by Katie Knight
“Great.” Lake’s beaming smile was more than payment enough for the uncomfortable evening he’d have to endure on Wednesday. “It’s a date then.”
Drake stood in the doorway long after she’d walked away, wondering what the hell he’d just agreed too and why his blood was fizzing with a mix of adrenaline and excitement at the thought of attending the event with her. They’d be going as colleagues. To fulfill his obligation as the company’s CEO and look into his brother’s shady dealings. Nothing more. The sooner he remembered that, the better.
Four
It was actually good that Drake’s schedule was clear after the board meeting because he ended up getting a tour of the accounting department from the department’s head, Jameson Peterkin, former CFO of Shepperton, Inc.—at least until Devon had decided to take over that role himself that last year or so.
The fact that his brother had assumed control of the financials for the company only raised Drake’s suspicions further. In a company of this size, CEO should have been job enough for anyone. The only reason Drake could think of as to why Devon would want to pile on the CFO responsibilities too would be if he didn’t want anyone else to get a full view of the company’s financials. Of course, he didn’t mention that to Jameson. Not yet. Not until he had more proof against his brother. For now, he hoped to win the man’s trust in order to get more information out of him.
Luckily, the man seemed to be more than willing to talk. And he didn’t hesitate to be frank about his opinion of Devon.
“Forgive me for saying so, but your brother wasn’t the easiest man to work for,” Peterkin said, fiddling with his bowtie. He was an accountant through and through and looked the part. “I have to say that having Devon here, micromanaging every aspect of my department, was unsettling to say the least. Toward the end, I was feeling rather…”
“Harassed?” Drake filled in the blank for him.
“Quite,” Jameson agreed. “It was odd, because your brother hadn’t been very hands-on where balance sheets were concerned prior to that. When he took over as CFO and demoted me to head of accounting, I was shocked. But I still tried to provide assistance as needed. I’ve been with Shepperton since your parents were here and I have a lot of loyalty to this business. I didn’t want to overstep my bounds, mind you. Just looking out for the company. This place is like family to me.”
Drake wished he could say the same. But then, he didn’t like the company and he didn’t like his family…so maybe it was like family to him, in the worst way possible.
He nodded to the man and patted him on the back. “Well, I’m here now to straighten out this mess as best I can. I wonder if you could provide me with the financial reports for the past two quarters?” When Jameson balked a bit, he added, “I just want to make sure I have the full picture of where we stand, so I know where the company needs to go from here. Can’t say I’m exactly a numbers guy, but I do have a degree in business administration, so I can at least make heads and tails out of it.”
“Oh, well.” Jameson fiddled with his bowtie again, then adjusted his glasses. “Of course, sir. It’s just that it might take me a few days to get it all together. That’s a lot of data.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’m sure you have plenty of other responsibilities, and I don’t want this to impede the rest of your work. A few days is fine. Neither of us is going anywhere for a while, right?” He gave the nervous man what he hoped was a reassuring smile, despite the tension roiling inside him. Devon had definitely been up to some hinky shit before he died, there was no doubt in Drake’s mind about it now. He just hoped it wasn’t so horrible that he couldn’t repair the damage done—and that it wouldn’t take forever to get the company back on the right track again so he could pass it over to someone else and get back to his real life. “Just send it through Maggie once you get it ready, okay?”
“Yes, sir,” Jameson said, holding out his hand. “Thank you, sir.”
“Please, call me Drake,” he said, shaking the man’s hand. “And as of now, you’re CFO again.”
“Thank you si—” Jameson stopped himself. “I mean Drake. Thank you.”
“My pleasure.” Drake exited the accounting department, his long strides eating up the distance to Devon’s office in record time. It was after four now and his head was near to bursting with all the new information he’d learned about Shepperton, Inc., the charity foundation, and his brother’s destructive leadership of the company. If Devon had been there, he’d have punched him in the face. As it was, he needed time and space to process everything before he decided how to move forward.
After gathering a few things from the office, he bid Maggie goodnight and headed back to the condo. Lake was there when he arrived, working on her laptop at the dining room table.
“How’d the board meeting go?” she asked as he passed by on his way to the kitchen for a drink.
“It was interesting. Even more interesting was my tour of the accounting department afterward.”
“Really?” Lake closed her laptop and looked over at him expectantly. “Did you find out more about Devon’s activities?”
“Not yet, but I wasn’t happy to learn he’d named himself CFO last year.” Drake twisted the cap off of his bottle of ale and took a huge swig before continuing. “The whole reason for having the CEO and CFO positions separate is to create checks and balances. Merging the two together only makes him look more suspicious.”
“Agreed.” Lake sighed. “When that happened, I didn’t know Devon well enough to say anything to him about it. Then, after we started sleeping together, it seemed awkward to bring it up, especially with the whole donation thing going on, so I didn’t.” She shook her head. “Maybe I should’ve said something to him back then. Maybe that would’ve stopped all this before it started.”
