by Aliana James
Upon noticing the associates, Douglas turned and walked away.
“He’s afraid he’ll lose his job if the sale goes through,” Cynthia whispered. “Rumor has it the executives who have been with the company the longest will be the first to go.”
They were hemorrhaging money; he knew it firsthand. Half of the reports he sent upstairs flashed red. It was a shame he hadn’t been here longer. He’d have liked to make the cut list.
Alec
Happy for a distraction, he jumped at the chance to meet for lunch when Kane suggested it. The restaurant had only open for one month but it already had the buzz of the business district as the place to dine.
An array of modern, simple hues of light blues mixed with faint gray shades emitted a sense of calm. The music, loud enough to hear but not overpowering, made it easy to speak to each other.
“Hey, sorry. I had to take a call,” Kane said. He turned and gave him a one-armed hug. Their schedules made it hard to get together.
“No problem.” He signaled the hostess who grabbed their menus and escorted them to a table in the corner.
Kane sat and picked up his menu. “I’m starved. I missed breakfast this morning and dinner last night.”
Alec picked up the napkin and placed it on his lap. He selected his choice, having spent the couple minutes while he waited for Kane to arrive, studying the menu.
“You miss a meal, Snack?”
He smiled as he used Kane’s nickname from when they were in the service. No matter where they were or what time it was, Kane munched on something. One guy in the unit called him that one day, and it stuck.
Kane laughed as he took a sip of his water. “I know, right?”
“So a client canceled on you, huh?” Alec leaned back and eyed Kane. He didn’t buy the excuse that a client canceled his meeting. Meetings with Kane don’t get rescheduled or canceled. Not unless Kane was the one doing so.
“Don’t look so shocked. It’s happened,” Kane answered. Whatever the reason, it worked in Alec’s favor. He needed some advice.
The waitress stopped at their table and took their orders, returning with a glass of wine for each of them. Alec looked up in surprise.
“On the house.” She winked at Kane. He held up his glass and toasted her. Alec laughed.
Kane took a sip of his wine. “I’m surprised that you are just getting in here. It’s right down the block from the Bennett Building and you’re there at least once a week.”
A waiter placed a basket of bread on the table with a small plate of dipping oil and another plate with various butters and jams. Alec grabbed a roll and chose a jam to smear on it while Kane went for a slice of bread and dipped it into the oil.
“This bread melts in your mouth. Last time I was here I ate the whole basket by myself.” Kane took a large bite and moaned.
“I’m sure you didn’t invite me here to brag about the bread.” Alec leaned back and took a sip from his wineglass.
Kane shook his head. “I’ve left two messages for Travis. He hasn’t returned my calls.I have one of my guys up at the hospital with his brother. You said it was serious, so I wanted to find out how serious.”
Alec always appreciated Kane’s need to get straight to the point. When he asked him a question, he answered it. Kane called it his no-bullshit filter. No lies or sugarcoating remarks.
“It’s serious. Someone attacked Tyler outside of Travis’ apartment building. But he was in surgery yesterday and when he came out, they doped him up on pain meds. I haven’t been able to ask him questions.”
Kane nodded. “I saw the surveillance tapes from outside of Travis’s building. It looked like two guys helped him out of a car and into the lobby. They put him in the elevator. No clear picture of their faces due to the shitty camera placement.”
Kane’s swift response to his request shouldn’t have surprised him but it did.
The waitress placed their meals in front of them. His stomach growled and Kane laughed. “Looks like I’m not the only one missing meals.”
He shook his head. “I was at the hospital all day with Travis yesterday. I made sure we both ate but then I missed breakfast this morning.”
He took a forkful of his pork. “Mmm… delicious.”
“How is Travis holding up with all of this?” Kane asked.
Alec put his fork on his plate and wiped his mouth with his napkin. “This isn’t the first time. Two years ago, he almost got himself killed over a massive gambling debt. Travis bailed him out.”
