“All right.” Brandon punched a fist in the air and glanced around the table. “Any questions?”
“Can Ipleaseget set up with Madelyne?” Parker asked, his puppy-dog brown eyes seemingly innocent. “Since you’re dying and all. Wouldn’t want such a perfect angel to be lonely and hurting when I’m willing and able to comfort her.”
Nelson cuffed him upside the head as the rest of the group laughed and groaned at the same time.
“Is that a no?” Parker asked.
“Sorry.” Brandon didn’t seem offended at all. “I’ve got bigger plans than even you for the lovely Madelyne.” He smiled even as Rock looked more thunderous than ever. “Let’s get you to your flights.”
He stood, and they all followed suit. Rock led the way out of the boardroom door with Brandon right behind him. Two of the security guards that had been waiting outside the room preceded the Rock down the hall toward the elevator. The other two waited for Robbie and Chase, the last to leave the room.
Robbie leaned close to Chase as they filed down the hallway. “I don’t like this. Keep your eyes wide open.”
“You’re worried about Alice?”
Robbie nodded. “And you and each of our friends. How did he find five women who were all in danger and set them up with each of us for the next two weeks?”
Nelson was directly in front of them. He glanced back at Robbie’s words. He didn’t say anything but nodded as if he’d had the same thought.
“It’s fishy,” Chase admitted.
The two front security guards arrived at the elevator and punched the button.
“He’s got something planned,” Robbie said in a low voice.
“He always does,” Chase returned, his stomach turning with nerves.
Robbie grunted at that.
It was comforting and disconcerting at the same time that Robbie and Nelson suspected the same thing he did. Nothing was cut and dry with Brandon; he could be pulling a trick on them. Chase could think of dozens of examples, like the night Brandon had dragged them out to old man Carlisle’s property for ‘night games’ and somehow rigged the chicken coop to explode. Brandon was miraculously the only one who had disappeared before the police showed up. Luckily, the police had seen through their teenage loyalty to not rat their friend out and had enough experience with Brandon’s mischief to not put the rest of them in a detention center or mark anything permanent on their record.
What if this was something more nefarious than a Brandon-style stunt?
“Appreciate ya,” Chase said to his friend.
Robbie nodded to him. “Likewise.”
It was as mushy as either of them ever got.
Brandon pivoted and pinned them with his blue gaze as they approached the group waiting by the elevator. There was no way he could’ve heard their muttered conversation, but the glint in his eyes said he suspected what they were chirping about.
“No worries, Robbie, my man. You’re almost as adept at protection as Rock is. We doubt the threats will follow your ladies across the ocean, and if they do, you have plenty of support with Rock’s guys. You can all relax, have a fun vacation, maybe fall in love.” His eyes were sparkling now.
“I tried love,” Nelson said. “Not a fan.”
The elevator beeped, and the door slid open. They all filed in.
Brandon slapped Nelson on the shoulder. “Don’t give up on love, my friend. Madelyne is a genius and a genie. She has a whole team using resources from Aiden Porter, FBI, police departments, social media, and her associates with Vogue magazine to find beautiful, smart, accomplished, fun-loving, and endangered women to pair you with. Your angel will be straight out of your dreams.”
“That’s concerning,” Nelson said. “I only dream about drill bits and roofing tiles.”
They all laughed.
“Time to elevate those dreams,” Brandon said.
The elevator door shut, and they descended quickly. The slight hop in Chase’s abdomen had little to do with the efficient, high-dollar elevator system. Two weeks basically alone with a beautiful woman he’d never met. He dated, but not as much as he’d like to. He supposed women found him attractive, but he wasn’t a standout. He wasn’t naturally handsome like Nelson or Parker. He wasn’t famous and wealthy like Emmett and Brandon. Despite his training and military experience, he wasn’t untouchable and hard to get yet somehow still appealing to women like Rock or Robbie.
He hoped his lady wasn’t disappointed in the ‘nice guy’, and he hoped Brandon wasn’t pulling a fast one on all of them.
