Page 108 of The Work Wife

“I can help you from here. Send them to me. I’ll look them over and give you my advice.”

“That would be great, but we need to come up with a long-term plan.”

“I’m not ready yet. I need the week. I promise, I’ll give you my answer.”

“Why did you leave?” Ben had asked many times, but Wes refused to give him any details. He simply said it was personal.

He gave the same response. “It’s personal.”

“Yeah, I get that. But you know what? I’m your brother. Maybe I’m personal too. Maybe we could share personal stuff with one another. Maybe before we are days from walking down the aisle to get married.”

“Our family has never been close.”

“No. We were never close to Mother and Dad. But you and I, we were tight once upon a time. We were close. We’re brothers, Wes. Share something brotherly, goddamn it.”

“I’m sorry. I don’t have anything to share.”

“Fine. You suck.”

“Do you have anything to share?”

He gave it a few seconds, deciding how he might explain what he had with Annabelle without making it sound like he was a sleazy exec taking advantage of his assistant.

He couldn’t come up with anything so he simply said, “Nothing.”

“Send me the files. I’ll take a look and give you my thoughts.”

“Thanks.”

He hung up with his brother and Annabelle cut in immediately.

“Yes?”

“I’m sorry but—” His mother marched into his office with a flourish and a scowl. “Your mother was waiting for you to get off the phone. I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine. Thank you.”

He was in too good a mood for his mother to bring him down. No matter what she said, he could handle it.

“Why are you smiling?” she started. “Do you have any idea how badly you’ve messed up this company in the few days you’ve been running it?”

He let out a sigh and considered a retreat. He’d been wrong. He wasn’t up for this. Since his father died, their mother had embroiled herself in the family company. It was all about prestige and success. As the person running the business he also cared about success, but it wasn’t an obsession like it had become with their mother.

He kept the smile on his face, folded his arms across his chest, and made a split-second decision on how best to deal with her.

“Weston got married.”

* * * *

“I thought I would be tired of looking at you by now, but I still can’t keep my eyes off of you,” Wes said in their office the next week.

Jamie laughed at his announcement. She’d been laughing a lot lately. Since they’d been back, she’d moved in with him, sublet her apartment, and spent every night in their bed. So far, Wes’s plan had been the perfect amendment to her plan.

“Are you upset by this?” she asked.

“Not exactly.” He stood and walked over to lean against her desk. “I think it’s a good thing.” He bent to kiss her. “A very good thing.”

The kiss—which started out innocently enough—was moving into something hotter. When he slid his hand to her ass, she knew it wasn’t going to be easy to stop if they didn’t end it soon.