Colton frowned. “You better not be trying anything.”
“What could I be trying?” Ash asked. “I just offered to take you and your sister out to dinner. You deserve it, after the hours you’ve been slaving on this contract.”
“All right,” Colton agreed. “As long as it’s just dinner.”
“And maybe a drink afterward,” Ash added.
“What’s wrong with that?” Marlee asked. “I want to get out and see the city. I don’t want to be stuck in your apartment for three weeks.”
“Great. Then it’s all settled.” Ash headed back to the desk. “Come on. Let’s get this show on the road.”
Colton hesitated one more second. Then he shook himself and returned to Ash’s side. The two men bent over the tablet while Marlee went back to looking out the window. She got so interested in the sights spread out below her; she didn’t hear a thing until Colton tapped her elbow. “I’m ready to go when you are.”
Marlee looked around. Ash had gone, along with his tablet. “Where’s your friend?”
“He went back to his office. He’ll work straight through lunch, so we have every scrap of information in hand when we meet the City Council.”
Marlee followed him to the elevator and out of the building. “What’s this contract you’re working on?”
“Just another transportation contract,” he replied. “We negotiate on behalf of the shipping companies bringing freight into the Harbor. Most contracts don’t require this much rushing around. This one’s different, though. The City wants to impose some new restrictions, and the shipping companies want the City to front up with some concessions to make shipping easier, not harder. On top of that, City wants them to pay an additional duty on every container that comes in. Meanwhile, the shipping companies want the City to pay them a percentage of their profits to encourage trade. It’s a big jumbled morass of competing charges and demands.”
Marlee gazed at her brother in awe. “And you’re in the middle of all that? It’s amazing. How did you ever work yourself up to this?”
He chuckled. “By the sweat of my brow, little sister. By the sweat of my brow. No, seriously. It’s not that complicated when you learn the ropes. Besides, the thornier the negotiation, the more we get paid. That’s why we put in so many extra hours. We have to know what we’re talking about when we walk through that door.”
“By ‘we,' I assume you mean you and Ash.”
Colton twisted two fingers together. “We’ve been like this ever since we left business school. He’s the best thing that ever happened to me, and he says the same thing about me. We’re the two chocolate cookies in the Oreo sandwich,” he chuckled.
“So what’s the filling?”
“Anything that makes money. We tackle it together, and we don’t leave it alone until we kick its ass.”
Marlee nodded. “I can believe it, looking at the two of you. You’re at the top of your game, as well as being at the top of this building of yours.”
Colton waved his hand aside. “That’s nothing. I’m just happy you’re here. There’s nothing like family. It gets lonely living out here on the opposite side of the country from the rest of you.”
Marlee squeezed his hand. “Mom and Dad miss you, you know. Heck, we all miss you, but they’ll be glad when I tell them how well you’re doing. Now if you would just get married, they’d be in heaven.”
Colton laughed and held the elevator door open for her.
She collected her suitcase from the lobby and met him by the front door. “Now what do we do? Are you going to hail a cab to take us there?”
He stared at her. “A cab?”
“Yes, a cab. It’s freezing out there, and I don’t want to wheel this suitcase all the way to your apartment.”
He gave her one more incredulous stare. Then he snorted with laughter. “We’re not taking a cab. We’re going in that.”
He pointed to a black limo parked in front of the building. He took hold of Marlee’s suitcase and pushed his way through the door.
He left her standing there with her mouth open like an idiot. That? They couldn’t be going in that.
A blast of cold air rushed through the door behind him. It tossed his jacket aside, but he squinted into it and wheeled the suitcase to the limo. The driver got out, and the trunk popped open. The driver hoisted the suitcase into the back, and Colton propped open the passenger door. He came back in and hooted. “Man, it’s cold out there! Come on. The heater’s on. You’ll be warm in the limo.”
