One Night with the Rebel Billionaire. Trish Wylie
Читать онлайн книгу.
‘He’s not nice.’
Jake stifled a smile, but not convincingly. ‘Okay. You got me. What happened on the way down here?’
Ooh…now where to start with that one…?
Idly swinging the office chair back and forth, she searched the air for something safe to say. ‘He thought I thought he was an idiot…’
Yes, she was pretty sure it started there. No—hang on—maybe sooner. He hadn’t been happy with her knowing he was afraid of flying. ‘By the way—did you know he’s not good with planes?’
Jake shrugged, flicking through a file on his desk. ‘It’s not surprising. Hitting the ground harder than normal when you’re in one would do it.’
Roane’s jaw dropped. ‘What?’
‘Charter flight, if I remember it right; Adam and his mother were flying in from a week in the Hamptons when Adam was three or four—Dad had visitation rights. It was a rough landing.’ He shrugged. ‘No one got hurt but it was edge-of-the-seat stuff.’
To a child it must have been a nightmare. No wonder he wasn’t a good flier. Would it have killed Adam to possibly mention that? ‘Jake, it didn’t occur to you he mightn’t be that good a flier when you suggested he fly down here?’
‘He should’ve said if it was such a big problem.’
‘Does he strike you as the kind of man who would confess to a weakness like that in front of a brother he hasn’t seen in twelve years? Between the two of you there was enough testosterone in that kitchen this morning to sink a schooner.’ There was no way she was getting caught in the middle of that battle of wills so if Jake thought—
He looked up at her. ‘Now you’re defending him? Thought you didn’t like him.’
‘I don’t.’ She fought the need to pout.
‘Well, calling him an idiot wasn’t one of your better moves. What did he say to that?’
‘I didn’t call him an idiot. He assumed I thought he was. And he was—surly…’
Jake chuckled. ‘Yeah, I’ll bet he was.’ He checked his heavy wristwatch and closed the file before pushing his chair back. ‘You know he’s got a genius level IQ? One fifty or sixty; something close to the highest level they measure it at. Bugged the hell out of me when I was a kid; made me feel real dumb in comparison.’
‘You’re kidding me, right?’
‘Nope.’ He lifted his jacket off the back of his chair and pushed his arms into the dark sleeves. ‘Dad reckoned it was part of his restlessness. No matter how many grades he skipped he was still bored. He didn’t want to be groomed as a child prodigy, so he rebelled. I think Dad blamed himself for never being able to keep his mind actively interested in anything long enough to stay out of trouble.’
When Jake chuckled at her expression a realization hit her. So Roane dropped her face into her hands, her voice muffled. ‘Oh, God.’
‘What did you do?’
She peeked over the tips of her fingers, opening them a little so Jake could hear her. ‘He quoted Voltaire and Kerouac at me.’
‘And you said?’
Dropping her hands, she sighed heavily. ‘I asked if they were quote of the day.’
Jake snorted with laughter, then saw her woeful expression and controlled it, his dark eyes still sparkling with amusement as he reached for a hand to draw her out of her chair. ‘I can’t believe he’s here less than twenty-four hours and you’ve already had a fight with him. You’re s’posed to be the friendlier one of the two of us. I have more to argue about with him than you do and I’ve managed to stay calm.’
Yeah, but he didn’t have the same issues with Adam she did. Not that she could tell him that.
‘Just promise you’ll be nice until he signs the papers. Then you can say whatever you want to him. I know I intend to.’
She let Jake guide her to the door. ‘Do I have to?’
‘You do. For me. If I didn’t have you to be nice to guests and clients while I’m up to my eyes in work I’d have to go out and find myself a wife, wouldn’t I?’
Roane rolled her eyes. ‘Poor you.’
‘Exactly.’ He held open the door and stepped back to let her through. ‘You’re as near to an actual Bryant as be damned, Ro, and you know it. That makes it your duty.’
When he nodded wisely Roane chuckled, lightly punching his upper arm as he fell into step beside her in the corridor. ‘I hate you.’
Jake swatted the back of her head with his file. ‘No, you don’t. You love me. You know you do. I’m adorable.’
Her smile faded when they rounded a corner and found Adam standing by the doors to the boardroom, his hands pushed deep into the pockets of his dark trousers.
His dark gaze crashed into hers. Immediately she felt a flush rising in her cheeks. Damn him. She really didn’t like him one little bit. Regardless of the new information she now had to explain a very small portion of his behaviour.
Feeding the façade, she turned on her heel and stood on tiptoes to press a kiss to Jake’s cheek, smiling at the surprise in his eyes. ‘I do love you. But you owe me for this one. Big time.’
Jake blinked at her. ‘O-kay.’
With a deep breath she turned and walked towards Adam, her chin held high despite the sparkling of silent amusement in his stunning eyes. ‘I’ll be back after the meeting. Jake tells me you’re staying at the penthouse.’
‘Will you be acting as tour guide?’ He smiled lazily, his deep voice lowering. ‘Or making sure I don’t skip town again?’
Roane blinked innocently, unable to resist baiting him with a small pout. ‘Babysitter possibly?’
Adam’s gaze rose to watch the people filtering into the boardroom. Then he took a step closer, invading her personal space to within inches and surrounding her with his enticing scent while he lowered his head.
‘Nice to see there’s as much fire in your relationship with Jake as there is in ours.’ He turned his head closer to her ear so she felt the movement of his lips against her hair. ‘Let me know when you’re ready to upgrade…’
Roane took a deep breath, ignoring her dancing pulse while she turned her face towards his. ‘I’m not so sure it would be an upgrade.’
When a smile threatened the corners of his tempting mouth she took another breath, reminding herself that she’d told Jake she would be nice to his brute of a brother. ‘Have fun at your board meeting.’
When she impulsively patted his arm, Adam’s chin dropped, disbelief lifting his brows and furrowing his forehead when he looked back up at her. It was a very, very small victory, but somehow it was enough for Roane.
His eyes narrowed when she smiled a little brighter, but then Jake interrupted, ‘You ready, Adam?’
‘Yeah.’ He glanced down at Roane. ‘Later.’
Roane scrunched up her nose with feigned glee. ‘Can’t wait.’
Adam had to grit his teeth through the majority of the board meeting. They’d dumbed it down for him. Assuming he wouldn’t have a clue about anything they were talking about was a serious mistake on their part. But he remained silent throughout.
Let them think what they wanted.
‘So you see the problem.’ Jake waited for the room to clear before he turned towards him.
‘I do.’
Adam looked at his sibling with new-found respect. The kid knew his stuff. He’d led the