Everything in his life had been coated with a transience that had forced him to create a bubble around himself. Because if he get didn’t attached in the first place, he wouldn’t feel the loss. The logic was absurdly simple.
But for some reason, right from the very beginning, he’d detested the interest Elise garnered from every single person she came into contact with. Acknowledging the curious problem privately to himself hadn’t seen it diminish. Getting a taste of her last night and then being forced to walk away, after realising just how transient she was, had done something to him. He couldn’t place his finger on what it was, save for the knowledge that she’d stirred something so powerful and turbulent within him, he hadn’t been able to concentrate worth a damn all day.
Seeing her standing next to his brother, Gael’s barely disguised interest in her visible even across the space between them, Alejandro wanted to breach the distance, claim her by branding his name on the skin she didn’t have any qualms about exposing, in the most blatant way possible. That bubble of self-denial he’d existed in was gone, leaving a stone labelled Need in his gut, which seemed to grow heavier with each second.
Dios. This was beyond unacceptable.
‘Did you want something, Alejandro?’ Elise said, her chin lifted in challenge.
‘Other than to request that you be at your desk where you’re supposed to be?’
Her eyes darkened, her gaze flickering to Gael with a touch of embarrassment. A second later, her lips pursed. ‘Sorry, my bad. I thought the shackles attached to my desk were for decorative purposes only. Let me change out of my running gear and I’ll get back on the workhorse.’
He caught Gael’s low chuckle, but he couldn’t look at his brother. Not when the sight of Elise approaching ripped his senses wide open with voracious hunger, reminding him of her scent, her responsiveness beneath his touch.
He dragged his gaze from her hips, forced his scrutiny up past her luscious breasts, her slender neck, to her face, and locked his knees to remain upright.
Every day since her first day at SNV, she’d arrived fully but impeccably made-up. Today, her face held the barest hint of artificial colour. Her skin glowed with a natural beauty, her eyes even more vivid without the added frills.
Gael had seen her like this first...
Irrational, primitive jealousy threatened to shame him, but it was shoved aside by other emotions rippling through him.
Emotions that involved his brother.
His eyes finally shifted to Gael. Lingered against his will. A tug pulled at him deep inside. In the decade since they’d last seen each other, his brother had grown in resemblance to the man Alejandro himself saw every day when he looked in the mirror.
A carbon copy of their father. The man who’d betrayed his family over and over again.
He admitted to himself that the resemblance made it hard for him to look at Gael. Alejandro also admitted it might have contributed to him leaving California all those years ago. Acceptance of that flaw made him swallow. And wish he’d never sent that email suggesting a meeting.
‘I’m here, Andro,’ Gael stated when they were six feet from each other. ‘Are we going to waste the day imitating a Mexican standoff or are you going to make me an offer I can’t refuse?’
Alejandro thrust his clenched fists into his pockets, willing his gaze not to stray to Elise as she walked past and headed for the changing room. When the door swung shut behind her, he narrowed his eyes at his brother. ‘We’ll take the meeting in my office. And don’t call me that.’
Gael’s lips pursed as he fell into step beside him. ‘Still as touchy as ever, I see. It’s surprising you’ve managed to pull off a few impressive deals over the years while wearing your emotions on your sleeve.’
Alejandro slammed his office door and faced Gael. ‘What the hell are you talking about?’ he snapped.
‘It’s obvious you have a thing for that gorgeous creature out there, and don’t bother denying it. For a second there, you looked ready to drop kick me. I’m guessing the rumours about you being a shark in the boardroom are false, then?’ Gael taunted.
Alejandro forced his shoulders to relax. Going to the drinks cabinet, he poured two shots of single malt whisky and held one out to Gael. His brother accepted his with one raised eyebrow, but didn’t drink it.
Alejandro downed his in one go, memories of last night almost pushing him into slamming the glass down. ‘There’s nothing going on between Elise and I. She’s here to do a specific job. Once her usefulness is expended, she’ll be duly compensated and disposed of. End of story.’
Gael gave a low whistle as he strolled confidently to the window. ‘Consider my concerns about your softness revised.’ He appreciated the view for a long minute, then turned. ‘I don’t intend to back down on the Japanese deal. Toredo needs this deal—’
‘Your company specialises in offering streaming media and cloud-based services. It’s not an e-commerce outfit like mine or Ishikawa Corp. There are a dozen companies you can merge with that better suit your business—’
‘But none with a similar foothold in Asia,’ Gael countered. ‘This has the potential to be the perfect merger for me to combine e-commerce with streaming media.’ He shrugged. ‘I’m yet to be convinced there’s a downside to it.’
Alejandro pursed his lips. ‘I’ll repeat what I said to you yesterday.’ The bite of further frustration made him slash a hand through his hair, uncaring whether the sign made him appear anything other than in total control. ‘There will be other deals. I’ll help you secure the next one, if you need it. Walk away from this one.’
Gael’s lips curled and his fingers tightened around the glass. ‘I haven’t asked for or needed your aid for a long time, not since I came to you for help in finding my mother when I was thirteen and you turned me down flat.’
Another tug in his chest, this time one he recognised as guilt, made him tense, even while his frustration grew. ‘You accuse me of being soft, and yet you can’t seem to let go of the past. I didn’t want to get involved in your mess then, and I want to even less now.’
Gael’s jaw clenched. ‘You knew where she was, Andro. Despite our father lying through his teeth that he wasn’t with her, you knew they were shacked up in that godforsaken apartment he kept on the side for his mistresses. For three weeks, I had to live with not knowing whether she was alive or dead.’
Alejandro’s face stiffened, his whole body numb as he held himself rigidly in the present. ‘You found her in the end, did you not?’ he bit out.
‘No thanks to you. You made it clear then that I was nothing to you. That you didn’t even want the whiff of this bastard brother anywhere near you. I got the message loud and clear.’
Alejandro gritted his teeth. ‘Regardless of what your imagination conjured up, I had my hands full with other matters.’ Like keeping his mother from going off the deep end when she realised once again that her husband’s promises of fidelity meant nothing.
Gael’s mouth twisted as he set the glass down without drinking the whisky. ‘Sí, ensuring your popularity as the school’s soccer star was firmly in place so you could continue dating the hottest girls was much more important than helping me out when I needed it. If your best offer is to tell me to walk away, then this meeting has been a colossal waste of my time.’ He flicked a glance at his watch. ‘I guess I’ll be on my way. Thanks for the drink.’
Quick strides saw him at the door before Alejandro exhaled. ‘What will it take?’
Gael froze. ‘Que?’
‘For you to drop this deal. What will it take?’
His brother’s hazel eyes turned a dark, dangerous green. ‘We’re blood, Andro.