He didn’t give her any chance to argue. He grabbed her hand and tugged her through the door. The wind hit her like a freight train, but he kept her moving and shoved her into the limo. The next minute, he ducked in behind her and slammed the door.
He threw himself back in the seat. “Whoo! That wind cuts like a knife.” He glanced over at her. “Are you all right?”
She couldn’t stop staring at everything around her. She was NOT riding in a limo through the streets of New York with her gazillionaire brother. It just couldn’t be happening. She knew he was rich, that he fought his way to the top of his game—but not this. He couldn’t be this rich.
He didn’t break in on her thoughts again, until she shuddered and shook her head. “I had no idea, Colton.”
He looked out the window. “Don’t tell Mom and Dad, okay?”
Marlee’s head shot up. “Why not? You should be proud of yourself. You earned this.”
“I don’t want them to think I’m getting big in the head or anything. I don’t mind you knowing. I wouldn’t want them to think I’d changed or anything.”
“You have changed, Colton,” she insisted. “You’ve changed for the better. You’ve played the game, and you won. Anybody would be proud of you. I’m proud of you.”
“I want them to think I remember where I came from, and for them to feel I’m still their little boy.”
Marlee couldn’t help but laugh. She hopped over to the other seat and hooked her hand through his elbow. “You’ll always be their little boy, and you’ll always be my brother. We’re all proud of you, and I’m more proud of you now than I ever thought possible. You’re a big success, and I’m glad I get to be the one to visit you like this. I missed you.”
He squeezed her arm. “I missed you, too. It’s been too long.”
The limo took Colton and Marlee to an impressive looking restaurant where he ordered for both of them. Plates and plates of beautiful, inventive looking, food creations were served to them. They ate their fill of perfectly steamed vegetables with smoked salmon, vibrantly colored rice and pasta, and desserts that were to die for.
They rode in style to the other side of town. The pair got out in front of another towering ultramodern skyscraper of steel, concrete, and glass.
Colton took hold of Marlee’s suitcase, and they strode into the lobby.
She was taken aback by the place. The interior was unbelievably lavish in its design.
Colton, unfazed by the spectacular building that he simply called home, held the elevator door for her and pressed the button for the twenty-seventh floor.
The elevator opened in the carpeted hallway outside a single locked door. He opened it with his key device and waved Marlee inside.
To her surprise, she found herself in a huge garden. Palm trees and other exotic, green feather-like plants grew toward a high glass ceiling, and a little stream flowed over a rocky waterfall next to the platform on which she stood. Koy darted in a pool next to her feet, and flowering fuchsias and orchids drooped all around her head.
Marlee stopped in her tracks. “What is this place?”
Colton laughed. “This is my apartment. Come on. I’ll show you to your room, and you can make yourself comfortable.”
She followed as he walked away down a marble bridge crossing the stream.
The tiles turned into a curving atrium rising into the sky. Marlee couldn’t see the top of it, but a beam of daylight streamed down from above.
He turned
aside into a hall cutting sideways. “This is the guest wing.”
The hall ended in a huge bedroom suite. Marlee never saw a bed bigger than the one standing on a raised dais in the center. Sheer silk embroidered Gauzy curtains surrounded it, and tall windows shed more light into the place.
A curved glass wall separated the bathroom suite from the main room.
Marlee just caught sight of an overflowing tub of steaming water. Trimmed trees and ferns surrounded it, and grey stone pebbles across the floor made it look like a forest hideaway. Across the room from the bed, a kitchenette hugged one wall. A glass-fronted fridge and freezer sat next to the stainless steel sink. She froze. “You don’t seriously expect me to stay in a place like this, do you?”
Colton shrugged. “You don’t have to stay here if you don’t want to. You can sleep on the couch if you prefer.”
She cringed. “I hate to ask even what kind of living room couch that would be!” She laughed
“This is just my guest bedroom. Come on. I’ll show you around the rest of the place.” He parked her suitcase next to the bed.
Still stunned, she followed him out of the so- called guest bedroom.