“I doubt he would’ve listened to you,” Drake said, tossing the cap in the recycle bin, then joining her at the dining room table. “My brother wasn’t exactly open to other people’s opinions. He always assumed he knew best—and that he could get away with anything if he set his mind to it. He used that credo to justify a lot of horrible behavior. From what the other employees I’ve talked to have said, he was basically an ass to everyone he considered beneath him.” Once the words were out, he regretted them, especially when he caught Lake’s wince. “Sorry. I’m sure he was different with you.”
She hung her head, the silky fall of her hair obscuring her face again. His fingertips itched to push the strands away, to see if her hair felt as soft as it looked. He barely managed to tamp those crazy urges down. Lake wasn’t his to touch. She was here because she had nowhere else safe to go and because they were working to find out the truth about Devon. That was it. She shrugged and raised her gaze to meet his. “I wish I could say that was accurate, but it’s not. He was mostly an ass to me too, except when we were having sex.”
Drake took that in for a minute, working hard to suppress the odd rush of anger and envy that rushed through him along with the unwanted image of his brother and this lovely woman in bed together. Devon hadn’t deserved someone like Lake, no matter how much money and power he’d had. But their relationship also raised the question of why she’d chosen to be with his brother in the first place. He wanted to ask but didn’t feel comfortable doing so at that point.
Instead, he stood and headed down the hall to his bedroom. “Be back. Need to shower and change.”
An hour later, he emerged again, clean and relaxed, though his head was still swimming with the information he’d learned that day. Lake was back to working on her computer and he needed something to distract himself, so he padded into the kitchen barefoot and checked the fridge. He’d called the store earlier and had them deliver groceries. He supposed he could just make a sandwich for dinner, but he felt like putting in a bit more effort—especially if he wasn’t going to be cooking just for one.
“Are you hungry?” he called over to Lake, who was typing away on her keyboard. “It’s after six. You
should eat something.”
She looked back at him, her face ghostly pale in the light from her screen. “Okay. I can make something.”
“No, no. You sit. I’ll cook dinner.” He chuckled at her dubious expression. “Seriously. I like to cook and I’m pretty good at it. I promise I won’t poison you. You like chicken and pasta?”
“I do,” she said after a moment.
“Great. Finish up whatever you’re working on because I’ll knock your socks off with my alfredo recipe.”
Lake’s laugh seemed to brighten the darkening room a bit and he turned away fast so she wouldn’t see how happy her response made him. His reaction to her was crazy enough as it was.
Thirty minutes later, he served up two heaping bowls of creamy, cheesy pasta and chicken and she closed down and put away her laptop. They dug into their food while the TV murmured low in the background and sparkling water bubbled in their glasses.
“Wow, this is amazing,” she said after devouring another large bite of pasta. “Where’d you learn to cook like this?”
“Thanks. And this particular recipe I learned after I lost a bet in college. The terms of the bet meant that I had to learn to make thirteen different dishes, actually, though this one was my favorite. Afterward, I kept cooking because I loved it so much. I’ve picked up lots of recipes from around the world while I’ve been with my SEAL team.”
“I bet.” She sipped her water and watched him over the rim. “I’m envious. I can’t really cook at all. Or at least, I don’t think I can. I don’t usually bother trying. Not so much fun when you’re only making food for one.”
Drake swallowed another bite of chicken, taking in her response before asking, “What about your family? Don’t you have anyone close by? Parents? Siblings? Cousins?”
“No.” She took a deep breath. “No one really. There’s my grandmother, but I don’t like to bother her. It’s complicated.”
“Right.” He smiled over at her, hoping to lighten the somber mood that had fallen over them. “Well, if anyone understands family drama and complications, it’s me.”
They ate in silence for several minutes. Lake kept her gaze lowered to her plate, and Drake tried to think of something to say that would get her talking and smiling again. He didn’t like to think he’d upset her, especially since she’d opened up to him a bit about her family situation. Maybe some assurances would help, since she had to be worrying about her future with the baby coming and all, right? Especially since it sounded like she’d be on her own, since the baby’s daddy was gone and Lake didn’t have any family to fill the gap. “So, once Devon’s estate is settled and this mess is cleared up with the foundation, I want you to know that I’ll make sure you and the baby are well taken care of. You won’t have to worry about your job or your living arrangements. I’ll make sure it’s all settled before I go back to my SEAL team. It’s the least I can do after how my brother handled things.”
Lake blinked at him, silent, and Drake’s heart nosedived again. Did he screw up? The look in her brown eyes was unreadable, so he had no clue how to read her reaction. Finally, she exhaled slowly and shook her head. “Don’t worry about it. I doubt Devon would’ve welcomed our baby, so I planned to handle things myself anyway. It’s not like we were in love or anything, so I don’t really feel comfortable taking anything from you or the company.”
Once more those questions swirled in his mind about how she’d ever ended up involved with his brother. Though he had to admit that a tiny part of him was glad to hear that there’d been no emotional involvement between them and that it had only been a fling, nothing serious. He wasn’t ready to admit why he felt that way, not yet, but it was better knowing it had only been sex. Honestly, he could understand why she might have chosen a relationship like that, given he’d only had one long-term relationship in his life back in college, and they’d broken up when he’d joined the Navy. In the years since then, he’d grown used to short affairs. No fuss. No muss. No strings attached.
