He should have turned Brant down as soon as his friend had asked to see him. Instead, here he was at Terrance Technology headquarters about to meet with his old friend and the senior Mr. Terrance to personally discuss why they were suddenly interested in his services. Something told him it would be a meeting he would ultimately regret.
But Brant didn’t often take no for an answer. Adam had learned that during the years they’d served together and even before that. They’d been friends since middle school. And he remembered his friend’s character well, even though those days seemed like another lifetime.
Adam tried to avert the images threatening to invade his mind by focusing on the view of the greater Dallas metropolitan area outside the glass elevator as it took him up. Images of war-torn buildings and hot desert...
Brant made his home mostly in Manhattan these days. The fact that he’d made this trip simply to see Adam face-to-face said a lot about the importance of whatever it was he wanted to discuss.
The elevator finally came to a stop and the doors opened with a smooth swoosh. A statuesque blonde woman immediately stood up from behind a long, cherrywood desk across from him. Her tall heels clicked loudly on the heavily varnished floor as she approached him. She looked like she could be gracing the runway at a high-end fashion show. Adam would know; he’d been in charge of security for several such shows in the past.
“You must be Mr. Steele,” she said through a brilliant, ivory-white smile. “I’ll walk you to Mr. Terrance’s office. They’re waiting for you.”
Adam gave her a slight nod before following her past her desk and down a wide corridor.
“Can I get you anything? Coffee? Or water?” the woman asked over her shoulder. “Something else?”
Adam didn’t miss the flirtatious flip of her hair as she added that last part, nor the implication in her tone. Any other time, he might have pursued her invitation. Right now, he had too much on his mind.
“No. Thank you.”
Her small shrug was barely noticeable as they reached a tall wooden door that stood slightly ajar. With a small knock, she pushed the door open and motioned for him to step inside.
Two impeccably groomed men in well-tailored suits immediately stood up from behind an elegant desk as soon as he entered. They had the same eyes in shape and color. Anyone who gave them a thorough glance would easily conclude that they were father and son.
Brant stepped up to him with a wide grin and he suddenly found himself in a tight embrace. “Adam, man. It’s been way too long.” Brant stepped back to study him. “You’re still as ugly as I remember.”
Adam laughed. It was a wonder the two of them had become such close friends over the years despite the odds. Brant was a prodigal son, born into wealth and a loving family. Adam had been abandoned and discarded when he was barely a teen. If not for the decency of a well-off uncle who’d begrudgingly taken him in, Adam would have no doubt found himself in the foster system instead of the ritzy town where he’d grown up. A town where he’d known he didn’t fit in.
“Nah. You’re just too pretty for your own good.” Adam rebutted. The teasing words held a minutia of truth. Brant had the reddish-blond, blue-eyed looks of a Renaissance angel. Though somehow, he carried such features without looking the least bit angelic. In fact, he bore the sort of rugged looks that most men worked hard to achieve with hours in the gym and intense grooming.
“So I’ve been told,” Brant responded. He motioned to the older man behind him. “You remember my father.”
Adam reached over the desk with his hand out. “Mr. Terrance. So nice to see you again.”
“Please, call me Edward. We are all adults now, after all,” he said as they shook hands.
“Very well,” Adam agreed, though it would take some getting used to.
All three sat down with Adam facing the other two men across the desk.
Brant took a deep breath, making it clear any catching up or chitchat would have to wait. “I’ll begin by saying this might be a lot to ask, especially given that as CEO you don’t personally do fieldwork anymore. And considering that you know the person in question.”
That last sentence sent warning bells ringing in Adam’s head.
Brant continued, “But I find the need to ask it, anyway.”
Adam crossed one ankle over his knee. “Maybe you should just tell me what this is all about.”
Brant inhaled sharply and looked away toward the wide window. He appeared visibly shaken. “It’s Ani.”
Adam tried not to react visibly to the name. It wasn’t easy, despite his professional training. “Your younger sister.”
“That’s right.”
“Has something happened? Last I heard, she was on her way to being the next international musical phenomenon.” Anikita Terrance was a musical prodigy, a world-class pianist at the young age of twenty-six.
Brant nodded, pride clear in his eyes. “That she is. In fact, she’s been asked to perform in Paris. Then Brussels. A one-woman concert.”
“She got her talent from her mother,” Edward added, the sadness thick in his voice and clear in his expression. They’d lost Brant and Ani’s mother over a decade ago after an unexpected and short illness.
“Is she in trouble in some way?” Adam asked.
Brant snapped the pen he’d been holding in two. Adam didn’t think he was even aware of doing so. The action spoke of far more than concern for a sibling. Brant was downright angry. Brotherly protectiveness could be a hell of a force, and Brant had always been fiercely protective of his sister, particularly after their mother had passed.
“I’m afraid she is,” he finally answered, his voice shaky. “Through no fault of her own. And I trust you to be the one to get her out of it.”
* * *
Ani bit down on the groan of frustration churning at the base of her throat as she entered the high-rise building in central Dallas that housed the family business headquarters. As much as she loved her brother and father—they were the only family she had, after all—this meeting was sure to be an exercise in patience.
