“No. Thanks, though. Let me know what’s going on and keep any dicks away from her.”
“I’ll do my best.”
“That’s all I ask.”
I hung up with him and prepared for my day. I was going to have to deal with my brothers. Everything for the company went through them too, and they saw the paperwork. I wasn’t worried, more like annoyed. It was my plan, my decision. I didn’t know if it was my age, but they always double checked my property choices.
It was eight and I was sitting in my office when my big brothers barged through the door. Joseph and Julian were about the same height except Joseph could probably bench press me lately. He’d been at the gym constantly and I wondered if he was sexually frustrated. Julian and I were almost twins except he had darker features and didn’t know how to lighten up. We were all about two years apart. Like clockwork, our mother popped us out. Joseph was twenty-eight and Julian twenty-six.
“What can I do for you assholes this morning?”
“You can tell us why you closed the deal without consulting us?” Joseph asked, giving me a sharp look on his overly strong face.
“I consulted you when I brought up the idea of purchasing it and we agreed on it.” I wasn’t afraid of my brothers. We owned the company equally and we never made a bad decision where the company was concerned.
“Yeah, but you didn’t give us a chance to look at the offer.”
I had to shake my head at them. Before I left I made it clear that if we could get it for under the market value and the property was worth it, that I was jumping on it before anyone else thought to snag it and we were stuck in a bidding war. “I told you what the bidding price was. I matched it.”
It was Julian’s turn to give me shit. “Exactly, since when do you ever match a deal?”
They were right in a way. I’d always discussed some aspect of the deals before I followed through with the purchase. I was the acquisitions specialist here. “Since it was still 200K under our figures.”
“What else was driving you? Did you even spend enough time there looking at the properties?” Joe asked, tipping his chin at me.
“Yes, I did. Thank you very much. Why are you both breathing down my neck? This deal included three large areas of land, including the possibility to build twenty-five stories high.”
“I suppose that’s good.”
“I just got a notice that the amusement park is ahead of schedule and will be ready for the summer of 2018.”
“Really?”
“Yes, and now we have the edge on all the other companies that will be trying to corner the market. So get off my damn case.”
/> “Okay, fine. You did good, but don’t jump on deals without clearing it with us.”
They left my office a bit annoyed with me, but I wasn’t going to tell them that I left because of Harley. I should have gotten a better look at the properties personally, but I sent a surveyor and inspector two days ago. Everything was approved for purchase and now I had to wait almost three full months to see her again.
Chapter 4
Harley
Today was my birthday, and it was starting out to be a terrible day. It was all Jacob Middleton’s fault, too. For three months, he has been in my head. Every waking hour I was daydreaming about him. His minion was here to look over his investment, and although I really like Tony, it was a constant reminder of the pale blue eyed devil. I got ready in a sweet, pink blouse that amplified my curves and A-line black skirt and some cute pumps that I only wore to important events that I knew would hurt my feet by the end of my shift. It was silly to dress like this for a man that I had fantasized about. For all I knew he was dating someone and had no intention of coming back to see me.
Every part of my body was thumping and pounding uncontrollably as I headed into the hotel for my shift. There was only three of us that worked the front desk, but I heard that someone was coming from a different Middleton location to be added to the team. I hoped they didn’t plan to replace us. There she was, a tall, pretty woman with long blonde hair and a suit that costs more than I make in a week. Although I did get a raise when The Middleton Corp. took over the hotel, that suit was expensive.
“Hello, you must be Harley. I’m Rachael Harrison,” she said with a perfect smile and her hand outstretched for me. I took it and shook it.
“Hello, Rachael,” I replied, trying to not feel uncomfortable.
“Denise Monroe was supposed to come, but something came up and she was needed back at the hotel, so Jacob sent me here. Can you show me around a bit? I want to get a feel for things before getting started in an hour.” She seemed so perfect, I was innately insecure.
“Absolutely,” I said, dropping off my things under the desk and waving to Tony, who as usual, stood in the corner. We spoke on occasion, but only when we were alone. And it always ended with talking about Jacob.
“So how long are you here for?”
“Well, until the restoration and rebranding is done. But it’s all up to Jacob. This is his project, so he makes the calls on it.”