Chapter 2
~~ MICHAEL ~~
My temper was gradually on the rise. If Sebastian didn’t answer his damn phone soon, he’d find himself without any financial resources. He would then have to contact me, which he would, because he’d have no money.
I’d been trying to get hold of my brother for the past two days, since I returned home. Oh, I knew he was safe. I also knew he was having a ball, with a woman he’d picked up in the hotel bar during the conference in San Diego.
The woman had been giving me the eye, until she’d spotted Sebastian. Was I bothered? No. My brothers loved nothing better than to have a dig at me for keeping my private life, just what it was…. private.
No, I wasn’t a monk, although for the past couple of years I had been. I didn’t advertise what I got up to and the minute I was seen with anyone the press would have a field day. The last time the press took a photograph of me with a woman was six years ago, and the woman in the photograph had been my wife, Viv, just before she died.
I tossed my phone onto the breakfast bar while I walked through the kitchen to hunt for a bagel. My brothers had tried in the past to fix me up with a chef – like that would ever happen. I really loved my private space and no one was allowed inside, unless invited.
With a bagel found in the bread box, I sliced and popped it into the toaster. I poured a coffee and stood with my back against the cabinets. I crossed my ankles while I thought about the meeting I had at eleven. Dale Roberts had assured me that my new assistant, who I’d yet to meet, would be perfect and not let me down. Lily Redmond. She had no idea her new position was as my assistant. Dale had interviewed her for me, intentionally giving her the impression the position was with him. At least that way, I’d get someone who knew how to use a computer instead of how to apply polish to her nails.
Every time I interviewed anyone, the interview had a habit of going downhill fast, as the young woman in question seemed more interested in me and my brothers than the actual job, which was damn frustrating.
Dale had done a background check on Lily and checked the reference she’d received from her previous employer, where she’d been let go due to the company downsizing. What I found difficult to understand was why she’d been one of the ones to be let go. She had an outstanding record with the company, a lot better than some of the people who’d kept their jobs, especially her boyfriend. I’d asked a friend of a friend who worked at the company and did favors for money, to dig deep, and see what he could find out as to why she was really let go. Something smelled off, and I would bet my last dollar it had something to do with the boyfriend.
My bagel popped up from the toaster, and I decided to have some cream cheese on it for a change. I usually just had butter. With the cheese spread on the top, I took a seat in the breakfast nook just off the kitchen, which I favored due to the amazing view of the garden and the mountains beyond.
On the odd occasion I’d sit here and wish I had a woman to share this with – not often – but occasionally. Ever since Viv died, I’d been alone. She died on her way to the meeting with our divorce lawyers. We’d been married three years, and in those three years I’d lost count of how many men she’d been with. I probably only knew about half of them. She’d completely soured my perception on relationships, making me a skeptic. Being alone you couldn’t get hurt, but sometimes it sucked.
It had taken a long time to believe that she was the one with the problem, not me. I owed that revelation to my brothers after they knocked some sense into me. Literally.
With breakfast finished, I quickly washed and dried the few pots, collected my keys and headed out front to be greeted by my driver, George. I actually loved to drive, or rather I loved to sit astride my Harley and just let her rip. It made me crazy, driving in to the city with all the traffic, and trying to find parking. So George drove me to the office, left me there and parked up at a hotel close by where he spent the day inside drinking coffee, flirting with Janet, one of the receptionists, and awaited my call for a ride. He also took advantage of the free wifi and hooked his laptop up.
“Morning, George,” I said in greeting.
“Morning, Mr McKenzie.”
Once I’d climbed into the car, I sat back and tried to relax. Normally I would read the newspaper on my way into the city, but Sebastian was across the front page, so I thought I would pass. I had no objection to my brothers sewing their wild oats, but having Sebastian in the news every time he did, pissed me off.
I’d been so lost in my own thoughts for the past twenty minutes, that when I looked out of the window, George had already pulled up outside the McKenzie building. “I’ll see you later, George. Have a good day.”
He blushed slightly. Janet was going to have him hot under the collar for the most part. After the first week, I’d refused to allow him to climb in and out of the car every time I needed the door opened.
It took a while to get used to being driven around, but I wasn’t lazy enough to have the door opened for me. I closed the door after I’d climbed out and watched him pull away, doing a U-turn to head to the hotel. How the hell he’d never caused an accident with that move, I’d never know.
As I walked into the lobby, I waved over to John, the security guard, and carried on through to the elevators. John was fussing over a woman at the front desk and I couldn’t help but do a double take. She was what Sebastian would call a ‘babe’.
She had long legs with stilts for shoes, a tight fitting skirt with equally fitted jacket and dark hair pinned loosely on the top of her head. I carried on and as I waited for the elevator, I turned and watched the woman from the front desk walk towards me with her head down. She had no idea I was stood watching her.
When the doors opened, I stepped inside and held them open for the mystery lady. As she walked closer, I caught her scent and my cock immediately hardened. Shit, that was not good. I had never had such a quick reaction to a woman’s scent before.
She looked up and when her eyes met mine they visibly widened. She stopped mid-step and just gazed up at me. I was reluctant, but I managed to drag my eyes away from her penetrating stare. “Your carriage awaits,” I told her rather roughly.
Hell, I felt as though I’d been hit over the head. I watched her closely and noticed how her throat moved when she gulped then took a deep breath, before she stepped into the elevator with me. Was she as affected by me as I was by her?
I felt damn uncomfortable. My cock throbbed and I wanted to believe it was from lack of use and not because of the sexy woman who stood beside me.
Yeah, keep telling yourself that.