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She stood from her chair, crossing the hardwood floor to the door and opening it for Ray. “If he wasn’t decent I’d already be running for the hills.” She stepped to the side, letting her in, and gave her a small smile. “I’m Chloe. Wade’s sister. You must be new.”
“Oh my God.” Ray looked between the two of us, her cheeks deepening once again. “I’m so sorry, I just assumed?—”
“It’s fine. Chloe is going to be holding her wedding at the resort in about two months’ time and there are a few things she needs sorted and scheduled. Can you help her with that?” I asked. I clicked the top of my pen with my thumb, the sound keeping me distracted enough to not fall into my thoughts about our stepbrother.
“Of course I can.”
“Perfect,” Chloe grinned. “It’ll be nice to get to know you.” Ray returned the smile.
“Well, I have work to be getting on with so if you two don’t mind…” I started, motioning toward the door in the hopes that I could avoid asking them to please leave me alone.
“Of course. I do have one other thing to talk to you about though,” Chloe said. She grabbed her bag from behind her chair, pulling out a massive binder with the words Wedding Planning in swooping, curling letters across the front. She placed it in Ray’s waiting hands before saying, “I’ll come speak to you in a minute, okay?”
Ray nodded, slinking out the door with the binder and shutting it behind her.
I didn’t have the patience to deal with it anymore. Weddings were stressful enough on their own when people hired out our space, but getting my sister’s wedding sorted was going to be an absolute ball-ache if I didn’t get an immediate handle on the situation. “Can you make this quick, please? I have a meeting in twenty.”
Chloe stood and walked behind her chair, placing her hands on the black leather. “You’re looking for an investor, right?”
I nodded. “Yeah, for the land next to the resort.”
She leaned a little further over her chair, pursing her lips as if she were trying to figure out how to say what was on her mind. “Dom’s parents might be interested. But you didn’t hear that from me.”
Well, that piqued my interest.
“They’re looking for more projects to get in on. The wedding might be the best place to, ya know, have a conversation with them. But they’re kinda, well… you know how they were with me and Dom, old-fashioned. They’re not going to want to work with a playboy.”
I blinked at her, the words taking a moment to settle in. “Then don’t tell them that I’m a playboy.”
“They kind of already know.” Her grin was sheepish as it spread across her lips. “Maybe just bring a date? Someone you’re a bit more serious with? Your reputation has been heard throughout the family. Show them that’s not you.”
I laughed and leaned back, lifting my legs up onto the desk. “I don’t have any serious bunnies, Chloe. And you know I stay away from the media at all costs. It’s not like there’s going to be pictures and stories flooding the papers about me to back any of it up.”
She shrugged, pushing herself up to her full height. “I don’t know what to tell you. If you want an investor, they’re your best bet. Think about it. I’m sure you could figure out a way to sell it to them.”
I looked back to the glass that separated me and Ray, watching as she flipped through the binder with her head resting on one hand. With her nose and forehead scrunched, she looked every bit as stressed as I felt.
“I’ll think about it.”
Chapter 7
Ray
The brute was going to drive me insane.
Two weeks of chaos. Two weeks of him sitting behind the glass, watching me, knowing something might be going on behind it. I’d pulled the blinds down more times than I could count.
I was getting the hang of managing such an enormous and hectic schedule. I wasn’t used to handling the personal aspects of someone’s life other than Mom’s, and the sheer amount of women who called the office hoping to schedule a “meeting” with Wade was overwhelming. If their name was on the bunny list, they got a meeting. Wade could either confirm it or deny it, but so far, I hadn’t seen one that he’d canceled. How he had the time and the stamina was beyond me. I could see every activity he had planned in a day and it was mind boggling.
They were incessant. Call after call that I thought would be professional ended in a woman whining over the phone because she swore she’d been on the list. Or worse, they would show up unannounced, begging to be let into his office so they could enjoy themselves. Clearly, Wade did not give two shits about having security on the door.
Nope. That was my job, apparently.
While I was plugging in names and booking out room numbers for Chloe’s wedding, a woman waltzed directly into my office as if she belonged there. Blonde hair curled and makeup applied as if she was walking the red carpet, a strappy little dress despite the negative temperatures outside, and a look of total determination on her face. I’d nearly screamed.
I could see Wade at the end of the hallway, where it curved toward the breakroom, and our eyes met. He stared at me as he shook his head and mouthed the word “no.” A silent command to get her out.
I still hadn’t gotten used to it all.
