Sitting outdoors in front of the yacht club, Dane needed the open air to give his mind the freedom to think and create without the constant interruption of his assistant. The better reason was Yasmin.

A week of delicious torture spent in her bed and within her arms had him unable to be effective at work. He couldn’t stop thinking about her. First his excuse to be at her side was for the move into her new condo. Then, he talked himself into hanging around for the proper customer attentiveness, per her request.

“Dane! Earth to my brother.” Damien tossed up his hands. “Look, you called this meeting. If you’re not going to talk and only sit there wearing a dopey expression, I’m calling this meeting adjourned.” He pushed back his chair and stood.

“No. Wait.” Dane signaled for him to take his seat again. “Sorry.” He tried a placating smile, but he felt his face grimace instead. He took a deep breath, hoping to clear away the memory loop of the only person taking up residence—Yasmin.

“You have me worried. What’s going on with you?” Damien scrunched his eyes and leaned into Dane’s face for the answer.

“Stop being silly.” Nevertheless, Dane leaned back in the chair just in case his brother could detect the inner turmoil and reason for his distracted state.

“Me? You’re the one looking quite odd.” Damien frowned and then his eyebrows raised. “Wait a minute. Ever since Yasmin has landed in Monaco, you’ve become obsessed with her activities or maybe it’s over her.”

“Focused on closing the deal.”

“Yeah, I bet you’re working hard on that. Dallon told me about the post-Gaston party activity, by the way. Did you head into her hotel or run away scared?”

“Shouldn’t you be sitting in on some meeting for your new car racing business?” Dane glared at Damien but should have expected nothing less than his brothers’ snitching behind his back.

“Ah…that would mean that you did head into the hotel.” Damien’s chuckle grated on his nerves.

“And while you were getting lucky, did you do your utter best to increase the Laurent bank account?” Damien continued taunting.

Dane coolly addressed him. “I did not prostitute myself.”

“Noooo. That would be cheap.” Damien’s cheesy grin irritated Dane. “I suspect that you tossed out the Laurent charm and reeled her in.”

“Did I ever tell you that you’re not a Laurent? You were switched at birth.” Dane tossed an evil grin his way.

“Just admit that you were with that woman,” Damien teased.

“Yasmin is her name,” Dane blurted caving to his frustration.

Dallon laughed heartily. “Do you call out her name like that in your sleep?”

“Keep it up and I’m canceling the meeting. Dallon isn’t here anyway.”

“Okay, I’ll behave. But you have to tell me everything.”

“You never told me about reuniting with Anna.”

Damien’s expression shifted to being thoughtful. “We—you and I—had bigger issues between us. Anna was the rock I needed in my life. Sort of right time in the right place.”

“First, tell me about the woman who has you tied up in knots. I don’t necessarily mean that literally.” Damien wiggled his brows. “But what’s going on with that business?”

“Nothing much to tell. I still think she’s got ulterior motives for hooking up with us. But I’m patient. I’ll figure her out.”

“Right after you seduce her,” Damien was too amused for Dane’s liking.

“No one is seducing anyone. We’re not teenagers.”

“If my intel is correct, she’s knocked you off your stride. Dallon thinks the same.”

“You both need to mind your business. Go irritate Anna. I’m sure you can manage that.”

Damien ignored him. “When do I meet her?”

“Never.”

“Are you issuing a challenge?” Damien grabbed his phone and typed in Dane’s code.

“You know my password?”

“You’re a bit of an old soul. You’ve been using the same one since college. The date you joined that stuck up Harvard fraternity. Thankfully you never changed it. And I may or may not have sent texts back in the day. And I may or may not have deleted missed calls from your girlfriends.”

“I should kick your ass.”

“Kick my ass, and I’m telling our mothers.”

Dane plucked his phone out of Damien’s hand. “Now I’ll have to change my password.”

“Or don’t and I can read all your sex-talk to Yasmin.”

“For the life of me, I can’t see why Anna puts up with you. Must help to have a long-distance relationship.”

Damien nodded. “Sometimes, I can’t figure out why I’m so lucky. Planning to make that long distance a shorter one. We’re engaged.”

