He shook his head. “I’ll finish it later.”
She didn’t argue because she needed him. Besides, if she was going to be working round the clock, so could he. It was his company, after all.
Sometime later, she heard, “Hey, how come I wasn’t invited to the party?”
Marley glanced up to see Jordan at the door. Justin straightened alongside her.
“Some party,” he groaned, his chest pushing out as he stretched his arms back.
Marley looked away from the enticing sight of his shoulders straining the fabric of his shirt, only to catch Bonnie watching, too. She noticed the blonde turn the same admiring look toward Jordan.
Her gaze followed Bonnie’s and she had to admit, the Blake brothers were nice to look at. Married or not, Marley couldn’t fault Bonnie for enjoying the scenery—especially when the scenery carried pizza.
As her stomach growled, Marley looked at her watch, amazed to see it was after one-thirty. The others dropped what they were doing and advanced on Jordan and the food.
“Wait,” he protested, holding the two large boxes out of reach. “Who’s got my tip?”
“Don’t spit into the wind,” Justin said. “Now hand it over.”
Marley smiled to herself as the rest of them laughed. Justin managed to get control of the food, but when he started back toward the table, she shook her head.
“You come anywhere near here with those, and I’ll deck you.”
He stopped short. His glance at the model showed he understood her reasoning, but his look challenged her.
“Do it,” Jordan urged with a grin.
“She would, too.” Justin wisely switched direction, carrying the pizza into his office to set it on his conference table. Bonnie offered to grab sodas and when she returned, they all sat down to eat.
Jordan kept them laughing, confirming what Marley’d already guessed, he was the easygoing one of the two. Justin joked, too, but she sensed he took things much more seriously. She liked that about him, liked that they had that in common.
As quick as the thought registered, she shoved it away. The man thought she’d had an affair with his father, for God’s sake. No way in hell should she like him or be glad they had a single thing in common.
She finished her first piece of pizza, and though still hungry, she didn’t have time to waste. Tossing her napkin in the garbage, she stood to leave.
“You’re done?” Justin asked with surprise.
“There’s only so much time in the day.”
Vince shoved the rest of his piece of pizza in his mouth and started to stand. Marley waved him back down.
“Take your time, please. I’ve got a few things to figure out before we can continue anyway.”
“You’re sure?” He glanced back at the food.
She smiled. “Positive.”
Justin finished his second slice, wiped his hands, and though he wouldn’t have minded more, he stood to follow Marley. Jordan caught his gaze and one corner of his mouth lifted slightly. Justin just shook his head and walked away.
Why did his brother have to be so damn perceptive? Okay, fine, he’d admit it. He wanted her. But the scary thing was, he really liked her—even when she was bossy and domineering. Yet she was still a suspect in his grandfather’s death, and she hadn’t bothered to deny any type of unethical relationship with his father, either.
He couldn’t see it any longer. After working with her up close and personal, he couldn’t even begin to imagine it…but it would’ve been nice to hear it from her. Not to mention, hand in hand with the Blake family motto “appearances are everything” came the knowledge that appearances could be very deceiving.
She glanced over when he joined her by the table. Across from him, Jordan stepped up to see the project, and Marley directed a smile at him. Justin held back the evil glare he wanted to give his brother.
“Thanks for lunch,” Marley said.
“No problem,” Jordan replied. “I was looking for Bonnie earlier and saw you all so engrossed, so I figured I’d help out the best way I could.”