She searched on her phone while I showered. “I found three recommended stores that cater to tall women.”

  “Actually,” I said, wringing out my hair, “I already know a place that has a nice suit.”

  The saleswomen greeted me when I walked into the boutique. “How was your business dinner last night?”

  “Terrible,” I told them. “And now I need that suit I was looking at yesterday.”

  Except yesterday, Greg had been paying. I looked at the price tag and winced.

  “Business expense!” Emma said. “YOLO!”

  “That’s like my entire credit card limit.”

  “Just try it on,” she coaxed.

  I pulled on the suit in the dressing room.

  “It’s not going to fit. You’re going to look stupid,” I told myself. But when I turned to look in the mirror, I looked…

  Not just hot—I looked dangerous and sexy. “Dayum, that’s a nice suit.”

  I put my hair up in a bun and slid on the headband.

  Emma applauded when I walked out of the dressing room. Dana, who had arrived while I was changing, raised an eyebrow.

  “It’s missing something,” she said, tapping her chin.

  “Shoes,” the saleswoman said.

  Emma grinned maniacally and pulled the heels out of her bag. “You have to!”

  “I can’t walk in those!” I protested as Emma ran to put them on the floor in front of me.

  “Heel toe, heel toe,” Dana instructed as I slipped into them.

  They felt like they were made for me.

  “Yes!” Emma cheered as I walked around the store. “Greg is going down!”

  It was hard not to feel like a total boss in the outfit. Dana had even lent me one of her designer Birkin bags—black.

  I forced myself to project calm while Emma chatted with the receptionist and slid her a container of caramel marshmallow brownies she had made.

  “These are life changing,” Emma promised.

  The receptionist beamed. “Martin’s not in a meeting. Let me walk you back.”

  We trailed her through the shared workspace. My heels clacked on the polished hardwood floor, the sound echoing off the reclaimed brick walls.

  “Martin?” the receptionist said sweetly, poking her head into the little glass box where Martin Shaw had his work area. “I have a few ladies here who want to talk to you about investment.”

  “Oh!” Martin’s eyes bugged out of his head when he saw us. A man I recognized as his brother Todd from the dating event scowled.

  Ugh. This was not going to go well. I was regretting it already. And I had already taken the tags off the suit. I was going to be out all that money. What had I been thinking?

  But Emma was prepared.

  “Wheatgrass smoothie?” she chirped. “I made it myself.”

  “Homemade?” Martin said, perking up.

  His brother’s scowl grew deeper. “I don’t know why you keep drinking that crap.”

  Emma pulled a second plate of brownies out of her bag. “And for those who are not on the healthy food train.”

  Mollified somewhat, Martin’s brother didn’t protest when I said, “We heard that you were looking for someone to manage your fund. We wanted to give you the opportunity to consider our investment firm.”

  “We have had a ton of people come through here already,” Todd complained.

  “Yes, but I am making the decision,” Martin told him.

  “You can’t just unilaterally make the decision!”

  “I can,” Martin declared.

  Dana and I looked at each other as the two brothers squabbled.

  “Boys,” I said sharply. It was the same tone I would use to get my brothers in line.

  They snapped to attention.

  “Martin, why can’t Todd have a say in the decision?” I asked.

  “Because my granddad left me in charge,” he said. “Todd doesn’t get to manage the trust until he’s thirty. Which is another five years from now.”

  “Martin’s trying to hand off our money to all these rando investment firms. You should see the skeezy people he’s brought through here,” Todd told me. “And he didn’t ask my opinion at all!”

  “Both of you sit down and eat your snack,” I said. “Show me the other investment proposals people have given you. We’ll sort it out together.”

  Like little puppies, they handed over glossy brochures and binders full of photographs of creepily smiling Wall Street sociopaths.

  Dana, Emma, and I went through them one by one.

  “Don’t use them,” Emma said. “They aren’t even solvent.”

  “These guys have shorted half the companies in the US,” Dana said, tossing another binder in the trash. “Terrible.”

  “Unimaginative.”

  We went through the whole pile as Martin and his brother looked on. Then we came to the Svensson Investment packet.

  I flipped through it.

  “Could be fine,” I said.

  Martin’s brother was suspicious. “Aren’t you Greg Svensson’s girlfriend?”

  “Ex,” I clarified. “And we were barely even dating.”

  I tapped a number on one of the foldout spreadsheets.

  “They are probably capable of giving you this good of a return,” I said. “But I think you two would rather have a more hands-on approach and work with people who are only managing your accounts, not half of New England’s.”

  Martin was nodding along.

  “We can give you a custom-tailored development package,” Dana said smoothly, pulling up our presentation.

  “We have a number of market sectors we’ve identified as being underserved,” Dana continued. “There are still undeveloped parcels of land along the Hudson. We advise building developments that have a unique identity. Simultaneously, we will also invest in businesses that will serve underserved women-dominated markets. There is huge demand in women-centered alcohol sales, software, and app services. And of course media, which our media company, Romance Creative, has already tapped into.”

  “Sounds fine, but I want to help!” Todd said.

