan out of the running as a possible man for Rochelle. Only he doesn’t know we already went there, at Keehan’s insistence.
As I shake my head and assess the way Rochelle is shooting daggers at Royce, it’s hard for me to swallow against the thought that Roy might be putting his desire for the client over the truth staring us all in the face. Keehan Williams is in love with Rochelle. He’d never in a million years steal from the woman he’s devoted his life to. The problem is, Royce is too blinded by lust and the thought of his own picket fences to see the truth staring him in the face.
“Brother . . . ,” I say in a harsh whisper.
“Had to be said. There’s one man in this entire company with full access to everything and the ability to cover his tracks completely.” If I didn’t know him better, I’d swear he’s gloating.
Rochelle shakes her head, her crimson lips compressed into a thin, flat line. “Not possible.”
“Chellie, it’s very possible,” Royce encourages.
She continues to push herself back before she stands and faces us both. Rochelle crosses her arms over one another and cocks out a hip. “No. It. Isn’t.”
Royce’s facial expression softens, making him look less imposing in his dark-gray suit. “Just because you’re friends doesn’t mean he couldn’t hurt you. He has the means and ability, Chellie . . . I’ve seen it before. Too many times, in fact.”
Rochelle huffs obstinately, blatantly not appreciating where Royce is taking this conversation. “He’s the one who brought the concern to my attention. Why would he do that if he were stealing from me?” Rochelle grinds out through clenched teeth, anger coating every last word.
I’m about to tell her that’s a very good point when Royce leans against the desk, resting the flat of his palms on the glass surface. “To throw you off the scent.”
She lifts her hand in a “stop” gesture. “No more. I will not hear any further suggestion that Keehan could be stealing from me. It’s simply not possible.”
“No, it isn’t. I’d never hurt you or what I helped you build.” Keehan projects his thundering voice into the conversation from where he stands, having just entered the office.
Perfect timing, Keehan.
Royce stands up and places his hands in his pockets. “It had to be said. No offense, brother, but it’s our job to make sure she has all the evidence,” he states mechanically.
Keehan shakes his head. “I’m not your brother, I’m your client’s veteran employee and longtime friend. If you were doing your job, you’d have already scoured my bank accounts, which I gave to your partner yesterday, looking for additional money.”
Jesus, this situation is deteriorating quickly. My desire to protect Royce and his suggestion is overpowering.
Royce’s eyes shift up so his gaze meets mine. “Park?”
I nod. “Keehan mentioned his concerns, and I asked Wendy to run the names of the employees on your list and run their financial histories for the last two years. He had me include his own for the record. Full disclosure. Wendy emailed them last night before I called her about the other thing.” I allude to the Johan issue, having no desire to share my personal dealings with our clients.
Royce nods. “I wish you had mentioned that to me.” His statement is accusatory and uncalled for.
“Was planning to this morning. Emailed over Wendy’s findings to the three of you not an hour ago when I had a chance. As you well know, I was a little busy last night.”
He closes his eyes and briefly dips his chin. “And what did you find?”
Keehan lays out the sheets in his hands. “None of the people on this list have any unusual fluctuations in their bank accounts or investment portfolios.”
Royce scans the documents and nods. “It’s true. These staff members are clean.”
“Well, that’s a small relief. All of these names are people I’ve worked with a long time,” Rochelle says. “Each of them has their own stake in the company doing well. Stock shares, the whole nine. But where does that leave us in narrowing down the search for who is doing the stealing?”
“At this point, we’ll have to run every name in the company, which is going to take some time.” Royce picks up his phone and lifts it to his ear. “Wendy, yeah, we got the information for RFS. Unfortunately, we’re going to need to broaden the search to the rest of the staff.” He nods silently and glances out the window. “We understand that could take some time. Send over the ones you get completed as you get them.”
I inhale sharply, instantly aware that if Wendy is doing the work for the client, she’s not doing the funky poaching on Johan.
Royce’s gaze flickers to me, and his voice turns hard when he asks Wendy, “Did you, uh, finish with the other thing? Okay, I’ll let him know. Get on those names, yeah?”
Wendy must ring off, because Royce hits a button on his phone and shoves it into his pocket. “She’s going to run the rest of the staff’s names and financials and see if she can come up with anything. Said it will take a couple of days for that many people.”
Rochelle sighs. “So, we’re back to square one.”
“I’m afraid so.” Royce knocks two knuckles on the glass top of her desk. His chin dips, and his dark gaze reaches mine. “Parker, I need to speak to you . . . privately.” He gestures to the doorway.
Both Rochelle and Keehan frown.