Dane heard the hope in Damien’s statement. “Go for it, don’t look back.” He reached over and patted his brother’s shoulder. “Congratulations!”

His brother smiled, pure joy lighting his face. “I’ve got to get going soon. So why the meeting?”

“Hey, what did I miss.” Dallon burst onto the scene in full tennis gear, along with his tennis racket. “Had a lively game with John Battle, the luxury ship magnate.

“I know who he is,” Dane perked up over his eldest brother’s exuberance.

“Quite unexpected. Was actually playing with Claude, but when he tripped over his feet for the umpteenth time and couldn’t play, Battle stepped in. I almost pushed Claude off the court when he tried to insert himself into the mix.”

“Did you chat about anything worthwhile?” Dane prompted.

“At first I wasn’t going to play hard. But he knew what I was doing and got quite irritated by my well-meaning gesture. I gave him what he wanted after he called me on it—a grueling game that almost exploded our lungs. He didn’t fare much better. But he won, fair and square.”

“And then …?” Damien prompted again.

“We’ll be playing again tomorrow. Then I was invited to his house for lunch.” Dallon looked quite pleased.

“Well done,” Damien cheered.

“And here it is that I thought you were the introvert of the brotherhood,” Dane teased as he raised his water glass in salute.

“Would much rather if I played tennis and you had the lunch.” Dallon stretched his back and groaned and then his shoulders for which he grimaced.

“Not going to happen,” Dane said, motioning for him to take a seat, “before you break out into yoga poses.

Damien took the opportunity to share the news about his engagement to Anna.

“Cool, isn’t it?” Dallon addressed Dane.

Dane watched his brothers hugged. “You knew? And didn’t tell me?” Dane was more hurt than angry.

Dallon, on the other hand, looked unperturbed over his outburst.

Dane snorted his disgust more so for his sake because he knew why Dallon hadn’t rushed to share Damien’s good news. Only a few weeks ago, they were at each other’s throats over Damien’s job performance and Dane’s frustration over the matter. Although they had moved from that fracture in their brotherly bond, the damage had been done and a lot of mending was necessary.

Damien tapped his watch. “Okay, guys, let’s get back to the meeting.”

“Right. I was about to tell Damien that we need to diversify,” Dane said.

Dallon pulled out the chair and took his seat opposite Damien. They often met to kick around ideas and problem solve among themselves before bringing to a bigger audience with the various department heads. From their early teens, their father always brought them together to discuss various matters. Now as adults, he rarely participated allowing them free reign to be creative or solve whatever the issues may be.

Regardless of any infighting, they never crossed the line with deep or lasting discord when it came to Laurent Holdings. To stay in the upper percentile of the industry, they needed to combine brain power and efforts. The tight family bond had worked for them and Dane had no intention of ever seeing it ripped apart.

He looked at each brother sitting on either side of him. “The market is tightening. Where we could have built out, it’s now crowded. We’re building up. Sales are good. Dubai is kicking our asses, though. Not only are they building big, but also the amenities are at the level that we can’t compete. And we’re suffering a generation gap crisis.”

“What do you mean?” Damien asked.

“Monaco is a cultural and ageist minefield. Meaning the old European money doesn’t want the nouveau riche mavericks sharing in their way. Clashes occur far too often and Dubai stepped up to be the new hip place to be.”

“And your solution is …?” Damien nudged.

“We’re missing out on a niche. We have to do something that attracts a new wave of capital.”

“Go on,” Dallon prompted.

“I’m kicking around possibilities, but I don’t want to be the second or third company to jump on the bandwagon. And if I’m going to be ahead of the pack, then the costs to set up and run the operation have to be relatively low or at least stable for the first three years.”

“You’re onto something. Although it would be nice to just step into dad’s shoes and stay in line with what he developed, the reality of the business environment is harsh. Requires innovative thinking.” Damien’s excitement gave Dane the boost he didn’t know he needed until he laid out his ideas.

“I’ll need your help. Both of you.” Dane had regretted pushing his brother out the door, every day.

His brothers each contributed in ways that weren’t always tangible and specific. After Damien resigned, his departure left a crater-sized hole. Gone were the days when Dane could pass by Damien’s office and talk about the problem accounts and the solutions. His brother always managed to bring creativity to his suggested solutions. And he’d ruined the opportunity to have his brother close at hand. His ego might as well have been the big broom to sweep Damien aside and out of the family day-to-day operations.

