Brothers

chapter Five

Tiffany

Three Months Later…

W alking into Basille headquarters always takes my breath away. The glass building is exquisite with its unique modern architectural design, and twenty-three floors. Walking inside is like entering one of their luxury resorts. On the main floor is a giant cylinder fish tank that goes all the way to the top floor. It’s filled with the most beautiful tropical fish.

“Hello, Ms. Best,” Richard, the first-floor security guard greets me as I enter.

“Hey, Richard. Your Nuggets are doing good this year.”

“We’re going all the way. I promise,” he replies with a wink. “Oh, and Happy Birthday.”

I smile before saying thank you.

Although I have so much to celebrate this year, I’m not exactly in the birthday mood. It could be because Marcus and I are still at odds. We both apologized for that night he brought home the money, but things are strained with us. He still has yet to find a job and insists on gambling his money away. So far, he’s been winning, which has given him a lot of false hope. But I can only prepare myself for the day he doesn’t win.

This morning as I was leaving, he didn’t even say happy birthday. I’m not worried. Marcus knows I love a good surprise. He’s probably waiting until I get home to do something fun. At least that’s why I hope he didn’t acknowledge my birthday this morning.

I make it onto the elevator and up to the top floor. Knowing I will soon be in the presence of Niccolo Basille has the butterflies in my stomach going insane. It’s not professional to have a crush on your client, but when your client is as fine and as charming as Nico, what can you do.

I expected someone as rich as him to be a little more standoffish or stuck up, but he’s funny, kind, considerate, and just an all-around great guy. He’s taught me so much about business and design. He’s had me by his side the last three months as we work together on this project.

Stepping off the elevator onto the top floor, I’m met with the front desk receptionist. Her common scowl turning her pretty face into an unpleasant sneer.

“Good morning, Claire,” I say to her in my cheerful tone as I always do.

From the first day I walked onto this floor she has had it out for me. I have no idea why when I’ve been nothing but nice to her.

“Tiffany,” she replies dryly.

I head for Nico’s door. My arms are heavy with upholstery books.

“He’s in a meeting. You’ll have to wait. Not even you can interrupt when he’s inside with his brothers.”

I don’t miss the snark in her tone. Instead of making a big deal out of it, I take a seat in the lobby, placing my books down in the chair beside me.

My phone chimes with a message.

Dad: Happy Birthday, Baby Girl.

My face aches from the large smile that spreads. I am the epitome of a daddy’s girl. Not that I had a chance to be anything else.

Me: Thanks Daddy.

Dad: I talked to your mom yesterday. She said you haven’t returned any of her calls.

Instead of responding to the message and having to spend an uncomfortable amount of time explaining to my dad that I have no plans to ever call my mom back, I slide my phone in my purse.

The intercom on Claire’s desk goes off and that sultry voice fills the room.

“Ms. Grier.” Even though he only said her name, his voice has the ability to make my heart race.

For the first time since I stepped off the elevator, Claire’s face does something other than frown. Her lips turn up into a smile.

“Hello, Mr. Basille.”

I turn away from the obvious attraction in her voice. I mean, I get it sis, the man is fine, but you don’t have to be that obvious.

“Has Ms. Best arrived yet?”

I look back at her at the mention of my name. Her frown is back in place.

“Yes. She’s here waiting until your meeting ends.”

“Nonsense. Send her in,” he says before the intercom cuts off.

I bite into my bottom lip to keep the smirk off my face. She doesn’t look at me as I gather my things and stand.

Pushing the heavy dark wood doors open, I walk into Nico’s office. The entire back wall is made of windows that give the space plenty of light. His heavy dark wood desk faces the door as soon as you walk in. To the right is a section of leather seating. It is there that I find Nico and oh my goodness. There is no way this many fine men should be in one space together.

Nico stands and comes over to me, taking my books from my arms. He places a hand at my lower back and escorts me toward the eye candy in the room.

“Ms. Best, I would like for you to meet my brothers.” He points to the man sitting closest to me. His thick dark eyebrows sit low over his penetrating gaze. His lips lift at one corner into a half smile.

“This is Mason Maxwell,” Nico says by way of introduction.

“Nice to meet you, Ms. Best. I’ve heard wonderful things about you.”

I guess sexy voices are part of their family’s DNA, because damn. The way his deep voice rattled through my body almost got my panties wet.

“Nice to meet you too.” I hate how breathy my voice is.

Nico points to the younger guy with dark brown hair that’s shaved on the sides and a neck full of tattoos. In fact, his fingers are tattooed as well.

