The Fight In Us: A Brother's Best Friend College Romance (The Four Book 4) by Becca Steele (little readers .txt) 📕

None of us mentioned the other elephant in the room. The other person who had been there for Lena. James’ cousin, Tim Hyde, who had passed away in a tragic accident. But we were all sorry. Sorry about all the animosity between our families. Maybe if things had been different, if our families hadn’t been pitted against one another as rivals, we might have been friends.

Maybe.

We sat in a kind of awkward silence for a couple of minutes, before Caiden sighed loudly. “Arsenal’s chances aren’t looking very good after Sunday’s performance.”

James raised a brow. “Sorry, were you watching the same match I was, Chelsea boy? Your team can’t even manage one match without someone pretending to be injured.”

Then, somehow, we managed to spend the next thirty minutes in a light-hearted discussion about football, and Caiden and James managed not to kill each other.

It was a miracle.

Outside the main office of Alstone Holdings, Caiden and I leaned against a wall and tried to work out a plan of action.

“Okay, the car park has cameras, so we can’t do anything suspicious. I’m thinking we wait till Smith comes out, then follow him into the car park, and then I can get his plates. From there, I should be able to get his address details.”

Cade nodded. “This would be so much easier if we just asked Dad, you know.”

“I know, but I don’t want him involved. The fact he’s even hired Kryptos to begin with means he wants to keep this quiet.”

“Yeah, I know.” He glanced at me. “Do you even know what this guy looks like?”

“I have his company ID photo…” I thumbed through my phone to find it. “It’s kind of grainy, though.”

We both studied the image. A headshot of a grey-haired guy, nondescript, wearing glasses with thin wire rims.

“Hmm. We need to get a closer look. Let’s go inside.” Before I could reply, Caiden was strolling confidently through the doors of Alstone Holdings, and I had no choice but to follow him.

“Afternoon, Darren.” He inclined his head at the security guy standing next to the front desk. “Is my dad in?”

Darren stared at him, bemused, but he nodded. “What are you doing here?”

It was a fair question. We hadn’t exactly shown up here unannounced before, so I guess our sudden appearance was a surprise.

“Didn’t you hear? It’s bring your kids to work day,” I threw in, and Darren gave me an unimpressed look.

“I must’ve missed that memo.”

“Whatever. Are you going to let us in, or do I need to call my dad?” Caiden made a show out of pulling his phone from his pocket.

“No, no need to do that,” he said hastily, swiping his card to let us up. “Cathy, will you call Mr. Cavendish and let him know his sons are here to see him?”

The receptionist nodded, and I gave her a cheeky wink, making her blush.

“Do you have to flirt with every woman you see?” Caiden muttered, shaking his head at me.

“Yep.”

While Caiden headed in the direction of my dad’s office, I slowed my steps, discreetly attempting to peer into various offices, but there were so many rooms and desks it was like looking for a needle in a haystack.

I stared around me, spotting the water cooler in the corner of the room. A young, pretty woman stood in front of it, filling a bottle.

Perfect.

“Hi.” I stopped in front of her, giving her my most charming smile. She smiled and blushed.

“Hi.” She gave me a thorough once-over, and I grinned. This would be easy. I hoped. “You don’t work here.”

“What gave it away?” I stepped closer. “My lack of a suit?”

“That, and the fact that you look like a model. You’re far too gorgeous to be stuck working in an office.”

I laughed at that. If only she knew that she was talking to one of the heirs to Alstone Holdings. This would be my workplace as soon as I graduated from Alstone College. Since she hadn’t recognised me, I could only surmise that she was new.

“I could say the same about you.” I widened my grin, piling on the charm as she blushed again. “Would you be able to help me with something? I’m looking for an employee. A Mr. Martin Smith, works in finance. Would you happen to know where I could find him?”

At her enthusiastic nod, I almost sighed in relief but stopped myself at the last minute. “His office is through those doors there—” She pointed to the doors at the corner of the room. “—and down the corridor. Second door on the right, I think.”

“Thank you.” Backing away from her now that I had the information I wanted, I blew her a kiss and turned away.

When I was out in the corridor, I was suddenly struck with the thought that I hadn’t been interested in her. At all. My dick hadn’t even stirred, and she’d been young and gorgeous; normally, that would be enough for me to at least get her number. I frowned. When was the last time a girl had made my dick hard? When was the last time I’d been with a girl?

Fuck. I slumped against the wall, scrubbing my hand over my face. The answer to the first question was Lena…and I guess that also answered my second question.

I was in big trouble.

But I couldn’t think about that now. I had a shady finance guy to catch.

His office was easy enough to find, now I knew where it was. Making a snap decision, I knocked at the door. At the muffled “come in,” I swung the door wide and took a good look at him. Grey, swept-back hair, those thin, wire-rimmed glasses perched on a slightly hooked nose, and harsh lines on his face making him appear severe. My senses immediately went on to high alert. Maybe it was just a gut feeling, but there was something off about this guy.

“Sorry, wrong room.” I closed the door as quickly as I could and headed off to