Page 4 of Duality

I knew what he was asking, but I ignored it. In another life, I might have recruited Adrian to my organization. He was everything I looked for in a member, but his loyalty would always be to Marcus and SDS first.

“I was at the office till late.”

“You need to rest,” he said softly.

“There’s too much to do,” I countered, my voice just as soft.

He knew I didn’t mean just work. It was the same song and dance we did every day, and he knew I wouldn’t yield. He had first-hand experience of the good Archers did. It was why he stayed quiet and let me continue to work at SDS. My job here allowed me access to the city’s rich and wealthy and gave me insights into their movements and interests. It was valuable information that helped my organization countless times. And as long as I didn’t do anything to endanger the brothers, Adrian left me alone. Except to fuss at me for not sleeping.

Thankfully, the intercom buzzed on my desk, and Alexander asked for files for his 8 a.m. meeting. Adrian left to head down to the fourteenth floor, where the security offices were, and I grabbed the files I needed for Alexander. The work never ended.

CHAPTER 3

EVELYN

Afew days later, I was typing up some meeting notes from a department head meeting that morning when the door to the far office opened and footsteps approached my desk. I didn’t lift my eyes from my screen as the person stopped at my desk.

“Evie, do you have the?—”

I handed him the folder, sitting next to me without looking up.

“Oh, and I need the?—”

I handed him the second folder, hiding my small smirk.

“And I didn’t have time after lunch to?—”

I handed him the hot mocha that was sitting at the corner of my desk.

“Marry me?” Sebastian’s blue eyes were smiling as he leaned his hip against my desk. His suit jacket was off, and his sleeves were rolled up, allowing me to see the muscular forearms the tabloids drooled about. He was a striking man with a lean, athletic build and sandy blonde hair that always looked like he’d just rolled out of bed. A lesser woman would have swooned over the proposal, but I had been getting the same proposal fromhim at least once a week since I started working for him and his brothers.

“No.” I smiled primly at him, my lips pressed in a thin line to hide my amusement. “Will that be all, Mr. Stone?”

He put a hand to his chest like I stabbed him and dramatically staggered away from my desk. “Evie, you wound me.”

“Shall I call the cleaners to get the blood out of the carpet?” I asked dryly, turning my attention back to my computer as the door next to me opened and Alexander stepped out. His sharp suit was a dark gray that made his blue eyes seem brighter than usual.

“Are you bothering Miss Harper again?” Alexander rolled his eyes, lips pressed thin as though he were physically holding back a sigh at his brother’s antics.

“I’m never a bother. Right, Evie?”

“Only on days ending with y,” I responded in a flat tone but couldn’t hide the smirk on my face.

He really wasn’t a bother. That was just how Sebastian was. He took the goofy kid brother act to the extreme and was always pranking his older brothers and Adrian. He did his best to crack the professional mask I wore and had an uncanny sense for when I was having a bad day, going out of his way to cheer me up.

“I know you love me.”

“Like one loves a root canal.”

“If you’re done bothering Miss Harper, I need her.”

Sebastian waggled his eyebrows at Alexander, but Alexander ignored him. I gathered my notepad and pen and walked into Alexander’s office.

His corner office had floor-to-ceiling windows were made from bulletproof glass. I settled into the dark gray chair acrossfrom his desk, pen poised over paper as I waited for his instructions.

“I just got off the phone with Geoff Young. He owns several nightclubs and restaurants in the city. He wants to discuss a full security package for two of his new clubs. Full surveillance, training his people, and possibly hiring our people until he builds his security team. I guess he’s a little short-staffed at the moment.”

I hid my smirk as I wrote down the details. I bet he was a little short-staffed right now. We had cleaned house in one of his clubs a few weeks ago, exposing a ring that included his bartenders and bouncers that drugged and raped women. There had been four victims before we had heard about it, then intervened and shut it down. We had set the victims up with our team of lawyers and social workers, and they were currently suing Young Enterprises for damages. He didn’t outright own the club we were at a few days ago, but he was an investor in it.