CHAPTER SEVEN
“Hey,” Hunter said ashe walked up. Fletcher glanced at the glass his brother held. It was a darker liquid than his.
Whiskey.
“You’re here. Where did you get that?” Fletcher glanced between his flute and the tumbler in his brother’s hand.
“Starbucks.”
“Ha fucking ha.” Fletcher tried to stop his grin.
Hunter was a smartass, and it was no good to encourage him.
“Place looks good,” Hunter said, his eyes darting around. “Is Dad coming tonight?”
Things were tense between the Dufort brothers and their father after they’d all but removed him from the organization, but he’d be there. Johnathan had made a point of attending every single event and meeting he could.
And fair enough.
It had been his business and he’d built it from the ground up. None of them thought he would walk away peacefully.
He was a Dufort.
“Yes, but he’s not here yet. Or at least I haven’t seen him,” Fletcher replied.
He glanced across the room and saw that Olivia had returned. She was with her team and a handful of media answering questions. When she spotted Hunter, he watched her grab Katy and direct her over toward them.
Another obvious attempt to avoid him.
Had he completely destroyed their working relationship?
He knew she felt the same as him—she’d said so. He hated the distance between them, and he hated that her eyes weren’t on him. Surely, they could deal with this in another way instead of avoiding one another.
The way she had reacted earlier had been odd.
Something wasn’t right.
“Hello, Hunter,” Dakota said, tilting her face to accept the kiss he hadn’t yet offered.
“Dakota, lovely to see you.” Hunter leaned in and did as he’d been silently ordered, kissing Dakota’s cheek. Because they were all standing so close, he could only imagine what it looked like from behind.
Click, click, flash, clickwent the cameras.
Jesus.
“Well, now they’ll be saying we’re having a menage.” Dakota winked at them naughtily while Hunter’s eyes darkened as he stared down at her.
Fletcher had always suspected his brother had a thing for Dakota.