Chapter One

Blake

“And surprise, surprise, no Hawk.” Blake Parker scoffed as he walked into the conference room, seeing that one of his two brothers was missing. Cole sat where he usually did, by a window, in his favorite leather chair, looking bored as always.

Like everything else at Parker Industries, the room was well-appointed, its furnishings all top of the line and cutting edge in technology. LED lights gleamed off a combination of polished steel and hardwood. The only thing that didn’t really suit the room was the industrial-looking carpet, and one of these days soon, Blake was going to option ideas for something equally functional, but less drab. Style was important in the property business.

Cole’s eyebrows rose sardonically. “What did you expect? He’s only been back from his honeymoon for almost a month—surely you can’t expect him to be back at work already?”

Blake laughed, taking a seat in his own chair at the long conference table.

Hawk, the youngest of his brothers, had recently married Kathryn Wellington, the daughter of one of their largest business rivals in New York. After his brothers had okay the merger, bailed him out of the scandal he was embroiled in, and helped him win the affections of Kathryn, Hawk had sworn he would help out more in the company, only to disappear once they were married.

“Have you heard from him?” Blake asked, checking his phone as it vibrated and making a mental note to call the client back in a few minutes.

Cole smirked. “Minimally. The guy’s still so high on love that conversing with him is like talking to a helium balloon. All high-pitched and giddy. We probably can’t count on him too much. Not till he and his blushing bride have their first big fight, at any rate, and he needs a distraction.”

Blake wasn’t surprised, just disappointed. Parker Industries was their father’s business, and he had spent his entire life preparing for the moment he would be able to call it his own. But when his father had passed away, he had left it not only to Blake, but to his two brothers as well—on the condition that all three of them would be able to handle it.

But as they neared the sixth month of trying to maintain the company as a team, time and time again, Blake had been the only one who held the place together. He’d promised both brothers they could have their cut and leave after the year, but only on the condition that they made it that long. If they failed, Berkshire, their only rival company, would buy them out.

Blake’s worst nightmare.

In spite of the recent merger with Wellington, the company was still struggling, largely due to the fraud it had fallen prey to a couple of months prior. Blake and Cole had sent Hawk to Las Vegas to oversee the construction of a hotel. When he hadn’t been fucking Kathryn in the hot tub, he’d managed to discover they were being robbed of thousands of dollars.

Although they had gotten the issue sorted out, Parker Industries was still reeling from the major financial hit. Of course, it had caused Blake to question all the other investments they had made and he had diligently begun verifying their status. The only problem was that the best way to make sure they were truly getting their money’s worth was to check out each and every site personally.

He and Cole had been taking turns flying to their various properties in development around the country, but with Cole’s extra responsibility to Dana, his relatively new wife, Blake often picked up the extra trips. Nevertheless, they were both worn out—and disappointed Hawk wasn’t doing more at the office while they were gone.

“So, do you want to take the flight out tomorrow morning?” Blake asked, crossing his fingers under the table.

“Where’s it headed?” Cole asked, doing a lazy back-and-forth spin of the chair.

“Element Island,” Blake said casually, and it was Cole’s turn to laugh.

“Pleasure Island, you mean! What’ve we got going on down there?”

Blake pulled out the file and slid it across the table. Cole looked it over and shook his head at the impressive property stats. The so-called island was really a resort made of reclaimed land off the coast of Myrtle Beach. A billionaire developer had sunk a lot of money into it some 20 years back, then had gotten bored and more or less abandoned it so it eventually organically morphed into its own small community, isolated enough from the mainland that a particular nightclub culture had developed. A culture that eventually attracted hoteliers from all over, gradually turning Element Island into a mini Vegas of the East Coast.

“You know,” Cole commented, eyeing the glossy photographs of lush beaches, palm trees, and brand-new high rises, “If we do get this hotel up and running, it’s going to be a valuable asset.”

“I know. Which is why I want to get it going, but I don’t trust anyone after what happened down in Las Vegas,” Blake responded.

Cole nodded. “We could always send Hawk again. That worked out so well last time.”

