Page 3 of Duality (The Archers #1)

EVELYN

A few days later, I was typing up some meeting notes from a department head meeting that morning when the door to the far office opened and footsteps approached my desk. I didn’t lift my eyes from my screen as the person stopped at my desk.

“Evie, do you have the?—”

I handed him the folder, sitting next to me without looking up.

“Oh, and I need the?—”

I handed him the second folder, hiding my small smirk.

“And I didn’t have time after lunch to?—”

I handed him the hot mocha that was sitting at the corner of my desk.

“Marry me?” Sebastian’s blue eyes were smiling as he leaned his hip against my desk.

His suit jacket was off, and his sleeves were rolled up, allowing me to see the muscular forearms the tabloids drooled about.

He was a striking man with a lean, athletic build and sandy blonde hair that always looked like he’d just rolled out of bed.

A lesser woman would have swooned over the proposal, but I had been getting the same proposal from him at least once a week since I started working for him and his brothers.

“No.” I smiled primly at him, my lips pressed in a thin line to hide my amusement. “Will that be all, Mr. Stone?”

He put a hand to his chest like I stabbed him and dramatically staggered away from my desk. “Evie, you wound me.”

“Shall I call the cleaners to get the blood out of the carpet?” I asked dryly, turning my attention back to my computer as the door next to me opened and Alexander stepped out. His sharp suit was a dark gray that made his blue eyes seem brighter than usual.

“Are you bothering Miss Harper again?” Alexander rolled his eyes, lips pressed thin as though he were physically holding back a sigh at his brother’s antics.

“I’m never a bother. Right, Evie?”

“Only on days ending with y,” I responded in a flat tone but couldn’t hide the smirk on my face.

He really wasn’t a bother. That was just how Sebastian was.

He took the goofy kid brother act to the extreme and was always pranking his older brothers and Adrian.

He did his best to crack the professional mask I wore and had an uncanny sense for when I was having a bad day, going out of his way to cheer me up.

“I know you love me.”

“Like one loves a root canal.”

“If you’re done bothering Miss Harper, I need her.”

Sebastian waggled his eyebrows at Alexander, but Alexander ignored him. I gathered my notepad and pen and walked into Alexander’s office.

His corner office had floor-to-ceiling windows were made from bulletproof glass. I settled into the dark gray chair across from his desk, pen poised over paper as I waited for his instructions.

“I just got off the phone with Geoff Young. He owns several nightclubs and restaurants in the city. He wants to discuss a full security package for two of his new clubs. Full surveillance, training his people, and possibly hiring our people until he builds his security team. I guess he’s a little short-staffed at the moment. ”

I hid my smirk as I wrote down the details.

I bet he was a little short-staffed right now.

We had cleaned house in one of his clubs a few weeks ago, exposing a ring that included his bartenders and bouncers that drugged and raped women.

There had been four victims before we had heard about it, then intervened and shut it down.

We had set the victims up with our team of lawyers and social workers, and they were currently suing Young Enterprises for damages.

He didn’t outright own the club we were at a few days ago, but he was an investor in it.

“I can arrange a meeting. When does he want to meet?”

“This afternoon.” Alexander winced.

I sighed and walked around his desk. I leaned over the arm of his chair and stole his mouse from him, then pulled up his schedule on his computer. I focused on the screen, trying to ignore how good he smelled, like tobacco and leather.

“I can probably move your meeting with Adrian to later this evening or tomorrow morning and clear the marketing team out of the executive conference room, so we can bring him in at 2 p.m.”

“That sounds perfect. Thank you, Miss Harper. Ask my brothers to convene in the conference room thirty minutes prior, so we can prepare for the meeting.”

I looked at him, and the breath caught in my throat, the words on my tongue stuttering to a stop at the look in his eyes. I swallowed, recovering quickly. “Of course. If that will be all, I’ll head out to my desk and start the arrangements.”

“That will be all.”