“Stop beating yourself up. Like I said, I will always help. I don’t have to be at the desk to be involved with Laurent Holdings. Now that I have an idea of what you want to do and where you may want to take the company, I’ll do some research and talk to our friends in South Africa, Australia, and Vegas.”

Dane nodded. A burden had been lifted off his shoulders. All the research and reports could gather certain data and intel but his brother had contacts that ranged from CEOs to those buried deep in the most sensitive jobs around the world.

“We have to be discrete.” Dallon looked around at the nearby patrons.

“Don’t worry. I’ ll be discrete.” Damien reassured them.

“Good because I’m sure that Yasmin may be dipping her toes in our pool. I think she wants in and will walk right over our heads to get there.”

“Well, dear brother, that’s where your charms had better start working. We’re aren’t stepping out of the way and we certainly aren’t going to let your Persian princess put down anchor.” Damien’s eyebrow raised to underscore his plain-speak.

“This is because of her father?” Dallon looked incredulous.

Dane shrug. “She doesn’t discuss her business or her father with me. But she’s obviously done her homework on us. Little things slip.”

“Let’s not get sidetracked by whatever she’s doing. We don’t have to chase her. This is our pie and we’re not sharing.” Damien stabbed his finger on the table top. His playfulness disappeared as a competitive gleam shone in his eyes.

“And on that note, meeting adjourned. We’ve got work to do.” Dane pushed back from the table ready to head back to his office to delegate the next round of tasks.

“Keep making me proud, little brother.” Dallon stood, stretched some more, and patted his shoulder before he left.

“Talk to you later,” Damien said before he left with Dallon.

Dane walked over to the railing that overlooked part of the coastline and the country’s crowded landscape. His gaze swept from the country’s skyline to its natural blend into France. His father had carved out history before Monaco’s resurgence. They’d help build the economy, its wealth, its place in Europe. And he had every intention of adding to their portfolio.

But he also didn’t have the strong desire to be a roadblock to Yasmin.  

 

By early afternoon, Dane logged off his company laptop, placed it in the computer case, and locked it in his office safe. The act felt sacrilegious. He couldn’t remember the last time that he’d parted company with the computer. To be unplugged stirred the withdrawal symptoms. At least he had his phone. No way that he’d go anywhere and be unreachable. That would be the one time that everything went horribly wrong.

A knock interrupted his next plan to clean off his desk.

“Come in.” Hopefully, his impatience clued in the visitor to make it quick.

His assistant’s rueful expression halted his clean up. “Sorry. I know you said you were leaving—”

“Don’t say anything that will stop me.”

“Your father would like to see you.”

“Did he say on what subject?” Dane cleaned off the stack of papers from the top his desk and placed them in the drawer and locked it.

“No, sir.”

“Did he look as if it’s an emergency?”

“Your father always looks like it’s an emergency.”

Dane looked up from his activities and then his laughter erupted. “That’s a good one.”

Gracie didn’t join in with him laughing at his father. Instead, she came closer to his desk and hovered. “I think he wants to call a meeting for later this afternoon.”

“Did he know that I was going to be off?”

“I told him personally.”

“Then tell him that I’d already left the building.” He continued locking up his desk and then he grabbed his briefcase. “Why are you still here?”

Gracie’s expression turned stoic. “Because he’s outside your office.”

“Why didn’t you say that?” Dane felt like a kid skipping school. He looked at his watch. “Damn.”

The office door opened and his father walked in wearing his standard look of irritability. Gracie immediately turned and hurried past Philippe and out the office. Now Dane armed with his briefcase tried for patience as his father casually took a seat at his desk.

Philippe Laurent walked in like a man in charge. His expansive chest had a puffed out effect with his rigid upright stance. All dressed in custom-fitted suits, his father had an old-world style that was his signature look. His tanned complexion sported only a few deeply grooved lines along his forehead and corners of his mouth. Unlike Dane’s wavy hair, his father’s hair was immaculately tended to by his personal barber of over twenty years. The latest style was a short-trimmed look with it slightly gelled back. Despite the vintage look, his father didn’t pursue youth with hair color. The silver evenly distributed added to his prestige, but also helped make him appear more approachable than the reality.