“No, Hawk’s staying here,” Blake replied slightly wearily, “and that is the end of that. Do you have any idea what kind of shit is going to be brought down on this company if he manages to get caught up in another scandal? Especially with Kathryn—and her father—in the picture now. The last thing we need is more bad publicity.” Blake sighed and looked up at the ceiling.

Cole cracked his knuckles. “You’re right. Fine. I’ll tell Dana that I’ve got another trip tonight, and I’ll head out first thing in the morning. It should go smoothly—at least, it better.” Clearly considering the conversation done, he started for the door, his long-legged stride carrying him there quickly.

“Thanks,” Blake called after him, doing a silent fist pump of elation. That was one trip he wouldn’t have to take, at least. He waited for a moment after the door had closed, thinking about all the things they still had to do. There were still numerous hotels around the country they were going to have to check before he could rest easy, and still a ton of paperwork to handle before tax season showed up once more.

There were so many things to do, he was overwhelmed. Keeping so many different spinning plates in the air required a divided focus, which Blake disliked. He preferred to get one task fully accomplished, delivering a quality project, before moving on to the next. This whole hotel scandal was just taking too much time from everything else. He had to get things sorted out, and quickly. He rubbed his eyes and thought about his father.

Somehow, no matter how bad things sometimes had gotten, the man had always been able to take care of everything—all the while raising Blake and his three siblings. If his father could do it singlehandedly, so could he, he’d long ago decided, and he would, no matter the obstacles that presented themselves in his path.

Even if his head seemed to constantly throb lately, he was going to push through this and get it done. Cole going to Element Island took a lot of pressure off his shoulders. He trusted his brother to take care of things properly, which would give him the chance to catch up on things back at the office.

“Just give it a couple more weeks, and things are going to get a lot easier,” Blake muttered as he walked into his own office, took a seat behind his immaculately organized desk, and signed into his computer. He drew in a deep breath before letting it out again slowly, trying to decide where to begin his work day. It was only Monday, and he could see that his schedule was completely booked out until Thursday.

He clicked on a file and narrowed his eyes, beginning to meticulously scan the document in front of him and already seeing discrepancies that would need to be addressed.

It was going to be a very long day.

***

The microwave beeped, and Blake pulled out the leftover Chinese he had heated. He dumped the contents of the takeout box on a plate. Then, stifling a sigh, he carried his plate to the dinner table and pushed aside the stack of papers left there during the previous night’s dinner.

Sinking down, he dug into the lukewarm noodles, trying not to notice the total silence in his beautiful home. He’d decorated it himself, with artwork from all the many countries he’d been to, but for what, he didn’t know. Not like he had anyone to share it with.

Blake swallowed down a mouthful of noodles along with a nudge of bitterness. He wasn’t a bad guy. In fact, he might have been the nicest of the three Parker brothers. So why couldn’t he find someone? Rerouting his thoughts from their brief foray into self-pity, he finished eating quickly and rinsed his dishes off as he thought about his packed schedule.

His phone chimed on the table and he walked over, seeing that Kathryn had texted him.

You looked a little down today. Is everything going all right?

It was nice to have someone notice the stress he was under, but Blake really didn’t want to go into it. He was happy that his brother was finally settled and that Hawk had unearthed the scandal before it destroyed Parker Industries. However, the fallout had still been only slightly short of radioactive.

He texted back, Fine, just tired. Thanks.

Scarcely had he sent the text when the phone chimed once more. This time it was Cole.

Guess who’s going to be an uncle! Dana just told me the news!!!! I don’t think I’m going to be making that flight in the morning after all!

Blake sat there staring at the phone for a long moment, stunned. Both brothers married, and now one on the way to being a dad.

That’s crazy. Congratulations! He texted Cole, meaning it, while at the same time newly exhausted. Now he would have to take the business trip in the morning.

So he would need to pack. But first, he called his brother, because how often did he get to hear he was going to be an uncle for the very first time? Business was important, but there was still nothing more central to Blake than his family.