by Emma Harley
“Fine I’ll stop fighting. Thank you Logan, it really is beautiful,” she breathed, running her finger along the gems. She pushed up on her toes and kissed him gently on his stubbled cheek before wrapping him in a hug. He wrapped his arms around her and lifted her off the ground in a crushing bear hug.
“That doesn’t count as me kissing you either before you start acting cocky,” she mumbled mockingly into his ear. Raina felt his fists ball up against her waist as he set her gently on her feet.
As they creeped out of the store room, Raina was incredibly glad the rest of the staff didn’t live here. Kalen and Elias had gone out and there was a relieving silence through the manor. No prying eyes to invent more rumours about her. Logan led her by the hand to their hallway, checking around for any sign of his brothers before pulling her into his room. He lifted her into his arms with a squeal and carried her to his bed.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” she asked sharply, raising an eyebrow at him as he milled about the room on his phone.
“We’re going to have a movie night. I can’t believe you have never seen a decent action film and I’m determined to remedy that immediately.” He popped open a DVD case and slid the disk in, the blinding blue light of the huge flat-screen TV on his wall illuminating the room.
“I’ve sent orders to the kitchen for some snacks too if you’re hungry,” he offered, flopping down on the bed beside her. Raina adjusted the pillows behind her and leaned back.
“No thanks, but why are you forcing me to watch this again?” Logan stared at her incredulously.
“It’s a new release and I haven’t seen it yet. And I have strange interests, so you’re going to tell me just how implausible all the stunts are and whether or not you can do them yourself.”
Raina chuckled softly. “Just because I’m military trained doesn’t make me a ninja.”
∞∞∞
Logan awoke to an annoying thumping on his bedroom door. He rolled over and smiled when he seen Raina, soundly asleep beside him with her hair wrapped around her like a messy cocoon. He pulled on his dressing gown and padded out to his door. Kalen stood bored, and very clearly hung-over, with a folder in his hands. “Can you take this over to Erik’s office?” he mumbled, “I’m in no state to be working today.”
“Get lost Kalen it’s like seven in the morning,” Logan yawned. Kalen thrust the folder at him.
“One of us has to bring it over, and you didn’t drink last night. Just get dressed and leave it over,” he moaned. Logan threw the folder back angrily.
“It’s your job Kal, no one made you get hammered last night. Just get Darius to drive you when he clocks in, or ask him to drop them off,” Logan tried to slam the door but Kalen shoved his foot in and glared at him. He glanced past him to the closed door before snarling at him.
“I’ll get Elias to take them, you get dressed and get to my office. Now.” Logan slammed the door and stormed in to his room, where Raina sat watching him from the bed.
“What was that about?” she asked worriedly. She knew it was Kalen, and there was no doubt she would be fired if he found out she had spent the night in Logan’s bed, despite nothing untoward happening between them. Raina rubbed the sleep from her eyes as Logan tossed clothes onto the bed.
“It’s fine,” he murmured, “Kal just wants me to take the contracts over to Erik, he’s hungover and can’t do it.”
Checking the hallway for anyone walking around, Raina ran quickly back to her room while Logan went off to deal with Kalen. She locked the door and stripped off on her way to the bathroom. She took a long shower, exfoliating and shaving until she came out as sleek as a dolphin. She pulled on her clothes and put on a light layer of makeup. She was applying mascara when there was a knock on the door. Logan and Kalen stood grim-faced in the entrance, making her heart stop dead in her chest.
“Sorry for bothering you so early Raina, can I speak with you for a moment?” Kalen sighed. She nodded and sat on the couch in her reception area. She was getting fired for sure, someone must have seen her with Logan last night. Kalen settled on the sofa opposite hers and Logan dropped down beside him. She quietly sucked in her breath, trying to steady herself for what was coming. Kalen coughed meaningfully and Logan rolled his eyes.
“Raina, Kalen wants to know if you’d be amenable to adjusting your duties, temporarily,” he huffed as his brother whipped around to glare at him. Flushing, Kalen turned to her.