“Why do you have me waiting in your secretary’s area?” His father’s voice stayed even, almost with a calming lilt. The ferocious glare of his blue eyes provided a full view of his emotions. Right now, he was irritated.

“I’m leaving for the day.”

“Really!”

Dane sighed. “Yes. I know it’s an unusual sight. But in the next few minutes, I’m leaving.”

“Must be damned important to disregard my request to see you.”

“It is.” Dane didn’t elaborate.

“Heard that my sons had a meeting earlier today.”

“Okay.” As far as he knew, calling a meet up with his brothers wasn’t on a banned list of activities. What was his father’s problem with it?

“I know you’re hungry for the top seat.”

“Hungry implies desperation. I’m competent.”

“And I’m not ready to turn it over.”

Dane nodded. “You’ve made that clear.”

His father’s stare leveled judgment. “And the meeting earlier?”

“It’s not a coup in the works.” Dane took offense to the innuendo. “Do you think that low of me or Damien or Dallon?”

Philippe wasn’t the type to be insecure about anything. In the rare case that he did suffer indecision, he took the offensive and landed the first punch. With his sons, the balance of power never shifted or wavered unless Philippe wanted to create an effect.

“You’ve made up with Damien.”

“For the most part, yes.”

“Out of sincere brotherly love or to get my blessing for your promotion?”

Dane paused at the forked road wondering what his father wanted to hear. How did he need to answer? His father never talked about love. He talked about respect and loyalty, even obedience. Maybe those were his measurements for his heart to bend and embrace.

Philippe snorted at Dane’s hesitation. “Never mind. Wasn’t supposed to be a mental exercise. Let me be blunt, then. What are all of you plotting?

“Who’s putting this nonsense in your head?”

“Watch how you speak to me?”

“You’re acting as if I’m someone off the street and not your son.” Dane rubbed his hand through his hair ready to grab clumps in frustration.

“You’ve been having quite a few sidebar meetings with no follow up to me. You’ve also been meeting with our investment company. Been to Dubai—”

“For Damien’s electric car racing investment venture.”

“Where you met with Bheeta and Vanderhoot?”

“Not a crime.” Dane withheld his intention about starting business in Dubai. Without concrete information, he couldn’t deliver sufficient news that would settle any misgivings that his father was bound to raise.

“They are commercial real estate vultures who have approached me about partnerships in Monaco.” Philippe’s voice dropped low with his disapproval.

Dane said nothing.

“They don’t do partnerships. They devour.” His father’s fist connected to the open palm of his other hand with a loud pop.

Dane concentrated on remaining cool but also making his point. “No harm in talking to them. I’m always curious about who threatens our legacy.”

“Without my knowledge and again, you didn’t follow up with me.” His father’s voice slid into the deep freeze zone. “Do you think that I’m not made aware of what you do?”

“When working in the best interest of the company, no, I don’t think that I need your permission to find us lucrative opportunities. Which means that I will be talking to more business contacts than Bheeta and Vanderhoot. I’m specifically interested in businesses that complement our strengths. Nothing that I haven’t done before and without immediately following up with you.”

“You used to come to me for my opinion.” His father’s grumpiness shifted into place.

“Your permission, you mean.”

“What else are you doing that you’re not telling me?”

“You’ll have to be specific. I didn’t tell you what I had for breakfast, or what I bought for mom to lift her spirits, or why I’m leaving early.”

“You barely eat breakfast. Too wrapped up in your looks to worry about sabotaging your body. You always buy flowers for your mother on Friday. And you’ve got a woman who is under wraps until you tire of her.”

Dane smiled. “Guess you know more about me than I’d thought.”

“I only know the surface. Unlike your brothers, you keep most of who you are hidden. If it’s me you’re worried about judging you, then that won’t ever change. But if it’s preventing you from being bold and honest, for better or worse, then you need to change that. Don’t live in your own shadow, or anyone else’s for that matter.”

Shock robbed Dane of an automatic response. Getting personal with a father-son talk was always about running the company. To hear his father’s advice on life lessons almost knocked him flat.

