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Chapter Two

Wade

The headache that started this morning when River didn’t show up to help with the final preparations for the retreat is exploding into a migraine.

I can’t get derailed by pain. This is too important.

I enlisted River for this because I don’t know who to trust anymore. At my own company. What a disaster.

His boyfriend stares at me like he’s worried I’m going to explode all over his quaint kitchen.

“Excuse me?” I don’t really want him to say those fateful words again, but I’m at a loss on how to respond.

He crosses his arms without moving from his spot. He appears to be hiding behind that chair. Is he afraid of me? He seems too fierce for that. “There’s…” He glances away, and for a moment, I can see the devastation on his face. Fuck . River really is gone. His chin goes up. “He left a note.”

“Let me see it.”

He gives an outraged squawk. “What? No. Do you think I’m lying?”

“No, but—” I stop as the thoughts take shape. Maybe River didn’t leave because of the retreat. Maybe this isn’t about me and my company at all. If River left him, that explains the devastation on his face. I still want to hurt River. But now, surprisingly, I have more than one reason.

Why do I even care?

I shut down those thoughts. That’s how I got into this predicament in the first place. Swayed by a pretty face. I need to find River. Or figure out another way to go forward with the retreat.

If I don’t, Meredith will use this as proof I need to step down as CEO and let my brother, Ander, take over. That can’t happen. It’s my fucking company.

“No, but…what?” he asks, and it takes me a moment to remember what we were talking about.

The note. River leaving isn’t this guy’s fault. Unless he drove River away. “I don’t think you’re lying.” I pause. His claws are as sharp as his sweet kitty’s. “Did you have a lover’s quarrel?”

He gapes at me. His fingers are white from where he’s clutching the back of the chair. “Lover’s quarrel? What are you, fifty?” He shakes his head and laughs. “River is my brother.”

As soon as he says the words, my brain catches up, cataloging the similarities between the two men. The same chin. The same green eyes. But River is more filled out. Not as thin or pretty as his brother. I also feel this weird sense of relief. “Then why did he leave?”

“You tell me, Wade. ” He advances on me, and it’s harder than it should be to stand my ground. But I do. He gets right in my face, green eyes flashing. “You’re the bosshole.”

“Stop saying that!”

All the fight seems to go out of him as he sags into a chair. “River’s impulsive.” He ignores my snort. “He’ll return. I just don’t know when.”

“Mr. Drake…” I realize then that I don’t know his first name.

He rolls his eyes. “Canyon.”

“Seriously?”

He glares at me like he knows what I’m thinking. He probably does. “What?”

Is he really going to make me say it? “Canyon and River? Do your parents hate you?”

His expression flattens out. “My parents are dead.”

Right. Fuck. I knew that—or I did at one time.

It sounds vaguely familiar. “Listen, Canyon. I need your brother back here, now. I can’t do this retreat without him.

” I’m not used to people challenging me, and that spurs me on.

“So, get his happy ass on the phone and tell him if he’s not at the campsite by five p.m. tonight, he’s fired.

Got it?” I wait for his nod so I can get the fuck out of this house.

But the nod never comes.

He’s back on his feet. “No. I don’t ‘got it,’” he says, using air quotes. Jesus. “You’re the reason he’s not coming back—” He stops as if just now realizing what he said. “I mean, he’ll be back. Just not by five o’clock.”

I’m the reason? What does that mean? Did River say something? I press my thumb into my palm. Focus on one thing at a time. Finding River. “That’s not good enough.”

“He turned off his phone. What do you want me to do? In a couple of days?—”

“I don’t have a couple of days! I need someone now .”

“Not my problem.” He flings his arms out. “Get someone else.”

“There is no one else. That’s what I’m telling you,” I say between gritted teeth, trying to hold it together.

He scoffs. “That can’t be true. Your company is huge.”

At this point, I should leave. But Canyon is my only link to River. Jesus fucking Christ. “Your brother planned everything.”

“Then it’s planned. Problem solved.”

He’s so annoying. I don’t need to explain myself to him, but I can’t seem to stop. “I still need him.”

Canyon narrows his eyes as if realizing I’m holding something back. He’s quick. Quicker than his brother. He catches my gaze and holds it. “Are you sleeping with him?”

“What?” I let out a harsh laugh. “No. Definitely not.” I force myself to remain calm. “He’s…” I don’t even know how to finish that sentence. Canyon raises a brow. A perfectly shaped brow. My thumb itches to trace it.