“Since you’re on good terms with Erik and Jonathon, I was wondering if you would accompany us so we can go over the contracts,” he stammered out, his cheeks reddening further. Raina almost wept in relief.
“Um, of course, but I don’t know anything about the deal. I’d just be a pretty face in the background,” she chuckled awkwardly. Logan’s eyes were glued to her, the molten gold darkening as his gaze roved over her. A sharp ahem from Kalen broke his stare.
“Your connection might make the process go smoothly. As you know we’ve been trying to make a deal with them for a very long time, you were the deciding factor in the end. They only agreed to making a deal because of you, it makes sense to have you involved in the proceedings,” he explained.
Raina picked at her fingernails as she mulled it over. Not that she didn’t mind helping, but being used as a catalyst for business dealings felt dirty.
“Won’t my presence just seem like a bribe to them?” she queried, twisting a lock of hair around her fingers. Kalen shrugged.
“We’ll both be there, right now everything is preliminary it will just be basic discussions, you don’t have to talk at all,” he affirmed, “Logan and I will be doing most of the talking.” Raina bobbed her head and avoided Logan’s gaze. “Okay then, when do we leave?”
Kalen grinned and rubbed his hands together. “We’re leaving after breakfast, you should put on something professional though, it is a business meeting after all.” He got up to leave but stumbled and clutched his head with a groan.
“I’m going to get food and some aspirin, see you soon,” he mumbled, pulling the door closed behind him.
Logan grinned at Raina.
“Let’s get your clothes sorted and go get breakfast, I am starving,” he chuckled, leading into her bedroom. He perched on the edge of her bed as she padded in quietly behind him.
“We have to talk Logan.” His face dropped and he rubbed the back of his neck.
“Yeah I guess we do,” he replied, resisting the urge to touch her as she sat beside him.
“I don’t want people getting the wrong idea about us. I’ll lose my job, I’ll have to go back home and I’ll lose my place at university,” she took a deep breath and continued before he could interrupt, “I was bricking it when you two landed at my door. Even though nothing happened, I can’t risk Kalen finding out that I spent the night with you.”
Logan paced around the room, rubbing his neck thoughtfully.
“We didn’t do anything wrong Raina. And even if we did do something, I wouldn’t let Kalen fire you for it. I think you have a habit of pushing away once you start getting too close to someone.”
Raina snapped round to him furiously.
“Yes you know me so well to know that I’m pushing away don’t you? Or maybe I just don’t want to lose my job because of you,” she hissed. Logan stopped and glared at her, visibly hurt. She bit down on the corner of her lip suddenly regretting her wording. He took a few steps closer to her.
“You’re right, I don’t know you well enough. That never bothered you before though did it? You didn’t care at all that we barely knew each other when you threw yourself at me in the hotel,” he snarled, his voice rising angrily. Something in her chest shattered and she stormed across the room to her locker before throwing something at Logan. He caught the bracelet and stared at her.
“I knew you were a mistake. I’m done with you. Get out,” she croaked, her voice breaking. Logan stepped forward with his palm out.
“Raina, I didn’t mean…”
“Get out!” she growled, wrenching the door open. She slammed it after him and locked it behind him. She grabbed the discarded boxes her aunt had sent and began swiping her belongings into them. She would explain everything to Kalen later and ask him to send her belongings back to her aunt’s house. She shoved her clothes into her sports bag, making sure she left behind every stitch of clothing they had provided her. She lifted the box of chocolates, hesitating slightly before tossing them in with her clothes. Raina tucked her jewellery and her handguns into the bag along with her mother’s possessions, she couldn’t leave that behind. Once her room was stripped bare, she strode out to find Logan leaning against the wall in the hallway.
“What are you doing Raina?” he asked wide eyed, his breathing panicked. She slammed the keys to her room into his palm and stalked off without uttering a word.