“This is the baby of the family, Salvito Delgado.”

“Hello, gorgeous.” He grins, showcasing his deep dimples.

I open my mouth, but words don’t form. I simply wave my hand at the gorgeous man.

Nico points to the man beside Salvito and my breath catches in my throat. Dark blonde hair that’s shaved low to his scalp, a jaw line that a sculpture would dream of, gorgeous cornsilk blue eyes, a dusting of facial hair that accents full pink lips, and a brooding gaze. Even with the marring of crisscross scars on the side of his face, he is still a gorgeous specimen.

“This is Kazimir. We call him Kaz.”

Kaz dips his chin in my direction. I smile kindly back at him. I do notice he is the only one that wasn’t introduced with a last name. I also notice that for them to be brothers, they all have different last names and though all attractive, they don’t look alike.

The one named Salvito laughs. “I think she’s on to us.”

The others join in the laughter.

“We are not brothers by blood,” Nico explains.

“Depends on who you ask,” Mason says, and the men laugh again. Apparently, this was an inside joke I wasn’t privy to.

Nico sobers and turns back to me. “We met as young boys and have been joined together since then.”

“So you guys are childhood friends. That’s so sweet. I bet you guys got into a lot of trouble.”

Once again, the men look to each other before chuckling.

“I don’t know about these guys, but I was a perfect angel,” Salvito, the one with the tattoos says. I’m not quick to judge a book by its cover. I don’t believe his tattoos make him a bad person. However, the smirk on his face as he said those words leads me to believe he’s lying.

“Satan was an angel once too,” Nico says.

Salvito flips him off before laughing. “You were the worse one.”

“Don’t believe him, Ms. Best,” Nico says with a smile in my direction.

“I don’t,” I chuckle enjoying the men’s banter. “It’s hard to believe someone as kind as you could’ve been a bad kid.”

Nico takes a step toward me, and the air is immediately sucked out of my lungs. Those gorgeous dark brown eyes narrow as he places his bottom lip between his teeth.

“I’m not kind to everyone, Ms. Best.”

Good lord, the deepness of his voice and the way he’s looking at me has my panties soaked. There is no denying that all of Nico’s friends are attractive, but none of them has the effect on me that he does.

“We’re going to get out of your way, Nic.” Mason says, cutting through our sexual tension. He stands to his feet and rebuttons his suit jacket. I once again admire how handsome he is. Those dark heavy eyes, that seem to have seen some real shit in their lifetime, land on me. “It was nice to meet you, Ms. Best.”

“You as well.”

The other two follow Mason. Nico walks them all to the door.

“Is everything set up for tomorrow?” Mason asks as he stops at the office door.

“Yes,” Nico replies. “Everything should go as planned.”

“If you need us, let us know,” Salvito adds.

“Will do, brother.” Nico gives all three men a handshake and a one arm hug before shutting the door on them. He turns around to face me.

“I like your brothers,” I say. “They seem like a lot of fun.”

The smile on his face is adorable. “They are all I have in this world.”

I pinch my brows together. “Where are your parents?”

“Dead. They passed away when I was seven.”

Placing a hand to my chest, I say, “I’m so sorry.”

He waves my comment away. “No need for apologies. It was a long time ago.”

I don’t argue, but I also don’t think that matters.

“So,” he says changing the subject. “What’s on the agenda for today.” He walks over to his desk, and I follow. I take a seat in the leather chair across from him. I’ve deemed it my designated spot whenever we are here together.

“I brought my books to go over the final decision on the wallpaper for the lounge area.” I point to the stack of books he placed on the desk for me.

“I thought we decided on the blue and gold?”

That was my favorite, and I was glad he liked it too.

“Yes, but just in case something goes wrong, and we can’t get that one, we need a backup.”

Nico leans back in his chair. “Something you will find out about me, Ms. Best, is that I always get what I want. No matter the obstacles.”

The way his gaze stays on me after he finishes speaking has my stomach doing somersaults. I swear this man is doing something to me. Sometimes he says things that makes me think he’s interested in me, but then I come back down to reality and realize I’m being crazy. Niccolo Basille is a billionaire with access to some of the most beautiful women in the world. He is definitely not flirting with me.

Clearing my throat, I glance down at my lap before looking back at him. “Mr. Basille—”

“Nico,” he says cutting me off. “ You call me Nico.”

I let the name Nico slip one time. He went completely rigid. I thought I had made a mistake. However, since then, he only wants me to call him Nico.

