Against All Odds (A Brook Brothers Novel Book 2) Read online

  “I’m good,” Jax replied. “Besides, you’ve done a full day already.”

  “No more than you, and you’re still going.”

  “It’s all good. I’m actually thrilled to be back at the helm. I’m only covering the bar tonight and tomorrow. Isa will be back from vacation then, so she’ll be able to take over the evening shift.” He finished serving a customer then set a glass of Barolo in front of Calum. “How was your first day back?”

  For some reason, Calum didn’t want to share his thoughts about Laurella with Jax. Cole was a different matter. His twin knew the right things to say to keep him calm. Jax would ask too many questions and get his back up.

  “Good. It was great to see everyone.”

  Jax nodded. “It’s where you belong. I don’t think hotel management quite suits you.”

  Calum painted on a faux-aggrieved expression. “How could you say that? The guests love me.”

  Jax laughed and stepped to one side to serve another customer. Calum glanced around. Every table was taken up with guests of the hotel and some nonresidents. Early indications were that Jax was going to make a real success of this business. Calum had been the first to share his skepticism about this venture in the beginning, before the renovation had been completed. However, if bookings continued at their current rate and the buzz about the place didn’t let up, his brother would have a winner on his hands. That kind of success was no more than he deserved.

  As the clock edged toward nine, more customers arrived, and Jax barely had a minute to breathe.

  “Let me help.” Calum got down from his chair.

  “No need.” Jax pointed his chin toward the entranceway. “My cavalry is here.”

  Calum glanced over his shoulder. His gaze sliced to Jax’s girlfriend as she walked toward them, and he clenched his jaw. Fucking India. Jax may have forgiven her for almost getting him killed and nearly succeeding in ruining them financially, but Calum was a long way from that. Jax was blind when it came to her, but as sucking Calum’s cock to secure his forgiveness wasn’t exactly on the table, India would have to use different tactics to get him to look at her with anything other than barely veiled hatred.

  “I’m so sorry,” she gushed, tossing her purse and coat behind the bar. “I tried to get here earlier, but work has been crazy.”

  “You’re here now.” Jax’s eyes filled with adoration, and he bent down for a kiss. “That’s all that matters.”

  “Yeah, that’s all that matters,” Calum repeated, his tone laden with sarcasm. “Well, seeing as you don’t need me, I’ll be off.”

  He stomped out, but before he reached the door that led to their private quarters, India appeared behind him.

  “Calum, wait,” she called out.

  Yanking open the door, he jogged downstairs. The damn woman followed him. He stalked into the living room and turned around, hands planted on his hips, eyes narrowed. He glared at her. “I thought you were helping Jax. So fuck off back upstairs and do what you came to do.”

  She met his venomous gaze with one of her own. “This can’t go on, Calum. You need to face facts. I’m going nowhere, and as you aren’t either”—she gestured between them—“we have to figure this out.”

  He stepped toward her. To her credit, India stood her ground when Calum got right up in her face. “I don’t have to do anything—not where you’re concerned.” He laughed, the sound short and bitter. “You might have Jax conned, but you don’t fool me. After what you did, how he can bear to look at you—let alone stick his cock inside you—is beyond me.”

  The slap to his face sent a ringing sound ricocheting off the walls. Despite the sting, Calum didn’t touch his cheek. Anger and adrenaline rushed through his body, and the muscles in his legs quivered.

  “That’s a freebie.” He moved in closer, which brought them nose to nose. “Next time, I’ll return the favor.”

  “I’ll bet you will,” she sneered. “Hitting women is something you’re sadistic enough to get off on, right? Calum Brook—thinks he’s a big shot. In reality, you’re just a bully. Well, go and find someone else to pick on, Calum, because you don’t scare me.”

  “No?” he said, his voice menacingly low. “You should be scared, sweetheart.”

  Despite her bravado, India’s bottom lip quivered. She bit down, but too late. She’d shown her hand. “If you bothered to listen—and I mean really listen—to the full story, you might be more understanding.”

