by Chloe Lang
“Congratulations, guys.” Ashley smiled. She actually seemed a little relieved and pleased. “Maybe this will be good for all of us. You know. Just being coworkers.”
“Sure thing, boss.” Nic smiled. “I only want to make you happy.”
Sylas laughed. “Same here.”
“Would you stop parroting me?”
“Damn it.” She sighed, and he could sense her walls coming back up. “I should’ve known this was too good to be true. Listen to me. Both of you.” Her eyes narrowed. “Phoebe is expecting you to stay professional, and so do I.”
Phoebe rushed in, holding her cell. “Great news, fellas. Lucas is on his way here to drive you to the rental house. What do you say?”
“Great,” Sylas answered before Nic could. “That way we can choose our bedrooms.”
Phoebe turned to him. “Nic?”
“Yes. Perfect.” It was a lie. There wasn’t anything perfect about this entire day.
“Lucas, they are ready whenever you are. I’ll tell them. I love you.” Phoebe clicked off her phone. “He’ll be here in five minutes, guys. Ashley can give you the tour of the offices another time.”
“Sure.”
“I’m very happy to have you on the team.” Phoebe smiled and then left.
Nic really did like his new boss. Even though his main reason for taking the position was to get closer to Ashley, he believed this was actually going to be a very good career move. At least he hoped so. “What time is dinner, Ashley?”
“It’s two thirty.” She looked at the time on her cell. “I have a run with a friend at four. Let’s see. I can be ready by seven. How about you two?
“Absolutely,” Sylas answered.
“Seven will be great.” The idea of going on a date with Ashley once again felt great, even if Sylas would be dragging along.
“Are you both staying at the Dream Hotel?” she asked.
“I am,” he said.
Sylas nodded. “Me, too.”
“I’ll have the limo pick you up at seven thirty.” She walked out of the conference room, leaving him alone with Sylas.
Sylas turned to him. “Well? What do you think? Us living together again?”
“It’s not ideal, but I’ll live with it—or should I say, ‘I’ll live with you?’ Regardless, I plan on finding my own place as soon as I can. I’m here for one reason, Sylas. I’m here for Ashley.”
“Yeah. You and me both.”
He glared at his former best friend but didn’t say another word. Not necessary. Sylas already knew how he felt.
He would keep planting one foot in front of the other until Ashley was back in his arms again. In my arms only.
Ashley came back into the conference room. “Lucas is here. Are you ready?”
He smiled. “You bet I am.”
Chapter Five
“Nice to meet you, Mr. Wolfe.” Sylas shook Phoebe’s husband’s hand.
The man had a firm grip and a warm smile. “Please. Call me Lucas.”
“Sure. I’m Sylas.”
Lucas turned to Nic and shook his hand. “So you must be Nic.”
“In the flesh. I hope this isn’t an inconvenience for you.”
“It’s not an inconvenience, I promise you. In fact, it’s my pleasure, guys. I always enjoy showing my work to new eyes.”
When Lucas drove up the driveway to the house, Sylas liked it immediately. It had mature trees and a terrific view of the lake.
They got out of the car.
“The landscaping is impressive, Lucas,” Nic said.
“You should have seen it when we purchased it. A complete dump both inside and outside. But Phoebe loved the view and thought it would be a great investment for rental property. We practically stole the place because it was in such poor shape. One thing about our wife, she definitely has the Midas touch.” It was plain as day how proud Lucas was of Phoebe. But it was still strange hearing the man say “our wife.” Would it ever not sound strange? “We just got it reappraised and we’ve already doubled our money. My brothers and I worked together on the grounds, but since Mitchell is so busy with his band and Jason is covered up being the county’s sheriff, I was responsible for the changes inside. Come on, guys. Let’s take a look together.”
Sylas glanced at Nic. Together? Even though they were standing only five feet from each other, the invisible distance between them was as wide as the Grand Canyon.
