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Lucas
“Whatyoureallyneedis a pleasant distraction,” Leo said from across the table. My brother’s eyes followed a pair of attractive women as they deftly traversed the restaurant in their sky-high heels. The three of them exchanged fond looks before he turned away. His features brimmed with all the eagerness of a teenager when his gaze returned to mine. “Come on, Lucas. You never go out anymore. Stay a few more nights and have some fun with me for a change.”
Reminded of the financial guillotine swinging above our heads, I pinched the bridge of my nose. Only my brother would think having some fun in Vegas the week before Christmas could be a pleasant distraction from our present crisis. “You can stay and have the time of your life,” I said. “I’m getting on the jet and heading to Covington Falls as planned.”
My brother’s brownish-green eyes sparkled with mischief. He squinted and asked, “When was the last time you got laid, Lucas?”
I shifted uncomfortably in my chair under the sudden interrogation. It was better to ignore him. Answering the question would only prove Leo’s point. I tried deflecting. “You know, it’s bad enough I let you talk me into opening a second office in Covington Falls of all places. Now we’re stuck trying to find someone, anyone, to run the damn thing.”
My brother grinned. “It’s been that long, huh?”
I rolled my eyes. Yes, it had been months, but there were deadlines and revenue targets to hit. From pitching our company’s new software products to Silicon Valley investors and traveling to Asia to meet with our suppliers, the work was never done.
Truthfully, I don’t know how Leo still had time to date. The last woman I asked out to dinner was Sandra in Finance after we spent thirty-six hours together working out the details of the budget for our expansion. It wasn’t a romantic evening. We ate a good meal and had a spirited conversation. I got to know one of my junior employees better, but I dropped her off at her apartment. Exhausted, I drove straight to LAX and took a red-eye to Manhattan. I had to pitch the expansion plan to a slew of Wall Street bigwigs the next day.
Resting my arms on the table, I leaned forward. “Could you be serious for five minutes, little brother? We’ve interviewed nineteen top candidates for the VP position and all nineteen of them turned us down. No one wants to relocate to the exact place where we decided to spend millions to build a sprawling new office park.”
“Calm down, Lucas. It’s not even the afternoon yet, and you’re already overreacting.”
Scoffing, I said, “Look, I know it’s difficult for you to see that we’re well past the point of desperation from your constant position between two random blondes, but we’re screwed if we can’t fill that VP position by next quarter.”
I mocked my brother’s active social life out of jealousy. Despite the increasing demands on our time and all that’s riding on our expansion to Covington Falls, Leo had no problems finding goddesses like the two women who were just checking him out to jump into his bed. He’s probably had more sex this week than I’ve had all year.
“That just goes to show how little you know about my tastes,” he said, grinning. My brother, who has crafted a reputation of being an unrepentant womanizer, pointed his finger at me and added, “Some of them are red-heads.”
Leo flashed me a smile. His undeniable charm made him the ideal spokesperson for V-Sparks. It also got him into bed with any number of women unfortunate enough to fall victim to its effects. Even after disappointing them by proclaiming he intended to remain a single man, Leo could somehow convince many of those women to maintain a legitimate friendship with him. “Monogamy isn’t my thing,” he’d tell them, and they’d accept it.
I knew Leo wasn’t as invested in this part of the process as I was, but I couldn’t help feeling frustrated by my brother’s lack of focus. We were down to one last interviewee. Finding the right person to lead the Covington Falls venture was crucial for V-Sparks’ success. At the moment, I felt alone in the fight to take our company to the next level.
Before I could respond to Leo’s quip, his phone rattled the silverware on the table. He turned it over and read the screen. The carefree grin vacated his face, replaced by a sobered look. “Hang on, I need to take this.” My brother stood. He tossed his cloth napkin onto the table. It landed in a pile beside his untouched glass of water. “Leo Valentine,” he said as he strode away.
I’m accustomed to my twin brother’s ways. I’ve tried not to let his antics bother me. After all, Leo had always been the life of any party he walked into. Every girl in town back in Covington Falls wanted their chance with him. He was never interested in sports, but even my friends on the football team orbited around him when all of us got together.
This was an important moment for V-Sparks, and I was struggling with my little brother’s casual attitude. I took an annoyed sip of my coffee, noting another one of my feelings. Envy.
Sometimes, I wished I could be like Leo. Uninhibited in my sex life and unencumbered by all the stress of running a multibillion-dollar company. Sighing, I pushed aside the fantasy, concentrating on our predicament instead. “Please let Grace Jansen be V-Sparks’ savior,” I whispered to myself.
Scanning the edges of the room, I spotted Leo heading for the exit.
He could be fickle with dating, but Leo wouldn’t just bail on me. Something must be up. He seemed focused as he marched out of the restaurant. He didn’t even glance toward the women coming in. The group of them were wearing white sashes that rested across their ample chests. Words like The Bride, Her Maid of Honor, and Bridesmaid Again were scrolled on the sashes in fancy gold letters.
My cock stirred. For a moment, I indulged in the sight of the women before they were escorted to a private room. With the women gone, my mind quickly returned to our staffing needs. Positioned on the top floor of our hotel, the award-winning restaurant drew many of the executives at the networking conference. Mixed in with the CEOs, COOs, and a horde of Chief Technical Officers were troops of tourists and the occasional guests of some elaborate winter wedding.
Although the food was excellent and the location was a convenient elevator ride from his suite, I’d rather have these meetings in secret. Risking a competitor seeing us failing to hire a new Vice President was unacceptable. The vulnerability made my stomach churn.
If I could go back in time and do it all over again, I would have lobbied harder to make this V-Sparks’ second home. Las Vegas was the perfect location to expand. In a given week, hundreds of flights went between LAS airport and Los Angeles, where Leo and I started V-Sparks ten years ago. A few of our major clients operated in Vegas or had offices close by. From Vegas, you could fly to anywhere in the world a hell of a lot easier than you could from Covington Falls.
The small mountainside town where Leo and I grew up was undoubtedly picturesque, especially at this time of year, but it was in the middle of nowhere. It had some advantages over a city most people had heard of before, though. Our hometown town was eager to welcome the return of two of its own. The town alders eagerly gifted us the abandoned plot of land near downtown, and they had approved funding for a portion of the expenses needed to build the world-class tech facility in Covington Falls. Great news for V-Sparks bottom-line.
There were other incentives, namely a generous tax break for 30 years. The glowing press talking up the virtues of our small town rejuvenation plan came at just the right time to secure another round of funding. Leo’s charismatic smile was featured on every business news channel, boosting our sales. Having Main Street and the town library renamed after us, plus a huge ceremony sweetened the deal.
The arrangement could be a tremendous victory for V-Sparks. But it hinged on finding the best leader to manage the operations. “Come on, Grace Jansen. Be the right one,” I mumbled against my glass, taking a sip of the sparkling water.
My phone chimed, and I plucked it out of my jacket pocket. I sighed. Leo’s text confirmed my earlier suspicions. He needed to attend to an emergency. I was on my own. Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to react to the message. As soon as I glanced up, my gaze landed on Grace Jansen. She looked exactly like her headshot. Dressed in an elegant skirt suit, Grace strode into the restaurant fifteen minutes before our scheduled appointment.
I liked her already.
When the hostess pointed her in my direction, her smile vanished. She hesitated at first, then slowly approached the table.