“Don’t want to keep you any longer.”

Dane nodded.

His father raised his hand. “We can talk more when you get back.”

Dane watched his father leave his office taking most of the tension in the room with him. He hitched his hip onto the corner of his desk, his fingers gripping its edge. What just happened? From accusation of a take-over conspiracy to a show of an unfamiliar tenderness in his life. He didn’t know how to react, much less respond to Philippe’s shifts. And there was no time to brief his brothers.

“All clear?” Gracie had stuck her head in.

“Yes.” Dane took a deep breath and continued getting his desk in order.

“If anything comes up, I’ll call you.” His assistant shooed him out of the office.

“Thanks.” Dane needed to get out his office, out of the building, and to fresh air. To Yasmin.

The idea of being with her for the next two days put a spring into his steps for a hasty departure. The quickly planned getaway weekend with her could make him pretend that she may not have ulterior motives for coming to Monaco, that he wasn’t trying to get his father’s approval, that he didn’t have a reputation to live up or a legacy to uphold.

As he exited from the front of the building, Yasmin pulled up in a shockingly bright yellow sports car. He grinned at her selection. Nothing mattered now. She looked gorgeous and sophisticated in her honey-gold headscarf and her oversized sunglasses and bright lip color.

“I’m on the hunt for a sexy man willing to run away with me.” She slid down her sunglasses to the tip of her nose and looked up at him.

“I’m your man. Sexy with overnight luggage,” he replied, but then tried to casually look over his shoulder to see if there were any onlookers from his company.

“I like being your little secret. I have noticed that you haven’t let me step foot into the Laurent world. Don’t know if you’re a smart man or a paranoid one.” She pushed the sunglasses back into place.

Dane opened the car door and slid in. “With you, it’s all about playing outside the rules. And you are Farrokh’s daughter, after all. Makes me cautious.”

“I can live with cautious. But as a reminder, you’re with me about to head off out to the unknown.”

“Curiosity is a hell of a thing.”

She pouted. “And here I thought it was my winning skills in bed.”

“That might have played a significant part.”

She chuckled.

“You love going through life barreling through obstacles.” Dane looked over at the confident lift of her chin. He didn’t think she had ever lost a battle.

“That’s what I want most people to believe. But I look and listen and then act. I’m a woman in a man’s world. If I wasn’t a thinker, impulsive or not, I wouldn’t achieve as much as I do. And I’m not done with my list of accomplishments.”

“Sleeping with me was a planned operation, then?”

“I saw you and wanted you. Nothing planned in that.”

“Love your honesty, but I know you’re not telling me everything.”

At a red light, she leaned over and kissed his cheek. “Go with the gut. That’s my motto.”

“You are leading down a path with unforeseen curves.”

“Consider this outing a team building exercise. You’ll get to know me. We’ll walk away from the adventure possibly with a different mindset about each other.”

“And what will you do with your information and discoveries?”

She shrugged, as she looked at him, but he couldn’t read her. Those dark glasses were like curtains over her soul. The same was said of him as measure of criticism from his brothers.

“Forget everything,” she urged, “I’ve planned a wonderful two and half days.”

“Looking forward to it … I think.” He took her hand resting on the gear stick and kissed the inside of her wrist. To him, she looked relaxed and in charge.

“Dane Laurent, you’d better hang on for the time of your life.”

Dane exaggerated with his fingers pressed onto the dashboard. But with the hard acceleration, he didn’t have to fake holding on tight. One thing was certain, there was never a dull moment in Yasmin’s company. The woman behind the designer shades drove like a race car driver. His fingers tightened on the sharp hairpin turn. His stomach dropped as he looked over the side of the craggy mountainous road.

“You’ve got to live on the edge,” she screamed. The words quickly sailed away with the afternoon breeze.

“I like keeping both feet on the ground.”

“Boring, darling.” She laughed.

Dane did have to laugh. He was truly drunk off this gorgeous woman’s zany, fearless aura. She made him forget work and responsibility. She forced him to live in the moment, with intent, wanting every second to count.

Holding on to Yasmin was like reaching through a mist for something that looked solid and grabbing only air.