“Explains why Travis looked like crap the last couple times I saw him at Raven.” Kane sighed. “He’s working two full-time jobs. Isn’t his company being bought out?”
“Yeah, they are.”
“That means more work for his department right?” Kane asked.
He shot up an eyebrow. “I forget you’re more than a handsome face.”
Kane frowned. “So assuming the gambling debt and the attack are related, how is Travis going to settle it?”
Alec looked across the restaurant before glancing back at Kane. He didn’t want to get into this with his friend only for him to confirm how stupid he was. But he didn’t have a choice.
“I may have offered him a way.”
He cringed when he recalled how he dumped the offer on Travis’s head last night. Not his smoothest move. He was a Vice President for one of the largest companies in the United States for God’s sake. Closing deals ran second nature to breathing. He haggled with suppliers, contractors and real estate agents all the time.
Kane lifted his eyebrows with a smirk on his face. “This should be interesting. Tell me.”
Alec slid over to the chair next to Kane so he could speak lower. “I told him we should get married. He needs help, I can offer it and I need to get married.”
Kane cut a sliver of steak. He mixed it with his vegetables and placed the forkful of food in his mouth.
“Well?” Eager for Kane’s opinion, he waited.
“I didn’t see that coming, but it might work.”
“To be honest, I didn’t see any of it coming.” Frustrated, he grabbed his glass of wine and finished it in one gulp. A waiter came at once to offer a refill.
“Eat more to soak up the alcohol,” Kane ordered.
“Yes, Dad.” Alec took another sip of wine and plucked a roll out of the basket. A warm fuzzy feeling had settled in his chest and the thoughts zinging around in his head had slowed. Kane knew wine and him didn’t mix, and without fail it only took two glasses to feel the effects.
“I don’t understand what Grandfather is thinking,” he said.
Kane finished his entrée and pushed his plate forward. He wiped his mouth with his napkin and placed it on the plate.
“What do you mean?” Kane asked.
“This marriage thing. Why bother with it? Weston is trying to prove he’s incompetent and take the company. Why start with this when we should all be trying to fend off my uncle?”
Kane shook his head. “Weston is an idiot. But if he gets traction, he will be a problem. It’s a smart move.” Alec grunted as Kane continued. “No, I’m serious. Hear me out. Your grandfather is making sure that his family—his grandchildren—are sticking to his side.”
“We would have supported him.”
“How can he be sure? If he controls all the purse strings, whether you guys like it or not, if you want money you have to do what he says. That includes supporting his business decisions and fighting off your uncle.”
Alec shook his head in disagreement. “Thalia and I have worked the hardest for him. He had our support. This way makes it worse.”
“Have you spoken to Thalia?” Kane asked.
“Yes, she called as soon as Grandfather spoke to her. She’s pissed.”
Their waitress came back to offer them dessert. Alec opted to order a cup of coffee to combat the effects of the wine and Kane did the same.
“Back to Travis for a minute. What did he say?”
Alec fingered
the tablecloth in front of him. “He told me I was crazy.”
“That’s surprising,” Kane said.
“What do you mean?”
Kane leaned forward and folded his hand in front of him. “What else did he say?”
Alec thought about last night at the diner. What had Travis said?
“Something about having the marriage appear real. I guess he’s referring to PDA.”
Kane smiled. “So he didn’t say no, just that he didn’t think it worked because of appearances?”
What did Kane know that Alec didn’t?
“Yeah, basically,” he answered.
The waitress returned with their espresso, placed two plates with brownies next to them and winked at Kane.
“Do you gentlemen need anything else?” she asked.
“No, we’re good. Thank you.” Kane’s smile stunned the waitress. He didn’t smile often but Alec had watched both men and women fall prey to it over the years.
“I’m confused. You haven’t told me it’s a rotten idea.”
Kane took a huge bite of his brownie and answered with his mouth full. “Why would I?”
“Right. It’ll save my position and help Travis.”
“No. Because you two have been dancing around each other for years and now, you might do something about it,” Kane answered.
