13. Lorelei

13

LORELEI

M icheal Callahan's attention makes my skin prickle in the worst possible way, and without realizing what I'm doing, I take a step back, using Kian as my human shield.

The second I notice, I hate myself for it.

So what, he's a stupidly powerful and wealthy womanizer. I can hold my own.

A shiver rips down my spine at just the thought of being the sole focus of his attention.

I know all about him and his antics. Tatum has told me about the way he lives his life, hopping from one young bride to another.

I must admit that hearing more about his relationship with King's mom recently did tug at my romantic heart. But still, just because he had his ripped out and stomped on by the woman he loved, doesn't mean he was innocent in any way, or that he should be trading women like fucking Pokémon cards.

"Yes," Micheal says. "I remember Tatum's Maid of Honor. How could I forget?'

My stomach rolls at the thought of him watching me that day.

Gross.

"I do find myself wondering why she looks like she's about to walk into this meeting with us, though."

"Dad," Kian warns, and I can't help but wonder if it's because he doesn't want to explain himself and his decisions, or if he wants me out of the limelight.

Honestly, right now, if it takes Micheal's eyes from me, I'd happily go with either.

I thought Kian was everything I hated about this world. But his father…shudder.

"Just curious, Son. It's not like you to turn up with an assistant who doesn't look like they want to throw themselves in front of a bus just to escape you."

Okay, so maybe there is something more to the senior Callahan than just his disgusting ways with women.

Straightening my spine, I hold Micheal's eyes firm.

"I have no plans on getting up close and personal with a bus anytime soon, sir. Although, this is only my first day, so…"

Micheal and Kingston laugh.

"Most don't make it to the end of their first day, so things are looking promising for you right now."

I'm about to respond when Micheal turns his attention to Kian and completely changes the subject, as if I'm not standing here.

"Have you had a chance to read through that email I sent you?"

"Briefly," Kian admits. "I'll give it some more attention tonight and let you know my thoughts."

As I study father and son, a shadow falls over me, forcing me to look away.

"How is it really going?" Kingston asks quietly. "And you can be honest."

"It's…unexpected."

"Tatum said. You want me to kick his ass for you?" Kingston offers, making me smile.

"Nope. If anyone is going to be kicking his ass, it's me."

Kingston chuckles. "This could be the best decision that idiot has ever made."

"I'm pretty sure he's already regretting it," I confess.

"Exactly. It's fucking perfect. It's about time he had someone call him out on his bullshit."

"Isn't that your job?" I muse.

"Fucker doesn't listen to me. You though…something tells me that you're going to have magical powers."

My lips part to ask what he means when a door opens and an older man with salt and pepper hair and deep frown lines across his forehead steps into the room, immediately apologizing for his lateness.

Kingston takes off toward the room the man emerged from, and I step forward to follow.

"Are you sure about this, Kian?" Micheal says behind me. It's a whisper, but not one that's designed not to be overheard.

My teeth grind as I wait for Kian's reply.

"Are you questioning my decisions?" he growls quietly.

"You're like me, Son. Your head is easily turned by a pretty face and a hot body."

Asshole.

"Be very careful mixing business with pleasure. There is a reason why we keep those kinds of activities outside the office."

"I'm more than capable of controlling myself," Kian snaps before marching forward. "Shall we?" he asks before resting his hand on the small of my back and ushering me forward.

"Just don't let me have to say the words, Kian," Micheal warns as we all file into the room.

I glance at Kian as he pulls a chair out and gestures for me to take it.

"What was that all about?" I whisper.

"Nothing," he snaps. "Are you sitting or what?"

Shaking my head, I accept the chair and pull my iPad and Apple pen out, ready to take notes.

Kian lowers himself beside me, and I've no idea if it's me being hyper-aware of everything right now, or if he does actually sit a little too close to be professional.

The heat of his arm only an inch from mine means that I have to fight to keep my focus on what's being said and not lose myself in his warmth, his scent.

Keep your head, Lorelei.