“We’ll be right back,” I say.
“While you’re gone, I’ll call HR to have the employee list sent over in Helen’s absence.”
“Thanks, Che
llie.” Royce smiles.
Rochelle nods, and Keehan looks at Royce with fire in his gaze. Accusing Keehan is not going over well with Rochelle’s right-hand man or Rochelle, especially when Keehan offered up his information freely.
Royce didn’t have any nefarious intentions when he added Keehan’s name; nevertheless, even if he did it because he was jealous and wanted to get a leg up on the man, I would still back him. He wasn’t wrong about the need to run Keehan’s information, if one takes in the bigger picture, which I did at Keehan’s suggestion. However, Roy could have been more tactful.
What it comes down to is he’s letting his lust get in the way of the job. Been there, done that. Got the hot blonde to prove it. And the job didn’t suffer in any way when I hooked up with Sophie and later with Skyler.
Once Royce steps outside the client’s office and into the hallway, he takes a few long strides to the right, giving us more privacy.
“Wendy said she’s got the information ready for you and is emailing it now. I wanted to make sure you had the time to go over it, and see about us taking a couple of hours to review it, put our heads together . . .” He licks his full lips, prepping for a team huddle.
I put my hand on Royce’s arm. “Brother, one of us has to deal with the client, but it means the world to me that you’re willing to drop it all and step up to the plate for me, and more importantly for Sky. Means you’re not still angry about last night—”
His head jolts back. “The fuck? You are not getting off that easy.” He places a beefy finger against my breastbone. “You said some things that were completely uncalled for . . .”
I shake my head, glance around the space, and see an empty conference room. I nudge Royce into the room and shut the door. “You’ve got to be kidding me. Royce, you were out of line.”
His eyes widen so much those black orbs are nearly bulging out of their sockets. “Oh, so you can fuck two clients, fall in love with one, but I can’t?” His black eyebrows are dark arrowheads arching over his eyes.
“This isn’t about me!” I blurt.
“It sure as fuck is!” he growls. “Regardless of what’s going on with Rochelle and me, I should be able to explore what’s between us in whatever way I deem appropriate, without worrying my brother is going to be up in arms.” His words are scathing.
I sigh and run my hand through my overly long hair. “What do you expect me to do? Cut and run? Let you woo the client who’s hired us to match her with prospective husbands? You want that role, Roy? You going to jump ship and move across coasts to be with her?”
Royce’s jaw firms before my eyes, and a muscle in his cheek jumps while he grinds his teeth.
I continue, knowing I’m poking an already angry bear. “You going to leave your momma and three sisters behind in Boston? Alone?”
This time Roy’s lips flatten, and he sucks in a harsh breath through his teeth.
“It’s my decision, not yours.” Each word is clipped.
“You going to bail on IG?” The mere suggestion sends a lightning bolt through my mind. Fear. Anxiety. Grief. All batter at my fight-or-flight instinct, making me want to grab Royce and blow this Popsicle stand. Get the hell out of Dodge and leave Rochelle and all her drama behind.
Royce rises up to his full imposing height of six feet four. “I could run a West Coast office, if I so desired. Wouldn’t be a bad idea . . .” His nostrils flare as the magnitude of what he’s suggesting has me reeling.
An invisible claw wraps around my neck. The concept of not having Roy in my life every day is far too much to swallow. “You’re willing to leave us? Your brothers, when shit just got good?” I gasp, shocked nearly stupid at what I’m hearing.
He closes his eyes and backs up a step before rubbing his bald head with both hands.
“No. I’m not. None of those things are going to happen. I couldn’t leave my mother and sisters. I’d never leave what we built for a woman I just met, unless it was dead serious. Marriage, kids, all of that. And I sure as shee-it wouldn’t leave my brothers from another mother!”
“Thank Christ. Then why the hell are we fighting?” I let my shoulders fall and put my hands in my pockets, tipping my face down to make sure my shoes are still on my feet for how heavy my head feels.
“It ain’t about that. It’s about it being my choice. Park, you’re gettin’ in my way. You’ve made demands you never should have.”
“Because I can see the writing on the wall . . .” I raise my hand and point to the side of the conference room in the direction of Rochelle’s office. “She is not going to settle down, go to family dinners with her man and his mother and sisters. She may be beautiful, intelligent, and all kinds of hot in the sack, but she is not for you, brother.” I rub at the back of my neck and lift my head to lock my gaze with his. “You deserve it all.” The words leave soft and sincere from my suddenly dry lips. “A woman who will worship the ground you walk on right alongside the foundation you’re laying for your future with her.”