The three of them walked inside, and he couldn’t believe how incredible it was. It looked as if it could’ve been on the cover of a magazine or featured on a television show. It had dark wooden floors, a gorgeous fireplace done in white stone with a handcrafted mantle, and large windows that let in lots of natural light.
His apartment in Chicago wasn’t this nice. “I wasn’t expecting an open floor plan, Lucas.”
“The house wasn’t like this when we bought it. Since it was built in 1945, we weren’t surprised to find it chopped up with little rooms and hallways. I tore out a lot of walls and took it back to the studs so that I could design it the way I wanted.”
“Wow. I wouldn’t have a clue on how to do that, Lucas.” Nic was just as impressed with Phoebe’s husband as he was.
“Let’s get a closer look at the kitchen.” Lucas led them past the massive island in the center of the space. The pride he felt for this house was easy to understand. “I chose black quartz to accent the white wooden cabinets.”
Touring the rest of the house, Sylas liked how spacious the bedrooms and baths were.
“You want to flip for the bedrooms?” Nic brought out a quarter.
“They are identical in size, so it doesn’t matter to me. You pick the one you like and I’ll take the other.”
“Fine. I’ll take the one closest to the kitchen.”
“Great.” That gave him the bedroom with the best view of the lake. But did it even matter? He didn’t expect Nic to stick around in this house for very long.
When they walked back into the main room, they saw two men, one in a sheriff’s uniform.
“Let me introduce you to my brothers, guys. This is Mitchell, the musician in the family.”
“Nice to meet you, fellas.” Mitchell was tall and his eyes were unusual. The left one was blue and the right one brown.
Lucas introduced the other man. “And this is our eldest brother, Sheriff Jason Wolfe.”
“Pleasure, guys.” Jason shook his and Nic’s hands. “Mitchell and I wanted to drop by and tell you how glad we are that you will be working with Phoebe. Since we’re expecting twins, we want her to get plenty of rest.”
“That’s hard to do with our wife, bro, as you know,” Lucas said.
“Very hard.”
Mitchell nodded. “She starts the morning at six and doesn’t stop until ten at night—if we’re lucky.”
“But that’s going to change,” Jason said. “With you two and Ashley carrying the bulk of the load at her practice and us keeping her in line at home, this pregnancy will go just fine.”
Hearing the love and concern in the three Wolfe brothers’ voices, Sylas was beginning to believe that men really could share one woman and make it work. They clearly had. But they were brothers. He and Nic had been as close as brothers at one time, but no more. How was he going to get Nic to even consider this lifestyle? Hell, he still loved the guy despite what a jerk he was being.
Lucas gave him and Nic each a set of keys. “Looks like you’ll be needing these. I’ll have the utilities turned on for you so it’ll be ready when you get back from Chicago.”
Nic was quiet, especially for him. He had a confused look on his face. What was he thinking?
“Do you guys have any other questions?” Lucas asked.
“Yes, I do,” Sylas said. “We haven’t talked about what the rent is going to be yet.”
“We have strict instructions from our wife that you will not be paying any rent.”
Mitchell nodded. “She said the value of you two being here is worth a lot more t
han any rent we could charge you. And we agree.”
Jason added, “Besides, the house is paid for, and we would rather it didn’t remain empty. Actually, you two are doing us a big favor by moving in.”
Nic laughed. It was good to see his friend warming up. He seemed more like his old self. “I really like the Destiny Hard Sell, but—”
“There’s no buts, Nic,” Lucas said. “You don’t want us to get in trouble, do you? Have you ever seen that woman mad?”
“Not yet. Hopefully not ever.”
Sylas looked at his watch. “Guys, I hate to cut this short, but I need to get my rental car. I have an appointment with some people I met at the diner.”
Nic turned to him with narrow eyes but didn’t press him for more information.
“Okay, Sylas,” Lucas said. “I’ll take you and Nic back. Mitchell, you mind locking up?”
“No problem.”
They said their good-byes and left.
* * * *
Ashley finished proofreading Phoebe’s last brief on the suit against Jennifer Steele concerning her ranch.