Ignoring the warmth in my belly, I walked back to my desk and moved the meetings around.

Alexander had never been anything less than professional with me, but in that moment when our eyes had met as I leaned in, his blue eyes had been molten with a heat that did funny things to my insides.

That was bad. I couldn’t get distracted by the brothers; not now and not ever.

No, I had to focus. The Archers needed me to focus.

The people we helped needed me to focus.

I could not be distracted by any of the four men in my life who had the power to ruin it all.

People depended on me to help them. I couldn’t let myself be distracted from that.

I opened my email and sent over a meeting request to Geoff Young’s assistant.

This was the perfect opportunity to get a little more information on Geoff Young and what he was up to.

My team hadn’t been able to determine how much he actually knew about the ring and if he endorsed it or was just mad his people had been caught.

After I moved the other meetings around, I walked over to the conference room and started tidying up the room. Usually, one of the other assistants would do this, but given the timing of the meeting, it would be easier if I just did it.

As I tidied up the room, the brothers entered.

“I can’t believe we’re entertaining a contract with Geoff Young,” Marcus grumbled, raking a hand through his dark hair and shedding his blazer from his broad shoulders as soon as he entered. “I mean, it can’t be good for our image after the scandal his club was caught up in a few weeks ago.”

“What happened there was abhorrent,” Alexander agreed, smoothing down his suit jacket.

“But we have the opportunity to help ensure it doesn’t happen again.

Especially if we sell him on the training package as well.

And our people can help keep an eye on things until he hires others.

We probably can also position ourselves to help with the hiring and background checks. ”

“I can sell that,” Sebastian agreed as he took a seat at the table.

And he could.

While Alexander and Marcus strategized the best steps for the company and which clients to go after, Sebastian was the closer.

The man had a silver tongue and could sell water to a mermaid.

But he wasn’t just a charmer, his tech skills weren’t half bad either.

Half of our technology and software was a result of his own designs.

“So surveillance, training, and hiring, right?” Marcus ticked off the items on his fingers, no doubt thinking about the specific clauses he would have to include in the contract.

“And contractor opportunities,” I said when the other two brothers nodded. “In case he wants to hire our people.”

“Good catch, Evelyn.” Marcus smiled at me. He opened his laptop and started typing up the contract.

“Nice job, Evie.” Sebastian grinned at me.

Alexander reached over and smacked Sebastian on the back of his head. “Evelyn or Miss Harper, please. I know she’s told you this.”

“Aww, but?—”

“That’s okay, sir.” I smiled. “Mrs. Stone told me he was dropped on his head as a baby.”

Their mother, the sweet woman she was, told me no such thing, but I had fun riling up Sebastian. The elevator doors opened behind him, and Geoff Young, along with a few others from his company, exited, escorted by Adrian.

“Hey!” Sebastian started to protest but stopped when he saw the group approaching. “This isn’t over, Evie,” he hissed at me, his full lips dipping into a pout that should be illegal everywhere.

I just smiled, ignoring the flutter in my stomach. Point to me. This familiar banter was the only concession in my professionalism I allowed with the brothers, especially Sebastian. If I allowed them anything else, the work my organization and I did would be in danger.

I opened the door and greeted the approaching group. “Gentlemen, welcome. May I get you a cup of coffee?”

I gritted my teeth as I set the last carafe of coffee in front of Geoff Young and his associates.

They had demanded pour over coffee, which was the most pretentious way a person could order coffee in my opinion.

Plus, the beverage took forever to make, so I had missed the first part of the meeting and possibly lost valuable information.

“Shall we get started?” Alexander asked as I settled into the corner chair and prepared to catch up.

I lifted my head, eyes narrowing. They hadn’t started yet? They must have been waiting for me.

Alexander arched an eyebrow, and I nodded quickly. My laptop was open, and I was poised to take notes.

“You mentioned on the phone you need security for your two new clubs. Tell us a little bit more about what you’re looking for,” Alexander instructed.