The meeting is short. No more than thirty minutes later, Micheal is thanking the lawyer and seeing himself out of the room.

The second the door closes behind him, the atmosphere in the room instantly dissipates.

"He's not happy with this," Kian points out once the lawyer has also said his goodbyes.

"I don't really give a shit," Kingston says simply.

"He kinda has a point though, don't you think?"

The two brothers glare at each other in a silent battle of wills.

"It's a good investment," Kingston finally states.

"It's a money pit and a huge risk," Kian counters.

"With huge potential if it works."

"If," Kian points out.

"We don't fail, Kian. I thought you knew that."

Kian opens and closes his mouth, but he quickly realizes that he doesn't have a comeback to that.

"Just look at The Retreat," Kingston says, mentioning his health and wellbeing project up in Kohler, Wisconsin.

Tate has told me all about it and shown me everything she and her team have come up with for its launch.

It looks incredible, and just like this, it was a passion project of Kingston's that Micheal didn't believe in.

It's going to be a huge success; I just know it is.

"That's different," Kian argues.

"How? The place was a money pit," he says, trying to mimic the way Kian said the words a moment ago. "But it's going to be huge. This could be too. We'll be stamping our brand over every corner of the UK. It's what we've always talked about."

Kingston's excitement about this project shines through, but even I can see Kian's concerns over the figures.

"Bro." Kian sighs, dragging his hand across his jaw.

"I know. I fucking know, okay? I can see the numbers just as well as you can. But this is going to work, I can fucking feel it."

The two brothers continue their silent argument before Kingston rips his eyes away and turns them on me.

I want to shrink under his intense stare, but I don't. I hold my head high and pray that he's not about to drag me into his argument.

Apparently, I didn't pray hard enough.

"Lorelei, you've just listened to everything. What do you think?"

"Err…I'm not sure my opinion is important here."

Kingston glances at Kian briefly before coming back to me.

"Of course it is. Tatum trusts you. Kian clearly does, too. So, if you had to make the call on this, what way would you go?"

My heart races and my palms begin to sweat.

This wasn't what I signed up for.

"Umm…"

"You don't have to answer that," Kian mutters, clearly pissed off as he pushes his chair back and stands.

"I just want her thoughts. Nothing wrong with that, little brother."

Kian tenses, his fingers curling into fists beside me.

"I do love your vision for it," I tell King honestly hoping it stops them bickering. "But I also agree with Kian. The figures I've seen today are bad."

Kingston sighs heavily, falling back into his seat and looking up at the ceiling.

"Are you done? We have other meetings to attend," Kian snaps.

"Sure," he agrees.

Kian immediately marches through the door, not bothering to wait for me to catch up.

"Christ," I mutter as I rush to put my iPad and pencil into my purse.

"You've got your work cut out for you with him, I hope you know that, Lorelei."

"I'm learning fast," I say quickly before racing to the door.

"He's not used to having someone else take the weight, but he needs it. Recently, he's been…"

I pause with my fingers wrapped around the door handle, unable to take another step until I've heard the end of Kingston's statement.

"I don't know," he mutters, forcing me to look back at him. "Stressed, I guess. He's not a bad person. He's just…"

"An infuriating jerk who makes rash decisions and has a hot head?"

Kingston throws his head back, his laughter bouncing off the walls around us.

"You two are either going to be a match made in heaven or you're going to kill each other by the end of the year."

"He'd better watch his step then because I won't be the one losing that battle."

Kingston shakes his head, amusement still dancing in his eyes. "If you need anything, call me, yeah?"

"I can handle your little brother, Kingston. You just focus on looking after Tate and my future goddaughter," I tease before finally pulling the door open and going in search of my boss.

I have to navigate my way to the exit alone, but it doesn't take me long to discover where Kian is hiding, because as I emerge from the elevator, I find Jamie standing beside the car with the door open, waiting for me.

"Thank you," I say sweetly as I step inside to find a brooding billionaire in his fancy suit.

"Where have you been?" he snaps.

"I'm your assistant, not your slave, Kian," I counter.

