Chapter One
Leo
“What do you mean,keep my filthy hands off your brother?”
Kai rolled his eyes. My roommate, business partner, and college bestie leaned back on the edge of his desk, his arms casually folded over his chest. His dark gray Hugo Boss suit was just like the interior of his office—stylish and totally no-nonsense.
“Don’t give me that, Leo,” he scoffed, ignoring my feigned offense. “You haven’t stuck around for a second date since Alec Madden took you to homecoming freshman year. If my brother is going to stay in the spare room, I can’t have you breaking his heart.”
I licked the back of my teeth. “You’re saying your brother is going to have a crush on me? I understand how that could happen, I’m pretty irresistible.”
I dodged the balled-up paper Kai sent flying my way. “Keep telling yourself that. At least the clients enjoy your cocky attitude.”
“I’m cocky? You’re the one who assumes I’ll try to hook up with your identical twin brother.” I squint and tilt my head to the side. “Maybe if you got a new haircut and gained a few pounds…”
I dodged another crumpled paper. At this rate, Kai was going to pummel me with the entire quarterly finance report.
“We both know you would hit me up if we were strangers,” he grumbled, then stood. “All I’m saying is that River isn’t so good at keeping his feelings under control. You might be capable of endless random hookups, but he falls in love with every adult human who gives him the time of day. He gives himself away, totally loses himself, and ends up hurt on the other end.” He rubbed his hand across his forehead. “He’s had a hard time, and he’s coming to Pittsburgh to get his life together. So just do me a favor—make it easy for us all, okay?”
I stood and straightened my suit jacket. “Whatever it takes to keep this glorious partnership flourishing,” I offered with a wink. Turning to walk out, I paused at the door and glanced at my hands. “You really think these are filthy?”
Kai laughed. “You want to review all the places those hands have been the past few months?”
“The past few months? I’m not sure my memory is that good.”
It’s not like Kai was judging me for sleeping around. Hell, if he had a problem with it, we would have parted ways when I started bringing random guys back to our college apartment.
When it came to my sex life, I liked to be pragmatic. Kai and I had big plans for our public relations firm, and from my first PR class ten years ago on, I’d been laser-focused on that success. Relationships and love weren’t my style, and I hardly had time to fit more than a casual drink with friends into my busy schedule as it was.
If I needed a reminder of how distracting love could be, I just had to look around the firm. Our clients offered an endless parade of sex scandals and extremely poor decision-making skills, most spurred by their hearts.
Or some other choice body parts.
I strolled across the office, an open warehouse space Kai and I had converted in downtown Pittsburgh. We only had ten fulltime employees, but the office was busy and active. Our media team was huddled in the big glass conference room, and our office manager Xavier sat near the entrance, chatting into his phone and typing at the same time. The windows up front flooded the place with light, imbuing it with positive energy. In the back, I spotted our social media specialist, stretching out on her yoga mat.
Silver Lining was hip, forward-thinking, and flourishing in every imaginable way. When I thought of all Kai and I had accomplished over the past years, growing from a startup no one believed in to the regional powerhouse we were now, only one thought came to mind, so potent it overpowered every other desire.
I wanted more.
More prestige. More money. More exclusive clients.
I could taste it on the tip of my tongue, like the way a wolf must taste blood.
I’d never really been talented at something before I found PR. I’d just drifted, low on self-esteem and with a bad habit of getting myself in trouble. But once I figured out my path and found Kai, I was able to channel my energy and ride the high that came with success.
Finding something I was good at changed me. It gave me purpose.
I headed into my personal office, loosened my tie, and set to work reviewing the file for my next meeting. Meredith Bell stood at the beginning of what might be a fabulous career. She was a gifted songwriter with the voice of an angel. Her unique blend of folksy rock and synth beats resulted in catchy, fun hits, and her classic movie-star looks practically demanded a camera.
If only she could handle her tequila.
“Leo,” Meredith groaned as she strutted into my office without pausing to knock. She had on a humongous pair of round black sunglasses and a dress that looked like an oversized Oxford shirt. “Thank god you were available today.”
Like all of our clients, Meredith tended to act like her personal crises were cataclysmic global events.
“What did the tabloids catch this time? Topless dancing on a bar stool? A midnight rendezvous with an older gentleman?” I stood and greeted her with a kiss on the cheek. “Or did you just miss me that much?”
She pulled off her sunglasses, revealing a hell of a black eye. “I ran into my ex-girlfriend.”