Back down the hall, he turned a different way off the atrium. Already Marlee started to lose her way in this massive apartment. He followed a different hall opening into another enormous space full of trees and plants and water falling somewhere out of sight.
He wandered farther down a twisted pathway until he stopped on a flat expanse of white marble. It ended with a sheer wall of solid glass. Nothing separated the forest from the sky above the city. The same sweeping view stretched to the far horizon.
Leather couches, recliners, and divans surrounded the sitting area. A wide- screen TV stood in a cabinet nearby. A rack of magazines and a shelf of books completed the living room—if that’s what you could call it.
Colton waved his hand. “Here you go. You can stay out here if you want. The kitchen is right over there. You can help yourself.”
Marlee looked all around, but she saw nothing but more trees. “Where’s your room?”
Colton laughed. “Find it yourself. You’ll have all the time you want to explore while I’m at work. Just don’t get lost in this place.” He threw himself down on the couch and picked up a magazine. He flipped the pages without really looking at them.
Marlee studied him. Who was this man, this mogul who lived in a palace in the air? She would never have recognized him.
She sank down on the couch opposite, but she didn’t dare look around. “It’s gonna take me a while to get used to this place.”
“You’ve got plenty of time.”
“How did you ever afford this place?” Marlee closed her eyes. “No, don’t answer that.”
He tossed the magazine on the table. “I just keep this place to impress business clients. When Ash and I have to put somebody up when they come into town on business, we put them in the guest room. Once they see we’re legit, they usually cave to our demands.” He jumped up. “Come on. I want to show you my room. Maybe then you’ll understand.”
She hesitated, but he hurried away into the trees. She had no choice but to follow. She found him standing outside another door.
A mischievous glint sparkled in his eye. “Are you ready for the ultimate surprise?”
What could she say? He was full of surprises. He opened the door, and they stepped into a very plain living room. In fact, it looked remarkably similar to Marlee’s parents’ living room back home. Wooden beams angled up the ceiling from the white plaster walls. A low wooden coffee table separated two brown leather couches from TV. A normal-sized Christmas tree stood in one corner.
Ornaments and bead strings hung from its branches, and a stuffed angel sat on top.
Through another door, Marlee spotted a queen-sized bed with a brown comforter tossed to one side. Clothes scattered on the floor and the exposed mattress. It was the private residence of a single man for sure.
Marlee grinned at her brother. “Colton!”
* * *
He chuckled. “Don’t tell anybody, okay? You can stay in here if you want to.
The bathroom’s right over there. Just leave the toilet seat up.”
She followed the jerk of his head. A simple bathroom with toilet and shower stall came off the living room. In all the years he worked in New York, he never outgrew his middle-class upbringing. All the money and success hadn’t changed him one bit. He didn’t want all that luxury and glass. He wanted to live somewhere comfortable and familiar.
Marlee tackled her brother so hard she knocked him off his feet. She threw her arms around him and crushed her head against his chest. “You’re the best.”
He pushed her back. “If you get lonely, you can come back here, but you might like to explore the rest of the place, just for giggles. I better go now. I’ll be back around five, and we’ll go out for dinner.”
Marlee spent the rest of the day exploring Colton’s apartment. Whenever she overloaded her senses on the towering ceilings, the magnificent indoor gardens, and the lavish furnishings, she high-tailed it back to the sanctity his secret den.
So that’s the way her brother lived. On the outside, he was a lion of the business world. On the inside, he was still her brother. He still walked around in his socks and threw his dirty laundry on the floor. His bathroom needed cleaning, and he kept a glass of water on the table next to his spot on the couch where he watched TV.
He returned at five o’clock on the dot and found her in the main living room watching the boats again. He stripped off his jacket and fell full length on the couch opposite. “Phew! I’m glad that’s over. Now we can relax until after New Years.”
She smiled at him. “Were you really worried about it?”
