Chapter Forty-One: Tough Love
Lincoln
Three months later
My head is pounding as I stare at the expense reports from all the traveling I've had to do for the hotel renovations. The company's sales are skyrocketing all thanks to Sienna, but it still doesn't dislodge the lump in my throat from the numbers. I'm not used to spending this much. Not that I can't afford it now with all of this money coming in, but still. It's foreign territory for me.
"So, the next launch will be where?" Jett lifts his eyes to mine, fixing his tie to straighten it. I'm not sure how he's even breathing with it being that suffocating around his neck, but I don't comment on it. Since his recent display of maturity back during the media presentation in Los Angeles, I decided to let him sit in on our financial meetings until his next fuck up, which is bound to be soon.
"Atlanta," I reply. "The renovations at the LA location are going really well, and after the sales spiked from the media launch, I want to get moving on the other locations and repeat the same process. Get everyone talking across the country."
He nods, seeming impressed, and I hate the way my heart lurches from the satisfaction of it. I keep telling myself that I'm not seeking his approval, but my body continuously keeps fighting me on it.
And now I'm in a sour mood from talking about the LA location. I hate talking about that trip. So many things went wrong, all of which I didn't have the ability to fix. Travis is still out there along with probably others watching Sienna and I's every move, and the thought sickens me. It keeps me up at night. My stomach rolls with nausea, my jaw clenching in response.
Travis took away everything Sienna worked so hard for. That night she told me she needed me in order to sleep broke my heart. I'm not possessive to the point of wanting to own her, so that sentence wasn't romantic and didn't make me feel proud. It broke me.
When I first met her, she told me she would never need a man, and that stupid fuck took all of that confidence from her in a single night. I promise if it's the last thing I do, I'll get her back to that place again. I'll build her up and instill that badass independent woman that's buried underneath a mountain of trauma.
Jett rakes a hand through his blonde unruly curls that he surprisingly left down from his man bun today. He always looks like he stepped right out of a Gucci catalog, but today he decided to look a bit more relaxed, which is strange.
As the finance meeting comes to a close, the staff follows out, leaving Jett and me alone. I'm still not used to having alone time with my brother, especially when we haven't had small talk in years. Thankfully, knocks on the door interrupt me, and Carmen pokes her head in, a person I definitely wasn't expecting to see.
I wave her in, and she steps into the room carrying a vase of roses covering her chest. She peeks up above the tops of the flowers. "Any idea where Margo is? Riley wanted me to drop these off to her."
Unable to hide my smile, I point at my desk for her to set them down. "She's out on an errand for me. I'll make sure she gets them."
She raises a brow. "Checking on Sienna?"
I despise that Sienna's best friends have come to know me far more than I'd like them to. Then again, I think anyone in a two-foot radius of me could tell that Sienna is my weak spot. I think she always will be.
Jett clears his throat from beside me, and I roll my eyes as he moves his gaze across her dark brown skin, down her gray dress that hugs her curves to her baby pink heels and white painted toes. He looks like a drooling dog. "I don't think we've been introduced," he says.
She offers him a fake smile. "We don't need to be. I've heard enough to stay clear."
Ouch.
Carmen doesn't know my brother though, and she doesn't realize that backhanded comments and snarky remarks only seem to get him off more.
Jett grabs the pen in front of him and twirls it around his fingers, not seeming jaded at all by her previous comment. "I'm sure my brother gave you an earful, but I promise I won't bite. That is..." He rakes his eyes across her chest, but Carmen doesn't shrink under his scrutiny. "Unless you want me to."
Tossing her long, black braids over her shoulder, she lets out a laugh. "And yet something tells me that even if you did bite, I'd still be left feeling unsatisfied." She waves goodbye as I cover my mouth with my hand to keep from laughing, turning her attention to me again. "Tell Archer I said I'll see him later."
She walks confidently out the door, Jett's eyes trailing her every step of the way. "She is Archer's girlfriend? The one who owns the flower shop? No way in hell he pulled her. I don't believe it."
I shrug. "They seem happy."
"Does she have a name?"
I narrow my eyes, sending him the biggest death glare I can. "Don't even think about it. She wouldn't give you the time of day."
"And you know that how?"
I shoot him a pointed look. "Because she joins Sienna and Margo in the group of women to be afraid of. She'd chop your dick off before you came even close to dating her. Archer told me as such. It took him months to get her, so I don't foresee him letting her go anytime soon."
