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The time had come, he couldn’t avoid Jordan any longer. Bryce hit dial then put the phone to his ear. Jordan answered on the third ring. “You’ve been dodging my calls. You don’t answer my emails. I couldn’t figure out why. I thought you must have been super busy— in London. So tell me Bryce, how’s the weather on the West Coast this morning?”
There was no mistaking the accusatory tone in his brother’s voice. Jordan had figured out that Bryce wasn’t in England. The game was up.
It was bound to happen. But I just wish you had let me have this morning with Vivian.
There was no point in lying. Jordan knew he was in LA. Bryce focused his gaze on the blue waters of the Pacific Ocean, bracing himself for whatever storm was about to come.
“The weather is fine here in California, Jordan, thank you for asking. I’m at the Laguna Beach resort on behalf of Edward and the board.”
He only ever used his father’s first name when he was discussing business. It was a warning sign to his brother: he wasn’t here on vacation, and this went beyond family.
The angry huff on the other end of the line spoke volumes. Jordan was taking Bryce’s words in, and he was far from happy.
Bryce wanted to add that he wasn’t here by choice, but he sensed that wouldn’t help Jordan feel any better about his brother’s betrayal.I’m sorry, but there was nothing else I could do.
“If it’s any sort of comfort I am staying here incognito, and no, I haven’t yet spoken to your assistant manager Austin, though it is on my, to-do-list.”
“Thank you. Can I ask how bad things are?”
Jordan shouldn’t be the one asking him that question. His brother should know exactly how things were going in California. He shouldn’t be in New York, he should be here.
Bryce pinched the bridge of his nose. “It’s bad, Jordan. Staff are run off their feet during breakfast service. There are not enough towels at the pool. In fact, not enough linen in many places. I spoke to a guest who said it had taken her two phone calls and a visit to the front desk simply to get a duvet for her bed.” He raised his left hand and punched the air in frustration.
He wasn’t about to tell Jordan that it had been Vivian, the woman who was still curled up in his bed, who had shared the full details of that particularly embarrassing story over corn chips and salsa in the early hours of this morning. When she’d first mentioned it at the poolside, he’d thought she was joking. She wasn’t, and heads were going to roll.
“Oh. I was kinda hoping things might have settled down,” replied Jordan in a distracted tone.
Lord give me strength.
Bryce puffed out his cheeks, frustrated that he was being forced to state the obvious. “Hope is not a plan.”
“You could have told me you were back in the States, and that Dad had sent you on a secret mission to LA. I didn’t think you would ever put business ahead of your own brother. I wouldn’t do that to you,” chided Jordan. His voice now had a definite edge to it.
“And you could have told Dad that you left a rookie in charge of a billion dollar investment while you got on a plane and went home. Did work get in the way of your social life?”
“Ah, there you go again, Bryce. Hiding behind Dad. Don’t you have your own voice or are you just a fucking Muppet who only speaks when his hand is up your ass?”
Bryce clenched his fist as Jordan’s words struck home.
Don’t let his anger drag you into saying something you later regret. Something is wrong in Jordan’s life, don’t add fuel to the fire.
“You could have told me you were having trouble with this place. I would’ve helped you, and no one, not even Dad would have ever needed to know. The only thing left to do now is to sort out the mess. We still have a billion dollar resort to launch. Not to mention salvaging the Platinum Collection brand.”
And I am out of time.
If Jordan and others in the New York office had gotten wind of his being here, it wouldn’t be long before someone at Laguna Beach received a whisper as to the true identity of Mister Jones in ocean view suite seven. There would be little point in him staying on after that, the staff would no doubt be tasked with the job of fawning all over him.
He turned from staring out to sea, his heart sinking as he caught sight of a tussled haired Vivian standing in the middle of the room. She was awake, and if she had seen him on the phone, would know he was in the middle of an argument with someone.
I wanted one more day with her, or at least tonight. Was that too much to ask of the universe? To spend a few hours with a sexy, intelligent woman?
If people started acting strange around him, she would think it odd. And then she would discover that Bryce Jones didn’t exist.
I lied to her about where I am from, what I do for a living. I even gave her a false name.
How could he tell this amazing woman, who had shared her body so generously with him, who had trusted him, the truth? He’d lied to her, and not just about minor things. Vivian was trying to recover from the end of a terrible relationship which had left her with deep-seated trust issues. Finding out that he too was a barefaced liar would crush her. There had to be a way for him to keep his identity a secret from Vivian.
“Jordan, I have to go. I’m going to take the car and go up to LA this morning to meet with the linen company. If there is one thing I can do before I leave here, it’s to put in a priority order for more towels and bedding.”
