A knock pulled me away from my thoughts.
“Come in.”
The door opened, and Hugh walked in. Speak of the devil…
He looked gorgeous as always. His hair was perfectly styled, his beard perfectly groomed. Not a crease could be seen in his dark charcoal gray suit.
“Hey,” I said, sitting up. “Got Atlas Stavros ready for me?”
“Not yet.”
Hugh sat down heavily in front of my desk, leaned forward, and placed his palms on the wood. His hands were also beautiful. He kept them soft, smooth, and properly manicured, unlike mine. I tried to keep up, but my hobby kept my hands calloused.
“He’s waiting in my office.”
My brow shot up, now seeing the stress in his brown eyes. “What’s going on?”
“Let me start by saying that Tamara is suing us. Dad isn’t… happy.”
“Oh, fuck… I knew that girl was trouble.”
“Same, hence the breakup.”
“What’s he going to do?”
Hugh shrugged and sat back in the chair. “I don’t know. He’s pissed at me right now and told me to stay out of it. Dad also wants me to get my…sexual activitiesunder control.”
Hughdidhave a lot of sex. Sometimes I wondered if it gave him a sense of control. Maybe it wasn’t the healthiest way to cope, not like I was any better, using his sexual needs to fulfill my own. Was it wrong? Probably. But Hugh liked it when we tag-teamed, so I was giving something back.
“Anyway, be prepared. The lawyers will probably want to talk to you, too,” he said.
“You got it. No problem. I’ll tell them she threatened violence if you didn’t date her.” I winked at him, and he gave me a small smile in return.
Hugh rubbed his face and leaned back in the chair. “It’s been a weird morning, Lind.”
“Beyond getting sued by an ex-girlfriend and pissing your dad off yet again? We all know how hard it is to please that man.”
He chuckled, but there was no humor in it. “True. But yeah… beyond that. You’ll never guess who Atlas Stavros is. I’m still fucking processing.”
That got my attention—no wonder he was here in my office before I could interview him. I thought about it for a minute and smirked. “Let me guess… It’s someone we fucked.”
“Bastard…” he laughed affectionately. “Bingo!”
“Well, hell. I mean, what can we do? Send him home.”
When Hugh said nothing, staring out at the city, I said, “Oh, no… your dad is already pissed at you. We cannot hire someone we fucked, cuz.”
“I know. It’s just that I think he would be good. He already jumped on the job before I even talked to him. Damn, I thought for a second he stalked us here, but nope… It’s pure coincidence.”
“Hugh,” I warned.
“Let’s at least interview him. He’s eager and…”
“You like him.”
“Yeah. Not gonna lie… this feels like he was meant to be with us.”
I wanted to bristle at his words, especially when I’d always believed I was meant to have Hugh. It was a ridiculous dream. We were related, for fuck’s sake. Still, it stung. Then again, he had no idea of my feelings, nor had I bothered pursuing them. It wasn’t Hugh’s fault. But this was the first time he’d felt that way about anyone before. It was bad enough that he dated Tamara, even unwillingly.