“Park . . .” Roy’s voice is thick, but I don’t let him get a word in edgewise. Not yet. Not until he understands.
“Rochelle is great; she’s amazing, but she’s not made for you. She’s made for a man like Keehan. A man who already worships her. She needs to see what’s on offer right in front of her face. It’s everything she needs and wants. She consumes him. Now it’s my job, our job, to make them see that. You are getting in the way with your big dark-chocolate awesomesauce. The right woman will present herself, and the day she does, I’ll be her biggest fan. Today is not that day. Maybe not tomorrow either, but soon. Mark my words. You are not meant to be alone, but you are not meant to be with her either.”
I stop my rant and take a few moments to breathe, feeling like I just ran a fuckin’ marathon.
“Brother, you called me dark-chocolate awesomesauce.”
I cringe and run my hand down my face. “Yeah. Sky’s lingo is rubbing off on me.”
Royce smiles wide and claps me on the back, pulling me into a hard hug. “Love you, man. Love that you want to watch out for me. Love that you care. Do not love you telling me what to do.” I can hear the slightest quaver in his voice, but he’s staying strong, just the way I’d expect him to.
I hit him a couple of times on the back. “Couldn’t stand by and let my brother wade too far into a bad deal. I’d have done the same for Bo, or my brother Paul. Blood or not, doesn’t make a difference. I don’t have it in me to sit and watch you fall when I can do something to help.”
Royce backs up, rests both hands on my shoulders, and leans down so we’re eye to eye. “I get you, but you need to get me. When I want your opinion, when I need your opinion—and there will come a time when I’m ready to have it—I’ll ask for it. You may be right on this one, but it does not change one fucking thing.”
I nod, letting his words soak in. I got lucky on this one, but for the foreseeable future, I’m going to have to watch how I wade into Royce’s dealings with women. He’s testy about it, and part of me wonders if it’s because I’ve found Skyler and he wants to find his own forever. Be that as it may, I need to respect his wishes and stay the fuck out of it.
“Brother, I’m sorry I pushed so hard regarding Rochelle—”
Royce cuts in. “No. You were right . . . about this one. She has little feeling about our connection other than the physical. And possibly it’s because she’s gone for Keehan. That remains to be seen. You were wrong to push so hard, especially in light of your own past with clients, but . . .” He sighs and shakes his head. “I’m not used to having my decisions questioned, especially by you. We support one another. It’s who we are and the brotherhood we’ve created between the three of us. However, there’s a line . . . You crossed it. Big-time.”
I close my eyes, concerned this is going to be a huge thing between us. Right now, with the worry over Skyler, it seems as though everything is falling apart one brick at a time.
Until Roy brings me peace with his next comment.
/>
“Park, I accept your apology. We move on from here, more knowledgeable about where we stand with one another, and wait for the other brother to give the go-ahead to wade in. Truce?” He lifts his fist.
“Truce.” I knock his fist with my own. A wave of relief fills the room, acting as a balm on my fraying nerves. “Now are you going to help me hook Rochelle up with Keehan?”
He purses his lips and sighs. “Jeez-us, Park. I just barely decide I’m pulling my hat out of the ring, and you want me to hook her up with the geek?”
I grin. “Hell yeah, I do. I’ll get you up to date on the plan I’ve made while you’ve been pining away despite my advice.”
“Watch it.” Royce inhales sharply but doesn’t deny it. He wouldn’t have a leg to stand on if he did.
I spend the next ten minutes giving him the plan while he listens intently, nodding and smiling.
“I like it. Sneaky,” he admits.
“You cool to handle the next phase while I head to the hotel and review the information Wendy sent over regarding Johan?”
“You can count on me.”
I grin wide. “I know.”
Royce lifts his hand in a fist, and I bump it with my own again. He nods. “Get out of here. Go find out how you’re going to kick the fool in his family jewels without having to do it in person and have charges pressed against you. Then again, if he’s ever in Boston in a dark alley . . .”
I chuckle. “Uh-huh. Don’t be planning evil ways to get back at my woman’s ex without me. I want in on all the action.”
He grins. “We’ll see. Go review the information and hit your girl up. See how we can best destroy this chump without her having to pay a dime of her hard-earned cash.”
I wave over my head. “Will do.” I stop at the door and turn to my friend. “Royce?”
“Yeah?” He straightens his tie and presses it down flat against the wall of muscle he’s hiding under it.
“Thanks, man.” All of the frustration, hurt, and anxiety start to seep out of my body one breath at a time. At least for now, Royce and I are back on the same page.
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