He turns his eyes on me, and I swear I feel his wrath all the way down to my toes.

"I was talking to your brother. Problem?"

"We have another meeting to get to."

"Then maybe you should have said that before storming out and expecting me to follow you like a little puppy. And to think, I fucking agreed with you," I add quietly.

"Agreeing with me would have been telling my brother that it's a stupid idea."

"You mean lie, then?"

He sucks in a deep breath as he straightens and stares out the windshield.

"We're meeting with our accountant to review the past quarter," he tells me, all back to business.

"Fantastic. Looking forward to it." The sarcasm is heavy in my voice, and if the way his jaw ticks tells me anything, it's that he didn't miss it.

Silence falls and the air turns heavy and oppressive.

Long, painful minutes pass, allowing me to lose myself in my own head and attempt to forget who I'm sitting beside.

O ur next meeting isn't nearly as short as the last, and despite there being cup after cup of coffee, no one delivers any food.

I scribble down notes about the previous quarter's performance like they're going out of fashion, but two hours in and my concentration is shot.

I couldn't eat this morning, I was too nervous, and now, I swear I'm bordering on passing out.

Thankfully, the men sitting around the table before me haven't stopped talking, ensuring my growling stomach has gone unnoticed. Or at least, I hope it has.

By the time the meeting is drawing to a close, my hands are trembling with my need for food.

"Thank you, gentlemen," Kian says, his voice firm and unwavering. "I'll get back to you by the end of day tomorrow with those outstanding queries. Lorelei?" he questions, watching as I make quick work of putting everything away.

This time, he waits for me, and once I'm on my feet, he gestures for me to leave first.

Just like our arrival here, he doesn't say a single word to me as we descend through the building and climb into the waiting car.

"Where to, sir?" Jamie asks once he's joined us.

"Callahan building, please," Kian says, making me breathe a sigh of relief.

Sitting back, I attempt to rest, but I'm just as on edge as I have been all day. And the exhaustion and hunger are making it all that much worse.

The afternoon traffic is horrendous, and with only the rumble of the car and Kian's thumbs tapping against his cell screen as he replies to emails, there is nothing to hide my grumbling stomach.

"Sorry," I mutter, my cheeks burning up as it gets louder.

Kian doesn't so much as look over, let alone acknowledge that he's dragged me around the city without feeding me.

The car continues to crawl forward at a snail's pace. I pick at my fingers, staring out at all the food places we could be stopping at.

Something tells me that Kian isn't a fried chicken kind of man.

I know what Kingston is like for healthy eating. I bet Kian is equally as irritating.

"Jamie, can you pull up a little down here, please?" Kian asks suddenly, his deep, commanding voice startling me.

"Of course, sir."

Jamie pulls over, and Kian immediately slides out.

"Do you need me to?—"

"Stay there," he barks, making my brows lift.

His attitude makes me want to do the opposite and follow him just to be a brat. But I don't. Instead, I remain in my seat with my arms folded across my chest and a pout on my lips.

I'd even take one of Kingston's superfood smoothies right now.

Fuck. I must be desperate.

"Where is he going?" I ask Jamie when he gets back into the car, having not been fast enough to open the door for his boss.

"I have no idea," he says, giving me the impression that this is a regular occurrence. "With Mr. Callahan, it could be anything."

"Wonderful."

I swear to God, if he's just abandoned me on the side of the road for a quick hookup then I'll?—

My thought dries up as he climbs back into the car as fast as he left. The scent of something mouthwatering follows him and not a second later, a bag lands on my lap.

"What's—"

"Eat, Lorelei. I can't bear listening to your stomach any longer. In the future, you'll eat a full, nutritious breakfast. I can't guarantee you a regular lunch break, so you need to be prepared for anything."

My mouth opens and closes, both in shock at his actions and in disbelief at his demands rendering me mute.

When I don't move fast enough, he turns his mesmerizing green eyes on me.

"I said eat."

"What if I don't like it?" I ask, unable to stop myself.

"You will. Now eat."