“Jamison is getting married this weekend, and he’ll be gone on his honeymoon for three months,” I reminded him. “We need this merger to go through before the fiscal year ends.”
“Okayyy,” he dragged out the word. “But why a dinner meeting? This couldn’t have been done during lunch?”
My gaze had wandered to the floor-to-ceiling windows across the room from me, and I meandered over to them. My eyes dropped down the forty-five floors below us to search out the view of Battery Park. We were too far for me to really see who and what was there. But it didn’t stop me from studying the scene in the hope of spotting her. “I’m not available for lunch meetings,” I finally responded, scarcely paying him any attention.
After a minute, I felt him walk up beside me, and his curious gaze followed mine. “Want to give me a little more explanation than that, brother?”
I swore and turned away from the window, my hands clenching in my pockets. “She’s there,” I bit out. “Every day. It’s the only time I have to see her.” The only time I could fucking breathe lately. Even if we’d never spoken, and she didn’t realize I was alive.
Justice’s brows shot up to his hairline. It was an understandable reaction; I hadn’t told him about Imogene yet. I wasn’t completely sure why, if anyone would understand this consuming obsession for their woman, it was Justice. He’d been stalking Blair, the object of his love, for nearly two years. When I found Imogene, I realized I had more in common with my brother than I thought.
“The one,” I expounded as I turned my tumultuous gaze in his direction.
Justice contemplated me for a few moments, then asked, “So, what’s the problem? Why are you hesitating?”
I shook my head. And that, right there, was the true reason behind my reluctance to confide in him. Justice was forced to wait for Blair because she was still underage. He wouldn’t understand my decision. I pulled my hands from my pockets and crossed my arms over my chest. “I’m not hesitating,” I disagreed. “I’m just not ready yet. Everything has to be perfect.”
“Everything?” he asked, clearly still confused. “What are you waiting for?” The thing was, Justice had passed the time by putting his plans in place. He hadn’t considered what he would have done had he met Blair after she’d turned eighteen. I couldn’t help but imagine that he would have taken the same path as me and waited for a plan to come together rather than go off half-cocked.
But, now wasn’t the time to get into it. “I’ll explain another time. We’re going to be late.”
Justice looked like he wanted to argue, but he stayed silent and returned to his desk to grab his suit coat before we headed out.
We snagged a yellow cab at the corner, and I rattled off the address of a steakhouse in midtown. Jamison Kennedy was waiting for us when we arrived. We’d met him in college, all three of us finance majors. After graduation, he’d worked as a stockbroker while my brother and I opened K-Corp, our investment banking firm. Eventually, Jamison had made a name for himself and started his own investment firm. His business boomed, and he ended up making his first billion a few years before us.
Recently, he’d approached us about merging our companies. Since Justice and I had already made a couple of offers over the years, we jumped at the chance. We’d even made the lame joke that it was perfect because Kennedy fit right in with K-Corp. But, what we didn’t understand was why he’d finally agreed.
Jamison stood and shook our hands before we all took our seats. “You boys still planning on being at the wedding this weekend?” he asked after we’d placed our orders.
“What kind of groomsmen would we be if we skipped out?” I joked with a grin.
He eyed me darkly. “The kind who get their assess kicked all the way to Timbuck-fucking-tu if they’re even a minute late. This day has to be perfect for my Hazel.”
Justice took a sip of the scotch the waiter had just placed in front of him before reassuring Jamison. “As tempted as I am to be late just to see you try and kick my ass, we’ll report as scheduled, boss.”
Jamison nodded his thanks, and we started talking business. Justice was barely paying attention, throwing in one-word answers from time to time while he vigilantly checked his phone.
The plan Jamison laid out had him still running the division but stepping back considerably and relying on his VPs and managers. Knowing him as I did, I was well aware that he was as much of a workaholic as I was, so I voiced my curiosity. “What convinced you to lighten the load?”