Page 98 of Lovers' Dance

The door to his office opened and he could hear Rachel’s alarmed voice wafting in loudly.

“He’s not to be disturbed.”

Matt glanced at the intruder, an exasperated sound leaving his lips. Rachel followed his brother into the office.

“I’m sorry, Mr Bradley—”

“It’s all right, Rachel.” He waved her apologies away. “Adam never listens to anyone but himself.”

With a harsh look directed at Adam, Rachel spun on her heels, shoulder-length brown waves flicking wildly over the shoulders of her jacket, as if her hair was annoyed with his brother’s unwanted disturbance. The door closed, a tad louder than necessary, and Adam stared at it for a second before walking over to where Matt stood.

“How long has she been working here?”

Matt placed his empty glass on the bar’s smooth surface. Adam arched an eyebrow, noting the open bottle of spirits.

“Long enough,” he replied. “What do you want, Adam?”

Adam ignored Matt’s question and sent a frown at the door. “Her office skills need a serious overhaul. She told me to come back later. Does she not understand who she’s talking to?”

Matt had to smile at Adam’s arrogance. “She’s my secretary and is paid to do what I tell her. What do you want?”

“What’s wrong? You seemed to be somewhere else in that meeting. In fact, you’ve been distracted all week.”

“Nothing’s wrong. I’m busy. There’s a snag in our takeover bid. Dad told you about that, right?”

Adam nodded slowly, peering at him, then glancing again at the open bottle resting innocently on top of the bar. “What’s wrong, Matt?”

“Nothing,” he replied emphatically. Matt wanted to be alone with his thoughts, and Adam was an interruption he could do without right. Goddamn it. He needed his poppet and she was being difficult. The last time he’d enjoyed her delectable body was a week ago. It felt like forever to him. He wanted her naked and writhing in his bed. He wanted her melting on his tongue. He wanted those slender legs of hers wrapped around his waist as he lost himself in the moist tightness of her body. He was going crazy with unfulfilled lust. The vivid images of their bodies intimately pressed together haunted his every waking hour, and his bloody dreams, too. He missed her intoxicating smell, her delicious taste, her beautiful, smooth, dark skin contrasting with his and covered in the glistening sheen of sweat from their intense lovemaking. He fucking missed her, and he’d had enough of her childish behaviour.

“Nothing’s wrong, Adam,” he repeated emptily.

Adam shook his head, strode over to Matt’s desk where he picked up the phone and punched out numbers.

Matt eyed him warily, wondering what the hell he was up to.

“I need you in Matt’s office.”—pause—“No, the meeting went as well as can be expected.”—long pause—“I don’t care how busy you are. Get your arse in here, Nathan. I swear you and Matt have no respect for your elders or, should I say, your betters. Two minutes.” Adam slammed the phone down and folded his arms as he leaned on the desk. If Matt’s current expression made him nervous, he gave no indication of it.

“Why did you call him, Adam?” Matt asked wearily. He didn’t need this.

“Because something is obviously wrong and don’t say it isn’t. I’m your brother. I was there to witness your shitty nappies being changed. I know you and I know when something is bugging you. If you won’t tell me, tell Nathan.”

Matt ran a hand over his face and made his way over to take a seat behind his desk. “Your concerns are unwarranted.”

“Is it truly work or something else?” Adam slid into one of the chairs in front his desk and scrutinized his face. “Talk to me.”

Matt observed his older brother. Dark brown hair was swept back to reveal his prominent features, blue-grey eyes were staring expectantly at him.

Matt sighed and ran a hand over his face again. “Madi’s mad at me.”

“Ah ha!” Adam said. “I knew something was up. Why is she mad at you? Does it matter? Buy her something nice. Women like that.”

Matt rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. He was about to unload to his brother when the door opened.

“You can’t go in there.” Rachel unprofessionally battled with Nathan to win the door handle. “He doesn’t want to be disturbed.”

“It’s okay, Rachel,” Matt called, flashing his loyal secretary a grateful smile.

Nathan shook his head at her, gloating as he pushed the door open further and strode in. “Really, Rachel, I wonder about you sometimes.”

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