That sounded like the travel schedule of your average billionaire pissant. This was more like the entitled crap Justin expected. “That’s a lot of schmoozing.”
“Diplomacy.” As voices grew louder outside the tent, Finn glanced behind him, then leaned in closer. “Because me being here could be seen as politically problematic, and if I stay on one side of the fence without paying my respects to the other, I could touch off an international incident.”
Smart. Made sense. Kind of ticked Justin off that Finn understood the realities of what was happening here because it suggested he really did intend to linger. “You mean you could create bad press for your billion-dollar company.”
“I mean for all of us. If we upset those in power in Morocco, the charity might have to leave and possibly abandon the people here without any options. If we piss off Spain, we’ll never help people relocate across the border or anywhere else, for that matter.”
Justin looked at Oliver and saw him fight off a smile. Finn sure did know the right things to say to impress. For now, Justin conceded the point. “Okay. You’ve proven you read the news.”
“I’ll pay my respects then be back for our official meeting,” Finn said as he stepped back from the desk. “Maybe your mood will improve by then.”
Oliver snorted. “Doubtful.”
Finn walked over and pushed the door open. He stepped outside without saying goodbye or asking for a guide.
Something tugged at Justin to follow. He got as far as the door and stopped. Saw Finn nod to his driver over the roof of the car and slide into the front seat. “He’s going to get kidnapped and Alec will blame me.”
“He does hit a nerve with you, doesn’t he?” Oliver turned to Justin. “He actually seems decent but, damn, you do become more of a bellend than usual around him.”
“I don’t have the time to babysit pretty boys.” Justin met Oliver’s gaze for a second. “And did you just call me an asshole?”
“Same general idea,” Oliver said. “So, one question. How long before you tell Finn that you slept with his big brother Alec?”
The words slammed into Justin like a kick to the gut. As if he needed the reminder. “Never. That was years ago and it was just sex…what’s with that look?”
“Remember how last year we took that mandatory three-day holiday in Barcelona? If so, do you also remember that you got very drunk and told me why you slept with Alec Drummond?” Oliver held up a hand. “I’m going to stop you before you try to lie to me because I do remember that night and the answer was Finn Drummond.”
Justin’s mind went blank. He said the only word he could form at the moment. “Shit.”
“Exactly.” Oliver winked. “This is going to be an interesting visit.”
Chapter 2
Finn tightened his grip on his glass as he stared at Justin from across the crowded bar. Justin had been working for the company for five years and followed a consistent pattern. He visited the German office when Alec demanded it, looked pissed and then headed back to Morocco almost immediately. This was the fourth time Finn had been a spectator of this awkward dance. Alec admired Justin but found him prickly. Finn saw something else. A sadness beneath the seething. Justin cared, yet strained to act flippant and disconnected.
Something about Justin tugged at Finn. The dark brown hair cut in a short military style, the eyes that were two different colors—one blue and one part blue but part greenish brown—and the brooding. That deep, rough voice. The mouth, locked in a permanent frown, gave him a seen-everything intensity. Every part of the guy was fuck-me sexy.
The whole grumbling and snapping thing, the jaded personality, never appealed to Finn before. When it came to Justin, the package sent Finn’s heart rate spiking. But Justin worked for the company, and Finn was not a complete dumbass. Still, he wanted to know Justin better. Or that was the excuse he used for carrying his drink over to where Justin stood at the high table near the bar. Alone, despite this being a welcome reception for him.
“I think you’ve been avoiding me.” Not his best line, but Finn knew he shouldn’t be throwing out lines anyway.
Justin froze with his glass of water halfway to his mouth. “Excuse me?”
“You work for my company.”
“For the charity.” Justin spoke like he measured each word. Slow and clear, in a deep voice that demanded people pay attention.
“I think we’re saying the same thing.”
Justin lowered his glass back to the table. “Not really.”
Yeah, he sure didn’t make this easy. “My point is that we met years ago. We’ve run into each other when you come to Germany and—”
“Once a year.”
Jesus, now what? “You lost me.”
“I come to the home office one time per year to meet with Alec.”
The intensity of that stare had Finn shifting his weight. He grabbed the edge of the table to force his body to stay still. “And me.”
Justin nodded, but his expression remained unreadable, except for the hint of get-out-of-here that always hovered around their meetings. “Now you’re here as well, yes.”
When Finn stopped talking, so did Justin. He stood there, not moving. When his gaze did a quick dip to Finn’s mouth, Finn felt it like a kick in his gut.
“Do we have an issue?” Finn asked as he slid in a little closer around the table, mentally insisting this was about the need for privacy in a room teeming with clanking glasses, the hum of conversation, and punches of laughter.
Justin’s eyebrow lifted a fraction before lowering again. “An issue?”
“I know you don’t care for me.” That realization had hit Finn during Justin’s last visit and he hadn’t been able to shake off the feeling. They had talked via teleconference a few times about logistics since and Justin had barely looked up at the screen. His focus always stayed on his notes or whatever he had in front of him.
