Page 2 of The Arrangement (Executive Suite Secrets #3)

ROME ASHbrIDGE

The cry of the violin soared to the high rotunda ceiling, the notes stretching out into a desolate wail before falling to a whimper.

The soloist sat apart from the other members of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, making him somehow seem smaller and lonely.

At least it had until Simon started to play.

There was such bold power in the movements of his bow.

Everything about him exuded strength and confidence.

It was hard to reconcile that this was the same guy I’d known as a kid.

The baby brother of one of my college friends.

When had he gotten so old? So confident?

Okay, obviously, it had been in the past fifteen years.

The last time I’d seen Simon, he’d been this gangly kid who’d looked up to his older brother like he’d hung the moon and could do anything.

To be fair, though, I’d never given much thought to what Simon would do with his life.

My brain had decided that he would remain this tween shadow that would follow Sawyer forever.

Except Sawyer died young, unable to begin his final year of college, and Simon became a fucking talented violinist.

Leaning to my left, I bumped my shoulder against Pierce’s arm and whispered, “Isn’t he great? Bet you never expected to see Simon playing in the Hall of Justice.”

Pierce glared at me from the corner of his eye.

Without saying a word, I could tell he was threatening to rip my tongue out through my nose if I kept up with my nonsense.

But how could I resist? Tonight’s concert was being held at Union Terminal, which was the home of the Cincinnati Museum Center and the inspiration for DC Comics’ Hall of Justice with all the Super Friends.

It was as if Simon were putting on a concert for superheroes. You couldn’t get any cooler than that.

For the life of me, I couldn’t guess what Pierce’s problem was with Simon.

I knew something had gone down between Sawyer and Pierce years ago, just prior to Sawyer’s death in that stupid diving accident.

But no matter how I pried and poked at him, the man was a fucking steel trap.

He refused to give up a single word about what had happened and why it had spread to encompass Simon.

Years of being friends with Pierce had taught me to have an innate sense of when to stop pushing and keep my mouth shut. He and I had been close for half of my life, and I’d lost enough friends over the years. I had no desire to add him to that inglorious list.

A brief tug on the sleeve of my suit jacket had me turning toward my right, where Allie Crumb was leaning in close. She batted huge mahogany-brown eyes at me and rested her cheek on my shoulder as she murmured, “This is the last piece, correct?”

I bit my tongue. She had a program clutched in her slender hand, just as I did. Was she not following along with the performance? It wasn’t her question, though, that I found annoying, but her tone that was a soft mix of hopeful and petulant.

This was our first date, and I was beginning to think it was going to be our only one.

We’d met a few days ago while standing in line at a coffee shop near work.

We’d been making small talk, and I’d mentioned that a friend of mine was going to be performing at a special concert held at the Union Terminal.

She’d exclaimed how much she enjoyed classical music and had always wanted to see one of the special concerts at the museum center.

Naturally, I’d asked her out. She was cute, nice, and, most importantly, one of the few women I’d encountered who was shorter than me.

But now, it looked like maybe I’d been treated to my own special performance, because she’d either fibbed about the depth of her love of classical music, or this selection wasn’t to her liking.

“Yes,” I replied in a low voice, trying not to disturb the other people listening to Simon’s spectacular playing.

Allie wiggled a little closer. “After this is over, I was thinking we could go somewhere fun. Somewhere with more excitement.”

I graced her with a tight smile. “We’ll see,” I mumbled and turned my attention forward. It was more likely that our date was going to end early because of an “unexpected” business call.

It wasn’t a big deal if someone didn’t care for classical music.

The genre wasn’t my favorite, but I’d been clear about what my plans were and my excitement at seeing my friend play in public at an interesting location.

If Allie wasn’t interested in classical music but wanted to go on a date with me, all she’d had to do was freaking ask.

I would have been happy to take her out for something more exciting if that was what she’d desired.

It was the possible lying and deception that soured my mood.

Fuck, dating was hard. I was thirty-four.

