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The thought makes my stomach twist.
CHAPTERTHREE
LIAM
“What do you mean she wouldn’t tell you?” I frown as I hold the phone to my ear. On the other side of the boardroom table my brother lifts a brow. He has this sardonic way of looking at you. It’s annoying actually.
It makes me feel like I’m ten years old again.
“She doesn’t want you to know,” my assistant, Sam, tells me. “Said to call her if you had a problem with that.” Sam sounds way too happy about this whole situation. “I like her.”
“I bet you do.”
Sam’s been my assistant for the last ten years. She’s absolutely worth her weight in gold. She also doesn’t suffer fools gladly. Including me.
I went straight onto Wall Street after leaving college, working in corporate finance for a large group of investors before striking out on my own. Now I run Salinger Enterprises – a small to medium venture capital company. I raise money through my clients – a group of extremely rich investors, then use it to finance start-up companies or, more often, turn around failing companies that I can see have a future if they were run right.
Myles, on the other hand, after dabbling in finance for a little while, became an editor at a New York publishing house. But since he met Ava and has moved permanently to Charleston, he’s been working for me, looking for new investment opportunities here in West Virginia.
“I think it’s the first time a woman hasn’t come running when you clicked your fingers,” she says, her voice full of amusement.
I roll my eyes because I have this unfair reputation as a playboy. I can’t remember the last time I got to play with anything. I’m too damn busy for that. “Sophie’s not a woman,” I tell her. “She’s a…” I narrow my eyes to think of the right word. And ignore the way Myles is staring at me now that he knows who I’m talking about. “She’s a devil woman.”
Sam chuckles. “I looked her up. She’s the nicest woman in weather according to one of her fan pages.”
“She has fan pages?” I frown. Why did I not know this?
“So many,” Sam tells me. “A couple of them are quite disturbing.”
“Oh Jesus.” I wince. I can only imagine what they’re like. “Anyway, back to the gift.” Myles lifts his other eyebrow. He looks permanently annoyed now. “Any ideas?”
“Nope.” She pops her ‘p’ just for the sheer hell of it. “A bottle of champagne?”
“Too lame.”
“Something silver. Engraved. That he can keep.”
“Do you think Sophie’s buying something silver?”
Sam snorts. “I have no idea, Liam. Can’t you just buy whatever you want?”
“If I buy the same thing as her she’ll kill me.” I still haven’t forgotten the Mariachi incident. Just a damn coincidence, I swear, but it was like I’d arranged for a stripper at a board meeting. “Don’t worry,” I say. “I’ll sort it out myself.”
“That’s what I like to hear,” Sam says encouragingly. “You’ll do great.”
“Mmhmm.”
“And if she gets angry, just show her some of the old Salinger charm. It works every time,” she tells me encouragingly, even though she knows this isn’t true. “Is there anything else or can I go now?”
“You can go. Have a good weekend. And Sam?”
“Yes?”
“Thank you for trying. I appreciate it.” She’s a good worker with a unique set of skills that helps the business a lot. She’s also a single mom who never gets enough time for herself. I make a mental note to send her a gift card for a spa and a babysitter. She deserves it.
“Anytime, Liam. And good luck with the gift shopping.”
When I put my cellphone on the table, Myles is still staring at me. I tip my head to the side and stare back. He’s my eldest brother, but only by just over a year. But sometimes he feels about fifty years my senior.