Pushing my knotless braids behind my ear, I start the conversation again. “Nico, you may always get what you want, but in my world, things don’t always pan out.”

“Looks like I need to change your world.” He winks at me, and I squeeze my thighs together. I should not be feeling this way about my client.

I quickly change the subject to something safer.

“I have a bit of good news. You were right about Martin Hovier. I gave it a few days and went back to see him, and he was much more agreeable this time.”

I’d been trying to work with the furniture maker on chairs that would perfectly fit the theme of the hotel. The man was a complete asshole and sexist. He was trying to charge me ten times more for the chairs than I wanted to spend. After talking to Nico about it, I told him we may have to choose different furniture. However, he suggested I give it a few days and try Martin again.

“That’s great. You were able to get a good deal?”

Nodding my head, I grin. “Not only are we getting the chairs for a significant price cut, but he’s throwing in those tables I liked as well for free.”

The smile on his face has my pulse racing. “I knew you could do it.”

I shrug. “Well, I had help. Apparently, Mr. Hovier was in some type of accident. His face is busted up and he has a broken arm. He said the near-death experience changed his outlook. It made him a much easier man to deal with.”

Nico only nods his head.

**

Mr. Basille and I spent the rest of the day working on plans for the hotel. Around lunchtime we took a tour of the resort. He walked me though all his ideas for the building. I love to listen to him talk about design and architecture. After lunch we went our separate ways. He had meetings while I went back to the office to check on the tile I ordered for the foyer of the Resort.

At six that afternoon, I shut down my laptop and prepared to leave for home. I’d gone all day without hearing from Marcus. Mira had cake and ice cream in the break room for my birthday. She even got me a spa package for this weekend. Yet, nothing from my boyfriend. I still have hope that I’m going to show up at home to a big surprise party.

I say goodnight to the few colleagues that are still hanging around the office. As soon as I step outside, I’m met with a nice surprise, just not the one I thought.

“You didn’t actually think I forgot your birthday, did you?”

Standing in front of his black Mc Laren P1 Spider is Niccolo Basille with a single red rose.

“Nico.” His name is the only word I’m able to say.

“Happy birthday, Tiffany,” he says, making his way over to me.

He hands me the flower. I bury my nose in the red petals.

“It’s beautiful.”

His eyes remain on me as he replies. “That it is.”

I’m not blind, I know there is some attraction between him and I. However, he has never done anything disrespectful. Nothing more than a few compliments here and there. I don’t believe anything will ever come from it—obviously, I’m with Marcus.

“Shouldn’t you be on your way to Japan?” I ask remembering he has a meeting in Tokyo in the morning.

He runs his hands through his hair. “I do, but I couldn’t leave without celebrating your birthday. I’m not sure what Marcus has planned, but I made reservations for both of you at Le Cherie. And don’t worry, it’s all paid for.”

This man is incredible. Le Cherie is one of the top Michelin starred restaurants in the city. The waiting list to get in is months in advance and my pockets can’t even afford a loaf of bread from the place.

“Mr.,” he lifts his brow at me. I correct myself. “Nico, this is too much. You shouldn’t have.”

“You’ve been a lifesaver to me. Let me do something kind for you.”

I duck my head to hide my blush.

“Alright, Boss Man,” I say, and he grins.

Technically, Nico isn’t my Boss. However, he is the head man in charge. Nothing gets approved of without him. It’s my design, but he’s running the show.

He goes into his inside chest pocket and pulls out a black square box. “I saw this and immediately thought of you.”

He opens the lid, and lying on top of a white velvet pillow is a simple silver chain with a circular charm. My mouth gapes open.

“It’s platinum. I notice you don’t wear gold,” he says as he pulls the chain out and steps behind me to place it around my neck. He moves my knotless braids over my shoulder before latching the necklace around my neck.

Picking up the circular charm I look down at the design. An angel with its wings spread holding a sword.

“It’s Saint Michael,” he says coming back to the front of me. “It’s said to bring you protection.”

I’m not Catholic, but I still love the gift and the idea behind it.

“Thank you, Nico. It’s truly beautiful.”

He dips his chin. “Come on, I’ll walk you to your car.”

He escorts me to my Camry and even opens the door for me.

“I was hoping for a surprise birthday party tonight, but even if I don’t get one, this will have still been a great birthday,” I say, taking a seat inside my car.

Nico looks down at me. “I’m glad I could make your day special. Good night, Tiffany.”

“Good night, Nico.”

He shuts my door and watches me leave the parking lot. Not even when I glance back at him before turning the corner, does he take his eyes off my car.