Marriage had never been one of my big goals in life, but I hated to admit that I’d kind of expected to be married, or at least damn close to it, by now.

Unfortunately, I was still standing at the starting line, searching for my partner in this three-legged race called life.

The frustration was made worse by the fact that Sebastian was stupidly happy with Byron, with whom he was living. And then Declan— Mr. No Smile, No Speak Foster —had a fucking fiancé and a baby girl. Not to be a whiny bitch, but… When was it gonna be my turn?

I shoved the thought out of my brain and turned my attention to the performance in time to catch the final crescendo.

Simon was brilliant and, thankfully, resembled his older brother very little.

It was horrible to think, but it would have been harder to welcome him into our group if he’d been the spitting image of Sawyer.

As he lifted his bow from the strings and the last notes of the piece faded through the room, Simon let out a deep, seemingly relieved sigh.

Thunderous applause echoed through the place, and I jumped to my feet as I clapped.

I glared at Pierce, who rolled his eyes at me, but he stood as well.

But only after a few other patrons joined me.

I got it. He’d said that I wasn’t to tell Simon that he was there.

His plan was to slip in and out unnoticed. Idiot .

If I didn’t know better, I’d say he had a crush on Simon, but that was impossible. He’d barely spoken to the man since he’d come to Cincinnati, and I knew they’d not spoken in the long years following Sawyer’s death. Pierce was being weird.

The members of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra stood and bowed to us while we continued to clap.

I could see Simon grinning, but I couldn’t tell if he could see me.

We were both short like halflings; it was likely that I was lost in the crowd from his point of view.

No matter. I’d find him during the mingling part of the evening and congratulate him on his killer performance.

“Shall we go?” Allie inquired with bubbles of enthusiasm.

“Not yet. I thought we’d snag some canapés while we waited for Simon to come out. I want to chat with him for a moment.”

Her smile dimmed, but she nodded and didn’t say anything else. That was good, because I had to grab Pierce’s wrist as the bastard attempted to escape.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake. Don’t run out the second it’s finished. That looks bad,” I complained.

“I’m not talking to him,” Pierce bit out. He glared at me as he jerked his wrist free. Drama queen.

“I’m not asking you to talk to him.” I forced a wide smile on my lips and jerked my chin toward the servers, who were briskly entering the rotunda in white uniforms, carrying silver platters of hors d’oeuvres and flutes of champagne.

There was also a bar set up for mixed drinks and nonalcoholic beverages.

“Have a drink and a snack. He’ll have to put away his violin and catch his breath before he comes out.

That’s plenty of time for you to mingle. ”

“Is that why you want me to stick around?” As he spoke, Pierce pointedly stared past me to the woman at my side and then at me. He raised smug eyebrows. Fucker . Apparently, he’d heard what we were saying despite our whispers.

“You know what? I’m gonna go see if they have some iced tea. Would you like one?” Pierce declined. I turned to Allie.

“I think I’ll have the champagne.”

“Great. Be right back.”

I slipped away from Pierce and my date to wade through the hundred other people chatting in groups as they snacked on delicious-looking canapés and sipped alcohol.

Normally, I’d be happy to snatch up some champagne or wine, but I’d handled the driving tonight rather than hiring a car. Had to stay clearheaded.

My gaze skimmed over the faces of everyone decked out in dark suits and fancy dresses.

There were a few people I recognized from other events I’d attended in Cincinnati.

Many were of the usual charity gala, symphony, opera, ballet set who liked to show up, smile, and splash some cash in a flashy way to feel important.

Oh, I knew how to splash my wealth around the city, but I always made sure it was done under the name of my charitable foundation.

I didn’t need my name tossed about so I could feel better about myself.

I had no illusions about my actual worth in society. This trust fund baby knew he’d done nothing to earn his money, but I did what I could with it to help those who weren’t so lucky in life. And I didn’t need the city to pat me on the back to feel good.

Maybe Allie was right, and we needed to go somewhere with more excitement and fun. Something to get my mind off the assessing stares and Pierce’s grumpiness.