“Wrong words.” Justin shook his head as his gaze did that dipping thing again. It came and went so quickly.
From anyone else it might mean an invitation. With Justin? Who knew.
Seeing Justin there, alone and brooding, called out to him like it always did. Something about the man, older and grumpy and clearly not interested in talking, haunted him. “I’d like us to get along.”
“Why?” Justin shrugged when Finn didn’t immediately answer. Almost smiled. “It’s a simple question.”
“I want to make sure you have what you need.” Before Finn finished the sentence, Justin’s expression changed. His gaze dropped again but stayed on Finn’s mouth this time.
“No, but I’ve learned to go without.” Justin put his glass down and stepped away from the table.
* * *
—
Finn managed not to yell after the annoying meeting in the tent. He congratulated himself on that not-so-easy feat as he climbed into the front seat of the sedan again and let out a long exhale.
He knew the basic details about Justin from rereading his personnel file on the flight to Morocco. Thirty-seven, retired from the Army a hero to some and a traitor to others, thanks to testifying against his commanding officer about an operation gone wrong. He didn’t have many personal ties and stayed in the field for prolonged periods.
Finn tagged him as hardworking to the point of obsessive. Alec once ordered Justin take some time off. He took three days. That was it.
Dedication and a strong work ethic…and a hotness level that soared off the charts. Maybe it was the way he held himself, all confident and commanding. When Justin put his hands on lean hips and got all pissy, Finn wanted to fucking climb all over him.
The attraction had hit Finn from the start in a he’s fine sort of way and followed him through their subsequent meetings and discussions via computer, but the last two in-person meetings before today had been especially charged.
The one in Germany that led to the cryptic talk in the bar. Then the other one. Finn had messed up that time, and now Justin acted even stranger when they were together.
Finn stared out the car window now and remembered meeting the younger but just as unwelcoming Justin for the first time, years ago. Alec had showed off every part of the operation back then, almost challenging Finn to pick a career other than the family business.
The company processed corn, wheat and cocoa, along with other crops, all over the world, transforming these basics into food and other products. In the agribusiness field, the Drummond family had few competitors at their level and made billions.
Alec had ended the international tour with the charitable division. It had grown as the profits grew, and Finn wanted to blow it even bigger. That meant working with Justin and, damn, the man made it tough.
Finn’s driver, Karim Kotbi, did not even try to hide his smile as he turned out of the camp and drove toward a more established neighborhood. He threw Finn a side glance. “I told you I should have accompanied you inside the tent. Justin Miller is known for being difficult.”
“You would have punched him.” Even Finn had been tempted.
“Possibly.” Karim made a humming sound. “Yes.”
Finn tried to remember the last time someone pushed him the way Justin did. The guy did not let up. Maybe that was a good thing, because every time he opened his mouth and started on a new smartass topic, Finn could ignore Justin’s face. The constant stream of sarcasm and grumbling didn’t take away from his hotness, but at least Finn could concentrate on something else for a while.
He got the impression he’d need to be on top of his game when dealing with Justin. That wasn’t anything new. He’d spent his life trying to keep up with his brothers. Alec excelled at everything, controlled and handled things. Everyone knew exactly what Alec was thinking right as he thought it, because he didn’t hold his emotions in and didn’t play games.
Griff’s style was more laid-back, harder to read, but he was off-the-charts smart, a loner, the type to sit back and assess, but always engaged.
Living up to them had not been easy. They insisted he didn’t have to, but Finn didn’t want to be known as the lazy Drummond brother. He blazed his path in the Drummond family by working his ass off. He’d studied every aspect of the business, spent time in every division, and reported back to his brothers with ways to improve efficiency and to reward the employees they could not afford to lose. Justin was one of those employees but, damn, it was hard to cheer for him.
“Are you okay?” Rania asked from the backseat of the sedan.
Finn turned to face her. With her long black hair pulled back and those thin wire glasses, she took on a serious-professor look; smiling and pretty but no-nonsense. Certainly not dangerous, though Finn knew differently.
He’d chosen Rania as his translator at Alec’s suggestion and had found her smart and capable. She also happened to be former Royal Moroccan Army and very lethal, which meant she doubled as half of Finn’s security detail, along with Karim.
Drawing attention to himself only invited trouble. Having Rania next to him and her equally kick-ass former military brother, Karim, on the other side allowed Finn to use a low-key security detail in an area where blending in was the best choice.
“I’ve dealt with Justin’s type of ass—”
When Finn broke off, Karim laughed.
Finn winced and turned to Rania. “Sorry.”
She didn’t appear to notice the profanity. She was too busy scanning the world outside the car window. “I didn’t realize you had a difficult history with Justin Miller.”
“That’s just it. We don’t have any history.” Well, maybe that wasn’t completely true, but to Finn the anger had always been one-sided, radiating off Justin.
Rania looked at him then. “Are you sure?”
