The next few days passed slowly.
Instead of thinking about Monroe’s naked body on my bed, I thought about the last words she said to me.
When she put me in my place.
For a man who was incapable of feeling most emotions, I felt like shit. To me, this wasn’t some sick game. This was a mutual benefit. She got what she wanted, and I got what I wanted. And it wasn’t like my offer wasn’t generous. Eventually, she would sleep with someone, be disappointed, and then regret not taking my offer.
Her words should have made me stop thinking about her instantly, but unfortunately, the exact opposite happened.
I wanted her so much, I was losing my mind.
I put the other women on hold because I needed to conquer Monroe before I could move forward. Right now, the only woman I wanted was out of my reach, and any other woman would just be a disappointment.
My first assistant, Jillian, came into my office. “Mr. Remington, here’s everything you need for the meeting.” She set a manila folder on my desk.
“Meeting?” I asked, drawing a blank because I’d spent so much time thinking about Monroe.
“Yes. Your brother is meeting you in ten minutes.”
Shit, that was today? “Thank you, Jillian.”
“Of course.” She walked out.
I opened the folder and reviewed the numbers I would be presenting. My brother and I only spoke to each other on rare occasions, and only when it was necessary. Since we each owned half the company, we were forced to work together from time to time. He handled the resorts in the Middle and Far East, and I handled everything to the west. We had four quarterly meetings a year where we were forced to be face-to-face and a few other events that made us pretend not to despise each other. Today was a quarterly meeting, one I’d completely forgotten about.
I refused to dread it or be nervous. If anyone should feel threatened, it should be him. He was the one who’d fucked everything up—for a goddamn woman. The betrayal would always feel raw, like a wound that just couldn’t heal. I tried not to live in the past or hold grudges, but when your flesh and blood stabbed you in the back, it was impossible to let go.
It wasn’t even about her—it was about him.
I left my office and took the elevator down a few floors. When I stepped out of the elevator, I could see the glass walls of the conference room. It could hold fifty people comfortably, but for today, it would only hold the two of us.
I’d just happened to wear my best suit today and shave my beard, so I looked like a million bucks. I stepped through the door and found my brother standing at the head of the table, in a navy suit with a matching tie. There was no denying our relationship, not when we both had the same eyes, the same build, and features so similar, we looked like twins. His head was tilted down as he flipped through his notes.
That’s when I noticed her.
Simone.
Tall, blond, and with vibrant blue eyes, she reminded me of a snake. She slithered in the dark and crept up on you in silence. Then she struck, sinking her fangs deep into your skin and injecting you with poison. She might be beautiful on the outside, but she was black as coal on the inside.
I hadn’t expected to see her there because she was never present at our meetings, but I refused to look surprised. I walked to the table and sat down. “Ready?”
My brother finally glanced up from his folder to look at me, but he wore the same indifferent expression he’d consistently held all these years. Even though he brought her to my territory, he still didn’t seem the least bit apologetic about it. “Yeah.” He took a seat.
Simone sat in the seat across from me, decked out in expensive jewelry with perfectly styled hair. She wore a skintight black dress that showed her perfect figure. A diamond ring was on her left hand, a diamond so big it was impossible not to notice.
Jesus Christ.
“Coen, she has no business here.” I looked at him and ignored her, pretending she wasn’t there at all. “Last time I checked, we were the CEOs—and she was just your fuck buddy.”
Coen lifted his gaze and looked at me, but he didn’t rise to the insult I’d made about his woman. “Simone and I are getting married. That means she’s a part of this company. She wants to be involved—which is why she’s here.”
I wanted to grab him by the neck and slam his face into the table. His lack of intelligence alarmed me at times. We all turned stupid when it came to good pussy, but his ignorance was terrifying. “Then tell her about your day when you get home.”