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“You have more than enough money to afford that stuff easily, and you have Daddy.”
“First, don’t spend your money on something you can get someone else to buy. Second, Dad’s money comes with questions and lectures. Oran pays well, promptly…” she waves the bracelet, “and with bonuses. You know how I feel. If a man wants to buy it, let him.”
“Even if he’s your sister’s husband?”
She nods while blinking her big brown eyes. “Especially my sister’s husband. It doesn’t make a dent in Mister Moneybags pocket.” She stares at the bracelet she obviously loves. “He’s like the sugar daddy I’ve never had. All the trinkets and none of the sugar. Now, what are you in the mood to eat? I’m supposed to be planning dinner, nosey.”
Laughter escapes me before I can stop it. She gets on my nerves, but I’m noticing how much the two rats have in common. It’s possible I’ve married the male version of my sister.
“I’d be set if Jagger needed my help.”
“Girl, please. Jagger has known Ainslee since she was a baby. There isn’t anything that man doesn’t know about his woman.”
Esme shrugs as she types away on the computer. “What do you want for dinner, sis?”
I shake my head at her. “No ma’am, figure it out since you know me well enough to profit.”
* * *
Unsurprisingly, I make it home before Oran. Most of my dealings don’t need an office. I think about my dad’s confession about trying to get rid of Mr. Hale. I know there are still things being skimmed over and he only presented me with the big picture. I don’t know if it’s a Founder’s table type of thing where all the facts are only privy to the top four, or if it’s a father and daughter thing. My dad despises Mr. Hale. I understand that. I’ve heard talk of him being so shady that people were happy when Oran took over. What I don’t get is the level of passivity simmering in my dad when he discusses Elmer.
“What did he do?” I ask myself.
“I don’t know. Tell me who, and maybe I know.”
My belongings fly out of my hand as a male voice I’m not used to hearing startles me. My breathing is ragged when I turn on Caerwyn and lean against the door.
“Caerwyn! Don’t sneak up on black people! You could have died.”
His chuckle is seductive, although he’s not trying. Must be a Hale trait that somehow skipped Elmer. The rest of the men, including Caerwyn’s dad, have it. He’s tall like Oran but a little less bulky. His hair is a rich brown, and his eyes are blue? Green? Blue-green?
Wait a minute! Maybe… nah.
“I’m glad to have survived, but I’ll notate that tidbit. Thanks for the heads up.”
Caerwyn bends in his expensive charcoal suit and begins collecting the items I dropped.
“Thank you. What brings you by?” I ask while attempting to unlock the door again.
He rises to all six plus feet with all the things I was struggling to carry balanced on one toned arm.
“You.”
He is stating a fact with no intent lying under his tone. Must be a lawyer thing.
“Well, I’m kinda married to your cousin, and he doesn’t seem like the type to share,” I joke as I let him inside before me.
Caerwyn flashes one of those smiles that’d guarantee the loss of a woman’s clothes. That’s always been his thing. The panty dropping smile is premium icing on a super likeable guy. Now, that super nice guy is encased in a very attractive package.
“It’s okay, cousin-in-law. I’m terrible at sharing.” We settle in the kitchen, and he takes a seat across the land from me. “Luckily, I’m only here to hire you.”
Oran’s heavy footsteps thud in the hallway until he appears from the direction we just came. His steel eyes jump from one of us to the other as if he had a notion we were fucking.
The moment I turn to look up at him, Oran has me in a kiss that would have me allowing him to do dirty things to me in front of his cousin. We were jet-lagged and thrown off from the time zones and passed out until it was time for Oran to leave for work. We haven’t made love in our home yet, but our week long sextfest was everything I needed until this kiss.
He pulls away, leaving me aroused and frustrated as he goes for the handshake, but Caerwyn hugs him instead.
“You don’t have to mark your territory with me, Oran.”