“The guy did make it clear how little he thought of me.” Finn had been attracted to Justin from the start in a damn, he’s hot kind of way. Not that he would have acted on it back then. Even if the circumstances had been different and he had, Justin had made it clear he thought Finn was a spoiled jerk and should leave the camp.
That whole first trip to Morocco back then had sucked. His relationship with his then-girlfriend Wendy had been dying a natural death. She was smart and loving and beautiful, but she couldn’t accept that he was bisexual. They hummed along, with her knowing but never commenting on his sexuality, until things went sideways. She insisted she wanted to trust him but she constantly worried he would cheat. She couldn’t separate his bisexuality from his fidelity, and that baseless fear jammed a wedge between them they could never dislodge.
He was a one-love-at-a-time guy. He believed in relationships, even though he grew up in a house that defined dysfunction. She couldn’t see who he was and he couldn’t live with her doubts and distrust.
“We could hear him from the car. Very loud.” Karim’s smile didn’t fade as he simultaneously talked and maneuvered the sedan through the narrow streets.
Since Finn wanted Karim’s attention on the road, he looked at Rania again. “Do you know Justin?”
She nodded. “By reputation.”
He had no idea what that meant. “Okay…”
He wasn’t fishing for deeper intel. Not really. But damn if he didn’t want someone to say one thing that would break his interest in the man. Something that would let him write Justin off as a heartless dick and move on. For whatever reason, the bossiness, the bitchiness didn’t do it. The crankier Justin acted, the harder the need to figure him out kicked in Finn’s gut.
Not that he had time for fun this trip. He was here on serious business. Alec reluctantly had agreed Finn could handle the problem. Mostly, Alec didn’t want to skip the surprise vacation his boyfriend, Gaige, had set up for them. Gaige was Alec’s one weakness, so Finn won the right to handle this…whatever it was.
He relished the opportunity to dig deeper into the charitable division. He’d reviewed every report and the charity’s finances, but traveling here let him do more than push paper and hold meetings. Here he could meet the people and get a sense of what else the company could do. If he asked for more and had a reason, he knew Griff and Alec would agree.
“Justin does good work here. Runs the operation with a firm but fair hand.” Rania stopped long enough to take a deep breath. “He doesn’t turn people away, even if it means using his own resources.”
That last part grabbed Finn’s attention. “What does that mean?”
“Rania.” Karim shot her a warning look in the rearview mirror.
“Right.” She went back to looking out the bulletproof windows into the bustling traffic around them. “Nothing.”
As if that response was going to stop him. Finn thought the Kotbi siblings needed a refresher course in subterfuge.
“One of you needs to tell me.” When neither of them spoke up, he tried again. “If Justin is a problem and—”
“He’s not,” Karim said as he slid the car into an open space in front of what looked like a sterile government building.
“You sound pretty sure of that claim.” If true, it was a relief. But Finn still needed to know more. “Explain.”
“He is not a problem,” Rania said in a clear voice.
Finn refused to let this drop. “And?”
She sighed. “There are rumors that he’s helped families relocate when the circumstances were dire enough to require immediate assistance that governments and charities couldn’t provide.”
That could mean anything and Finn didn’t want to guess and risk being wrong. “Be more specific.”
“Pregnant women. People desperately sick who needed medical aid without the red tape. Others stuck in abusive and potentially deadly circumstances.” Rania shot Finn a steady, unblinking look, as if daring him to say the wrong thing.
In truth, it took a second for the words to click together in Finn’s head. At first her meaning had been cloudy, but now he got it. Justin acted when other people and agencies couldn’t or didn’t know how. That sounded noble but potentially problematic. There were carefully negotiated rules that went along with operating an organization the size and scope of the company’s charity.
Some people demanded bribes. Others refused to allow resources to be used only by a chosen ethnic or religious group. The entire diplomatic process required an intricate dance. Satisfying all the local and international legal and religious stipulations on any given day without breaking about a hundred laws could be a challenge.
Justin acted as the on-the-ground company representative in accomplishing all of it, but the ultimate responsibility sat with the company. And, since Finn intended to take over the charity division and run it, the responsibility would eventually fall on him.
“You’re saying Justin is smuggling people out of Morocco,” Finn said.
Karim shook his head. “No one said that.”
“Here, in this area, it’s not as easy as saying if you follow the rules, all will be well.” Rania’s stare still did not waver. She still looked prepped for battle, verbal or otherwise. “You cannot fire—”
“Whoa.” Finn heard the increasing heat in her voice and held up his hands to calm her down. He had no intention of losing Justin, but he did want to make sure Justin knew the parameters within which he could operate. “That’s not going to happen. For being a dick, maybe, but no one is firing Justin for helping people.”
“You’re saying…” Rania’s eyes narrowed. “What are you saying?”
Probably more than he should have, but Finn didn’t care. “I’m fine with blurring the lines for the right reasons. If someone is being abused or in danger for any reason, I want Justin to step in. I need to make sure he’s doing it in a way that gets people to safety while providing him with cover and deniability.”
Dirty Games Page 2
