Irresistible Bachelors: Books 1-5 by Landish, Lauren (bts books to read TXT) 📕

I groan, putting my phone away. There are good and bad things about working for my brother. He’s taught me a lot, and that is something I’m grateful for. But still, part of me hates working for Oliver. He’s so ambitious, and sometimes it’s hard to keep up, present day included. I don’t know how he finds time for his family. He’s a machine.

I leave the mall and get in my car. On the way downtown, I have my windows and rag top down on my convertible Jag and let the wind ruffle my hair. The moon is out, huge and orange in the sky. It’s the kind of night that would be magical except I’ve fucked things up again.

It takes me just over twenty minutes to get to Oliver’s building. I gotta say it looks good. Mindy’s Place is on the first floor, and the small sign for his investment business is on the second floor of what’s still sometimes called the Flaming Dragon building. Despite the funky ass location name, business has been booming off the charts for Mindy. But right now, everything is dark and closed down. Parking out front, I go around the side and down the stairs to the basement, where I find the steel security door open and a dim light filtering underneath the swinging regular door.

I push my way through the door and see that the only light on is the long LED that illuminates what Oliver likes to call the ‘laboratory’, the metal table where he, Mindy, or others try to find new recipes. Oliver’s standing, his chest and head slightly shadowed as he turns toward me. I expected that, but I’m not expecting the guy sitting at the table waiting with him.

“Caleb?” I ask as he nods in greeting at me. “What are you doing here?”

Caleb Strong, my childhood best friend and one of the few I knew who stuck around in this small town. I haven’t talked to him in a couple of days, and he gives me a grin that I’ve known for years, the one that usually means just wait and you’ll see. “I’ll let Oliver explain.”

I nod and look over at Oliver, who gestures with his head. “Sit,” he commands.

I bristle, as I always do when he uses this tone with me. “Dude, what the fuck? I’m not your servant.”

I hate when he pulls the big bro shit on me. It might have worked when I was in my teens. But I’m a man now, and I don’t like being pushed around. Sure, he might have millions of dollars, and yeah, I work for him, but it’s nearly ten o’clock on a Friday night, and this isn’t the White House.

Oliver, as usual, gives zero fucks. “Sit,” he repeats.

I sit down just so we can get on with it. “I let him play big brother sometimes,” I tell Caleb, who only grins. He’s seen Oli and me bump heads before. He knows the game. I turn my attention to Oliver. “It’s Friday night. This couldn't wait?”

Oliver shakes his head. “I’ve been busting my butt, but this concerns us all. I've been waiting months for an answer on this. You needed to know now so you can rearrange your schedule.”

What the fuck is this? I mean, Oli’s always got a lot of projects going. He’s the sort of guy who loves having about a dozen irons in the fire, but he’s making it sound like a goddamn state secret. “My what?”

“How did the look at the property go?” he asks, cutting in before I can complete my question.

“No-go,” I reply. “The lady wasn’t looking to sell. She was looking for someone to talk to.”

Oliver frowns. “Oh, really? And what about the Gallino deal? That one fell through as well.”

“That was bad luck,” I say. “I couldn’t help the owner wanted to pull out at the last second.”

“Maybe . . . what about the Doughtry project?” Oliver asks. “We actually signed the contract on that one, only to find out afterward that the property wasn't zoned for what we wanted to develop it for. Now we’re sitting on the damn thing for another year or more while we wait for someone to look over our application.”

I shift in my seat, squaring my shoulders to display confidence. “We’ll still be able to get back our—”

“I’m getting worried, Tony,” Oliver says, cutting me off. You started off hot, man, but lately . . .” His voice trails off, but I get the message.

I can tell where he’s coming from. I used to be a major fuckup that loved to party. But those days are behind me. I’m not that guy anymore, with the credentials to prove it. Just lately, I’ve had a string of bad luck. “So I’ve hit a rough patch, Oli. Even you’ve told me that not every property, every business you’ve touched turns to gold.”

“I know,” Oliver says, then he chuckles. “Remember when I told you about my sure-fire plan on investing in that deal in Montana? I fucked that one up royally, so I know you can’t be perfect.”

“Exactly. Hell, I even got you that Lakeside deal for a helluva bargain. So what are you so worried about?”

“Relax, Tony,” Oliver says, “I know what you’re getting at. And I don’t think that. I respect you too much to beat around the bush. I don’t think you’re just slacking off. That’s why I want to send you to Hawaii.”

I frown in confusion. “Hawaii?”

“There’s a property there,” Oliver says, and for the next twenty minutes, he fills Caleb and me in about the place. Caleb knew the gist but not details. “Here’s the bottom line. Gavin and I both want to invest, to turn the property into something that can set both of our families up for life. Tony, if this deal goes right, the Steele family is going to have ‘fuck you’ money for generations.”

“I’m glad you have faith in me,” I say confidently. Oliver’s worry