Rebel (Wolfes of Manhattan 1)

“No,” I said. “You do what you want to do. There’s no reason for all of us to suffer.” I turned to Roy. “You too. Keep working at your art. Someone’s bound to discover your talent someday.”

“That’s big of you, bro,” Reid said.

“You sound surprised,” I said. “Though you may think the worst of me for staying away all these years, I’m not a bastard like that jerk who fathered us. But I do have my condition. And that rests with Lacey.”8LaceyAll eyes gazed at me.

I wasn’t going to be Rock Wolfe’s tool. We had only just met, despite the quickie in my office, and he wasn’t going to drag me into this.

“You come work for our company,” Rock said.

“You’re nuts.”

“I agree, Rock,” Reid said. “Lacey’s a great lawyer, but she’s an estate attorney. We have no need for her at the company.”

“I told you. I’m hiring her as my personal counsel. She comes along or no deal.”

“You’re not being fair,” I said. “I only drafted the will, for God’s sake. I’m not to blame here.”

“You couldn’t talk my father out of this hare-brained scheme,” Reid said.

“You’re siding with him?” I shook my head. “Your brother has lost his mind.”

“I’m siding with keeping the company in the family,” Reid said. “All of us get that Rock’s life has been hijacked here. It’s not fair to any of us.”

“Yeah, well, I’m not part of the family. This has nothing to do with me.”

“Not fair to any of us, Reid? I’m pretty sure I’ve cornered the market on getting shit on here.” Rock stood, his green eyes full of fire. “You and I need to talk, Lacey. Now. In private.”

“I don’t see what we—”

“I said now.” He grabbed my arm and pulled me into a stand.

I tried to ignore the sparks from his touch. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”

“Hear me out,” he said, and then he walked outside the bar.

I looked at Roy, Reid, and Riley. “What exactly is going on here?”

“How would we know?” Riley said, still seeming distant. “We know our brother about as well as you do. He’s a stranger to us. Reid’s the only one who’s had any contact with him.”

“Yeah, and it’s been very little contact,” Reid agreed.

“I’m not taking a job with your company,” I said. “I don’t have the qualifications.”

“He’s just blowing off steam,” Roy said. “Talk to him. He’ll see reason. He’s a smart man. A little bit of a loose cannon, but he’s not irrational. He’s just had his whole life upended.”

“Fine. Wait here.” I walked out of the bar and into the lobby of the office building.

Rock was leaning against a wall near the restrooms in the lobby. He’d purposefully gone out of the way. Clearly he wanted privacy.

“What took you so long?” he said as I approached.

I ignored him. “What do you want?”

“This.” He pulled me to him and smashed his mouth into mine.

I opened without thinking. We were slightly secluded, but if any of the Wolfe siblings walked out of the bar to use the bathroom—

I pulled away, breaking the kiss with a loud smack.

“What’s wrong? You were kissing me back.”

“This is my office building,” I said.

“Yeah. And we just fucked upstairs in your office. What’s a little kiss in the lobby?”

I willed my body to stop responding. Didn’t work. My nipples were hard knobs poking against the lace of my bra. My bare pussy—he’d destroyed my thong earlier—pulsed between my legs. I wanted to continue that kiss, wanted so much more…

“This is where I work, Rock.”

“Correction. This is where you worked.”

“You’re insane.” I inched away from him, flattening my hands on the wall.

“I’ve always been a little crazy,” he said.

“That appears to be an understatement.” I cleared my throat. “I’m happy where I am with my firm. I’m a partner now, and my client base is growing. I don’t want to leave. And I’m not qualif—”

“Stop saying that. You’re an attorney, aren’t you? You’re perfectly qualified to be someone’s personal counsel.”

“Is it a personal counsel you want? Or a personal fuck buddy?”

“Well…” He grinned.

“I figured. Then what happens when you get tired of me? When you want a new flavor of the month? Or week?”

“What makes you think I’ll get tired of you?”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “Have you ever been in a relationship, Rock?”

“What’s that got to do with anything? Did I ask you for a relationship?”

Damn. Anvil in the belly. I hardly knew the man, but those words stung me like a hornet.

“No, but—”

“No buts. This is a make it or break it situation. You come along for the ride, or I don’t do this.”

“Why would you do this to me? I’ve never done anything to you. You’re making me responsible for the well-being of your family. That’s not fair.”

“It’s not fair that my father did it to me either.”