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I stepped out of Malcolm's office, check in hand. It would be enough to get us through the next few months, easily. Hell, it had been more than I'd expected, by far. Malcolm meant it when he'd said he would take care of me, and I felt like I was walking on air as I left his office.
I was walking toward the elevator when someone spoke and interrupted my thoughts.
“Excuse me.”
I looked up and saw a good-looking, well-dressed man who reminded me a lot of Malcolm. Given that it was a family business, I wouldn't have been surprised, but the idea of running into one of his family members like that sent a jolt of panic slicing through me.
The man reached out a hand to me. “I'm Adam,” he said. “Malcolm's brother.”
“Oh, hi,” I said, shaking his hand. “I'm Casey.”
Adam looked me up and down, as if he was studying up on me for a pop quiz or something. I'd remembered Malcolm mentioning a half-brother, and I assumed that must be him.
“Malcolm has told me about you,” I said before I could think better of it.
“He has?” Adam asked. “Good things, I hope?”
“Uh, mostly neutral. Just that he had a half-brother,” I said.
“Yes, that's me alright,” Adam said. “So how well do you know my brother?”
I looked back at Malcolm's office. His door was closed. Mr. Brownstein had already been escorted inside by Alyssa.
“We're friends,” I said.
“Only friends?” he asked, a slick, greasy smile curling his lips. “Because I sense there's something more going on than that. And I usually have a pretty good nose for these things.”
“Nope. Just friends,” I lied. “It was nice meeting you, Adam, but I need to get going.”
I headed toward the elevator again, but Adam stepped in front of me, blocking my path.
“Has he introduced you to the family yet?”
“No,” I said. “Why should he?”
Adam shrugged. “Just curious,” he said. “Thought you might like to see the real Malcolm, on his home turf. Maybe even meet his parents.”
“I'm not sure we're that close, Adam,” I said, my throat tightening. “Now, if you'll excuse.”
“Would you like to come over and meet everyone?” he asked. “We're having a dinner party tomorrow night, and you're more than welcome to join us.”
“I don't think that's a good idea,” I said.
“Ah well, if you change your mind and are curious, here's my card,” he said. “You never know. It might be a good idea to check out his home environment. See what kind of family he has.”
I took his card, mainly to be polite, and pushed my way past him. “Thanks, Adam, but I don't believe that'll be necessary.”
“Very well,” he said. “If you change your mind, you know how to reach me.”
“I do,” I said, tucking his card away in my purse.
When I got to the elevator, I let out a breath I didn't realize I'd been holding. Thank God, I got rid of him, I thought.
I couldn't let his family suspect anything was going on. Especially, not his brother. Not that I knew the first thing about Adam, but I could tell he was up to something. I could smell people like that a mile away.
And considering what was going on, whatever angle he was playing couldn't be good. Not for Malcolm and not for me.
Not to mention the fact that he'd just given me the willies. He was a good-looking guy, sure, but something wasn't right with him. It left me feeling very unsettled as I stepped into the elevator.