Phoebe was still on the line with one of Walter Steele’s attorneys, who worked at a huge law firm in Florida.
The case looked bad for Jennifer, but she had no doubt that Phoebe would find the answer. Jennifer’s late husband’s eldest brother, Walter, who disappeared thirty years ago and had been declared dead, suddenly had resurfaced. Walter’s claim was total ownership of Steele Ranch based on his and Bill’s parents’ will. It was a solid claim, despite Jennifer’s marriage to Bill.
Anna walked into the office. “Hey, Ashley. We still on for that run at four?”
“Yes. I need to work out some tension anyway.” Her desk phone rang. “Excuse me, Anna. Wolfe Law Firm, this is Ms. Vaughn. How may I help you?”
“This is Gil Bachman of Neuberger, Bachman, and Minker, Ms. Vaughn. I need to speak with Ms. Wolfe. This is extremely urgent.”
Crap. Another attorney of Walter Steele’s, and this time a partner of the firm. Phoebe’s line was still green, but the man had said it was urgent. “One moment please, Mr. Bachman.” She stood and looked at Anna. “Sorry, I don’t have time to talk, but I’ll meet you at the Red Dragon statue at four.”
“Mind if I take a bottle of water?”
“Sure. They’re in the break room. Make yourself at home.” She rushed to Phoebe’s office.
“My client will not agree to that settlement.” Phoebe looked up from her call. “Hold on. What is it, Ash?”
“Gil Bachman is on the other line and says it is urgent he speak with you.”
“Trying the old double-team move on us, are they?” Phoebe grinned. “Have a seat, Ms. Vaughn. You’re days away from being a partner in this firm. We’ll just give them a dose of their own medicine and double-team them back.” She clicked on the phone’s speaker. “Mr. Rankin, I’ll need you to hold for a moment. I’ll be right back.”
“But we have—”
Phoebe hit the button for the other line. “Hello, Mr. Bachman. I’m afraid you will need to hold for a moment longer. I’m gathering the partners in the conference room to take your call.”
“Ms. Wolfe, my time is—”
Phoebe clicked the button. “Ash, remember. Just because the opponents want you to jump doesn’t mean you have to.”
“I won’t forget. You’ve taught me more about the law than any of my professors. I just hope I don’t disappoint you when I take my bar exam.”
“You won’t. And remember, today is your last day at the office. From tomorrow through next week your only job is to study. I can cover the office. Mitchell doesn’t have any gigs and promised to fill in until you came back.”
Ashley looked at the two blinking lights. “Should we keep them waiting?”
“I think they’ll hang up because I’m sure they know I’m on to them. If they are still on the line in the next five minutes, then whatever they have to say really is urgent. That’s when we’ll talk to them and not before. So I think you should wear that blue dress tonight for dinner with Nic and Sylas. You always look so fantastic in it.”
“Phoebe Blue Wolfe, what’s really going on?” Ashley had been ready to blast into Phoebe this morning about her bringing Nic and Sylas to Destiny. She’d lost all her thunder after learning about the twins. Though she was still excited, she wanted answers. “There are thousands of Ivy League attorneys you could have hired. Why Nic and Sylas? It’s because of me, isn’t it? You’re playing matchmaker, right?”
“It’s because I met them and knew right away that they were great attorneys, Ash. I look forward to working with them.” Phoebe pointed to her phone, clearly trying change the subject. “See, both of Walter’s attorneys hung up. It wasn’t urgent. Just a ploy.”
“Phoebe, I’m serious.”
“Well, it might work out.” Phoebe grinned. “What the heck.”
“I am not having my heart broken again. I ended it with them, and that’s that.”
“Okay, Ash. I understand.”
“I know you, Phoebe Blue Wolfe. You don’t give up that easy.”
“Don’t forget, Ash. Love is worth the effort. You know how long I waited. I made so many mistakes because of misunderstanding. I almost lost my three guys. If you’re meant to be with Nic and Sylas, I have no doubt it will work out.”
“I think since becoming pregnant you’re even more of a hopeless romantic than you’ve ever been, but I’ll remember what you said.”