She knew what they wanted to talk to her about. And she knew they only had her best interests in mind. Still, she couldn’t help but feel they were simply blowing the matter out of all proportion. As usual. Famous people received disturbing messages all the time. Or near famous, in her case. She was hardly a household name. She was only just starting to receive some recognition for her playing.
All the more reason for Brant and her father to get a grip already. Yes, she’d received some anonymous notes and emails from someone claiming to be her only true love, her soul mate. They hadn’t been overtly threatening. But Brant and her father had had a bit of a panic when the last note mentioned that her secret admirer would show himself when he felt the time was right. And that afterward, they would live happily-ever-after when he whisked her away. It was enough of a threat that the two significant males in her life were now up in arms about her “stalker.”
Hence the reason she’d been summoned to her father’s office to discuss it all this morning.
Ani liked to think she wasn’t naive. Of course, she’d heard horror stories about seemingly innocent correspondence from admirers turning suddenly dangerous and nefarious. She just didn’t think her case warranted such alarm. Not yet, anyway.
The elevator finally reached the top floor and Ani exited with a resigned sigh. Best to get this over with. The sooner she could smooth over Brant and her dad’s ruffled feathers, the sooner she could focus on practicing and rehearsal for her upcoming performances in Europe. It had been a pure stroke of luck that a previous act had canceled a couple of dates on their tour. Ani’s manager had been at the right place at the right time.
Her father’s secretary gave her an easy smile as she waved and walked past the circular desk in the main lobby. She appeared to be handling several phone conversations
at once. Her father hired no one but the best. Ani returned the smile and entered her father’s office.
To her surprise, Brant and her dad weren’t alone. Another man rose immediately from his chair across Dad’s desk and approached her. Tall and dark, the man could be straight out of the pages of Polo Magazine. Dear heavens, he was certainly fit. His expertly tailored suit failed to hide the muscular frame underneath. She couldn’t quite place it, but she knew him from somewhere. He had a strange sense of familiarity about him.
He held a small notebook in his hand. Understanding dawned. One of Dad’s employees was apparently a fan of hers. He certainly didn’t look like the typical enthusiast who attended piano performances, but what did she know? She was so new to all of this.
With a polite smile, Ani reached over and took the notebook from his hand. A strange sensation traveled through her core as her fingers brushed his. It was the barest of contact, lasting less than a second. Yet she felt a physical tug that could only be described as longing. A curl of heat formed around the vicinity of her belly, then moved lower. How utterly silly. Had it been that long since she’d enjoyed the company of the opposite sex?
She forced herself to push away the unsettling thoughts and scribbled her signature on the page, then added a musical note symbol. She handed him back the notebook.
He simply stood silently. Then he blinked at her. Not even a thank-you. Was he that starstruck? And why had the room suddenly gone completely quiet?
Ani glanced at her father in confusion. He was rubbing his forehead. Brant, for his part, looked somewhat amused. Clearly, she had missed something.
Well, if no one else was going to break the silence... Ani summoned another smile. “It’s always nice to meet a fan.”
Brant let out some sort of sound behind her. Not quite a laugh, but pretty close.
Her father cleared his throat. “Ani, he’s not quite a fan.”
The stranger lifted an eyebrow, his gaze solidly fixed on her face. “On the contrary,” he began. “I enjoy Ms. Terrance’s music immensely.”
There was no mistaking the slight hint of teasing in his tone. Ani wanted to sink into the floor and disappear. Whoever he was, he was most definitely not here for her autograph. She’d clearly gone ahead and flattered herself. No wonder Brant looked as if he wanted to break into laugher.
The stranger stepped closer to her and Ani had to stifle an urge to move away. The man had much too strong an enigmatic pull. And she had no doubt that he was now laughing at her inside.
“But perhaps I should introduce myself,” he announced. Ani’s confusion and embarrassment grew as he continued, “Or reintroduce myself, as you clearly don’t seem to remember who I am.”
But his name echoed in her head before he could utter it. Of course. Suddenly, the missing puzzle piece fell into place. Adam Steele.
How could she have not known immediately? Brant and Adam had been buddies since middle school who’d then served overseas together. He’d been a guest in their home and Ani had always felt like an awkward and clumsy teen around him. In turn, he’d seemed utterly unimpressed and annoyed by her mere presence. Probably because she stared at him like the besotted schoolgirl she’d been at the time. Apparently, her body had recognized him before her mind had, judging by her intense physical reaction.
She distinctly remembered one afternoon when she’d headed down to the family swimming pool unaware that Brant had Adam and a few other friends over for an afternoon swim. She’d barely made it onto the patio in her newly purchased two-piece swimsuit when Adam had suddenly leaped out of the pool. Not even bothering to dry off, he’d uttered some kind of excuse about why he had to leave right then.
Now, heat warmed her cheeks as she vividly remembered being unable to look away when he’d stormed past her, his chiseled chest and tanned, broad shoulders dripping wet. He hadn’t even spared a glance in her direction as he’d stormed off.