The corners of his mouth lift into a grin. "Who said anything about dating her? You know that's not my thing. She seems..." He rubs his jaw, his smile only growing bigger. "Feisty. Just how I like them."
I slap a folder down onto my desk, growing more impatient by the second. "Stay away from her. I don't care that you just moved back to the city. Go to one of those stupid sex clubs you belong to. Go to a bar. Find your next conquest of the night anywhere but here. Sienna's friends are off limits."
"And why is that?"
I lean forward to get close to his face. "Because when you fuck them over, it'll become my problem, and I don't need any more problems. I'm already dealing with enough of them."
An expression flashes across his face that I can't decipher, taking away the smugness. "Is Sienna doing okay?"
If doing okay means waking up every night sweating from a nightmare, or withdrawing to the point where she won't leave my house is okay, then sure. She's been doing all her business from my living room, paranoid of even stepping foot outside. No matter what I do, I can't seem to help her, and every single time I think about my inability to make things better, the pain smashes against my ribs so hard that I fear I might break one.
My silence is all he needs to hear as he rises to his feet and claps me on the shoulder. The affection is unwelcome, my body stiff from how long it's been since he's touched me without it resulting in a broken nose or hand. "I'm sorry you're going through this, but when I see something I like, I'll do whatever it takes to get it. You should know that better than anyone. We're brothers after all."
My jaw ticks as he walks toward the door to my office. I don't know why I ever thought he'd have a sentimental bone in his body. A small part of me thought he might actually care, and I want to laugh just at the absurdity of it all.
"Tell Sienna I said hello," he says, swinging the door closed behind him without another word. Since my office walls are made of glass, I see Margo passing by him as she steps off the elevator, shooting him an evil glare before she stalks toward me.
Tiny but mighty, my entire staff is deathly afraid of her, and I don't blame them. Aside from Sienna, she's the only woman I know who possesses power with each stride she takes. Even though she's only my secretary, she practically runs this place, and if it weren't for her, I wouldn't have been able to successfully take over my father's business.
She looks like she's about to spit out a slew of cuss words at me, but she freezes when she sees the roses on my desk.
"They're from Riley," I tell her in an effort to brighten her mood. "Carmen brought them in a few minutes ago."
An actual blush spreads across her pale face, and although my jaw wants to drop open in shock, I keep it shut. Embarrassing her will just make her want to attack me more.
She clears her throat and quickly composes herself, tucking a strand of her black bob behind her ear. "I'll put them on my desk," she mutters. "Is there a reason why the spawn of satan was in the office?"
I bark out a laugh. "I told him he could sit in on the finance meetings after he helped me out in LA."
"And you seriously think that's a good idea? He's probably just trying a different motive to get leverage on the company. I know he's your brother, but you have to stop having a soft spot for him and thinking he's still the guy we knew in high school. He's nothing but a money-hungry leech now and you know it."
A loud sigh escapes me, hating the way she knows me too well. I miss the way my brother and I used to be, so maybe that's why I keep giving him chance after chance.
Changing the subject, I ask about the person I care about the most. "How is she doing?"
She smirks, placing a hand on her hip. "It's amazing when one badass female comes into contact with another. Call it inspiration, if you will."
Oh, god. I knew sending her over there was the wrong move.
"What did you say to her, Margo?"
She lets out a huff. "Sienna has every right to feel fragile, but she can't let her psychotic fucking ex win. She can't let him hold that kind of power over her. All I told her was what she already knew. She's strong and will overcome this, but staying in that house is only going to make her more depressed."
I arch a brow. "And what did she say?"
"She got off the couch and was in the shower by the time I left. I convinced her to come out tonight, thus the shower. It's Friday, and we could all use some drinks to let off some steam."
I hold my gaze with hers, trying to figure out how the hell she was able to accomplish all of this in a matter of an hour when I've been trying for months. Maybe I should have tried harder to get her to come out of the house, but after watching her go through firsthand what she did that night, I've been walking on eggshells around her, careful not to say or do anything that would trigger her.
"I promised her we'd have security at every entry and exit point wherever we choose to go," she says, reading my mind. "She's ready for this, Linc. If we don't save her now, I'm afraid we never will."
"And this has nothing to do with the fact that Riley will more than likely be attending this outing of ours?"
Her lips twitch, threatening a smile. "I'm not that heartless. Believe it or not, I care about her too." She turns to leave, but glances over her shoulder to add, "It is a plus though that Riley will be there."