Page 169 of On A Manhunt: Complete Series

SILAS

“No, those figures don’t match. There needs to be a ten percent increase.”

I paced the short hallway, rubbing the back of my neck.

I hated these early morning calls with Geneva, but with the time difference, if I waited until the start of my day in Denver–or in Hunter Valley where I was now–the Hyport staff would be ending theirs.

There would be no way to get any work done on the merger if they were putting on their coats to go home.

I had similar calls in the evenings with Asia and the hotels there.

It was my life lately. As CEO of an international company trying to close the biggest deal in decades–buying the Hyport Hotel conglomerate and merging all their hotels worldwide under James Hotel–I worked all the time.

I was getting tired of the grind and ready for the papers to be signed.

The never-ending meetings. Travel. Problems. The early mornings. Late nights.

One perk of these calls was that I didn’t need to be at a desk.

Or dressed. No one on the group call knew I was freeballing before dawn while waiting for my coffee to brew.

I’d only stayed in this house in Hunter Valley a few times and it had become mine by default.

Dex had used it first until he fell for Lindy.

Then it was Theo’s before he shacked up with Mallory.

Now, the only single James brother left, it was mine.

I slept naked, so when my cell rang, I climbed from bed and skipped boxers or sweats.

I didn’t need a suit or tie. I was alone in the house.

Although, if I had a woman with me, I still wouldn’t be dressed.

One hadn’t crossed my path, or been near my dick, in a while.

Unlike all my brothers who’d pretty much become pussy whipped one after the other for amazing women.

All in this small, Montana town. Maybe it was the water.

“Good,” I added. “Keep me posted on the changes. Yes, I’ll be flying out tomorrow, but we’ve been working on this for weeks. I need the regional plan modifications to me in advance of the meeting.”

I hung up, grabbed a mug from the cabinet and filled it to the brim.

The first sip perked me right up. The one thing I loved about Hunter Valley was the coffee.

My older brother Mav found an amazing shop on Main Street where he got ground beans for all our houses.

He’d also made a deal with the coffee shop owner to supply the James Inn when it opened.

I’d have to get into the coffee shop one of these days, if I ever stayed in town long enough. Maybe get a pink t-shirt of my own. Mav wore his a little too proudly for a fucker of his size.

Scrolling through my inbox on my laptop, I found my assistant’s email with my day’s agenda.

5 am - Call with Geneva

James Inn - Hunter Valley - Mav and IT Techs

Calls at 2:30, 3, 4:15 and 5 - Topics and agendas listed below

Dinner at 6 with Mav and Theo - Address below

10:15 pm - Call with Singapore Hyport reps

Something soft and furry circled around my legs and scared the shit out of me.

Startled, I flung my coffee and it went everywhere, including all over me. “Fuck!”

Something shot across the floor followed by a weird flip-flap sound.

Covered in hot coffee, I stood there, stunned.

That was an animal. Holy fuck. What the hell was it doing in the house?

Dripping with cooling coffee, I went around the counter and into the laundry room where I thought the sound came from and flipped on the light.

There, low to the floor, was a tiny dog door.

“What the hell?”

Grabbing a towel off the dryer, I wiped myself down as I went for my phone.

Standing in the kitchen, I dialed Theo.

“Do you have a cat?” I asked, the second he answered.

“What?” he said, his voice deep and rough with sleep. “Silas? Are you drunk?”

“No,” I said, wiping down my right arm. “There was an animal in here that just rubbed up against my legs. Scared the shit out of me. It ran off.”

“The cat came in the house?” He was more awake now.

“Something came inside. Jesus, it could have been a raccoon for all I know.”

“There’s a stray. Cat, not raccoon. I was feeding it and it got friendly enough to come up onto the porch. I had a dog door installed thinking it might come inside.”

“It?”

“I haven’t gotten close enough to find out if it’s a boy or a girl.”

I squatted down, used the towel to wipe the kitchen floor.

“I did, but I doubt it’s coming back. Am I supposed to feed it or something?”

“I pay the neighbor kid to put some food in a bowl on the front stoop.”

I hadn’t noticed the bowl or a kid.

“If it’s a stray, why give it a cat door? I mean, it lives outside.”

“If you haven’t noticed, it’s fucking freezing. I thought it might want to come in.”

I had no idea what had happened to my brother. Only a few months ago, he pretty much lived inside a hospital. No pets, no girlfriend, nothing but a surgical rotation and on-call status. Now he was worried about a stray cat staying warm.

“I’m all for saving a cat but give a guy some notice that a feral one may be my roommate. I almost burned my dick.”

“I don’t want to know what that means.” He hung up.

Flinging the dirty towel back onto the laundry room floor, I refilled my mug and carried it into the bathroom.

Turned on the shower. I was on-site all day with Mav at the inn, working to resolve the issue of tying the reservation systems together on the back end with the main James Corp hotels.

Mav was tackling the boutique inn silo he’d built, and I took care of every other silo of the company.

If silos were like balls that I had to juggle, it was like I was in charge of a ball pit at a kid’s party center.

With the possible purchase of the Hyport chain, my workload was crazier than usual.

We were close to finishing the deal. I hoped only a few more weeks.

I sighed, stepping beneath the hot spray.

Theo was tucked into bed with Mal down the street.

Mav with Bridget up in the foothills in that big monstrosity of a house.

Dex and Lindy in his apartment in Denver.

Me? I was in a different bed practically every day.

My apartment in Denver, here in Hunter Valley, and hotels all over the world.

This insanity, while self-induced, had to end soon. I was burnt out. I was lonely.

I envied how my brothers had all settled down. Mav had a dog. And Theo appeared to have a semi-feral cat. This deal had to go through. I had to redeem the James Hotel name with the Hyports after my father’s past fiascos with them.

It was my company now and I wanted everyone to know I wasn’t my father. The James Hotel was no longer under his control–since he was dead and buried–and I was taking the company in the right direction. Doubling the size was one way to do that.

But right now, I had too much work. Too much responsibility. Too much travel. A fling would be good. Or just a fuck. I gripped my dick and gave it a hard pull. My hand was definitely not a willing, wet woman, but it would take the edge off.

Tonight I was having dinner with Mav and Theo, kicking back with some good food and a few drinks before I flew eight time zones for more negotiations.

Again.