Brother’s Best Friend

by Kaylee, Katy

  Rachel cleared her throat, looking as if she could tell she had just gotten caught in the middle of something. “I’ll let you two get to know each other. I’ll be back in a few.”

  Amber gathered herself enough to nod at Rachel, but didn’t take her eyes off of Logan for even a second. When she closed the door, he rubbed his face, chuckling. He leaned back in the chair and crossed his legs. Immediately, for some reason, his reaction enraged Amber. How dare he laugh like it was some silly misunderstanding?

  She took a deep breath, no longer afraid to lose the chance she had been given. “You. You are the CEO of this company. For fucks sake, no wonder I got a call back that fast. And to think that I thought it was actually because I worked really hard to get here.”

  Logan shook his head. “I had zero idea that you even applied to my company. I won’t be working from this office forever, and I think it’s important to put faith in the people that work for me to do the job they were hired for. I gave Rachel full authority of hiring, interviewing, the whole nine yards. I didn’t mean to laugh, Amber. It’s just so… so… I don’t know, like some movie. Of all the people.”

  Amber crossed her arms over her chest. She had no idea how to react to Logan. On the one hand, she had butterflies, but on the other, she wanted to jump over the desk and choke him out. After all the excitement she had over this job, and she applies to the one and only person in the world she went out of her way to avoid. She knew he was in town, but she had purposely not gone to the barbecue because for the last almost five years she hadn’t wanted to see him, and that hadn’t changed.

  Logan looked at her knowingly. “Listen, you won’t have to be around me long. I promise. I’m glad that Rachel picked you, I think you will do great. If you have the same dedication and motivation that you had before, you will rock this job. I wouldn’t be surprised if you’re running the show out here eventually. If I had known you were looking, I would have offered it to you sooner, out of respect for your resume, not out of our past or our connection at all. You look like you want to storm off.”

  “I’m trying to decide,” she replied through clenched teeth.

  “Don’t do that. You are really going to do great at this,” he said, dropping the smile since it was only making her angrier.

  She dropped her arms by her sides and clenched her fists. “How would you know? It’s not like we know each other anymore.”

  Amber was doing everything she could think of not to blow up. She couldn’t help but be bitter about what had happened between them. It had changed her entire life, and it had changed who she was. It had hardened her in so many ways, and there were times after he left when she didn’t know if she could ever be happy again. Then Bradley had come, and he filled that hole inside of her. Standing in front of him, though, that hole seemed to be opening up.

  She glanced down at his tight fitting blue button up and rolled sleeves. Amber quickly diverted her eyes, surprised at the intense desire that suddenly popped up inside of her. Her whole body felt warm, and she shifted in her stance, feeling a bit uncomfortable. She just hoped like hell her cheeks weren’t turning red at that point. She shook her head and reached down, bracing herself nonchalantly on the chair in front of her. She pushed back the desire, the want, the need, and the emotion. She was still incredibly hurt by what he had done to her.

  Amber had planned out everything in her life from the time she was a little girl. When she had started seeing Logan, she was on the fast track to the life she had worked so damn hard to have. He changed everything, and she changed her entire world. Then, out of nowhere he just up and left her, like nothing they had mattered. Not only did he make her feel amazing on the inside but the things he did to her body made her weak in the knees even five years later. He was everything she always wanted in a man; sexy, smart, driven, kind, and handsome. They were like magnets, pulled together struggling to hold onto each other… until he left.

  Her eyes met his, and he tilted his head at her. “I may not know you personally anymore, but I know what kind of person you have always been deep down. That is the kind of person we want here, working for the company. Your talent and brains will be an incredible asset to us, and I hope that this meeting doesn’t make you change your mind.”

  Amber shook her head. “I don’t know. I need to think about whether this is what I want or not. The job sounds incredible, but this is a bit much for me to process. I…”

  “Hey guys,” Rachel chirped behind them. “You ready to see the rest of the building?”

  Amber stared at Logan for another moment, then forced a smile on her face, turning around. “Sure, I think we’re done here anyway. I don’t want to tie up his time like that.”

  Logan nodded at Rachel and Amber followed her out of the room, not even looking back at him.

  30

  Logan

  Logan went the entire rest of Monday and into Tuesday thinking about Amber and what had happened. He had been genuinely almost knocked out of his seat when she walked into his office. He hadn’t bothered to look down at her resume before she came in. From the look on her face, though, he could tell that she still harbored the same anger and same hurt from him that she had when she had read his journal, two nights before he left for New York. Nothing had changed, and he knew for sure that she hadn’t come to the barbecue because she was avoiding him at all costs.

  Logan had wanted to reach out to her again before he even left the building after the interview, but he knew that she would need some space. If she was still as stubborn as she used to be, he knew calling her that same day, or hunting her down in the office, would only make the situation worse and might even get him a good chewing out. That was definitely the last thing that he wanted to happen. Pressing the matter was not the route to take with a girl like Amber.

