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Declan
Declan Gunderson wasn’t a man who took “No” for an answer. So, when his business partner told him that there was no way that he could meet with him today, he got into his SUV and drove over to the hotel that they co-owned, to hunt him down. They needed to nail down the details about putting in the offer on their next property and they’d need to scope it out before that happened.
It was an upscale boutique hotel that seemed to be all the rage right now in Europe. They were hoping to bring that same experience to the states, but that couldn’t happen without their little trip to France. They were supposed to be boarding their private jet to France in the next three hours, but Tanner Rose wasn’t interested in business at the moment. If Declan had to guess, his best friend was probably interested in one of the sexy little blonds that he seemed to keep hiring and no matter how many times HR had told Tanner to keep his fucking hands off the hired help, he couldn’t seem to help himself.
Declan practically stormed into the office that they both shared to find Tanner sitting behind his desk and a curvy little blond sitting on top of his lap. “Shit, Tanner,” he growled. “There is no time for this. You need to send her on her way, and we need to get on the fucking jet.” The blond turned back to look at him and pouted almost making him want to change his mind.
“How about we share her first and then get on the jet?” Tanner countered. “I mean, what’s the point of owning a jet if we can’t set our own schedule and have a little fun?”
“No,” Declan said. “We need to go over the plans before we leave, and I still have to pack.” If he had to guess, he’d lay money on the fact that Tanner hadn’t packed a damn thing for their trip yet.
He walked across the room and grabbed the woman’s arm, helping her from Tanner’s lap. “Let’s go, honey,” he growled.
“But we were just getting started,” the blond insisted.
“He’ll be back in town in about a month. Look him up then, if you’re still around,” he said, helping her on with her jacket. “Don’t forget your shoes by the door, sweetheart,” Declan patronized. As soon as she left, shutting the door behind her, he turned on Tanner. “You need to find some self-respect. Tell me that she doesn’t work for us,” he ordered.
Tanner shrugged, “She works in HR,” he said. “I figured I’d kill two birds with one stone. Who’s she going to complain to about me when this is all over?”
“You need to stop fucking our staff, man,” Declan said.
“You used to be fun, Dec,” Tanner spat. “I think you should share a woman with me again and then, you’ll forget to be so stuffy and uptight. Yeah—maybe getting you laid will help loosen you up.” Tanner stood and pulled on his jacket. “If you want, I can arrange for our favorite stewardess to be on the jet for the trip over to France,” he offered.
Declan pointed his finger at his friend as if that would help to drive home his point. “No,” he shouted. “You need to get your head in the game, and I’m not talking about your dick, Tanner.” His friend had the nerve to laugh at him and started for the door.
“Where are you going?” Declan asked. “We’re not finished here.”
“We can go over the plan on the jet. Hell, we’ll have eight hours in the air before we even get to France. Go home and pack and I’ll meet you at the hanger, man,” Tanner said. “And for fuck’s sake, try to calm the hell down before we take off.”
“I am calm,” Declan shouted at him as he walked out the door, not bothering to shut it behind himself. “Well, that was a shitstorm,” Declan said to himself.
He wasn’t sure what to do about Tanner and that worried him. There was a time when they were both a little out of control, sharing women and partying way too much. But now, at thirty-four, they both should have worked that out of their system. Declan felt as though he had but Tanner was taking a little bit longer to find his way through his roaring twenties.
The thought of sharing a woman again did appeal to Declan. It had been a long, dry spell, and sharing with Tanner always broke him out of his funk. It was fun to share, and Declan liked that there were usually no strings or expectations attached because that was the last thing that either of them needed. They were working to build their empire of boutique hotels in America and getting tied down by a woman didn’t fit with their plans. Someday—maybe, but not today.
Today, he had to make sure that his best friend got his ass on their jet before it was time for them to take off. Then, he’d figure out the rest because they needed for this deal to work. They needed investors for their boutique hotels to take off in America or they’d end up right where they started, with nothing, and Declan couldn’t go back.
He and Tanner had grown up on the wrong side of town, so to speak. They had to work their asses off to get to where they were. They were best friends since the second grade when their moms both signed them up to the same Boy Scout troop in town. At first, Declan hated it, but one overnight camp with Tanner, and he was hooked. They became inseparable after that weekend and had been best friends ever since.
They stuck by each other in high school, standing up to the bullies and rich kids together, and not taking shit from anyone. Their senior year, they were both accepted to the same college and by some miracle, they both secured the scholarship money that they’d need to get their degrees. They decided to major in business and Declan even got a second degree in hotel management. He was always an overachiever, as his mom liked to say, and that was fine by him. He knew what he wanted, and he went for it, end of the story.
College was the first time that they had shared a woman, and Declan had to admit, he liked it. Having Tanner by his side, calling the shots, took the pressure off him. He got used to them going to bars together and picking up a woman to share for the night. It was easy and let him relax a little so that he could concentrate on more important matters, like his double major. He’d blow off some steam, party with Tanner, and then get back down to business, and that worked for him.
After they graduated from college, they worked their asses off and saved enough money to purchase their first hotel, with the help of a few investors. It was always their dream to turn it into a franchise and now, they had that opportunity. Declan just hoped like hell that Tanner was taking it as seriously as he was because there was no way that he’d lose focus now. They finally saw the light at the end of a very long tunnel and there was no way that he’d let his best friend derail their plans now—not after they had come so far together.