The fresh air filled her lungs and the sun caressed her face with gentle warmth. She strode down the gravelled driveway and turned off down the road where she knew a small picnic area lay abandoned. Raina pulled out her phone and untucked a card from the cover, tapping in the number with unnecessary force.
“Hello?”
“Jonathon,” she gasped in relief, “I know this is a strange request. But I don’t suppose you would have a car I could use for the day?” A gruff chuckle came down the line before it stopped silent.
“Are you okay General?” he mumbled.
“Yes I’m fine, just found myself stuck with no wheels and I don’t know my way around,” she forced a laugh as the captain give a disbelieving snort.
“Are you safe?”
“I’m not in danger,” she reassured him, “Would you believe me if I said its relationship drama?”
His booming laugh devolved into a coughing fit as he choked out “Not at all. Are you armed?”
“Always.”
“My driver will be with you in ten minutes, I’ll see you soon,” he uttered gruffly, and hung up. Raina pulled her earphones from her handbag and put them on, sliding one back just enough that she could hear anyone approaching. A few minutes passed before her phone rang and Kalen’s name flashed up on the screen. She slid the phone back into her bag and ignored the call, not ready to talk to anyone just yet.
A silver estate car pulled up alongside her and a blonde woman leaned towards the window to call her name. She hurried and jumped into the back seat while the driver sped off.
“I was told to bring you to Mr Alahim’s office if you didn’t have anywhere you needed to go, is that okay?” she called back. Raina just nodded. The driver turned on the radio and didn’t bother her again the rest of the journey.
After a lengthy ride, the car pulled up alongside a tall glass fronted building where Jonathon stood outside tapping on his cane. The driver opened Raina’s door and she strode over to the captain. He gave a swift salute which she returned with a stiff smile, and led her into the building. As they entered the elevator, he punched in a code and stood back against the rails.
“Are you okay?” he asked gruffly, concern written along his face. She nodded.
“Yeah, just drama,” she muttered, twisting the strap of her holdall. The elevator doors slid open to reveal a very fancy lobby and a large set of mahogany doors. The young girl at the desk gave the captain a beaming grin and welcomed Raina. The captain led her through the doors into a large meeting room and through another door to the side into a very regal lounge. He gestured to the burgundy leather sofas for her to sit down and he went to a fridge. A clink and a hiss sounded before he handed her a bottle of beer and opened one for himself. She tipped it towards him and long a long gulp.
“So what happened?” he asked, drinking from his bottle as he eyed her. She just shook her head.
“I discovered why people advise against about getting involved with someone you work with,” she sighed, swigging the bottle and walking over to the window to see the view.
“Let me guess, the dark-haired Blanchard boy?” he chuckled. Raina whipped around, dropping her jaw in shock. “How the f…” Jonathon laughed louder.
“That older boy is too obsessed with the office, he didn’t seem to have much interest in you. The smaller boy, he was so bored at dinner I’m surprised he didn’t fall asleep in his soup. The other one didn’t take his eyes off you the whole night.” Raina turned back to stare out over the city. She had been too busy reminiscing with the captain she hadn’t paid much attention to Logan.
“So what went wrong? Did he propose to you after the first night in bed?” Raina choked.
The captain just laughed harder as she tried to regain her composure. She wandered over to admire the wall filled with old leather-bound books and gold writing.
“I told him I cared more about my future and I didn’t want to risk losing my job over him. He didn’t take that too well. Some nasty words were exchanged and I stormed out. I already thought about quitting because of him, but now I’m sure about it,” she explained, swallowing hard as tears threatened to form. The captain simply remained silent for a few moments.
“That seems a little impulsive. Your hot-headedness is going to get you into trouble some day you know. What’s your backup plan?” he asked thoughtfully, “you’ll obviously have to find another job and somewhere to live so you can attend university yes? Or are you moving back home?” Raina opened her mouth to answer but she didn’t know what to say. She straightened up slightly.
“There’s a tour starting next month. I’ll be on it,” she announced firmly. The captain nodded and brushed a finger down his moustache.