  He leaned back in his office chair and pulled out her resume. She had graduated top of her class, early, with an MBA. Not to mention the fact that she did all of that while working an internship and taking care of a child. She was determined, and he could see that through what she had done since he had left. Logan shook his head. She had impressed him beyond belief, and everyone in the office too. In his line of work, they were always looking for people like Amber. People with the grit and motivation to get things done, not to impress their boss, but because they wanted to better their own lives. They wanted people willing to sacrifice the golden things to push themselves to their potential. Amber was the kind of girl that pushed herself beyond the potential she even knew she had.

  The job needed someone that would latch on and not let it go for even a second. In the world they lived in, things changed from minute to minute. Fads faded, people went from hero to villain, and technology flipped at the drop of a hat. He knew that Amber would not let her position fail if she could help it. Besides wanting her for the position, he knew that he had to have her. He just wasn’t positive on going about convincing her to work for the company. He had thought about sending Rachel to do it, to woo her and stalk her into the job, but he knew that wouldn’t work on Amber. She would see right through it and know he was too much of a coward to do it himself.

  Logan slammed his hand down on the desk and shook his head. He needed her to know how much his company needed her there. He ran his finger down the application and stopped at her phone number. He drummed his fingers on the desk for a moment and then grabbed the phone, dialing the number before he could lose the courage to do it. The phone rang and rang, but she never picked up. “Hi, you’ve reached Amber Stark, I can’t come to the phone right now…”

  He bit his lip and then hung up the phone. He figured leaving her a message wasn’t going to do any good. He needed to talk to her directly. If she didn’t answer because she knew who it was, she definitely wouldn’t drop what she was doing to call him back. Logan pulled his cellphone from his pocket and scrolled down through the numbers, calling Jordan.

  “My man,” Jordan answered.

  “Hey, dude, sorry to bother you th
is late.”

  Jordan scoffed. “Please, it’s like six. Are you still at your office?”

  Logan looked around the room. “Yeah. Actually, I was calling for a favor. I don’t want to go this whole time here without popping in on Amber. I was hoping you could give me her address. I thought I would swing by on the way to the hotel.”

  Jordan had no problem giving up the address. Logan thanked him, promised to come by over the next week, and hung up. As soon as the phone was in his pocket, he was up and out of the chair, heading out to the car that was parked out front waiting for him. He gave the driver the address and sat back, the nerves finally starting to sink in. They drove through the city, people milling around all over the streets going to dinner and going home from work. Up ahead, Logan spotted a flower stand.

  “Can you stop here really quickly?”

  The driver nodded and pulled to the side of the street. Logan hopped out and perused the flowers, finally finding a large bouquet of lilies. They were Amber’s favorite. He paid for the flowers and headed over to her place, trying to rehearse what he was going to say to her in his head. He wasn’t sure if flowers were appropriate, but he didn’t want to show up empty handed when he just dropped in on her unexpectedly.

  As they made their way to the condos, he leaned his head on the window. He still couldn’t believe that after all that time, and all the effort on her part to avoid him, she had shown up as a new hire at his job. He couldn’t help but feel like something about it was fate, but he pushed that aside. He had to remember that, he was going there to get her to come work for him, not to woo her or try to get her back. She had made it very apparent with her dagger stares that the idea of being with him was not something anywhere close to her mind.

  “Right here sir,” the driver said as he pulled up in front of a new condo complex.

  Logan took a deep breath and nodded. “Thank you.”

  He got out of the car and buttoned his jacket, smoothing his free hand down the front. He held the lilies tightly in his hand, squeezing the stems to try to gather up his nerves. He took the elevator up to the ninth floor and walked down the hallway, standing for a moment outside of her door. He closed his eyes and picked up his fist, knocking on it.

  Logan could hear the sound of feet walking across the room and the door unlocking. She was smiling when she opened it, but the smile quickly faded. She pulled her sweater closed around her and looked at him with shock and irritation. “What in the world are you doing here?”

  Logan opened his mouth to reply but stopped when a little boy came running up beside her. He looked up at her with love out of the same beautiful blue eyes that she had. His hair was brown like his, and curled up on the ends. He turned his attention to Logan and grabbed Amber’s leg. “Hello.”

  Logan smiled and bent down in front of him. “Hey there. I’m Logan.”

  Logan stuck out his hand and the little boy eyed it for a moment before grabbing it and shaking hard. “I’m Bradley. Do you know my mommy?”

  He nodded. “I do. I know your Uncle Jordan, and your grandma and grandpa too.”

  The little boy’s eyes lit up. “You know Pawpaw!”

  Logan smiled. “I do.”

  Bradley looked up at his mom and pulled on the edge of her cardigan, whispering. “Aren’t you going to let Logan in?”

  Logan couldn’t get over just how absolutely adorable Bradley was. He looked so much like his mom, and at the same time had a familiarity that Logan just couldn’t put his finger on. He couldn’t help but wonder who the boy’s father was, and whether he knew him or not.

  “How did you know where we live?” Amber asked.

  Logan stood up and handed her the flowers. “I called Jordan and told him that I didn’t want to go this entire trip not saying hi. He gave me your address. I looked on your resume, but it just had the city.”

  Amber looked at the lilies. “You didn’t have to bring flowers.”

  Logan chuckled. “Your mom always said never to show up at someone’s house without bringing something. You know that stuck. Jordan would have killed me if he knew I showed up here empty handed.”

