Working On Love (The Griffin Brothers Book 6) Read online

  “Yes. I convinced your grandfather that this would be a great place to relocate. The architecture is some of the most diverse in the country.”

  “I can work anywhere, but there’s a good tech industry here, too,” my Uncle Scott adds.

  “Okay. And there were two of those gorgeous women with each of you at your points on the star. Did you pick them?”

  “Yes. I recruited Isabelle and Audrey. I should’ve introduced you, but I thought you were getting a lot of information already. All of the women are really wonderful. They wouldn’t be working with us if they weren’t.”

  “Do their families know about what they do?”

  “They know that they work for the foundation. One person in their family knows the true nature of their job, so they can help cover if they have to be gone for extended periods of time.”

  “What if they want to leave?”

  “Then they leave. Each woman has signed a strict confidentiality agreement, and like I said, they’re wonderful. They wouldn’t reveal our secret.”

  “Who was the receptionist before me?”

  “Helen’s niece. She didn’t want to leave Chicago, so the position’s been open. It has to be filled by a woman from one of our families.”

  “This is just—wow. I mean, I knew you were cool Grandma, but I didn’t realize just how much of a bad-ass you really are.”

  She laughs. “I’m not a bad-ass, Alex. I’m just a woman who saw a need and had the means to help put a proper plan into action.”

  “Don’t sell yourself short, Maggie. We all think this is so cool,” Olivia tells her.

  “It’s like Alias or something, Alex. Those women are like chameleons. They change style and hair color faster than you can blink,” Candi says.

  “I was already excited to work here, but now I’m even happier that I asked for the job.”

  “So are we, my dear. We should all get going and let you start training. Ainsley is brilliant—she went to school with Scott and helped design every piece of technology that’s used here.”

  “Why didn’t you recruit her?”

  “Jane had an opening at the time. It doesn’t matter who we recruit; although we mentor our own women, we’d do anything to help other women, too. That goes for you as well, Alex. If you ever need anything, fifteen women will have your back.”

  “Plus us, of course, and your other uncles,” Chloe reminds me.

  At that moment, a text comes through on my phone. It’s from Nick. When I look at the picture he sent, I have to fight to keep my composure. It’s a screen shot of an email in his draft folder—addressed to several news organizations with an attachment and a message reading, “The Griffins aren’t as upstanding as everyone likes to believe.” The message Nick has written for me, is just as clear: “Can’t wait to play, Alex.”

  “Thanks.” I finally manage to say, realizing everyone is still waiting for me to say something. I mean it. Maybe I can work up the nerve to ask them for help, too.

  Chapter 2

  Miles

  I’m glad to be back in Vegas. Sure, the girls in Europe were hot, but sleeping around is losing appeal. If I’m honest with myself, it lost its appeal quite a long time ago. I just have nothing better to do, so I keep doing it—and them. In fact, that’s what I’m planning on right now. The guys in my division told me that the foundation hired a new receptionist last week, and that she is smoking hot. It’s time to introduce myself—and hopefully, my cock—to her.

  I walk through the doors to see her bent over, putting something in the bottom filing cabinet behind her desk. My body instantly reacts, which is weird. It’s only ever reacted that quickly for one girl. If it can do that for this one, there may be some hope for me yet. Right now all I see is a nice round ass encased in a sleeveless dress that appears to be fitted on top, but loose on the bottom. It has some red and black design on it, but all I can think about is keeping her bent over—especially with those red heels on—until she stands up and turns.

  “Alex? What the fuck are you doing here?” I didn’t mean for it to come out as harshly as it did, but I wasn’t expecting her. She can’t be here. Not in the same building as me. Now I know why my cock came to life when I walked in.

  “I-I work here, Miles.” She looks hurt, yet pissed.

  It takes me a minute to say anything because I’m drinking her in. From her long brown hair, which is red at the bottom right now, to her beautiful face with those damn green eyes that everyone in her family has, her porcelain skin, and sexy as fuck lips. I’m not even going to look at her body. That’s a lie, I’m totally looking. She’s got a graceful neck and perfect, medium sized tits, a slender waist and…

  “Is there a problem, Miles?”

