by Larissa Ladd
7
Kade
"So? Fill me in, Dude." Lars leaned back and smiled.
My penthouse suite was decked out in a modern design, which was not my doing, but it was amazing what money could buy. The place hadn't started to feel like home, but it would soon.
"On what?" I grabbed his coffee cup and walked toward the kitchen. "You want another cup?"
"You know I do." He groaned as he got up and followed me. "Tell me about the company, asshat. Is it everything you wanted or what?"
"It's challenging." I set our cups down and pressed the button for the coffee pot to wake up and do its job. "I'm surprised you're up this early."
He shrugged. "I fucked some wild chick and her sister half the night. I decided not to go to sleep just yet."
"I thought you smelled like a skank." I laughed as he popped me in the gut.
"Fuck you. Tell me about the job. I don't care about anything else. I'm freaking the fuck out over having to do this whole business bullshit." He growled and ran his hands through his shaggy black hair. "I think selling it is a better idea."
"I like the idea of you selling it too." I gave him a shit-eating grin. If he sold his company, he would get nothing. The proceeds would be split between my other brothers and me. It was a win-win.
"I bet you do." He walked to the fridge and opened it. "I'm not asking again."
"Alright. Fuck. It's a pain in the ass at times, and the coolest shit in the world at others. My right-hand man is one of Dad's best friends, so he's all about me getting in there and doing what I need to for the company. He's a great man."
"Awesome. I hope I have someone at the shop for that shit."
"Different world." I lifted my eyebrow and continued. "My PR chick, on the other hand, is impossibly beautiful and uptight."
"Virgin." He pulled out a carton of milk and drank directly from it.
I almost snapped at him, but it wouldn't do a damn bit of good. Lars had always been the instigator of all things rowdy at our house growing up. Dad could barely stand him, but Mom loved him to death.
"I don't know what she is, but she's a pain in the ass, and I love her for it." I poured our coffee and turned to hand him a cup. "She was a model back in the day."
"Fingernail model or legs?"
I snorted. Idiot. "Full body. That old Calvin Klein ad with the pool model in —" He cut me off as his eyes grew wide.
"The tiny white bathing suit?"
"Yeah." I took a sip of my coffee as he stood speechless, his mouth hanging agape. "Did I catch you off-guard?"
"Just a little, dick licker." He took a gulp of his coffee. "Dude, you gotta introduce me to her. Sounds like she's ripe for the picking."
I laughed. "Not a chance. Speaking of ripe for the picking. It's getting late in the day. Get the fuck out of here and let me go work on things with my future baby momma."
His turned to laugh. "Fuck that. If this girl is the one I'm thinking of, she's never going to go for a prick like you."
"I might just surprise you, little brother."
"You're two months older." He narrowed his eyes, hating my reference like he always had.
"That's still older."
* * *
I hadn't been in my office for more than ten minutes when Skylar walked in with a dry cleaner bag. Her long white dress wrapped around her curvy body and left me wanting to pant openly.
"Morning, Sir. Here is your suit for Friday's press conference. Now look, I need you to make sure you get it home still in this bag. Don't wrinkle it and don't —" She paused, looking rather flustered. "You know what? Maybe we should leave it here. You can wear one of your clown costumes up here and change when you get here."
"Hey. How are you this morning?" I got up, walked around my desk and took the suit from her. By the stunned look on her face, I would have guessed she'd have expected a different reaction.
"I'm fine." She released the suit and let out a sigh. "Sorry. I'm just worried."
"Don't be." I opened the closet door, hung the suit up and walked back to stand in front of her. The smell of her perfume combined with the way she took care to dress from head to toe with light touches and perfection had my dick waking up. "Anyone told you how beautiful you look today?"
"Kade. Workplace harassment starts with compliments." She lifted an eyebrow.
I laughed, unable to help myself. "So is it Kade, or Sir?"
"Which do you prefer?" Her lips pursed as if she were working her ass off to keep her real personality hidden behind a wall from the big bad CEO.
"I like them both." I lifted my hands to the side. "Throw a scenario at me, and I'll tell you which name to use so we can make sure we're on the same page."
"I'm not playing a game. I have a million things to do." She put a hand on her hip. "What we need to do is go over your speech for the opening part of the press conference. Have you been working on it?"
"Nope, but I will." I dropped my hands. The woman confused the fuck out of me, but maybe I was over thinking it. A part of me wanted to be friends and maybe even family with the people of Miles Private Jets, but I was the owner now. Perhaps that status put me in another category, one that didn't allow for anything but demands and directives.
No, my father wasn't like that, and everyone loved him. Why was I so different?
"Get the speech together, please. This isn't just your future that you're playing around with." She turned and walked toward the door. "It's all of ours. My advice is to take it seriously."
"Who said I'm not?" I called after her and let my eyes move down the long line of her back to the thick curve of her ass. Man, she was hot. She had no fucking clue how powerful she could be with her looks alone, or maybe she did. I thought back to the conversation with Ron about her. Maybe she knew exactly how powerful she could be and decided not to use them.
Interesting. The thought made me want to know her more.
"Your actions are speaking louder than your words."