The fact that that sounded an awful lot like his brother’s style caused that damned twinge in Drake’s neck again and he reached up to massage the sore area with his hand.
“Strain?” Lake asked, watching him again.
“Huh?” He frowned. “Oh, you mean my neck. Nah. Just stress. It’s nothing important. I’ll take some pain meds and be fine.”
“If you say so.” She finished her last bite of chicken and pushed away her empty plate. “Thank you for dinner. It was excellent.”
“You’re welcome.” He stopped her when she started to clear her dishes away. “Nope. I got those too. You relax and enjoy your evening. I insist.”
“Oh.” Her gorgeous smile returned, and he felt like he’d just won the lottery. “If you’re sure, then I’ve been dying to try out that jacuzzi tub in Devon’s master bath.”
“Have at it,” he said, standing to take his plate to the kitchen. “I think there’s some special bath stuff under the sink. I wasn’t sure what to do with it, so I left it there for now. Use it up if you want.”
“Thanks. I will.” She started down the hall and he did his best not to watch her leave.
Alone, he rinsed the plates and put them in the dishwasher, then set the pans to soak in the sink, his mind whirling with thoughts of Lake and how he needed to keep his head on straight where she was concerned. She was the first woman who’d piqued his interest in a while, but she wasn’t a toy to play with. Given her situation and his, it was best not to even go down that road with her, no matter how attracted to her he was. He’d be gone as soon as the estate was settled, and she had a baby on the way. He wasn’t looking for anything long-term and she had commitment written all over her.
At most he could offer her an affair, and she deserved so much more than that.
Drake finished up in the kitchen, then slumped down on the sofa in the living room to watch TV. He wasn’t his brother. Devon was selfish and self-centered, thinking only about his own wants and needs. Drake refused to be that guy, especially where Lake was concerned. So he’d keep his desires to himself and stick to his plan—no touching, no sex, no attachment. Regardless of how much harder that was becoming the more time he spent with Lake.
Five
Lake arrived early to the opening of the children’s wing of the local hospital, hoping for a chance to mingle with the other attendees and perhaps build more goodwill for the foundation. She’d had meetings all day and had barely had time to stop at the condo to change before coming here, let alone wait on Drake—who seemed completely uncaring if he was late or not.
Another difference between him and his brother.
Devon used to demand attention wherever he went. Literally. He scheduled his arrivals early and made sure the press knew where he’d be, which sides gave photographers his best angles, and when to glad-hand to make the most impact with his high-dollar clients.
There was a slight murmur of voices and a buzz of electric energy through the crowd. Lake glanced over to see Drake standing in the doorway, commanding the gaze of everyone in the room without even trying. He really was something. So similar in looks to his twin brother, but so different in so many other ways that she was only now discovering.
Before she could stop it, a tiny frisson of attraction blossomed inside her. Lake tamped it down fast. Yes, he looked exactly like Devon. Yes, she and Devon had slept together. No, that didn’t mean she and Drake would share the same sizzling sexual chemistry she’d had with his twin. It was wrong to even think such things. Drake was helping her out of a difficult situation, protecting her when no one else would, sharing his late brother’s accommodations with her until she could find other safe shelter. Nothing more. She was indebted to him for his help. It made no sense to complicate things with a pointless crush.
She stepped forward as he crossed the room to her, his tall, muscled physique shown off to perfection in the dark suit he’d worn. Once more her attraction to him spiked before she tamped it down hard. Must be the pregnancy ho
rmones. Yep. That had to be it.
Lake shook his hand when he arrived, not missing the glint of amusement in his brown eyes. Sure, the greeting was a bit formal considering their living arrangements, but no one needed to know about those. The last thing she needed right now was rumors swirling about her and Drake, not with the offices abuzz over Devon’s death. People were already looking a bit askance at her here and she kept resisting the urge to place her hand on her non-existent baby bump for fear she’d confirm what they might be thinking. After all, Devon hadn’t exactly been the most discreet person when it came to his romantic affairs and the press had photographed them numerous times at events behaving far more intimately than just boss and employee. If the company knew she was pregnant with his baby, that could put her and her unborn child in far more danger than Lake was already in.
“You’re looking lovely this evening, Ms. Bailey,” Drake said, releasing her hand then giving her a quick once-over. “Looks like there’s a good turnout.”
“Yes. And thank you.” She smoothed a hand down the front of her simple black dress. “You look nice yourself. Is that one of Devon’s suits?”
He nodded and leaned slightly closer. His warmth and scent surrounded her, musk and cloves and soap. Lake stared down at the toes of her black pumps and did her best not to picture him in that huge glass and tile walk-in shower in Devon’s master suite, water glistening on Drake’s arms and chest, trickling lower down his long legs and taut butt, over his…