He turned when the buzzer on his desk sounded. He moved to it and pressed the button. “Yes, Lauren?”
“Your brother is here to see you, Mr. Masters.”
He frowned. “Which one?”
“Cortez Masters.”
He had spent time with his brothers last week, but Tez hadn’t mentioned anything about coming to New York. “Please send him in.”
He leaned against the desk as his brother walked in. “Tez, it’s good to see you. I didn’t know you were coming to New York,” he said, after they exchanged bear hugs.
“Neither did I. It was a last-minute trip to meet with one of my clients. I just got in this morning and hope to fly out thisevening. But I couldn’t come to New York without checking to make sure you’re okay.”
Cobra frowned. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
“No reason,” Cortez said as he slid into the chair across from Cobra’s desk. “I hope you noticed that Colt and I made a conscious effort not to say anything about the bet at the family reunion, and the days we spent with the folks afterward.”
“I noticed, and it was greatly appreciated,” Cobra said, sitting down in the chair behind his desk.
“We figured it would be, especially around a nosey family like ours. Very few know about that bet, and it needs to stay that way.”
“Well, I hate to disappoint you, but news about it reached all the way to New York.”
“How?”
“Damned if I know. The woman I’m seeing told me she knew all about it.”
“You’re seeing someone?”
The surprised look on Tez’s face was priceless. Did his brothers think they should know every single thing he did? “Yes. But I intended to adhere to the terms of the bet while I got to know her better.”
That made Tez laugh.
“And what’s so funny?” Cobra asked, frowning.
“When have you ever taken the time to get to know someone better?”
That answer was easy. “Since I met Desiree.”
“Desiree? Desiree Sharpe? Richard Sharpe’s granddaughter?”
Cobra didn’t say anything for a moment, and then nodded. “That’s the one.”
“Damn, man. I warned you about her after the wedding reception. Are you ready to join the unemployment linewhen Richard Sharpe finds out you’re sniffing around his granddaughter? Do I need to remind you that he’s your biggest account?”
“You don’t need to remind me of anything, and I’m not sniffing around her. She and I have become friends, and after my celibacy ends, I figured we could become friends with benefits. I’m sure you remember how that works.”
While Tez was attending Harvard Law School, he’d met another law student, Dahlia Fulmer, in their sophomore year. They both had big plans that didn’t include getting seriously involved with anyone in the near future.
They had become good friends, and within months of meeting, had transitioned into being friends with benefits. The arrangement had worked for both of them. She was his go-to girl, and he was her go-to guy. People always assumed they were a couple, which kept other interested parties away. And because Tez and Dahlia planned to become attorneys, they’d had a lot of classes together and spent a lot of time behind closed doors, studying…and having fun between the sheets. Cobra would never forget the time he and Colton had shown up at Tez’s apartment for a surprise visit…and they’d been the ones surprised.
Tez and Dahlia’s friends-with-benefits relationship had lasted until their last year of law school. Then, Dahlia met someone on a summer trip with her parents to Toronto—a guy who was in medical school at Johns Hopkins. It was love at first sight, and they married within a year of graduation.
To this day, Tez and Dahlia remain friends and even exchange Christmas cards every year. According to Tez, she and her physician husband were extremely happy living in New Hampshire, with a bunch of kids.
“The situation with Dahlia and me was different,” Tez said.
“How so?” Cobra asked.