What?
“Don’t bother arguing that I’m wrong. I’m right,” Kane said. And here was the Kane who he’d been expecting. “You like him. He likes you. You guys are friends, good friends. I’m not seeing a downside here.”
He was having trouble finding one himself.
“Our friendship, for one. This could wreck it,” he stated. It was a weak argument.
“You wouldn’t let that happen. I’m not saying jump the guy as soon as you say ‘I do’. But if you’re married, how much more permission do you need to explore where it might go?”
Of all things that Kane could have said, this wasn’t anything he expected. Alec figured he’d talk him out of it.
“One problem. He said no.”
“Damn, that was a good brownie.” Kane leaned back in his chair and looked at his empty plate. “So? Convince him to say yes. Make one of those famous business arguments that you win all the time. Don’t forget I have been in the room not once but twice when you convinced your grandfather to change his mind on a deal. That’s no minor task. Believe me—I‘ve tried.”
His phone buzzed, and he glanced at it.
Leaving work, going home to change. Should be at the hospital in less than an hour.
“Gotta go. Travis is heading up to the hospital and I want to meet him there.”
Kane grabbed the check and slid his card into the folder. “Go. Keep me posted.”
Alec slapped him on the back as he got up from the table.
“Are you leaving this brownie?” Kane asked as he started to slide Alec’s plate toward him.
“Oh, hell no.” Alec leaned over and grabbed the huge brownie off the plate. Kane laughed as he exited the restaurant and hailed a cab back to his place. In the back of the cab, he took a bite of the brownie. Chocolate chips and fudge spilled over into his hand. In seconds, he finished the whole thing.
Kane wasn’t kidding. It was a fantastic brownie.
He shifted his thoughts to Travis. Kane hadn’t seen how pissed off he was and how he had stormed out of the diner. He’d have to apologize again before he could get Travis to listen. He had an hour to come up with a damn good one.
Chapter Seven
Travis
Travis didn’t know why he sent a text message to Alec. He needed a break from the man. Hard enough to concentrate on anything other than Alec’s marriage suggestion. Alec was right. He had to do something about the debt Tyler owed so they would leave him alone.
They couldn’t settle anything until Tyler woke up and talked. He exited the elevator and made his way to the nurse’s station. Someone had to have answers to what was going on with his brother.
“Hi, I’m Travis. My brother, Tyler, is in Room 112. I was wondering if there was a doctor I could speak to about his care.” A nurse with a clipboard approached.
“Yes. Mr. Andrews. Dr. Wilder was just in to see him. I’ll see if he’s available.”
She walked into a room off of the nurse’s station and spoke to someone in a white lab coat sitting at a desk. Minutes later, Dr. Wilder emerged from the room. He pulled a chart from the stack, opened it, and studied it for a few minutes before he walked over to him.
“Mr. Andrews?”
“Hi, Dr. Wilder.” They shook hands and Dr. Wilder sat on the side of the desk facing Travis.
“What can I do for you?” He blinked a few times as the doctor smiled at him. This was not the grumpy man he’d met in the emergency room.
“Yes, I wanted to ask you about my brother Tyler.”
“Yes, let’s walk this way, shall we?”
Travis felt a quick brush on his lower back as Dr. Wilder touched him to guide him forward. Maybe it was his imagination but he swore the doctor was staring at his ass. No doubt that Dr. Wilder played for the same team, but he was far from interested.
They stopped in the doorway of Tyler’s room. Tyler slept as the monitors all beeped around him.
“We repaired the damaged to your brother’s knee and leg in surgery. As you can see…” He gestured to the apparatus hanging from the ceiling. “We will immobilize him for the time being. His slight fever is being monitored.” Dr. Wilder frowned as he read his chart further. “And he had some problems with the anesthesia and pain management.”
“He’s been asleep, and I hoped he’d be awake by now.”
Dr. Wilder glanced at Tyler and then stared down the hall. “You aren’t the only one.”
