He turned his back to me. “Good. Because we can’t have anyone screwing this up for us.”
I didn’t know what had crawled up his asshole and died, but I shrugged it off. I was the only person in my family capable of holding down a job, so I had to suck it up. After taking me to each floor and briefly talking me through what their functions were, he led me back downstairs toward the main double doors that signified the building's front.
He then ushered his arm out toward a magnificent mahogany desk. “This is where you will perch,” Wyatt said.
My jaw fell open. “Wow. This thing is huge.”
“And we expect with all of the storage you have that you will see to it that your desk doesn’t get cluttered. We want a clean-cut, professional appearance coming from your station. Understood?”
I walked over to it. “Understood.”
“Wonderful. Your temporary login information for the software system we use in the building is taped to your computer screen. In the drawer beneath the phone is a headset as well as button assignments to transfer calls between offices and departments. You have the week to get settled in and used to things before we’ll start holding you to a higher standard.”
I let my hand slide over the buttery leather seat meant only for myself. “I can do that.”
“Good. If you have any questions, my office is on the top floor. Just come up the elevator, walk to the end of the hallway, and knock on the onyx door with the crystal knob.”
Sounds tacky as hell. “I can do that.”
And without another word, I smelled Wyatt’s cologne drifting away, leaving me to ease myself into my new work chair alone with a smile on my face before my phone started ringing off the hook.
2
Wyatt
I stopped at the water fountain at the end of the hallway before I peeked back down the carpeted expanse. Bella Lancaster, the woman my brother had hired to fill our front-desk secretary seat, wasn’t quite what I expected her to be. From her resume I had read through briefly this morning, I had gotten the impression that she was more of a timid woman. Yet, my first impression of her was a bit more spitfire than that.
It made me grin as I straightened my spine.
Her bright-red hair had been pulled back into a top knot at the crown of her head, leaving small wisps to frame her bright brown eyes. They seemed almost amber, and had I not been working overtime in my brain, I probably would have stared at them more than I had. Acting as cold as I did around her did the trick, though. She didn’t even bother looking back at me, which was good. I mean, it wasn’t as if I could go around thinking the girls here were hot. Not with us being in a professional environment.
From the second she turned around, though, she had caught my eye. The freckles smattered across her nose and cheeks were the cutest things I’d ever seen. Her lips were delicate but held a fierce and fiery tongue that already earned my admiration. Not to mention, the soft curves she kept hidden beneath her clothes. The dress she wore didn’t cling as tightly to her as most of the girls who donned them in Conroe. If anything, her outfit with her cardigan and those flats she was wearing spun my head off its rocker as I envisioned what might be beneath them.
Get to your fucking office and stay there, idiot.
I pulled myself away from the water fountain and made a beeline for the elevator. I jammed my palm against it, all the while allowing my eyes to be dragged back to Bella’s desk. I watched her slip on her headset before answering her first call. And when she pulled out the informational booklet I had put together myself, a grin spread across my face just before the elevator doors opened.
Finally.
I rode up the levels until the doors gave way again, almost as if to usher me straight to my door. Only Ryan, Boone, and I had offices here. The rest of the brothers had their offices established in the stables with the horses they trained. Why they’d want to be distracted like that was beyond me. But, it gave my brothers and me more space to stretch out when we had designed our offices.
And as I threw open the door to mine, the view of Conroe that unfolded before me comforted my raging mind. For a brief moment, Bella fell away from my thoughts. I closed the door behind me and tossed my briefcase onto the couch before making my way toward the tinted floor-to-ceiling windows that backdropped my desk. I slid my hands into my pockets and gazed out over the view I had. I could see for five or so miles, with houses and ranches spread out as far as my eye could see. With the sun casting golden rays over this beautiful small town, I drew in a deep breath, readying my mind for yet another busy day of tackling mine and Ryan’s work.
After enjoying the caffeinated view that seemed to fill my body with energy, I eased myself down into my chair. And the first thing I did was pick up my office phone to dial Ryan’s number. I wanted to check in on him. See how things were going with his and Ellie’s new addition to their family.
And I was shocked when he picked up after the first ring.
“Things already falling apart without me there?” he asked.
I leaned back. “You fucking wish.”
He chuckled. “So, what’s the call for? Everything okay?”
I leaned back so much I found myself staring at the ceiling. “Can’t a brother call to see how his family’s doing?”
“Well, if I hadn’t just seen you last night, it might not be so weird.”
I rolled my eyes. “How’s the little one? And Ellie?”
“They’re both good. And Micah’s adjusting very well, too. He already wants to take the baby swimming, and Ellie and I keep tag-teaming who tells him ‘no.’”
I chuckled. “Sounds like hell.”
“The best hell I could have ever wished for.”
A pang of jealousy struck me in my gut. “Well, give Ellie and the rest of your family hugs for me. Want me to call around lunch?”
“You only have to field my work for me, Wyatt, not my entire life.”
“Then, call me once you fuck up so I can help you clean it up.”
He chuckled. “And there’s that balance. I can do that.”
I leaned back up in my chair. “Oh, and one more thing.”
“What’s that?”
Thoughts of Bella flooded my mind once more. “Can you stop hiring hot women to work for us? It’s practically torture over here.”
“Ah, so I take it you met the new girl?”
I licked my lips. “Just hire some ugly ones the next time we need to fill positions, all right?”
He barked with laughter. “Pretty sure I can’t discriminate or refuse employment because of what someone looks like.”
“Hey, if you don’t tell, I won’t, either.”
“Get the fuck out of here,” he said through his laughter, “we’ll talk soon. I promise.”
I grinned. “Sounds like a plan. Enjoy your time off.”
“Yeah, but don’t you start enjoying all of these hot women. The last thing I want to come back to is a slew of sexual harassment allegations I have to investigate.”
I rolled my eyes again. “Bye, Ryan.”
He mocked my tone of voice. “Bye, Wyatt.”
I dropped my office phone back into its cradle before turning to face my computer. I logged in and started clicking around in Ryan’s email that he had given me permissive access to while on paid leave. And as my fingers started flying across the keyboard to answer everyone, I drew in a sobering breath.