Blown Away by Cheryl Douglas

He went to a lot of trouble to
apologize. I have to believe this nonsense about hiring you to fix
him up is just his way of getting close to you.”
    “I thought so
too, at first. But when we talked, I realized he was serious about
looking for a partner.”
    “Yeah, but
maybe he wants that to be you.”
    “Never!” Just
the thought of being in a committed relationship with a man like
Brent made her nervous. He would take over every area of her life…
if she let him.
    Tara placed a
hand on her friend’s shoulder. “I just want you to be sure you’re
making the right call. Once we set this in motion, there’s no
turning back. Think about how bad it would be for business if you
stole the boyfriend of one your clients.”
    Tara was right.
That would be a public relations nightmare. “I know what I’m
doing.” At least, she hoped she did.
     
    ***
     
    Keith walked
into Brent’s office without waiting for an invitation. “So tell me,
am I brilliant or what?”
    Brent couldn’t
tear his eyes away from his computer. “Get out, I’m busy.”
    “You always say
that.”
    “That’s because
I’m always busy. What do you think I do, sit here and twiddle my
goddamn thumbs all day waiting for money and opportunities to fall
out of the sky?”
    “Somebody’s in
a mood.” Keith chuckled as he walked to the bar. He poured water
into a crystal glass. “Things didn’t go as planned with Ava?”
    “I don’t know
what the hell to think.” Brent knew trying to convince his brother
Ava wasn’t the reason for his foul mood was pointless. Keith knew
him too well. “I went to her office, convinced her to take me on as
a client, gave her a blank check, and I haven’t heard from her
since. That was three days ago.” He’d felt as though he made
headway with her. They’d started to re-connect, as friends, and he
thought it was only a matter of time before she stopped seeing him
as a control freak and started to see him as a man she’d like to
get to know better.
    “You’re too
impatient. It’s only been a few days.”
    “It feels like
a lifetime.” He wasn’t used to just waiting. He believed in making
things happen.
    “Trust me,
it’ll work. You’ve got to give it time. Go out with the girls she
sets you up with, keep it platonic, and give her a list of reasons
why it’ll never work.”
    “What if I
can’t come up with any? What if they’re perfect?”
    “If they are,
you won’t even consider keeping it platonic,” Keith said, grinning.
“I know you.”
    “Man, this
isn’t funny.” If the shoe were on the other foot, he’d be cracking
jokes at his brother’s expense too, but he couldn’t find humor in
putting his heart on the line.
    “It is pretty
damn funny, if you think about. Your whole life women have been
killing themselves trying to nail you down. Then the one woman who
does it for you won’t give you the time of day.”
    That wasn’t
entirely true. She’d given him her body… twice. But he wouldn’t be
satisfied until he’d captured her heart. “I suggest you get back to
work unless you--” A soft tap on the door interrupted him. He
glanced at his watch. His gatekeeper was probably out for lunch.
“Come in.”
    When Brent’s
visitor entered, Brent and Keith exchanged a stunned look. Not
trusting himself to speak, Brent hoped his brother would be the one
to demand answers.
    “It’s been so
long,” she whispered, looking from Brent to Keith.
    “Not long
enough,” Brent finally said.
    “Please, I just
need a few moments of your time,” his mother said, her blue eyes
welling with tears. She turned to her younger son. “This is
important.”
    Brent leaned
back and kicked his feet up on a desk that cost more than most
people earned in a year. He was glad she’d come to see him in his
posh office in the high-rise office building he’d built on the
corner he owned. He felt like the king of his world, and she was a
lowly peasant.
    “I don’t have
time for you.” He bared his