“Thank you, Auntie Ash.”
“I give up.” She grinned and stood. “How can I win with you?”
“You can’t. Call it a day, Ash, and have fun tonight.”
She walked to the reception area and saw Anna sitting behind her desk, looking at the screen. Was she on my computer? “Anna, you really shouldn’t be sitting there.”
“Oh.” Anna stood. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think it would be an issue.”
“This is a law firm. It’s an issue.”
“Again. Sorry, Ash. I wasn’t thinking. Won’t happen again.”
“It’s okay. It’s just been one of those days. Why are you still here?”
“I could tell that last call was important. I thought you might have to work late and cancel our run. I hung around to find out if you could still make it.”
“Actually, I’m headed home right now to put on my running shoes.”
“Great. I’ve got to work off that pie you made me buy.”
“Made you?” She laughed. “First to the Red Dragon Statue gets to set the pace.”
“You’ve got a deal.” Anna rushed out of the office.
Ashley looked at her screen. Phoebe’s brief was still up. She closed it, turned off her computer, and left the office.
Chapter Six
Sylas drove into the circular driveway. The house was massive and reminded him of a castle out of a fairy tale. Appropriate, since there was a dragon statue standing at least twelve to thirteen feet tall in the center of the driveway.
This is not just a house. It’s a mansion.
He had no inclination that the O’Learys were rich. They hadn’t put on airs at all back at the diner. As he rang the doorbell, he wondered how they had acquired their fortune.
Ethel opened the door. “Welcome to our home, Sylas. Come in.”
“Thank you.” He smiled. The inside of the home was just as impressive as the outside. Definitely a mansion. “This place is incredible.”
“Patrick and Sam built it for me after they took their company public. Have you ever heard of O’Leary Global?”
“So that’s where I’ve heard your name before. Of course I have. You mean you own it?”
She nodded. “Patrick and Sam started the company back in the early seventies.”
“Wow. What an accomplishment. I just read an article about O’Leary Global. Your company acquired Kito Electronics last month.”
“Yes, we did. Patrick and Sam were flying back and forth to Tokyo to get the deal done. I’m gla
d that’s over.”
According to the article, O’Leary Global was one of the leading tech companies in the world and was valued at twenty-eight billion dollars and rising. The happy threesome he’d met in Blue’s Diner wasn’t just rich, they were loaded—billionaires.
“It actually started as an import-export company, but Patrick was always drawn to technology. So he and Sam took the business in that direction. And when they did, it took off.” She beamed with pride. “My guys have accomplished so much. We lived in a much smaller house in the early years of the company. I told them when they showed me the plans for this place that it was more than we needed, but they insisted. I’m glad they did, Sylas. I love it. And we host some wonderful parties here throughout the year. You will have to come.”
“I wouldn’t miss one of your parties, Ethel.”
She smiled. “I baked some cookies for us. Patrick and Sam are in the kitchen devouring them. We better hurry or there won’t be any left for you and me.”
He followed her into the kitchen, which was warm and inviting, but big enough that a team of chefs could prepare a meal for hundreds. Patrick and Sam sat on barstools at the big island.
“Hey, Sylas.” Patrick put down his glass of milk and waved him over.
Sam finished a cookie and then said, “So glad you could make it. Have a seat. Ethel makes the best chocolate chip cookies you’ll ever eat. I swear.”
“Thanks.” He sat down next to Sam.
Ethel filled a plate and handed it over. “Would you like milk or coffee or something else to drink?”
“Milk, please. Is there any other drink that goes better with homemade cookies?”
“A man after my own heart.” Patrick held up his glass.
Sam shrugged and pointed to his coffee cup. “Trying to lose a little weight, Sylas, or I would’ve had milk, too.”
Ethel grinned. “Samuel O’Leary, it’s going to take more than just switching from milk to coffee. I’ve counted. Between you and Patrick, there are fourteen cookies gone.”
“I only ate six, honey,” Patrick blurted out.
