“I don’t know what you expect me to—”
“This conversation is finished. I’m leaving now.” Robert snatched his jacket off a nearby chair and walked to the door.
“Robert. I’m so sorry. It was all a huge mistake.”
He paused and slowly turned around. “You don’t know a thing about my brother. Why don’t you let me fill you in?”
“Robert,” James said. “Stop it.”
Robert opened his phone and scrolled to an article. “Read this. Know who you’re jumping into bed with. Here’s the complete scoreboard of my brother’s girlfriends. It’s the updated list. Do you want to be on it as well?”
“The media always loves a juicy story,” I said after skimming the article.
Robert took his phone back. “James is nothing but a party boy and skirt-chaser. He’s a natural master of seduction. No matter what he tries to tell you, you’re nothing more than a hook up he forgot all about. You’d leave, Della, if you know what’s good for you. You can’t make a playboy settle down. My brother will chew you up and spit you out. He’ll be a playboy bachelor for the rest of his natural born life. It’s why he doesn’t work at the company. He’d rather travel around the globe and play.”
How dare he call James a playboy? When he, himself, fucked every single hot woman at the office. I shot him a look. “Like you have room to talk.”
“What? I come to work every single day. While my brother is gallivanting in Egypt on a camel, I’m running board meetings and working twelve hour days.”
“I was referring to the ‘playboy’ part. Don’t think I didn’t hear you banging that blonde on your desk.”
He blushed for a second. “I’m nothing like my brother. I don’t screw as half as many women as he does. And that’s a fact.”
James lifted his eyebrows slowly, just as surprised as I was that his brother was so bold and rude. The words echoed harshly in the sudden silence, but Robert was quick to amend them.
“I’m sorry. Listen, I’m going to work. The market never sleeps, you know.”
James rolled his eyes. “It’s the weekend, Rob. Lighten up.”
Robert shot his brother a look. “It’s always the weekend to you.”
For an exaggerated moment, in the charged silence, the twins simply stared each other down, with all the intensity of a gunfight at some old Western corral. I was convinced if either had a pistol, there might have been a quick-draw contest, and I wasn’t sure who would have won.
Finally, Robert flashed a tight smile and gave the door a tug, allowing a ray of sunlight to spill in. “Good to see you, James. It’s been too long. I’ll call you later, and we’ll set something up.” He stepped out into the elevator without so much as a glance my way, but he did throw a cold “Della,” behind him, without even adding a proper goodbye.
The door slammed shut, and the room was drenched in silence once more, but it was far more comfortable than the prior. There was a curiosity to it, a sense of relief. It broke apart entirely as James stepped into my line of vision with a little smile.
“So, Della, should we heed the doctor’s advice and get some food in your system?”
“Doctor’s orders are doctor’s orders,” I said with a shrug and a smile.
Chapter 2
THE MEAL CONSISTED of takeout, delivered right to his front door. Jet-setting playboy that he was, James seemed rather content to stay in his little fortress above the city. As we walked toward the kitchen table, I wondered if he missed the place when he was away. He claimed it was his home, but I had to wonder if he had ten more estates just like it.
“Do you mind if we eat on the balcony?” he asked, cocking his head toward the sliding-glass door. “It’s such a nice day.”
“Not at all,” I said and followed him.
Calling it a deck would have been an insult, as it was the most magnificent place I’d ever seen. It was rather sparse, except for a table and two small chairs, but it offered a million-dollar view of London. A tiny gasp escaped my lips as I took a step closer and realized we were so high. I was terrified to look down, but I couldn’t resist taking in the skyline. As I tightly gripped the railing as I chanced a peek, I almost threw up, even if I hadn’t eaten yet.
A blizzard of questions flew into my head: Does he get altitude sickness all the way up here? Does he have to take special pills and monitor his heartrate? How long does it take the elevator to get up here anyway? It’s gotta be at least ten minutes to the top.
“What would happen if I dropped a penny?” I murmured to myself, trying to make out the little ant-like swarms of people scurrying below.
James grinned as he started unloading boxes onto the table. “You’d be a penny poorer.” He sprinkled a handful of condiments to the side. “Also, you might be convicted of homicide.”
I took a deliberate step back, turning around to examine the rest of the deck. Stairs climbed the side, and I looked at them curiously. I couldn’t imagine a higher level, but there obviously was at least one. “Where does that lead?” I asked, pointing curiously to get his attention.