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“The spare from the drawer,” he said and glanced down at her. “You should keep better track of this shit. Do you know how easy your place is to break into?”
Well, that was a dumb question, one that gave her an opportunity to get her sass on. “Having walked in on a certain unexpected guest more times than I can count,” she hissed. “Yes, I do.”
He kissed her head. “Hang back a second.”
So she’d come all this way just to act as look out. Fine by her. Brodie opened the door just enough for him to go inside, then he stayed put, blocking the gap in the entrance. There were cameras at the manor and while Tuck was working to erase Cuckoo from CI he was also watching the feed that had been switched over to the security room monitors.
“Showing up unannounced,” Cuckoo drawled from somewhere in the apartment. Zara couldn’t see where because Brodie was in the way. “Rude, but not unwelcome. You’re not a patient man or a considerate one. You take what you want… so take it.”
The seductive lilt of the accent as it rolled off her tongue didn’t make Zara jealous. In fact, hearing the European list Brodie’s apparent attributes amused her. Brodie was patient, when he wanted to be, and he had to be considerate of her now that they were sharing a bedroom. Cuckoo had a point about his sexual proclivities, but Zara was confident he’d been sated at the house, so he wouldn’t be taking what Cuckoo was putting on offer.
“I’m not here to play games, Mischa. I’m here to tell you to pack your shit. You’re on a plane tonight.”
“Your little project pouting, is she?”
Brodie moved forward, and Zara took this as a cue for her to make herself known. Following her love inside, she closed the door with a flat hand. Brodie took a sideways step, which allowed Zara to see her apartment and Cuckoo, who was in the middle of the room wearing a long silk robe.
The alluring pose allowed one leg to peek through the material, but when she registered Brodie wasn’t alone, she quickly straightened and pulled the fabric over her knee. “What is this?”
“You’ve fulfilled your purpose,” Zara said, stopping beside Brodie, who draped an arm over her shoulders. “Your services are no longer required. You’re fired. Put it anyway you like.”
“You have to get out of town,” Brodie said.
“You cannot be serious,” Cuckoo said, her gaze darting between them before her hands came to rest on her hips. “Is she so insecure that—”
“This isn’t her,” Brodie said. “It’s me. You’ve had Caine on my tail for years, reporting to you. You can play him like a fiddle. I don’t need that shit. You’re pathetic.”
Zara hadn’t expected him to be so direct. Shock made Cuckoo blink a dozen times, expressing that she hadn’t expected it either. It was a smart move to use the same words and tone with Cuckoo that she had used to describe Caine, but it had to be ego bruising.
“This is a game,” Cuckoo said. “It’s all a game.”
“And that’s why you’ll never get the prize,” Brodie said.
“Because you’re the only one playing,” Zara said. They hadn’t rehearsed this, but being here to witness the wrath of Cuckoo build behind that flawless face made her anxiety worth it. Now Zara understood her true purpose for being here. Brodie wanted to shatter any and all hope Cuckoo might have of winning his affection.
“You can’t give me what I want,” Brodie said. “I thought you were a smart woman, but all this time you’ve been chasing after me like a lost little pup. I need my woman to be stronger than that. Need my woman to be able to handle herself.”
“I can handle myself,” Cuckoo asserted, as though the suggestion that she couldn’t was offensive. “I have run companies, I have—”
“Always had guys give you what you want,” Brodie said. “You’re no match to my girl. You can’t live up to her. She can’t be replaced and sure not with the likes of you.”
Zara was learning new things about herself, Cuckoo was getting her just desserts, and Zara enjoyed watching it. “The likes of…” Cuckoo stuttered. “I am a hundred times the woman she is!”
Brodie’s arm slid farther around her shoulders, pulling her into him. “She got to the top by working hard and proving herself, all you’re good for is a suck and fuck. Any board in the world you haven’t whored yourself for? That doesn’t make you worthy, it makes you sad.”
“Pitiful,” Zara said. Another word Cuckoo had used to describe Caine.
The confused dismay on Cuckoo’s face grew until suddenly it vanished and she smiled. “You’re saying these things because she is here,” Cuckoo said, pinning her disgust on Zara. “You don’t know who he is. You don’t know what he needs.”
“There’s only one thing I need,” Brodie said. “The woman at my side now.”
“No!” Cuckoo asserted, curling her manicure into her palms. “You love me! You only left because of that sick, stupid old man—”
“If that was true, why didn’t Raven come back to you as soon as he was free of that man?” Zara asked. Referencing Art was rocky territory, and Zara still felt protective of Brodie’s feelings for his uncle. “I understand your pain. I can’t imagine what it would be like to love Raven and not have him reciprocate. But you lost any sympathy that we might have had for you when you told me what you did to Caine… You don’t love Caine, you played him. Stalking Raven was never going to make him fall in love with you because this isn’t about love, it’s about control. You wanted Raven because he was the one man who walked away from you before you were done with him.”
“You know nothing,” Cuckoo said, lowering her voice to a growl. “He called me here, gave me his company because he—”
“Cormack Industries is no longer under your control,” Zara said. “Your credentials have been revoked, and an announcement will be made tomorrow that you are no longer with the firm. It will also be announced that CI is merging with Knight Corp, and talks will begin next week to arrange the terms of that union.”