"Sky."
She turned as she reached the door frame and gave me a stern look. Fuck me. I was going to fall for this one, hook, line and sinker. "What, Sir?"
"Good choice on that one." I smiled, but my expression slid from my face as I watched the war raging in her eyes. "Don't give up on me, okay?"
"I can't. I get paid to do this."
"Good, then earn your paycheck." I was pushing, but someone needed to.
Her head lowered a little, and a look of challenge came across her pretty face. "Fine. Meet me outside in five minutes."
"Why?" I walked toward her, but she spun on her heel and walked onto the additional elevator for lower-level employees.
Her voice echoed behind her. "Five minutes. Right out front."
8
Skylar
"I don't see the point in this," Kade barked at me as I waited for him outside of the building. The anger in his eyes was sexy as hell.
"Mr. Miles," I started, but he cut me off.
"Kade." He moved up beside me, and we walked in step down the busy city street together. Something about being there beside him almost felt natural.
"What was your past profession?" I glanced over at him, and my heart fluttered in my chest. I'd coached myself throughout the night before that falling for a man like him was a horrible idea, but how could I fucking help it? He was gorgeous, strong, rich and brilliant. No. It was wrong. He was my boss, and most likely a total asshat.
That was a lie, and I knew it.
"I sold houses for years." He slipped his hands into his pockets and let out a long sigh. "My father hated that I didn't go to college, so I worked harder than anyone else in my family outside of him to prove my worth."
"And you do you think you accomplished that?" I pointed to a bench in the park across the street. The trees were bare, and it was freezing, but we wouldn't be out there very long.
"No clue. We had a fight before he died." Kade sucked in another breath. "I don't know why this is important."
"Because I've worked with lots of people —"
"In the modeling industry?" His tone was slightly degrading.
"Yes, and in the public relations world." I crossed my arms over my chest and tried to hold tight to my promise to Ron. It wasn't easy stepping into a genius billionaire's shoes. I honestly couldn't begin to fathom the stress.
"Okay. Your point?" He reached for my arm, grabbing my wrist as we jogged across the street. Cars drove toward us, and he tightened his grip as they approached. "Faster."
I wanted to snap at him to get his hand off of me, but I bit my tongue. Interesting that he would care for my safety.
A woman just ahead of us dropped her wallet and turned. "Sorry!"
"No problem." Kade picked it up, gave her a beautiful smile and slipped his hands back into his pockets.
Wow. Who was that guy? The butterflies resurrected inside of me. Was he more than he was putting on?
"My point is that these guys at the press conference are going to tear you apart if you're not ready." I stopped at the bench and sat down.
He started to sit beside me, but I lifted my hand to stop him. "Okay. No sitting for me?"
I laughed, unable to help myself. "Not yet. You're going to step out of your comfort zone."
"I don't have a comfort zone. I'll be fine Friday. I'll write up the fucking speech in my office today, and you'll have it before the sun goes down. We have time to go over anything we need to in the morning."
A little girl ran past Kade, and her red ball bounced into his leg. "Daddy?" The little girl stopped and looked up at him.
My stomach tightened in worry. He wasn't mean from what I could tell, but what an odd situation to be in.
What looked like the mother jogged up. "Oh. Lacy, that's not Daddy. Sorry."
"No problem." He looked down at the little girl as she smiled up at him as if transfixed. "Lacy, is it? You are too cute. You know that?"
My mind buzzed. He likes kids? Who is this guy? Fuck me.
The mom picked up the little girl and apologized again as she blushed. He waved her off with a kind gesture and turned back to me.
"Where were we?"
I pointed to a podium where a civil rights activist was giving a speech on something loudly. A small crowd had gathered around him.
"I am sitting down here. You're headed over there. Get up there and share a secret with the people listening."
"What? No. Fuck no actually." He glanced up toward the sky, ran his fingers through his hair and let out a growl. "Why did I say yes to this madness?"
"Coming to the park with me?" I stood and pressed my hands to his chest before I could stop myself. I didn't want to grow close to him, but something about him pulled me in without my consent.
"No. To this job." He took my hands and pulled them down his chest before stepping back. "Why am I sharing a secret with strangers? Something you learned in college?"
"Something like that." I tilted my head and studied him. He was scared or maybe just nervous. "Go. Now. That's your assignment from me, your PR Director. Making sure you succeed is my whole job."
"Then why are you setting me up for failure?" He turned and slipped his hands back into his pockets, his back to me.
All I could think about was seeing him with his slacks on and nothing else a few days back. I wanted to reach out and run my hands down the strong muscles before tracing the thick grooves with my tongue.
"Go. If you can do this, Kade, you can do anything."
"Fuck it. Fine." He walked away without looking back at me.
I dropped down back on the bench, my heart pounding hard in my chest as he made his way up in front of the crowd. Luckily, the activist wrapped up and jumped off the stage. Kade nodded toward the radical looking guy, and they clapped hands, which was fun to watch.
My breath lodged in my chest as he got up there and gripped the podium.
People walked over from the street and the street vendors as he glanced up. We locked eyes, and I nodded. He could do this. It was fun to see how many people were interested to see what the well-dressed, handsome bachelor with scars on his face had to say.