Travis turned to see two men in suits stop at the nurse’s station. Dr. Wilder walked over to the men to greet them. He followed but kept his distance.
“I’m sorry, gentlemen, as I mentioned this morning when you came by, my patient is not awake.”
The older of the two spoke. “You said he should be awake this afternoon.”
“Barring any medical issues, yes. But he’s in a very serious condition. Once he is alert enough to speak, I’ll have a nurse call you.”
The younger one produced a card from his pocket and handed it to Dr. Wilder. He continued to study the bulletin board.
“They’re gone,” a voice whispered behind him. When he turned, Dr. Wilder stood right in front of him. “Is there something I should know?”
“Not that I know of, but I appreciate you keeping them away from him.”
“I am not a fan of law enforcement harassing patients, especially when they are in your brother’s condition. They spoke to him in the emergency room. It can wait a day or two more.”
“Thank you.” Travis smiled at Dr. Wilder, who guided him away from the nurse’s station toward Tyler’s room.
“You’re welcome. Any chance you might join me for a cup of coffee? I can answer the questions you may have.” Hands in his pockets, he smiled again.
“I—”
“Hey. How is he?” Alec asked. His mind elsewhere, he hadn’t noticed when Alec arrived.
Dr. Wilder frowned and walked back to the nurse’s station.
“Give me a minute,” he said to Alec.
Tired but not stupid, he hadn’t missed the signs. The doctor had been flirting with him.
“Thanks for the offer but I’m all set.” Travis locked eyes with Dr. Wilder, who nodded.
“The nurses can page me if you change your mind or if there’s anything I can do.” A nurse looked at Travis and then at the doctor, shook her head, and walked away, leaving the two of them alone for a moment.
“I’m not interested, but thanks.”
Dr. Wilder folded his arms and gestured toward Tyler’s room. “Because of your brother?”
“Brother? Alec? No, we’re not brothers.”
“I see.” His stance changed as he picked up Tyler�
��s chart. No way he was going anywhere near Alec. Travis placed a hand on his arm.
“He’s not available either.”
Dr. Wilder looked at his hand and then at him in surprise. Travis turned and walked into Tyler’s room.
Alec stood. “What’s going on? What’s with you and Dr. Wilder?”
Travis looked at him. Neither of them had gotten much sleep in the last two days. Why did he look well-rested? As he shrugged out of his leather jacket, Travis watched the muscles ripple across his back. The long-sleeved sweater molded to every curve, his jeans hugged his hips and the boots he had on were Travis’ favorite ones. Not that he would ever tell him. A man can fantasize.
Why couldn’t he have this reaction to Dr. Wilder? He needed to blow off steam like nobody’s business. His smile was gorgeous, hair dark and long on the top. The doctor kept himself in shape. Handsome and had a swagger that told Travis he’d be cocky and bossy in bed. Just this once that was what he needed: someone to take control and take him out of his head.
A hand passed by his eyes.
“What?” When Travis looked at Alec, his cheeks grew warm.
“Are you okay?” Alec frowned. “You’re red.”
“I’m fine.”
“So you and the doctor, huh?”
Tyler shifted in the bed and he rushed over to his brother’s side to arrange the blankets.
“There is no me and the doctor.” How ridiculous was that? “Besides, he has the hots for you.” The good doctor had the hots for anyone with a rod between their legs.
“Me? No.”
“Yeah, you. He was eyeing you up and down when we were in the ER. Checked your ass out a couple times too.” A little lie didn’t hurt. Anything to get Alec to drop this ridiculous conversation.
Alec frowned and glanced toward the doorway. “So I wanted to apologize again for last night.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
Tyler stirred and started to try to move his arms. Travis placed a hand on his good shoulder and leaned toward him.
“You’re okay, Tyler. You’re safe.”
“No, not safe.” Tyler mumbled. “No.” He twisted his body, his leg shook in the hanging apparatus, and his face flinched. “Oww!”