Piece by Piece (Riggins Brothers 2)

“I loved it when you bought it, but I love it even more now. It looks great on you,” I tell her honestly.

“Thanks.”

“What the fuck are you wearing?” Royce’s deep voice echoes throughout the lobby area.

“Uh-oh, broody Royce,” I whisper, making Sawyer laugh.

“Sawyer,” Royce says, now standing next to her.

“Hey, babe.” She smiles up at him.

His eyes soften, which tells me that although he may be brooding over her outfit, the love he has for her outshines it all. “What is this?” he asks. His hand disappears where I can’t see it, and her body moves closer to his.

“It’s a new skirt. I bought it a couple of weeks ago when Layla and I went shopping.”

“Where’s the rest of it?” he asks.

The elevator dings and I turn to watch Conrad walk off. “Damn,” he says, fisting his hand and placing it in front of his mouth.

“Keep walking, Con,” Royce bites.

“Looking good, sis.” Conrad chuckles as he walks past us to head toward his office.

“You have to go home and change,” Royce tells her.

“What? I’m not going home to change.”

“Yes, you are. Sawyer, I can’t work knowing my brothers and every other man, hell, probably some women are ogling you.”

“They are not.” Sawyer shakes her head. “Conrad is just trying to get you worked up.”

“Well, he succeeded.”

“What did I miss?” Owen asks. “Conrad just walked past my office, laughing like a hyena.”

Sawyer loses control as a giggle escapes her lips. She quickly places her hand over her mouth when Royce glares at her. “You’re trying to kill me. That’s the only explanation.”

“What did you do, sis?” Owen asks her.

“He doesn’t like my skirt,” Sawyer explains.

“Fuck, babe. It’s not that I don’t like it. I fucking love it, and your ass and your legs look fucking edible. That’s what I don’t like. That other men get to see you like this.”

“Yeah, but I’m coming home with you.” She holds her hand up and wiggles her fingers, making her engagement ring sparkle in the light.

“Fuck,” Royce mutters. He rests his forehead against hers, and I force myself to look away, giving them their moment.

“I should be back here in time to take you home,” Owen says from beside me.

“If not, it’s fine. Sawyer already said that she would give me a ride home.”

“I hope this meeting doesn’t take all damn day.”

“Either way, I’ll see you when you get home.”

“I love that I get to come home to you.” He leans down and presses his lips to mine.

“Yeah, well, I love you,” I tell him.

“You ready?” Royce asks Owen.

“Yeah. Let’s get this day over with.”

“Exactly. We’ve met with this guy more times than I can count. He needs to either shit or get off the pot,” Royce grumbles.

“What is it for?” I ask. I’m still learning the ins and outs of the business.

“He’s the competition. His company is headed for bankruptcy. We’ve offered to buy him out, but he’s dragging his feet. The further he goes into the hole, the less our number for purchase is,” Owen explains.

“Today’s it,” Royce adds. “I’m done dealing with him. We were trying to be nice and give him a buyout. His only other option is to find someone else to do what we’ve been offering for months, or file bankruptcy.”

“Yikes.”

“Yep.” Owen leans down and kisses me again. “Have a good day, baby.”

“You too.” Sawyer and I watch them as they walk away.

“Damn, we are lucky,” Sawyer says, turning to face me.

“That we are. He took that well.”

She waves her hand in the air. “He’s a big softie. They all are.”

“I’m starting to see that.” The truth is, they all try to be hard, but spend five minutes with any of the Riggins brothers, and you’ll see that they are indeed soft-hearted and loving men.

“I better get to work. Lunch today?” she asks as the phone rings.

“Yes,” I say, waving to her. “Riggins Enterprises, this is Layla,” I answer. I hear nothing but hard breathing, louder this time than the previous calls. “Hello? Riggins Enterprises, this is Layla,” I say again. Nothing but more breathing greets me. I don’t have time to deal with these kids today. I have two reports for Grant to get done today, so I hang up. Putting the call out of my mind, I get to work. The office is quiet today with both Royce and Owen gone. Then again, maybe it’s just because I know Owen’s not just down the hall in his office. It’s really distracting at times knowing he’s so close, while I’m craving to be near him, but knowing it’s inappropriate at the office.

With the phones now quiet and two of the five brothers out of the office, I’m able to get lost in the reports I’m doing for Grant. I don’t even realize what time it is until I see Sawyer’s shadow fall over my desk.