"I'm Kade Miles. My father was Geo Miles." He pointed to the building where we worked. "He owned that big building over there."
A voice rose up from the back of the crowd. "He owned half this city, boy."
I cringed, not knowing if the people of Seattle knew or understood Geo. Most people didn't. I was lucky enough to know him better than most.
"And he helped a lot of us make this city what it is." A businessman moved into the crowd.
"Yeah, he did." Another voice.
Kade nodded and turned his attention toward the people. "He was a complicated man, but I didn't know him in the world of business or philanthropy. I knew him as Dad. He was my hero, the one that played catch on Saturdays with me, the one that gave me a pep talk for my first date."
The crowd chuckled in a low hum as another twenty people walked up, interest on their faces.
"The best part about Geo Miles was something you might not know." Kade swallowed visibly, but his face showed strength and grace. "He adopted my five brothers and me when we were infants. None of us are blood-related, but he raised us like we were. Mom and he took care of us our whole lives, and when we were old enough, he told us the truth about our births."
"Wow." A woman near Kade reached up and gripped his hand on the side of the podium.
Tears blurred my vision. It wasn't even a sad confession, but it was simply beautiful.
"And when he died a little over a month ago, he left each of us a business." Kade pointed over to Miles Private Jets. "That one is mine, but I must admit, I've never done anything to deserve it. And honestly, I have no clue what I'm doing. I just want to make him proud and carry on his legacy. I want my kids to see what we've built, first him and then me through the years. It's my only focus right now."
"He's smiling down on you, Son. You got this." An older guy raised his cane in the back of the crowd. "He was a good man, and God blessed him."
"Yeah." Kade smiled. "And I hope he blesses me so I can be a blessing too. Thanks for listening."
The crowd let out a wave of hollers as Kade carefully made his way through them.
I hadn't realized he was headed my way until he stood in front of me. Wiping at my eyes, I stood and nodded.
"Good job. See? After that, the press conference is going to be a breeze."
"Agreed." He smiled and reached out to brush a tear from my cheek with the back of his fingers.
The moment was too intimate, but I wanted it to last forever.
"Okay. Back to work. We still need a speech." I cleared my throat and turned away from him. Shit.
"Why do we need a speech?" He moved up beside me, his shoulders back, chin up.
"Because we do. Stop asking questions and agree." I smiled as he growled low in his chest but didn't respond.
Good. He was learning, or maybe I was.
9
Kade
I couldn't help but sing in the shower Friday morning. Whatever the fuck Skylar had done to me the day before by putting me up in front of the crowd in the park, it had unhinged something in me.
Freedom was mine, and I was almost giddy about talking at the press conference. We would not only be introducing me, but we'd be talking about a new prototype that the company was working on. I had talking points from the engineer and design team on my part of that, and Ron would be there to answer anything additional, so I was raring to go.
After washing up and getting out of the shower, I dried off slowly and let my mind go back to the park. The way Skylar watched me was different than any other day since we met.
"Four days, idiot," I mumbled and laughed. I'd met her Monday, and it was only Friday. I wanted to ask her out, no fuck that, I wanted to kiss her, touch her, hear her whisper my name in my ear.
I'd been with a lot of women over my short life, but none that had put up much of a fight. This girl was going to be
a tough nut to crack, but I was all about it.
After fixing my hair and getting dressed, I grabbed a piece of toast from the kitchen and headed out the door. My phone buzzing in my pocket stopped me. Hawke.
"Hey, buddy. What's up?" I pressed the phone between my face and my shoulder as I walked out of the penthouse and locked the door.
"Just checking in on you, big brother. How's it going?"
"Great. I think. It's my first week, and we're doing my first press conference this morning, so who knows. I could be living on a cloud."
"Sounds about like you." He chuckled. "Is the press conference going to be on TV?"
"Yeah. I would assume so. How is the art gallery? Everything good with Jenna?
"Absolutely. She's enjoying the bi-weekly showings and isn't giving me too much shit after I pulled off that big ass showing a week or so ago."
"The one I came to?" I got on the elevator, hoping not to lose him.
"That's the one. Alright man. Lars in town?"
"Yeah, well, maybe. You know how he is." I set my briefcase down, wondering how Hawke ended up getting to wear jeans and torn t-shirts to work every day. Oh right, artist in the family.
"I sure do. Fucker." He chuckled, and I smiled. "Alright. I'll let you go. Hit me up if you're free for some food. I'll be rooting for you today."
"Thanks, man." I ended the call and walked off the elevator. A light spray of snow had covered the ground sometime during the night. It wasn't enough to be concerned about, but it made the world look more welcoming. Winter was coming soon, and I was excited. I loved the snow and every activity it brought with it.
After getting in my car, I started it and turned on the heat. It would take a few minutes to get the car ready to move. Flipping on the radio, I was a little surprised to hear my favorite Seattle talk radio station interviewing someone over my father's passing and my rise as the owner of one of many companies.
"He's got big shoes to fill. Do we know anything about this guy?" Jerry Jackson asked, his voice booming through my car.
