Page 2 of Sliding into Love
There’s also a touch of excitement to his tone. Given how much he loves anything involving the family unit, it’s no wonder this would make him happy.
"Yes, I'm serious. I can build a team to help me if need be. I can't imagine it being so hard that I can't figure it out, though."
"Umm... I don't know, Royce. It's not a cakewalk." Jake interrupts. "Do you have other motivations for this? Maybe to get back at a certain someone?"
Offended by his detective skills, I give a haughty noise, somewhere between a sniff and a grunt. While he’s right, I don’t want to go into those details.
Again, I’d need my emotional support items to unravel what the hell Kenneth Meyer means to me.
"So what if it was? Are you going to stop me?"
"Hell no! I think this is the best idea since I decided to blackmail the other teams to get my Daddies here," Jake replies.
"Blackmail?" "You did what?" Two voices shout over the line. I recognize them as the men my brother worked hard to finagle into his orbit so he could date them.
And yes, he’s with both. But that’s another story for another time.
Deciding it’s time to end this before they dig too much deeper, I bid them farewell. "I'll need details later. For now, I've got to get to work Googling stuff about baseball. Email me a timeline, Bell. And have fun with your rivals, Jake. I always knew you'd be extra kinky. Love you!"
The minute the line disconnects, I cover my face with my hands and scream.
What the hell have I just done?
CHAPTER ONE
ROYCE
“It’s done?”
The legal team sitting across the conference table from me nods.
Thank fuck.
I thought we’d never get this done.
Five men in pristine suits stack their papers and file out of the room. Ron, our head lawyer and my father’s best friend, stops at the door to look back at me.
“You going to be ok with this, Royce? There’s still time to stop the filing,” he tells me.
Of course, he’d ask. Ron knows just how much this is all going to cost me. To do what I need to do, I have to be around the one person on this planet I despise. He’d been a thorn in my side for as long as I can remember. And given my delightfully powerful brain, that’s far too fucking long.
“Yes, Ron. I’ll be fine. I’m an adult now. Surely there's no reason to worry.”
He scowls, nods, then steps through the door. I know he’s itching to say more. They all have been. Even Bellamy tried to take back the request for me to head up the team after I said yes. If I had to bet, Mama likely got to him and made him do so.
She’s always been a softie with me. I’m her favorite, for obvious reasons.
Reasons I don’t have time to think about, or I’ll be late for my next meeting.
Grabbing my coat, I make my way out of the conference room towards the elevator. I put it on and adjust my appearance reflecting back at me on the doors as I wait for it to arrive. My oversized sweater hangs loosely over the silk skirt I’m wearing. I’ve matched it with a pair of combat boots and fishnets. It’s one of my favorite combos—equal parts comfy and sexy.
I check my phone for any missed messages to pass the time. Running multiple businesses is not an easy task. Especially not when you’re doing it incognito.
My family name holds too much weight in the area. Even if I only give my first name, people would know who I was. Thanks to my brothers either being amazing athletes or dating the type, we’ve gained an even farther reach.
I’m extremely thankful I took the time to bury my identity beneath false figureheads years ago. It means I get to do the work without all the scrutiny or assumption of nepotism. I’ve built a conglomerate that would make even my dad proud—if he truly knew what I did.
None of my family knows. They just all assume it’s business-related thanks to my degree.