  Calum snorted, turned his back, and strode across the living room. He grabbed another beer from the fridge—without offering her one. He twisted off the cap and flicked it in her direction. It bounced harmlessly off the wall behind her head, but she flinched regardless.

  “Go on, then.” Derision laced his tone. “I’ll give you airtime. Five minutes to prove to me you’re not a manipulative bitch who set my brother up and almost got him killed.”

  Her chin fell to her chest. “I never meant for Jax to get hurt. Not like that. But Phil—”

  “Oh, here we go again. I guess it’s easy to blame a dead guy. Your brother might have been crazy as fuck, but at least he owned his part in your little scheme. Yet you stand there, pretending like you didn’t have a mind of your own. I don’t buy it, India, but go on. Do your best to convince me you’re the innocent party.”

  A flush crept up her neck, inching over her jaw, bleeding into her cheeks. “What’s the point?” she said with a slow shake of her head. “You’ll believe what you want to believe.”

  She went to leave then paused on the threshold and glanced over her shoulder. “Like I said, Calum, I’m going nowhere. Jax has forgiven me, and we’re together. The sooner you accept that, the easier this situation will be for all of us.”

  Before he could think up a suitable retort that didn’t involve the words fuck and off, India spun on her heel and left. Her footsteps sounded on the carpeting as she jogged upstairs, then came the slam of a door, and silence.

  Calum stared at the empty space she’d occupied until five seconds before. She sure knew how to press his buttons, but she was right about one thing—Jax was completely smitten. Sooner or later, Calum would have to call time on his antipathy toward her, for the sake of his relationship with his brother. When Calum had made to leave a few minutes earlier, he hadn’t missed the pleading in Jax’s eyes, and no doubt, they’d have an argument about his treatment of India as soon as Jax closed up for the night.

  With a heavy sigh, Calum flopped onto the couch. The beginnings of a headache pounded behind his eyes, and he closed them for a moment, pinching the bridge of his nose with a thumb and forefinger.

  He reached for his iPad. He’d meant to do more digging on Laurella Ricci before going back to work, but apart from a brief review when Zane had told him he’d hired her, Calum had been too busy. As Jax could no doubt testify, running a hotel didn’t leave much spare time.

  He started his search in Google. After thirty minutes, he’d managed to glean that she was one of six siblings—three brothers, two sisters. Laurella had been born and raised in Milan, but her British mother had made sure she’d received English lessons from a very early age, which no doubt accounted for her near-flawless command of the language. Well, that and the fact she’d attended Harvard Business School, gaining a double major in business administration and marketing after four years. This pissed him off even more because such an achievement reaffirmed her brilliance.

  From there, she’d returned to Italy where, for the past seven years, she’d gradually worked her way up at Spirito, ending her career there as second-in-command to the marketing director. And now, at the age of thirty, two years older than him, she’d turned up on his doorstep to make his life a goddamn misery.

  He cast his iPad to one side. Something told him that getting rid of Laurella Ricci wasn’t going to be as easy as he’d first imagined. Still, understanding the enemy was the first step. Next step? Get creative.

  Chapter 4

  After a night of tossing and turning,
Calum arrived at the office in a foul mood—which got a hell of a lot worse when he found Laurella Ricci sitting behind his desk. For fuck’s sake. First she’d stolen his chair in the boardroom, and now the damn woman was pissing all over his office, metaphorically speaking.

  “What do you want?” He slammed his briefcase on top of his desk and walked around to where she was sitting. He glared down at her, hands on his hips.

  Laurella uncrossed her legs, the movement drawing his attention. With considerable effort, he forced his gaze upward. It didn’t matter how shapely her legs were or how good they looked in heels. She wasn’t going to be in her position long enough for him to care one way or the other.

  Laurella eased to her feet and stepped aside. “To talk to you.”