  Tegan’s voice brings me out of my trance. Shit. This isn’t going to go well. I might as well make it worse. “I don’t think she’s qualified to be here. I mean, all she knows is singing.”

  “And all you know is fucking. Yet you’re running a major division of Corrigan & Co.”

  “You didn’t mind when I was fucking you, Tegan.”

  “You two…you…oh my God,” Alex says, looking shocked.

  “Alex, honey, are you alright? Miles normally fucks everyone, but we won’t let him near you.”

  “Everyone? You mean, all the girls?”

  “Not all of them.” Reina is behind me and she looks pissed.

  “You’re too good for me, right Reina?”

  “Yes she is, little brother. Show some respect. To all of the women here.”

  Great. Matt’s here, too. Time for another lecture. “Like you do with all your ‘Princess’ remarks and shit?”

  Matt wants to hit me. I can see it in his clenched jaw and fisted hands. He won’t, though. That’s one thing he’ll never do—hit me. He feels too guilty about living with his mom and having almost no contact with me when I was little. It would’ve been nice to have had him there to hang out with, but I wouldn’t have wanted him to have to live with the sick bastard who fathered us. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.

  “I quit.”

  “What? Alex, no. I told you we won’t let him bother you. He’s harmless. We had some fun and it was all consensual. He wouldn’t hurt a woman.” Tegan goes to hug her, but Alex backs away from her.

  There are three people glaring at me now. Two of them I could care less about, but I do love my brother. He moves his head in Alex’s direction. I sigh, but do what he asks. “I’ll stay away from you, Alex. I promise. You do your job, and I’ll do mine. Never the two shall meet.” I salute her and start to walk away.

  “Just like the last six years, right? I’m still not good enough to even be friends with, apparently.”

  I whip around and stalk to her desk, stopping right in front of her. “Actually, you’re too good, Alex.”

  We stare at each other for a minute, as everyone around just looks at the two of us. At least, I think they do. I can only look at her. I think I could stand there forever, looking in her beautiful eyes, but my grandma chooses that moment to walk in.

  “Why is it so tense in here? Matthew, are you fighting with Reina again?”

  “Nope. Not me. I’m actually in agreement with her at the moment. It’s him you need to talk to.”

  “Miles? What’s going on?”

  “I was just surprised to see Alex here, is all.”

  I finally turn around and smile at my grandma, kissing her cheek as I walk past her and out the door. I need to get drunk. And laid. Unfortunately, I have a video conference, so both are going to have to wait for now.

  * * *

  Alex

  It’s been two weeks since I had my run-in with Miles. He’s kept his word, and hasn’t come near me at all. I’ve seen him in the cafeteria a few times, always surrounded by beautiful women. I knew he slept around, but having it thrown in my face is hard. Knowing some of the women I work with at the foundation have slept with him, is even harder. I like them. A lot. But thinking about him holding them, kissing
them, and…I can’t go there. I just can’t.

  I know they’ve noticed my frosty attitude towards them. Especially Tegan. I don’t want to be like this, but I can’t help it. I have to figure something out. I mean, I’m not planning to quit, so I have to make an effort to get over it. Tegan told me the girls here go out every weekend when they’re home from missions, so I don’t think any of them had anything serious with Miles. I need to get past this, and I also need to ask them for help.

  I went to movie night with my aunts and their friends last night at Erika’s house. We watched 10 Things I Hate About You, which was the perfect choice for my relationship with Miles. Except for the guy and girl ending up together at the end. That’ll never happen to Miles and me. He made it perfectly clear how much he hated me the first day we saw each other here. I saw Quinn watching me with a worried expression after the movie, but I left before she could ask me anything.