What the fuck is wrong with me?

I shake my hands out. “I’m not sleeping with River. He’s my employee. And his name is River. And,” I say, holding my head high and avoiding his too-perceptive gaze, “I’m not gay.”

He narrows his eyes like he’s trying to find the lie in my words. “What’s this about then? Why is he so important?”

I press my lips together. Seriously, fuck River Drake for putting me in this position. “This retreat is to celebrate diversity in our company.”

“I’m sure there are other ways to do that. Other employees that show your company is inclusive.”

“Yes, of course. But none I can trust.”

He laughs. “I don’t know where to start. You don’t trust your employees?”

Meredith and my brother aren’t acting alone. Someone on my team is involved. But I’m not telling him that. I barely know this guy. “I’m being cautious.”

“And you trust my brother?”

“I did trust your brother,” I snap and regret it when his eyes go sad.

What the fuck is wrong with me? I bring the attitude down a notch.

“He’s new on my team. And I needed someone not part of the status quo.

Your brother has always been trustworthy, and since he’s—it just worked out.

For both of us.” I almost slipped up. “But now he’s left me with no one to take his place. ”

“So you need an outsider?” He cocks his head. “That’s literally anyone not on your team. It shouldn’t be hard to find someone.”

His derision registers, but his words repeat over and over in my brain. I need an outsider. Someone not on my team. “Like a consultant?” The idea isn’t a bad one. It could work.

“Sure. Go do that. If—when my brother gets back, I’ll have him call you.”

As he turns, I grab his shoulders to hold him still.

“Wait.” He stares wide-eyed at me and then at my hands.

I drop them. “Just wait…please.” I take a few minutes to find the right words and, more importantly, the right tone.

“What if you took your brother’s place?” Canyon is perfect. Perfect for this, I mean.

“No. What? Nooooo.” He steps back out of my reach. “No way.”

“I need someone?—”

“Not me. No one will believe I’m a consultant. I don’t even know what your company does.”

My mind grinds to a halt. We’re one of the top digital consulting firms in the St. Louis area. And rumors are always flying around about me, most of them false. “How is that possible?”

He shrugs. “I have limited internet, and I don’t use it to Google things.”

“But your brother—never mind. It doesn’t matter. You don’t need to know much. Just keep quiet and smile.” I stop at his indignant look. This is why I’m in this mess. I say what I think. And people rarely like it. “You can smile, right?”

His jaw tightens, and I’m not sure he’s going to answer. “When I want to.”

I nod. “Will you help me with the retreat? I’ll pay you.”

The no is on his lips until I mention money. Everyone has a price. “What about my brother?”

“What about him?”

He huffs. “Is he still fired?”

“I’ll consider not firing him.”

He shakes his head. “I need more than that.”

“Well, too bad. I don’t know why he ran off or what he’s doing.” And the odds that he’s doing something to hurt me or the company are fairly high. “You have four hours to either find your brother or take his place.” I hold his gaze. “Otherwise, he will be fired.”

“You’re seriously threatening me right now?” He snorts out a laugh. “Does this badass routine work for you?”

“Take it however you want. River didn’t show up for work. And without your help, I have no reason to even consider keeping him. It’s your choice.”

He glares for another minute, then sighs, shaking his head, “I’d have to actually go outside…” He flinches like he didn’t mean to admit it. Is he agoraphobic? But it doesn’t matter. I’m desperate. He bites his lip, and I’m momentarily distracted. “How much would I get paid?”

Back to the money. Normally, I’d haggle, but I need this.

I name off a number that’s three times his brother’s salary.

That should be enough to tempt him. It grates on me that I’ll still be paying his brother, but money isn’t an issue.

I’m already thinking of ways to spin this to the team and the board when he responds.

“Can I think about it?”

“What the hell is there to think about?” I snap. The thought that he might refuse makes my words harsher than I intended.

His face hardens, and I resist the urge to apologize. As a rule, I never apologize.

“I already have a job. And I have Taffy.” At my confused look, he points to his cat.

She circles my feet and rubs against my legs.

I resist the urge to give her one last pet.

I love cats, okay? They don’t slobber all over you like dogs.

He pulls Taffy into his arms. “There are things I have to figure out.”

I start to suggest something and stop. This is not my concern. “You have until three p.m. I’ll be back then to pick you up.” I head for the front door, and he follows.

“What if I don’t agree?”

I turn and give him one last look. “You will.”