Total pages in book: 141
Estimated words: 141676 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 708(@200wpm)___ 567(@250wpm)___ 472(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 141676 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 708(@200wpm)___ 567(@250wpm)___ 472(@300wpm)
“Bastard.” I snatch the sheaf of paper he’s holding out to me. And goddamn, color me surprised, because he’s gone and done this properly, including the floor plans of his proposed changes, cost breakdowns, even an index in his report.
Little Pat, actually doing things by the book instead of just jacking off and leaving someone else to clean up the mess.
“Impressed?” He raises his eyebrows and smirks at me. “I can work sometimes, you know.”
“Sometimes,” I bite off, fixing a stare.
“Easy, man. I’m not the idiot who got engaged to some pretty little baker girl so you could gamble with our biggest project.”
“Cut the crap, Pat. Why are you really here?” I toss the paperwork on my desk. I can review it later. Four minutes till she’s supposed to arrive, and seeing as we’ve made a deal that she won’t be late, I can’t imagine she’ll be considerate enough to wait for Patton to show himself out. “This isn’t a real engagement and you know it.”
“Real or not, it must be intense.” He brushes something off his thighs. “Never seen you so flustered, Brother.”
“I’ll show you flustered in about ten seconds.”
“Hey, Archer said no fighting in the office. Let’s take it to the parking lot.”
“And I said my office, my rules.” I raise my eyebrows. Three minutes till she’s due. “Is that what you want? A few missing teeth for your trouble?”
“Bastard,” he grumbles. “You’re just waving your dick because you know I’d win.”
“Because I win everything else.” I point at the door, which is thankfully still Juniper-free. “Go on, out.”
“But my plans for the condos—”
“I’ll review them tomorrow morning and we’ll discuss them in the next meeting.”
“So formal, Bro. You’re starting to sound like Archer.” He makes a gagging sound, slinging his arm over the back of the sofa and making no move to leave. Dickhead knows exactly what he’s doing. “For the record, I came here to have a meeting. But I guess if you gave me a real reason why you’re busy…” His eyes light up. “Unless it’s a date.”
“Are you done?”
“Dex, if it is a date—” His gaze crawls down my suit. “Man, you need to work on your vibe. This shit does not scream fun or—”
There’s my limit.
Without suffering one more word of his shit, I stride over and grab him by the tie, hauling him upright.
“Out of my office, Patton. Right fucking now.”
He laughs through his teeth, flashing me a pained smile.
Same old song and dance. We’ve done this too often for him to be remotely intimidated, and he just swats at my hand.
“Get your dirty paws off me. You’re ruining my favorite tie.”
“Um,” Junie says from behind me. “Is this a good time?”
Fuck. Me.
She has a sixth sense for showing up at precisely the worst time. And what makes it worse is that she’s exactly on time today, down to the minute. Which makes me the idiot for choosing to squabble with my idiot brother.
“Wow. You must be Juniper.” Patton’s face lights up and he barrels forward with his hand outstretched. “Pleasure to meet you.”
Of the three of us, Patton got the best people skills. This glorified brat could charm the wheels off a car and sell them back to the owner at a horrifying markup.
Archer got the dick-with-me-and-you’re-dead energy, and I got—stubbornness, I suppose.
A certain pigheaded tenacity that serves me in business as much as it hinders me with people.
Right now, though, I wish Patton had shared some of his magic, because Juniper blinks her big green eyes at him like she’s dazzled by his smile.
Jealousy knifes through my blood.
“Hi,” she says, shaking his hand. “Is everything okay with you guys?”
“Don’t mind him,” Patton announces, sending me a wide, malicious smile. “Tensions run high in this family. We still fight like puppies.”
She glances between us. “Oh, so you’re Dexter’s brother?”
“Patton Rory, at your service.”
My blood turns to magma.
I swear, if he bows or kisses her hand, he’s dead.
“It’s great to finally meet you,” he says. “I’ve heard so much about you. All good things from less than sterling sources.”
“You’re joking?” Her gaze cuts back to me, something damnably unreadable in her eyes. “If it’s from Dexter, it’s probably slander.”
Patton couldn’t look more delighted.
“Damn. She already knows you like the back of her hand,” he says, elbowing me in the ribs. “And you’ve been fake-engaged for—how long now?”
“Go, Pat. You’re late for another miserable night alone with your fish,” I growl, giving him a little shove closer to the door and his nerd life of aquariums back home. Of all the expensive hobbies my little brother could’ve chosen, he just had to pick slimy things that swim and bite.
“Aw, you have fish?” I loathe the way Juniper’s eyes flash.
“He has no life,” I growl back. “Hundreds of miles from anything bigger than the Missouri River and he just has to have a bit of the ocean in the Midwest.”