  I’ve managed to keep Nick at bay by working late and then eating with someone from my family every night. I also told him my grandma wanted me to spend the last two weeks at their place so we could finalize details for my party this weekend. He’s pissed, but said he’ll hold off on releasing the video for now. I know I’m on borrowed time.

  Right as I’m thinking that, I get a text from the bastard. It’s got a picture attached and when I click on it, I know I’m going to throw up. I grab my little trash can just in time. All of my lunch contents go in there as I hear someone run to my desk.

  “Alex, are you okay?”

  It’s Quinn. She’s bending down in front of me and there are dresses strewn all around her. I remember that she’s coming by with clothes for Stella. I start to cry as I shake my head.

  “No. I’m not. I need help, Quinn. I need everyone’s help.”

  “Okay. Let me lock the door, and we’ll go into the Society room. It’ll be okay. Whatever it is, between us all, we can help.”

  “Not my family, though. They can’t know.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “They can’t know.”

  “Alright. Go into the room, and I’ll gather everyone.”

  I thank her and walk down the hall. I sit at my seat, looking down at my hands as I hear everyone enter. There’s no mission at the moment, so all the girls are here. I know they have normal foundation appointments and don’t want them to cancel those, because people need their help, so I decide to just blurt it out.

  “My boyfriend is blackmailing me. He-he was so nice to me, and I was happy to sleep with him. It was my first time, but he was still a little rough. Then he pulled me out of bed and showed me this room. It was the scariest thing I’d ever seen. I ran out, planning to never see him again.

  “A few days later, he texted me a video. Of us. He told me I had to come over and let him tie me up, or he was releasing it on the internet. So, I-I did. The next time he texted, he said I needed to be spanked.”

  “Fucking bastard,” Quinn says.

  “Yeah. He is. I’ve been managing to avoid him by saying I had to stay with my grandparents to get ready for my birthday party. I knew he was pissed, but he said he wouldn’t release the tape for now. I just got this text and picture a few minutes ago.”

  It’s Ainsley who reaches for my phone. “Holy fuck,” she says as she drops it on the table.

  “Ignore her. Ainsley’s almost as innocent as you, Alex. Let me have a look.” Stella picks up the phone and her mouth drops open. “Oh hell no. You are not doing that. Not with those people and those…things.”

  “She’s not doing anything with anyone that she doesn’t want to do,” Reina says. “You’re one of us, Alex. We’ll take care of this.”

  “I don’t want my family to know.”

  “I’ll do what I can. I promise.”

  “Thank you. All of you. I’m sorry I’ve been a bitch the last week. I didn’t mean to be.”

  “Do you want to tell us why you did it?” Ainsley asks me.

  “Not really, but I will. I owe it to you for helping me with this. There’s a long story I could tell you, but I know you all have appointments. So here’s the short version. I’m in love with Miles. I have been since I was thirteen. We were friends. At least I thought we were. But then he left for college and never spoke to me again. Until I saw him last year at Luke and Olivia’s renewal ceremony.”

  “Oh God. And I told you how some of us slept with him. Alex, I’m so sorry. It was nothing to any of us, and definitely nothing to him. I promise you that.”

  “It’s okay, Teeg. I know he sleeps around. It was just hard to hear that he was with you guys, because I like you a lot. I was jealous.”

  “Wait, isn’t Miles a few years older than you?” Quinn asks.

  “About five years.”

  “So when he left for college, he was eighteen and you were thirteen. And he left and didn’t talk to you again. It’s all falling into place.”

  “What’s falling into place?”

  “I can’t tell you yet. But I will soon. I promise. I’ve got to go, though.” She jumps up and kisses me on the top of the head before bolting from the room.

  We all look after her in shock for a few seconds, but then get back to the matter at hand. They come up with a plan and it sounds perfect to me. Ainsley takes my phone, but promises to bring it back soon. I go back to my desk and finish up my work for the day feeling like a giant weight has been lifted off of me.

  * * *

  Miles

  I’m sitting in my office, trying to decide what to do tonight. I don’t feel like going out to a club, but I also don’t want to just hang out at home. Alone. Again. I’ve been doing that a lot these last two weeks. Every night in fact.

