So much for staying invisible.
CHAPTER 6
CURTIS
It washer. Different clothes and shoes, but I’d know those eyes and that face anywhere.
I looked over my shoulder at the badass woman I never thought I’d see again. She was hurrying away, barely balancing on those ridiculously high shoes. I tried to ignore the way those trip hazards enhanced her shapely calves and peachy ass. I could still feel the zap of sensation where her warm hand had landed on my pec. She’d even groped me a little. The shocked look on her face when she realized was priceless, so it was probably unintentional, but a man could dream.
But there was no going there.
I had enough on my plate without my father reminding me about the no-fraternization policy brought in after the last incident, which ended in a firing, payout, and bad press. Not that any of it was my fault. I hadn’t even fraternized, but apparently, lying was enough to get someone a good deal.
Thinking about the past flared the anger that had been simmering since my meeting with my father.
“Hello to you, too, brother of mine.”
I turned back and hit my brother with narrowed eyes.
“Ah, I’ll just be going.” Garth from marketing glanced at my ruined shirt, then gave me a respectful nod as he nervously hurried past and back to work.
“The fox scattering the hens.” Jack chuckled.
“Smart-ass. This is all your fault.”
He grinned, and I wasn’t sure if it made me want to smile with him or punch his smug face. “How do you figure?”
“If you’d come straight to my office at the time you said you’d be there, I wouldn’t have to have security check the cameras for your whereabouts. Can you ever just come to my office without chin wagging with everyone you come across? Also, how did you end up in here?”
He held up a chocolate-glazed donut. “I was hungry.” He came toward me and picked at my shirt. “Mmm, sprinkles.” He added the few he’d snagged to the top of his donut.
Instead of hitting it out of his hand like I wanted to, I turned and led the way to the elevators and my office. Jack ate the donut as we went. His disgusting chewing noises—which he was definitely doing on purpose—grated on my every nerve so that by the time we arrived on my floor, my fists were clenched with longing to throw him out the window.
“You need to relax, bro, or your brain is going to pop out of your eyeballs. Ooh, the aftermath would be good for a T-shirt design. Splatter pattern with a couple of eyeballs lying in the debris. Hmm….” As we walked to my office, he got out his phone and typed his idea.
“Mr. Knight,” Margie greeted my brother as we walked past.
“Darling, Margie. How are you still putting up with this angry boar?”
“He’s not so bad with me. I think you bring out thebestin him.” She winked, then did a double take at my clothes. I didn’t elaborate, but my brother did. I had better things to do than stand around while they laughed at me.
I entered my office and went straight to my desk rather than the couch. The more space between Jack and me today, the better. My mood could be classed as combustible. He would be safer on the other side of my desk.
“Hang on a sec,” Jack said, going to my private bathroom to wash his hands. Finally, he came out and sat. “So, what did you want to talk to me about that’s so secret squirrel?”
Sometimes I wondered if my brother’s brain had matured past childhood. We were opposites, but funnily enough, the closest siblings in the family. Not that I wasn’t close to my older brother and younger sister, but Jack and I—the middle children—had always caused mischief together as kids. Where I was, he always followed. I was the serious, responsible one, and he was the creative, head-in-the-clouds guy. Which was how I ended up running an advertising company, and he ended up running the Knight luxury clothing and accessories brand with my mom, who used to be a model and had all the connections. She had a great eye for design, which my brother inherited. He was one of the hottest clothing designers around right now, and I couldn’t be prouder, even when I wanted to throw him out the window.
Even though people accused our family of nepotism—which, okay was true—all the Knight kids had worked their asses off to get where we were. Yes, we were lucky and privileged, but we didn’t sit around waiting for shit to come to us. Besides, my father was strict and didn’t put up with nonsense. We’d all done our fair share of chores growing up, and if we didn’t perform at our chosen studies, he would’ve kicked us out as soon as we turned eighteen. In fact, he had kicked my older brother out, and it took two years for them to reconnect after it happened.
“I have a situation, and I need your help.” I’d gone through what I wanted to say to him in my head, how to explain it, but it didn’t make it any easier. How did you admit to your brother that you were failing at all you’d ever worked for? I’d be the first Knight to be demoted for poor performance. Even worse, I had no idea how it happened. Maybe my father was right, and I wasn’t ready for this job.
“Well… what’s going on? I haven’t mastered mind reading yet.”
I sniffed, coffee and sickly-sweet fried odor assaulting my nose. I ran my hand down my tie. Argh, crusty, sticky donut and a wet patch. A few pink and purple sprinkles fell onto my black suit pants. I took my tie off and threw it onto the table. Stupidly beautiful woman in stupid shoes.
I refocused, keen to get this over with. “In the last few months, we’ve lost three of our top fifteen advertising accounts. Dad’s put me on notice—turn it around or lose my position.” Anger and shame burned in my chest. Since I’d been promoted, I’d done everything the way Dad wanted. I hadn’t made any major changes. Yes, I’d been the one to okay all the bigger campaigns—I left the smaller accounts to Victoria to approve—but the work was all top-notch. Which reminded me—Margie should have those ad performance metrics by now.
Jack’s brown eyes—so like Dad’s except they usually exuded kindness instead of disappointment—widened. He was quiet for a minute.
