Chapter 4: One small suggestion

ADRIAN

I was halfway through a stack of quarterly reports when a knock landed on my office door.

I didn’t look up immediately. "Come in."

The door opened, the way only one person in this building ever managed to do. Evander.

I finally lifted my gaze from the paperwork as he stepped inside with a tablet in his hand

"What’s my schedule concerning the hotel rebrand?" I asked, leaning back slightly in my chair.

He glanced down at his tablet. "I’ve rescheduled the follow-up meeting for two days from now with Elevate Agency."

I gave a small nod. "Good."

Right on cue, his voice came again, this time lighter, almost amused.

"Speaking of Elevate Agency…"

I paused.

He continued, "That was one fierce marketing strategist yesterday."

My pen stilled. I didn’t need to ask who he meant. My mind flicked back to her. Amelia if I remember her name correctly. Before the thought could fully settle, my phone rang.

I glanced at the screen. Irene.

I answered immediately, already gesturing for Evander to step out. "You can go."

He nodded once and left quietly as I brought the phone to my ear.

"Irene."

Her bright voice burst through the speaker immediately. "Big brother!"

Despite myself, the corner of my mouth lifted in a smile.

"How are you?" I asked.

"I’m good! I just got back from college," she said, sounding entirely too pleased with herself. "And Mom said it’s been forever since you came home."

I leaned back fully into my chair now, rubbing a hand across my jaw.

"That’s an exaggeration."

"It is not," she shot back quickly. "You’ve basically abandoned us for your companies."

I sighed. "I’ve actually been busy."

"You’re always busy," she muttered but there was no real heat behind it. That was Irene. She complained, but she never really held things against me.

Then her tone brightened again.

"Oh! And I’m planning my graduation party. You have to be there for my graduation."

"Your graduation is in what? Like four months away."

"Exactly," she said proudly. "Early planning."

A chuckle slipped out of me before I could stop it. Sometimes I really wondered how we had the same parents.

"Whatever you say," I murmured. "I’ll come by the house when I can."

"Promise?"

I hesitated for half a second, just long enough that I'm sure she noticed. "Yes."

She hummed, satisfied. She started to ramble about decorations and themes, she did most of the talking while I just listened.

Irene and I were opposites in almost every way.

She was sunlight, loud, warm. I was not. She filled rooms. I controlled them. Where she laughed easily, I calculated. Where she trusted quickly, well... I didn't. I was deliberately distant.

And the truth was… I didn’t have a problem with that. This version of me worked. It rebuilt an empire when there was a takeover attempt when my father was still in position. It kept people exactly where they were supposed to be.

Even now, I could see it, the way employees subtly straightened when I walked into a room. The quiet alertness that followed me through the building. The careful way people chose their words around me. I just felt respect came easier when people weren't too comfortable.

And yet… My twenty two year old sister, eight years younger than me, still challenged me like none of it mattered.

Her, my parents and Caden were the only people bold enough to challenge me sometimes.

There was another knock. I glanced toward the door just as it opened. As coincidence would have it Caden walked in. Right on time. He was like my right hand man.

"Irene," I said into the phone, already reaching for the end of the call, "I have to go. I’ll call you some other time."

"Don’t forget!" she warned.

"I won’t."

I ended the call and set the phone down just as Caden dropped casually into the chair across from my desk like he owned the place.

He didn’t but he was one of the few people bold enough to act like it.

"Tell me something useful," I said. "How is the acquisition of Harrington’s company coming?"

Caden’s easy expression shifted. Not good news.

"I don’t think they’ll sell," he said.

My eyes narrowed. "Explain."

He leaned back in the chair. "I got information from an internal source."

I waited.

He smirked faintly. "Apparently… they don’t want to sell to someone with your... reputation."

"My reputation?" I asked flatly.

"Yeah." He tilted his head. "Specifically… the arrogant playboy CEO part."

Playboy? My brows pulled together.

"That’s ridiculous."

He shrugged. "Maybe. But Harrington is old money. Very family-oriented. Word is he prefers doing business with men in stable, committed relationships."

I stared at him.

"My personal life has nothing to do with my ability to scale a company.That doesn’t even make sense."

"I didn’t say it did. But try telling that to a seventy year old billionaire who still thinks it's 1950"

Silence stretched between us.

Then Caden added, a little too casually, "If you really want the company… you might have a problem."

My jaw tightened slightly. This was ridiculous, too ridiculous. I did want the company. Badly.

It was a perfect fit. Which meant walking away wasn’t an option.

Caden watched me carefully before adding, "Look, if you really want the company, you might have to adjust strategy."

My eyes flicked to him. "Meaning?"

"I mean… you have been seen with multiple women."

My gaze snapped to him.

"Multiple women?" I repeated.

He winced just a little. "Well, when you put it like that, it sounds worse."

My expression hardened. Because the irritating part was, it wasn’t entirely wrong.

But most of the women I’d been involved with… They wanted something. Influence, money, access.

And the few who hadn’t? The one who actually did love me. They wanted something worse. Me.

Specifically, they wanted me to love them back. And I just… Couldn’t. It wasn’t cruelty. It wasn’t even intentional. It was just like reaching for something that simply wasn’t wired into me.

I wasn’t wired for that kind of attachment.

Caden raised both hands in mock surrender when my glare sharpened.

"I’m just saying. Unless you plan on falling in love in a like month's time, we’re stuck."

I exhaled slowly. Annoyed but thinking. Because one thing was certain. I was not losing Harrington’s company over something this… trivial.

Caden leaned forward, his voice turning sly.

"You know… there is another option."

I didn’t like that tone.

"Talk."

He pushed off the chair as he stood up. "Think about it. Worst case…" His grin turned knowing. "You fake a relationship. A serious one at that."

I gave him a flat look and he only laughed.

"I’ve got something to attend to," he added, already heading for the door. "We’ll talk later."

The door clicked shut behind him and silence returned. Slowly, I leaned back into my chair with my eyes drifting to the ceiling. Fake a relationship. The idea was absurd, unnecessary and inconvenient.

But yet... Thoughtful.