  Calum sat in the recently vacated chair, and the heat from Laurella’s body warmed his ass—almost as if they were touching. A slight tremor ran through him. Disgust… or desire? Cole’s words from the previous night came back to haunt him. He was not attracted to Laurella Ricci. Sure, she had a smoking figure. Even a monk would give a second glance at a woman with a body like hers, but what use was physical attractiveness when he couldn’t stand the woman?

  He painted on a bored expression. “About what?”

  She sat in his guest chair and refolded those slender legs finished off with expensive-looking shoes. He had to hand it to her—she oozed class and style.

  “I feel like we got off on the wrong foot yesterday. I’m here to suggest a fresh start.”

  Calum narrowed his gaze. “What makes you think we got off on the wrong foot?”

  She smiled. “You honestly want me to answer that?”

  When he remained silent, his eyes hooded while he waited for her to make her next move, she quietly sighed. “I know that marketing and sales often have a… tempestuous relationship. But it doesn’t have to be that way. At my last company, the sales team and I found a way to work together toward a common goal. Can’t we agree to that for Zane’s sake? For the sake of Necron?”

  “Why did you leave?” he asked, ignoring her plea for peace. If she thought he was going to make it easy for her, she was living in la-la land. “How can Necron possibly hope to compete with a company with the size and history of Spirito?”

  She brushed at an imaginary piece of fluff on her stylish suit before raising her head. Her eyes held an emotion he couldn’t read, but when he peered closer, her gaze became shuttered. “I needed a new challenge.”

  He snorted. “That’s it?”

  She jutted her chin, clearly annoyed by his dismissal of her reasoning. “Yes. That’s it. I’d been at Spirito since I left Harvard seven years ago. I could have stayed, waited for the current marketing director to leave, but that might take years.” She leaned toward him. “I’m good at what I do, Calum. Actually, I’m better than good. If we work together, rather than in direct competition, we can really take this company places.”

  He raised his eyebrows at her confident play. He, too, leaned forward, mirroring her posture, except that he also placed his hands flat on the desk in an assertive manner. “This company was going places before you. It will still be going places after you’ve gone.”

  Realization of his underlying threat swept across her face, and then her features hardened. She pressed her lips together. “If that’s how it’s to be.” She flicked her midnight-black hair over her shoulder, rose from her chair, and smoothed a hand down her shirt. “You want a fight, Calum?” She rested the tips of her fingers on his desk. “You’ve got one.”

  Calum’s lips curved upward. He picked up his empty mug and raised it to her. “I look forward to it, sweetheart.”

  She straightened. A ripple of excitement surged through him as he met her furious gaze. Sparring was in his blood. He lived for it. And although Laurella Ricci was clearly going to be a worthy opponent, there would only be one winner.

  “Stronzo,” she muttered before spinning on her heel. She left his office, slamming the door behind her. The glass on either side rattled.

  He tried for a triumphant grin, but for some reason, his lips wouldn’t move. What the fuck did stronzo mean? He’d bet it wasn’t complimentary, especially considering the way she’d almost spat the word. He typed it into Google and waited for the search engine to return the results. When it did, he ground his teeth.

  She’d called him an asshole. Still, he’d been called worse.

  A tightening sensation gripped his chest. Must be heartburn. He reached into the drawer to his right and took out a bottle of Pepto-Bismol, drinking a dose straight from the bottle.

  Zane’s head poked around Calum’s door. “Got a minute?”

  “Sure,” Calum said, replacing the bottle of pink liquid and shutting the drawer.

  “Everything okay?” Zane asked with a concerned head tilt.

  “Yeah, fine. I must have eaten something that disagreed with me.”

  Or you want to eat something that disagrees with you.

  Zane took a seat as Calum forced the unsolicited thought from his mind.

  “I just saw Laurella stomping down the corridor. What gives?”

  Calum ruffled the top of his head. “She is one frustrating woman.” But oh so hot when she’s angry. He shifted uncomfortably. For fuck’s sake. His dick needed to take a goddamn vacation.

  Zane laughed. “She’s Italian. You’ll get used to her.”

  “Don’t bank on it.”