  “You can’t,” Martin told him. “That’s the point of why we’re hiring an investment firm.”

  “Stop being mean to your brother. He can help,” I told Martin.

  “He’ll lose all the money.”

  “We won’t let it get that far. But you can come to some of the meetings,” I promised Todd.

  “Yes!” He pumped a fist.

  Martin rolled his eyes. “I’ll think about it and get back to you.”

  “No, you need to decide together,” I said. “You’re brothers. All you will have ultimately is each other. Don’t ruin your relationship over money.”

  “Okay, okay,” he said begrudgingly.

  “Hug it out,” I ordered.

  Martin embraced his brother. “I love you, man.”

  “I love you too.”

  “Adorable,” Dana said.

  28

  Greg

  “Today’s the big day,” Hunter said when I walked into the office the next morning.

  The meeting yesterday had gone perfectly. I had pitched to Martin, and he had requested a packet, which I couriered over to be waiting for him at his office this morning. I was supposed to come in at eleven thirty and discuss.

  I straightened my tie in the mirror.

  I was going to win this contract, then I was going to grovel to Belle. Should I take her on a big trip? Maybe I should just skip right to it and buy her a place to live. That should smooth things over. No one in their right mind said no to a free piece of property in New York City.

  “Carl,” I said to my younger brother, “find me a decent one-bedroom condo for purchase. Actually, make it two bedrooms. Make sure it has a balcony and is in a safe building.”

  He saluted and handed me and Hunter copies of the pitch book I’d had him courier over to Martin.

  “I already have the champagne ordered for when you get back,” he said.

  “You sure are confident,” Hunter remarked as the car parked in front of the Shaws’ office.

  “I had a great meeting yesterday. Martin all but told me that we were getting the contract.”

  “I looked over Archer and Mike’s hotel proposals,” Hunter said, “and I wouldn’t proceed with the 58th Street property, but I would with the other two.”

  “Mike seems to think he can make all three of them work,” I told him as we rode the elevator up.

  “We’ll see about that,” Hunter said. “I don’t trust your judgment. Beck said that you’ve been acting out of sorts lately, what with your new girlfriend and all, disappearing at all hours of the night.”

  I pulled open the glass door to the shared workspace.

  “Speaking of,” Hunter murmured.

  I seethed. I could just feel Hunter smirking next to me as I was confronted with Belle.

  She didn’t look how she normally did. She wasn’t wearing one of the flouncy dresses I had bought her or the more casual jeans and sweater she usually wore.

  No, she was in a suit—sleek with a crisp white shirt, a black suit jacket in the same fabric as the pencil skirt that was practically glued to her thighs, and a wide belt at the waist that gave her a perfect hourglass figure. Her legs were a mile long in the black patent-leather stilettos.

  “Good morning, Greg,” Belle said.

  I couldn’t quite read her expression. I also couldn’t quite form words. Belle looked fucking amazing. She was everything I had ever wanted.

  I’m going to tell Carl to get a three-bedroom. Maybe four.

  “Belle Frost, I presume,” Hunter said.

  She walked over, heels clicking on the floor. When she brushed past me, she was practically my height.

  I want to fuck her in those heels and nothing else.

  She shook Hunter’s hand. My half brother eyed her warily, then he looked to her friends—a shorter, plump girl and, shit, Dana Holbrook. I could already feel Hunter doing the calculations.

  “Looking at office space here?” I asked, hoping beyond hope that’s why she was there.

  “Hardly,” she said. “I don’t really do sharing.”

  Shit. She was still mad at me.

  “Look,” I said, lowering my voice. “Can we please just talk? I have an important meeting right now, but if you could just wait maybe an hour—”

  “Greg!” Martin said happily, coming out from the depths of the shared workspace into the lobby area.

  “We’re a little early,” I told him.

  “I was actually going to call you, but maybe it’s better to tell you in person,” he said, rubbing his arm. “I very much appreciate getting to know you and your firm over the past few weeks. I feel like you and I have really bonded over the whole dating experience, and I would like for us to remain friends. However, we’re going with the Artemis Investment firm to manage our fund.”

  Glass shattering. I reeled.

  Keep it together.

  “I… see…”

  I could tell Hunter was livid beside me.

  Trying not to seem shaken, I pulled myself together.

  “We appreciate your consideration, Martin. We actually didn’t know there was a new fund in town.” I glanced over at Belle, who wore a triumphant look on her face.

  “They’re new, and they made an excellent pitch,” Martin said, beaming.

  “Besides,” he added, “my spiritual advisor said that what I was really lacking in my life was a strong woman, one who was no-nonsense and who would take charge—a real straight shooter. Belle and her firm were the only ones to come in and knock us down a peg.”

  “Yep,” his brother said, snickering. “It was actually really awesome to see her yell at Martin.”

  “I thought you said she was too tall,” I hissed at Todd.

  “Yeah, to date,” he said, “but I mean, look at her. Wouldn’t you want her dominating your money?”

  “What the fuck,” I muttered.

  Hunter elbowed me in the ribs.

  “We appreciate your consideration and wish you all the best with your endeavors,” Martin said. “Please let us know if there’s any way we can assist you further.”

