CHAPTERSEVEN
Bran
There was no doubt that I was spoiled. Money allowed me to do and have what I wanted when I wanted it, usually. But sometimes, when life wasn’t going as planned, I found it extremely frustrating. Like finding a surrogate to carry my child.
Why the fuck was that so hard?
The profiles of women the agency sent me were all solid choices, and yet, I couldn’t picture anyone but Anne.
Why was that woman under my skin?
Then there was my sister, Harper. Why wouldn’t she talk to me?
Maybe I overstepped, but it was because I loved her and wanted to keep her safe.
I was scrolling through my emails at the office when I came across one from the private investigation firm that I hired to keep tabs on Harper.
Yes, I knew Harper would flip out if she knew. Especially since I’d hired them back when she was fifteen.
While I’d respect her desire not to see me, that didn’t mean I wasn’t going to continue to look out for her. It wasn’t that long ago she had a stalker, so I didn't feel I was being unreasonable in my actions.
My sister was the trifecta when it came to the ideal woman. She was beautiful, rich, and charming.
And she had a fourth attribute; she had a link to me. Her stalker became obsessed with her, but it started when he thought he could use her to do a business deal with me.
Because of all that, it was my job to make sure no one took advantage of her.
Report: Harper Erickson
Ms. Erickson continues to live in her condo but has been meeting with Realtors with MacLeod Capital Investment.
Hmm. Why was she doing that? She had a great condo in a gated community. Granted, her stalker had managed to get inside the gate, and I hated that it was my fault for not hiring someone to keep an eye on him like Archer Graves had been doing.
Admittedly, I felt guilty that it had been his girlfriend the stalker had taken, even as I was grateful that he’d never reached my sister. I’d arranged extra security for her condo and her, although of course, without her knowing.
So why was she planning to move?
Deciding it was time to confront her, I checked the time and grabbed my coat. I knew from my reports that Harper frequently visited a coffee shop down the street from her. She’d invested in it.
At the time, I wasn’t sure it was a smart idea, but the owners had more than doubled their projected proceeds.
Harper had talked about investing in some scheme with Anne, and I was glad that had fallen through. While I questioned Anne’s business acumen, mostly I worried her father and brother would do something to hinder its success. It was a well-known secret that anyone in her father’s circle of friends and colleagues weren’t to hire Anne.
For a time, I wondered what she’d done to earn that sort of ire, but now I was thinking it was her father and Peter just being the assholes I knew they were. It made me feel sorry for her.
At the same time, she’d turned down ten million dollars, so maybe she wasn’t as smart as I thought she was.
I had my driver take me over to the coffee shop and did my best to make it look like my being there was by chance. When I arrived, she wasn’t there, but I ordered a coffee and cookie and sat down at one of the tables. I just beginning to think she wasn’t going to come today, when the door opened, and she walked in.
“I’m here for my double espresso mocha and snickerdoodle,” she announced.
“Ah, my favorite patron,” the middle-aged woman who’d helped me responded.
Harper scanned the café, and her smile immediately dropped when she saw me. “Tell me you spit in his coffee,” she told the woman.
The woman’s brow lifted. “Ah…no. Was I supposed to?”
God, did she really spit in people’s coffee?