  The laughter drained from Zane’s eyes. “Is there something I should know?”

  Calum hesitated. Zane might be his best friend, but he still owned the company. Best to go for a half-baked response.

  “She’s a marketer. You must have known when you brought her in that she and I were going to clash.”

  Zane expelled a frustrated breath. “Give her a chance, Calum. You’ve been a fantastic support to me and helped grow this company these past five years, but you and I both know we’ve taken Necron as far as we can without bringing in new talent.”

  “If you want to bring in new talent, then why don’t we hire some young, hungry interns? They’ll work for a pittance and slave away like dogs.”

  “Because I need experience. Laurella was responsible for some phenomenal achievements at Spirito throughout the last seven years. If she replicates even a fraction of that success here, this company will grow exponentially.” Zane rubbed his thumb over his fingertips. “You’re a shareholder. Think of the money.”

  Calum grinned. “You always did know how to motivate me.”

  Zane stood. “Try to get along with her, for the well-being of Necron if not for my sanity. Undoubtedly, there will be times when you’ll disagree, but you’re a professional, as is she. Work it out.”

  “I’ll do my best not to kill her,” Calum said, softening his tone for Zane’s benefit.

  Zane laughed then crossed to the door. “I’m more worried that she’ll kill you.”

  Calum stared at the closed door for a few moments then leaned back in his chair and glanced out the window. He was going to murder Cole for putting stupid thoughts in his head, because now he couldn’t shut them off. He needed to think about Laurella differently. Perhaps he could think of her as an attractive sculpture that he could look at and admire for its external beauty—even if it was the last thing he’d want next to him in bed.

  He tongued his top teeth. Working with her was going to be the equivalent of having pins pushed underneath his fingernails. Fucking torturous.

  Chapter 5

  Calum counted four separate huge arguments with Laurella during the following month. They bickered over everything. Strategy, direction, pricing, deals, offers. In fact, the only thing they could agree on was that they hated each other. Despite promising Zane he’d try, she had a special skill for doing the complete opposite of what Calum thought was the right thing, and he couldn’t keep his mouth shut—or turn a blind eye.

  Finally, when Zane had asked if he wouldn’t mind preparing a financial review on a project Laurella had
presented to Zane earlier that week, Calum jumped at the chance. Zane wasn’t sure her idea would work, and if Calum had his way, he’d make sure it failed spectacularly.

  He spent the entire weekend working on the report. He couldn’t keep the smile off of his face when he hit Send late on Sunday evening. The report concluded that her project wouldn’t make money.

  He arrived at the office early the following morning, keen to go over his findings with Zane. He grabbed two coffees from the deli across the street, hung up his coat, then headed to Zane’s office. He nudged it open with his hip.

  “Morning.” He placed a coffee and a bunch of sugar packets on Zane’s side of the desk.

  Zane removed the plastic lid and added three sugars. “Lifesaver.”

  “When you hit thirty, you’re going to regret pumping all that sugar into your body.” Calum made a motion with his hands as if rubbing a fat belly.

  Zane laughed. “We can’t all have bodies like temples.”

  “Doesn’t come for free,” Calum said, smoothing a hand over his abdomen. “But the benefits make the hours in the gym worthwhile.”

  “Some of us are happy with just one woman,” Zane said, referring to his girlfriend, Brienne.

  Calum snorted. “Not for me, my friend. I’ve always preferred the variety of a buffet.”

  Zane laughed again. “One of these days, you’ll get sucker-punched, and bam!” He clapped his hands together. “A woman you never saw coming will have you down the aisle before you can blink.”

  “You’re clearly mistaking me for someone else,” Calum said.

  Zane wagged his finger. “We all fall in the end. You won’t be any different.”

  “Maybe… when I’m like, fifty. Until then, it’s all-you-can-eat for me.”

  “I give up,” Zane said, turning his attention to his laptop. “Now, about this report you sent last night.”

  Calum grinned, pulled out a chair, and sat. “It’s a good idea, but in its current format, it won’t work.”