  “Still friends?” Martin said, holding out his arms.

  “Of course,” I replied, voice sounding hollow.

  Martin gave me a big hug.

  His brother handed me a napkin-wrapped brownie.

  “Artemis Investment brought these,” he said. “They are life changing.”

  “And I’m sending you the info to my spiritual advisor,” Martin told me, pressing his hands together. “She’s taking new clients.”

  “Well,” I said, forcing a professional smile on my face, “good luck, ladies.”

  “We don’t need luck,” Belle said. “It’s just math and careful study of the market.”

  The entire car ride over, Hunter didn’t say a word. I sat beside him in shock.

  Belle won that contract? The contract everyone in Manhattan was going after. Why? How?

  Hunter’s anger was almost tangible in the elevator cab as we rode up to my office.

  “Look,” I said to him as we approached the eighty-third floor. “I don’t know what happened.”

  The elevator doors opened.

  “You did it!” several of my brothers yelled as champagne corks popped.

  Liam threw a handful of glitter at me then saw the anger etched on Hunter’s face. “Oh shit.”

  “’Good luck, ladies’?” Hunter turned and roared at me, the dam holding back his anger disintegrating. “No fucking wonder Belle turned around and screwed you over if that’s how you behave around women.”

  “What?” Carl said, taking off his party hat. “Belle got the contract? How?”

  “I would assume,” Hunter sneered, “that she, like Greg, was at those ridiculous dating events to get close to Martin. Then she probably saw that Greg was slow and stupid and an easy mark and used his infatuation with her to steal our ideas and counteract them with a perfectly tailored pitch.”

  “I don’t know about that,” Greg said.

  “Did you never even ask her what she did for a living?” Hunter fumed at me.

  “I… she said she had an investment firm, but it was just something stupid,” I rambled. “I mean, they were meeting at a restaurant, for god’s sake. She was going to invest in a cupcake shop and a dog grooming business.”

  “She was with a Holbrook,” Hunter snarled.

  “I didn’t know they were friends,” I protested.

  “They were probably working with her to screw us over,” Hunter continued, face screwed up in fury. “And you just sat there and let it happen!”

  Crawford started laughing. “You fucking dick. She played your ass.”

  “They are trying to ruin our company! Why the hell are you laughing?” Hunter yelled at Crawford.

  “It wasn’t about our company,” I said, sagging. “She just did it to get back at me. I sort of fucked up.”

  I looked up at the ceiling and blew out a breath. “Martin’s brother said he didn’t want Belle at the dinner on Thursday, so I lied and told her that girlfriends weren’t allowed. And then I brought a pretend girlfriend.”

  Crawford slapped his thigh. “You asshole! You brought an escort.”

  “She was more of an actress.”

  “Escort,” Crawford shot back.

  “Look, Belle was just jealous. She probably just waltzed in there, made some big promises to Martin, and he’s so out of it that he just ate it up. I’m sure she and her friends are way over their heads. I’m going to go over there and apologize because, unlike Hunter, I am absolutely capable of doing that. Then I’ll offer to have Svensson Investment partner with Artemis Investment and manage the fund. Maybe we won’t get all the capital, but it will be a large enough percentage. It will be fine. They’re probably out celebrating right now, so I’ll wait until later and swing by Belle’s office when she’s a little tipsy and more amenable to suggestions.”

  Crawford narrowed his eyes. “You are a fucking piece of shit, you know that?”

  “Yes, but I always win in the end.”

  29

  Belle

  “Did we just win that big-ass contract because the Shaw brothers have some sort of financial dominatrix fantasy going on about Belle?” Emma joked later that evening after we had spent some time with Martin and Todd going over the accounts, signing contracts, then strategizing amongst ourselves on our next moves.

  We had a lot more work to do, but now we were celebrating!

  “Money is money,” Dana said, pouring out another round of champagne.

  “Greg probably wants you to be his financial dominatrix,” Emma teased, dropping a raspberry in each glass of champagne. “His eyes practically rolled out of his head when he saw you.”

  “You do look hot in that suit,” Dana said, handing me a glass of champagne.

  “You definitely put him in his place!” Emma toasted me. “Just make sure he doesn’t get too meek in the makeup sex.”

  “What? I’m not taking him back,” I scoffed. “He can go find some other girl.”

  “You can’t just throw him out now after you got him all trained up,” Dana said, clicking her tongue. “You’re going to have to start all the way from zero if you find another guy.”

  “Besides, both of you are in finance. Big finance,” Emma said excitedly. “Greg’s actually perfect for you because he’s not going to be intimidated by your success.”

  “He brought another girl to dinner,” I said, shocked that my friends were so ready to forgive and forget.

  “And you stole his twenty-billion-dollar contract out from under him,” Dana countered. “Now he knows what’s what, and he can properly worship you for the goddess you are.”

  “I don’t know…”

  “It’s because you just had sex last night,” Emma said sagely. “Three days from now, you’re going to want him back, so you might as well get it over with.”

  Someone rang the doorbell to the door of our office.

 

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