  I hear a commotion outside, and then Quinn bursts in, quickly followed by my secretary. She’s a middle aged woman who doesn’t put up with any crap. Especially from me. “You cannot go in there.”

  “It’s alright. She’s a friend.”

  Quinn waves her ring finger at her to emphasize that she’s just a friend. Then she turns to me, hands on her hips, until she hears the door close behind her. “You’re in love with Alex.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “You told me that you fell in love with a ‘girl’ when the time wasn’t right, and the woman she’s become hates you. I found out today that you and Alex were friends when she was thirteen and you were eighteen. She said you left for college and never spoke to her again.” I start to say something, but she stops me. “I know it’s her, so don’t even bother trying to deny it.”

  I drop my head into my hands. “Yes. I’m in love with Alex.”

  “So instead of telling her how you felt, you’ve just been whoring it up for almost six years?”

  “Pretty much.”

  “What is wrong with you? Even if you couldn’t date her then, you could’ve stayed friends until she was old enough.”

  “There’s a lot wrong with me, which is part of the reason that I broke off contact with her. And I couldn’t be just friends with her. I was interested every time I was near her. Which is totally gross and inappropriate. She was thirteen.”

  “You were a teenager, too, and probably the same age mentally, if not in years. You didn’t act on what you were feeling, which was commendable then. It isn’t now. You need to tell her how you feel. And stop putting your dick in anything that moves.”

  “I can’t tell her. She has a boyfriend. She’s been with him for months, so it’s obviously serious, even though he seems like an ass. And for the record, my dick hasn’t been anywhere but my hand since I walked into the foundation offices and saw here there.”

  “Wow. Two weeks? That’s like two years for a normal person.”

  “No shit, Sherlock. Now if you’re done with the attack and inquisition, I have work to do.”

  “There’s something I should tell you. Or maybe I shouldn’t.”

  “What is it? Is it about Alex?”

  “Yes.”

  “Tell me, Quinn.”

  “I-I
can’t break her confidence. I shouldn’t have said anything.”

  “Fucking tell me, Quinn. Or I’ll go find someone who will.”

  “No one else would tell you. I’m the weak link.” She drops into a chair and sighs before speaking again. “Apparently her boyfriend thought he was a getting a virgin who would like some kink. When Alex said no, he showed her a videotape he made of their first time together. He said he’d release it if she didn’t play along. She did a couple things, but wouldn’t go further. Today he sent her a text and a picture of what he has planned for her birthday this weekend. I walked into the office as she was throwing up in her trash can.”

  I’m already going to kill the prick, but I need to hear the rest. “What did he send her?”

  “It was a picture of him and two other guys. They were holding whips, handcuffs, and other things I can’t even say. The text said that they couldn’t wait to show her a good time in his “special room” after her party.”

  “Thanks for the info, Quinn,” I tell her as I round my desk.

  “Where are you going, Miles.”

  “To fuck up the bastard who thinks he can mess with the woman I love.”

  “No. Miles. What if his friends are there?”

  “I hope to God they are.”

  I hear her calling after me as I run to the elevator, but I don’t stop. I take of my jacket and tie and roll up my sleeves before I hit the ground floor. I’ve never been so angry and out of control in my life, not even when I was finally fighting back with my dad. This fucker’s going to pay for messing with Alex, and I don’t care what happens to me in the process.

  Chapter 3

  Alex

  It’s the night of my birthday party, and I’m really excited. Reina told me that everything is under control with Nick. Darcy snagged his phone the other day and cloned it, while Ainsley got into his apartment for his laptop and video equipment. She cleared everything, including his phone—remotely for that, since they couldn’t keep it away from him for very long without him noticing. She also disabled the camera. I can breathe easier now. There’s still the chance he’ll show up here because I didn’t want to have to explain to my family why he wasn’t invited. I don’t think he’s stupid enough to try something at their house, though. At least I hope not.