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I couldn’t think about Jordan. He wasn’t a part of the company when Dad was alive, and he wasn’t now. I had to solve this on my own. I couldn’t let the company fail. Jordan wouldn’t care if it did anyway. He had his own business to run.
I gripped the pencil cup, the one with pencils Dominic insisted on keeping there in case he needed one, and launched it across my office. It hit the bookshelf, pencils raining down. I probably shouldn’t have done it, except it felt good. Unfortunately, the cup didn’t break. Damn Dominic. He had to buy solid wood. It probably nicked the shelf from the force I threw it and landed softly on the carpet floor.
Peyton beat Dominic to the door. Or Dominic didn’t even bother getting up. It wasn’t the first time I’d thrown something when I was in here alone.
Without missing a beat, my best friend walked over to pick up the pencils and the cup, then sat it on the small four-person conference table I had in the corner of the room. Near the door. Far away from me.
“I wish you wouldn’t do that,” I told him. “I can clean up after myself.”
“Gave me something to do.”
I lifted a brow. “You bored out there? Need me to find a lengthy task for you to take care of?”
“What do you think?”
The clock read six. How long had I been staring at the numbers on my screen?
“Sit,” I told Peyton, and called for Dominic to join us and shut the door.
He came in, toeing it closed behind him, his planner in hand.
I went over to the small lineup of hard liquor I kept on hand and poured three glasses of scotch. Peyton declined the offer, which I knew he would. He never drank and drove me, not even a finger’s worth. I swallowed his back before I sat at the table with them. I slid a glass to Dominic, who took the second one and poured it into his then sipped it properly, not downing it like a shot. The expensive label should be savored. I was above caring.
“I’m tired,” I muttered. “Bone deep, can I change my identity and flee to a secret island, tired.”
Peyton leaned forward, strong forearms resting on the table. “Is that a request or are you venting?”
“Got a contingency plan you didn’t clue me in on?”
He shrugged. “You know Greer and I like a good plan.”
I hummed. His brother was my Chief Security Officer. Only one person held a higher rank with me personally, and that was Peyton. Dominic came in a close third, due to the level of trust I had in him and how much of my life he managed. We didn’t spend our free time together like I did with Peyton and Greer.
“You haven’t had a vacation since before your dad passed,” Dominic said gently. He knew when to push and when not to. When to use his firm voice to get me doing what I should and when to back off.
“I haven’t had the time. Where would I go anyway? I have a company to run. I can’t just jump ship.”
“You have a team of employees for a reason. They can handle things for a week.”
I laughed, though it lacked an ounce of humor. “You think a week will cure what ails me?” I shook my head. “A month would only scratch the surface.”
Peyton rapped his knuckles on the table to draw my gaze to his. Dark orbs so deep, the solar system could exist in them, latched on to mine. “We’ll spend the weekend at the fortress. It beats the penthouse.” The fortress was what we called the Lynx house, where the brothers lived. I named it that due to the security and upgrades on it.
I nodded, knowing I needed the slight break from the hectic life I led. I had to formulate a plan for the company though. A way to get our heads above water again. “I’m bringing work with me.”
“I figured you would.”
“Does that mean I’m coming too since I’m part of your work?” Dominic asked. He flicked his gaze down to his planner while he toyed with the paper’s edge. It was clear as day he didn’t want to work, although he wouldn’t say that.
“Do you have a desire to be in the middle of thirty acres with no one but Pey, Greer, and me around?”
“Enticing, but I have plans.”
Maybe I’d find the answer to my financial problem while we were at the fortress. Doubtful, but worth a shot since nothing else had come to me.
2
DOMINIC