Ani felt the embarrassing sting of the moment as if it had happened yesterday. Looking at him now, it was little wonder she hadn’t recognized him right away. Any hint of boyishness or youthful features had vanished from his face. His ebony hair was now cut shorter than she’d ever seen on him. A dusting of dark stubble ran along his angular jawline. His eyes were harder.
Ani tried to shake off the memories. How stunningly, cringingly cliché. She’d embarrassingly had the hots for her older brother’s friend. He’d been so out of her league. Unlike most of Brant’s neighborhood friends, Adam had always seemed distant and unapproachable with an aura she’d be hard-pressed to describe, much rougher around the edges than the others. The perfect swoon bait for an awkward teenage girl who had no real female influence around her.
No wonder he had been her very first crush. Clearly, she hadn’t outgrown it. And she’d just made a complete fool of herself upon seeing him again.
* * *
He had to wonder if she was playing some kind of game. She couldn’t really be that much of an ingenue. That description certainly might have fit Anikita Terrance all those years ago. But she’d done some growing up in the meantime. It chafed his ego a bit that she hadn’t guessed who he was. And didn’t that make him all sorts of foolish?
She’d thought he was here for her autograph!
In all fairness, he’d had an advantage over her, knowing who she was and why they were all here in her father’s office. He had to admit, he might have very well been unable to recognize her if their roles had been reversed.
Anikita was no longer the bespectacled, gangly, awkward teenager she’d been when he’d last laid eyes on her. Just how often had he good-naturedly teased her about those thick glasses and tight ponytail?
He had nothing to tease her about now. The thick glasses were gone. Her thick, satiny red hair hung in soft waves around her face and over her shoulders. Gone were the frizzy, tight curls. And the shade was so much richer. She had inherited the most striking looks from both sides of her heritage. Dark, almond-shaped eyes from her Singaporean mother and fiery red hair from her American father. It made for a stunningly striking combination. Adam cursed internally. He was so not the type to wax poetic about the color of a woman’s hair. Not normally, anyway.
He’d felt inexplicably drawn to her all those years ago. Probably because she had never questioned his background or asked where he came from. And also probably because she was one of the handful of people in this town who didn’t manage to make him feel completely out of place in their well-heeled circle of friends. She and Brant had been the only ones who hadn’t, in fact.
He’d also managed to see beneath Brant’s little sister’s geeky exterior to the attractive young woman hovering underneath. And man, had he been right. Anikita Terrance was a stunner all grown-up.
A stunner who was currently staring at him with confusion. Focus.
Brant suddenly approached to stand between the two of them. He looked nervous. “Adam, sorry. We haven’t really had a chance to discuss all this with Ani just yet. Her schedule has just been so busy.” He glanced down at his much shorter sister. “Also, she’s been a little resistant to the idea.”
“What idea?” Ani asked.
Adam pinched the bridge of his nose. Great. Just great. She really had no idea why he was here. Hadn’t been expecting him at all. What had Brant and his father been thinking?
His friend must have sensed the frustration humming through him. “You have to understand, Adam. We weren’t even sure you were on board. Then by the time Ani found some time to come in, Dad and I never got a chance to actually tell her.”
“Tell me what?” Ani demanded once more.
Brant inhaled deeply before addressing his sister. “Adam owns a private security firm now.”
Adam watched her facial features harden as she put two and two together. “Do you mean to tell me you’re trying to keep me secure with a bodyguard?” Saying she was resistant to the i
dea certainly seemed to be the case, judging by the murderous look she threw at her brother. She turned just long enough to shoot the same glare at her father, who merely shrugged.
“Adam’s the best there is,” Brant insisted. “I’d trust him with my life, sis. And yours.”
“You didn’t even discuss it with me, Brant. You had no right to make such a decision.” Ani didn’t give her brother a chance to respond before turning back to face Adam. “I’m sorry you had to waste a trip out here, Mr. Steele. My brother and father seem to have exaggerated my predicament. I have no need for personal security.”
So formal... She wasn’t using his first name. For some reason, that rubbed him the wrong way. It had been bad enough when she hadn’t even remembered who he was.
“You’ve been receiving anonymous messages from a stranger,” Brant argued.
She glared at her sibling. “They’ve hardly been threatening.”
“Not yet, anyway.” Adam felt compelled to jump in.
“He’s got a point, Ani. Just listen—”
Adam cut Brant off before he could continue. “I’ll leave if you like, Ms. Terrance.” Two could play the formal game. “But would you mind if I asked you a couple of questions first?”
She released a deep sigh and leaned back against her father’s wide mahogany desk. “I suppose. It’s the least we can do given how we’ve wasted your time today.”
Her tone gave every indication that she was merely indulging him. How generous of her. It shouldn’t have irked him, but it did. He was used to dealing with some of the wealthiest, most privileged individuals on the planet. He’d seen more than his share of spoiled, entitled behavior. But coming from her, it sent prickles of irritation along his skin. He’d thought he knew her better.
“Do you have any idea who the sender might be?” he asked her.
She shook her head. “I get correspondence all the time.”
“Has anyone else been as regular with their contacts as this admirer?”
Reunited by the Tycoon's Twins Page 15