“Not really. I just want to do a good job. I don’t like doing anything by halves. If I’m going to bother with it, I’m going all the way. You know what I mean? That’s why Ash and I are such a great team. He’s the same way. Nothing is good enough unless it is top quality.”
“How did you meet him, anyway?”
“We met in the gym at Syracuse. We got talking, and it was love at first sight, you could say,” he joked.
Marlee laughed, and he grinned. She recognized her good old brother in that smile. His business tycoon persona started to wear thin.
He cocked his head to one side. “I’ve got something to say to you, Miss Marlee.”
Marlee raised an eyebrow. “Oh? Only one thing?”
He propped himself up on his elbow. “It’s about Ash. I just want to warn you about him. He’s taking us out to dinner tonight, and that’s fine. But I wasn’t joking when I told him to stay away from you before—”
“Oh, lighten up Colton,” she interrupted.
“Listen. He’s a hopeless womanizer. I’ve seen it, over and over. It’s the one thing I strongly dislike about him. He can’t keep his hands to himself, and he goes through women faster than he changes his underwear.”
Marlee burst out laughing all over again. “Are you worried about him hitting on me?”
“I know he’ll hit on you. You’re exactly the kind of woman he does hit on.”
“What’s that supposed to mean? What kind of woman is that?”
He waved his hand up and down in front of her. “Drop dead gorgeous. Curvy. Smart. Sexy. Put together. Sharp dressing. That’s what I mean. He’ll be all over you.”
“I’m sure he won’t do that. You’re his friend and his business partner, and I’m your sister visiting from the West Coast. I’m sure he’ll mind his manners.”
“You don’t know him as I do. Just take a warning from me. Don’t get into anything you can’t get out of, and don’t believe a word he says. He might promise you the moon. Just don’t think he’ll follow through on it. He’ll get what he wants and move on in a heartbeat. I’ve seen him do it a million times.”
Marlee just chuckled at him. “So you’re worried about him trying to get me into bed, and then me ge
tting hurt when it turns out to be nothing more than a one-night stand. Is that it?”
“Something like that.”
“Thank you for the warning, Colton. You might be pleasantly surprised, though.”
“I won’t be pleasantly surprised by his behavior because he won’t behave. He’ll do what he’s always done.”
“Maybe he has more to worry about from me than I have to worry about from him.”
“I doubt that.” Colton’s phone vibrated. He pulled it out and studied the screen. “The limo is downstairs. Ash is waiting for us. Just remember what I said, okay?”
Marlee slid into the limo, shuffling across to make room for Colton. She scuffled to adjust her seatbelt as the limo glided out onto the street. Lights and horns floated past outside, but Marlee snuggled into the pleasant warmth inside. A lamp in the ceiling illuminated the passenger compartment.
As she looked up, she met Ash’s eyes.
He was sitting directly across from her. His steel-grey eyes hardened and hit hers with his penetrating gaze, as he shrugged his shoulders inside his jacket.
So this was the most notorious bad boy on Broadway? Yum.
Instead of a T-shirt, Ash wore a pressed, tailored buttoned shirt with the top button unfastened. He gave her another once-over. “How did you like your brother’s apartment?”
“It’s very nice. Thank you. I suppose you have one like it, too.”
“Who me? No, I could never live in a place like that. I live in a brownstone in Queens.”
Marlee stared at him. “Do you? Do you take a limo from Queens to town every morning to get to work?”
“No, I drive my car.”
“A Ferrari, I suppose.”
“No, I have a BMW.”
Marlee pursed her lips and nodded. “Impressive.”
“Not as impressive as this brother of yours. He never does anything by halves.”
“That’s interesting. He said the same thing about you.”
Ash’s cheeks colored, but he never took his eyes off her. “I suppose he warned you all about what a shark I am.”
Her cheeks glowed. She was enjoying this. “Yes, he did. He told me not to let you get anywhere near me.”
His Royal Majesty : A Royal Wedding Romance Page 23