“Raina…” he started, but he was interrupted by Erik coming in with an armful of paperwork. He gave his husband a toothy smile and beamed brightly at Raina.
“Kalen is here?” he asked them, his thick accent curling the words. Raina shook her head.
“No,” she smiled, “I just came to visit Jonathon and have a little catch-up.” Erik bobbed his head and rested his hand on his husbands shoulder. “Do you need eating?”
Jonathon shook his head and patted his hand softly.
“No thanks dear I just had lunch, but I know you didn’t. Go get some food before the meeting,” he commanded mildly. Erik planted a kiss on his dark caramel skin and left with a grin. Raina smirked at the captain and sat down on the sofa across from him. “You two are adorable,” she remarked. The captain swatted his hand at her comment but couldn’t hide the little grin that pushed at the corner of his mouth. She sat her beer down on a wooden coaster and clasped her hands.
“I don’t want the contract to fall through because of me. Kalen hasn’t done anything wrong at all, I’m the one who got involved with his brother, so I’d like to ask for your discretion here,” she stammered, her cheeks flushing, “I don’t know much about it, but I don’t want Kalen to take the heat for my mistake.”
Jonathon stared blankly at her. “I wouldn’t allow personal drama to affect business dealings General. The deal will still be going ahead simply because I agreed to it already. I’m a man of my word,” he bristled. She cocked her head slightly.
“What is the deal exactly?” Jonathon sat his empty bottle down.
“Funding for their labs. They’re doing research with genetics, I don’t know the exact specifics, but we have a number of facilities that are currently unused, and they have far superior equipment to handle the work. The Blanchard’s provide the team and their research, we provide the facilities and funding,” he explained, nonchalantly puffing out his chest, “Why didn’t you ask them?” She shrugged and downed the last of her beer. “I just never thought to ask really. I just wondered why it was so important to them.”
∞∞∞
Raina perched herself on the small bookshelf under the window, staring out over the horizon. Jonathon had offered to take the meeting elsewhere, but she insisted she would be fine. She got up to wander around the room, nursing yet another glass of scotch Jonathon had poured for her. The walls were covered in Jonathon’s awards, pictures of his wedding to Erik, certif
icates belonging to both of them. Most of the pictures were Jonathon as a younger man, standing with his navy buddies, some of Erik meeting important people she didn’t recognise and a few she did. The mantelpiece surrounding an electric fire was almost shrine like. Jonathon’s military medals were pinned into individual frames above a number of glass awards belonging to Erik.
Her exploration was interrupted by the men returning with Kalen and Logan following behind, the latter looking so miserable he seemed like he was about to break down at any moment. Kalen stopped stiff when he seen Raina, she gave him a small smile before turning to the captain.
“I don’t know where you got this scotch but I would recommend hiding the bottle before I finish it off,” she said cheerily, tipping her glass towards him. He laughed heartily and poured himself one.
“Nothing wrong with drinking your breakfast General, as long as you can walk by lunchtime you’re fine.” He clinked his glass against hers as he offered one to the brothers.
Kalen thanked him and took one to Logan, who was attempting to avoid looking at Raina and failing horribly, earning himself a nip on the arm from his brother which was noticed by the whole room. The receptionist came in with a note for Jonathon, leading him to swear and excuse himself. Erik apologised profusely and followed after his husband. Raina realised with a gut-wrenching jolt, she was now alone with Kalen and Logan.
Kalen sat himself down on the sofa, staring very intently at his glass. The silence was suffocating, broken only by Logan excusing himself to the bathroom.
“Logan told me what happened Raina,” Kalen announced, leaning back to look at her, “I just want you to know that if you want to leave that is your choice. But your personal life and relationships are at your discretion, I had no intention of firing you. I wanted you to know that. I am not as judgemental as you might believe.” Raina shook her head.
“I just don’t think it’s going to be a good fit Kalen. I don’t want to discuss what happened with Logan, but I don’t think it would be a good idea for us to be living and working together when there’s obviously a lot of tension.”