  Amber rolled her eyes. “I’m going to kill him.”

  Logan smiled. “Don’t be too hard on him. You know he doesn’t know anything about anything. He just thought I was being nice. Which I am. I am being nice. I just wanted to talk to you face to face. I think I was stunned when I saw you earlier and I didn’t get to say what I wanted to say.”

  Amber looked at the flowers, down at Bradley, and then up at Logan again. To Logan’s surprise, she opened up the door and stepped to the side. “Alright, come on in but just for a few minutes. I have things I have to do.”

  Logan nodded and stepped inside, looking around. The place was huge, and he could only assume that Matt had gotten it for her. He had probably done it when Bradley was born. Bradley stood there, staring at Logan as Amber walked over to him and grabbed his hand. “Say goodnight to Mr. Logan. It’s bedtime.”

  Bradley groaned and stuck out his lip. “Goodnight, Mr. Logan.”

  Logan smiled. “Goodnight, buddy. We’ll see each other again.”

  Amber looked unsure. “Go ahead and sit down in the living room. I have to put my son to bed. He gets cranky if he misses his bedtime. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

  Logan grinned. “Take your time.”

  Logan meandered into the living room and looked around, seeing all the pictures of Bradley and the family on the walls. He sat down on the overstuffed couch and leaned back, glad to see that she at least seemed to have a good life. She was taken care of, her son was taken care of, and they lived in a really nice place. He waited there on the couch, trying to imagine what her daily life had been like for the last four or five years. What it had been like for her to be alone there with a little baby.

  “Do you want a water or something?” Amber said, coming around the corner.

  Logan sat up and shook his head. “No, thanks. I won’t take a lot of your time. I just wanted to come by here and tell you again how much I want you to come work for the company. With your skill set, and your qualifications, you could take over. We need people who will see between the lines, who will give solid ideas to the table, and won’t back down because they are nervous or scared. I need a keen eye and a strong work ethic, and knowing your father, you have those traits like you have blood in your veins.”

  She walked over and sat down on the couch next to him, no longer looking angry. “I’m sorry I reacted the way that I did. I got caught off guard when I walked in there. Seeing you…”

  She fell quiet and Logan picked up. “Knocked you for a loop? Because it did me, too. I couldn’t see straight, swallow, move, speak. I always wondered what it would be like to be face to face with you again, and that was not at all how I pictured it.”

  She chuckled. “At least we still have a feisty streak between us.”

  He laughed and stared into her eyes. He was locked, and hadn’t expected it at all. From her intense stare it looked like she was too and out of nowhere, passion flooded him. Without thinking, he reached his hand up to her face and pulled her in, pressing his lips against hers. Right or wrong, nothing had changed about the way he felt for her.

  31

  Amber

  Had someone told Amber just eight hours before that she would be sitting in her living room in a strong embrace with Logan, she would have laughed them out of their chair. There she was, though, his lips pressed firmly against hers and his inviting and familiar body close. She was telling herself, screaming at herself to pull away, to tell him no, but she just couldn’t do it who. He had been her person, the man that stole her heart, and she had never gotten over him, no matter what she told Taylor, or herself for that matter. She hadn’t avoided him all those years because she was angry, she avoided him because she knew if she found herself in that situation she would never be able to back away from him.

  The desire deep within Amber’s chest pulsated through her bo
dy. Every vein, every muscle, and every piece of skin ached and yearned for his touch. She could already sense him on her, already feel him clinging to her soul, and she wanted nothing more than to let herself go and just allow him to take her. The only thing holding her back was that small aching in her stomach, that familiar feeling of loss. She had felt it when he left and then every day after that. With everything she had gone through, she thought she would be able to handle it, but as his hand gripped the back of her head more tightly, she knew she was lost.

  She let out a deep breath and pushed against him, gripping the front of his shirt with her nails. Their heads moved wildly back and forth, the passion between them over the top. It was like they couldn’t be close enough, like they would swallow each other whole before they were done with it all. There was nothing there to stop them, especially not her willpower. She tightened her hands on his shirt and leaned back, pulling him with her. Her leg went up around his side, but he held fast to her hair, running his tongue through her mouth, tasting her like he had wanted it for so long.

  Feeling that wanted, feeling him practically begging with his body for her, made her even hotter. She could feel the moist heat between her legs and she pushed her pelvis up against his crotch. His cock was hard, pushing against his pants. She moaned into his mouth as she ground her hips upward, rubbing her clothed pussy over his shaft. She could remember what every single inch of his cock felt like, what it tasted like, and the kind of pleasure that it gave her.

  He released his lips from hers and trailed them over her cheek and down her neck. He took his hand and ran it over her side, reaching down and grabbing ahold of her ass. He pulled her up and thrust his pelvis forward, swaying his hips. She gasped and leaned her head back, closing her eyes. She focused on every sensation, every squeeze of his fingertips, every claw at her clothes. She wanted him, but she wanted more of that. She wanted him to play with her, to rub her body like he used to, but she wasn’t sure she could hold on that long. His rock solid dick pushing against her folds teased her and called to her like nothing before.