Chapter Seven
“Doesn’t anybody knock anymore?” Adam muttered as, five minutes after Lexi left, the door to his office opened yet again and Matt Brodie sauntered inside.
Routine was routine. Why should it change now? Matt never knocked. He merely walked in and made himself comfortable—usually stopping at the glass cabinet to fix a drink first.
Adam checked his watch. Even by Matt’s standards, it was too early for a scotch. Damn pity. He could use one himself. A double, straight up. He hadn’t meant to pitch that seduction line at Lexi. But God help him, she’d stood there, a silhouette in the sunlight, her hair a halo of gold, and he’d only been able to think about two things: making love to her first, and holding her after.
He would have given his left arm to press her down on his desk and fuck her, to plunge his dick into her repeatedly until she convulsed around him.
It wasn’t the physical need that scared him. It was the psychological one. The need to keep Lexi at his side and never let her go.
That terrified the crap out of him.
“Word is you’ve made another hefty donation to the hospital,” Matt said as he took a seat, stretched his legs out, and rested his hands on his stomach.
“Word gets around fast.” Adam’s tone was a notch lower than he would have liked, and he cleared his throat.
“So it’s true?”
Adam nodded.
“Don’t you think you’ve given enough?”
“Don’t you think it’s none of your business?”
“Hmm, let’s see. Financial director…five-figure donation…Riley Corporation?” Matt scratched his chin. “Well, gosh and doggone it, I do believe it could be my business after all.”
Adam smirked, focusing on the man he viewed as a brother. “Yeah, yeah. Whatever.”
“You want to tell me what’s going on? I thought we’d decided not to donate any more to this particular cause.” His voice held no edge, just concern.
“No. You decided. I hadn’t come to any conclusion.”
“You’re too close, Ad. You have zero objectivity when it comes to dealing with this shit. The request should have been referred to me from the start.”
“Relax. It has been. Miss Tanner will be dealing directly with you from now on.”
Matt was not placated. “Why’d you take it on yourself to meet with the woman in the first place?”
Adam smiled ruefully. He never should have met with Lexi, but some forces even an adult man couldn’t fight. “She made the appointment with Genevieve while I was away.”
Matt shook his head and stood. “It screws you up every time.” He opened the bar and, to Adam’s immense relief, pulled out a bottle of whiskey and two glasses. “Here,” he said, placing a glass in front of Adam and half filling it with the tawny liquid. “Single malt, no ice. Yeah. It’s a healthy serving. You look like you could use it.”
He could, and he did, bolting back a large mouthful. The scotch burned its way down his throat and settled in a warm puddle in his stomach.
Matt raised an eyebrow, poured himself a tot and sat back down. “So, what charity is it?”
“Siblings of kids with cancer.”
“Siblings?” Matt snorted. “You mean the healthy kids who get to live normal lives?”
“I mean the healthy kids whose normal lives get buggered up by cancer.”
Matt nodded and swirled his glass. “Point taken.”
He set his drink down. “It’s a good project. She’s looking at cancer from a whole different angle, one we’d…I’d never considered before.” He gave his partner a brief synopsis of the program. “She’ll do good things with the money. This wasn’t a mistake.”
“Got any information on it?”
Adam opened a drawer and handed him the proposal. “It’s all in there. Anything else you want to know, contact Lexi Tanner. Her details are on the cover sheet.”
Matt took a couple of minutes to browse through the document. “It does look good. I still don’t think you should’ve gotten involved.”
Adam held back a cynical laugh. If Matt knew how involved he’d gotten, he’d fall off his chair. “Quit worrying. It’s the right decision.”
“For the hospital maybe. Not for you.”
Adam rubbed a tired hand over his face. Was it still morning? Seemed more like midnight.
“You know I’m right. The only time you get that look on your face is when you think about Timmy.”
His son.
For a moment neither man spoke. Matt’s words hung in the air between them.
Tension crackled up Adam’s spine, and he threw back the rest of his drink. He barely tasted it. Pain cut through him, raw and unforgiving.
It was about Timmy. It was always about Timmy.
“I think about him all the time.”
Matt nodded. “I know you do, mate.” His gentle tone only served to increase Adam’s pain. “Look, no worries. I’ll take care of the project from here on.” He gave him a no-nonsense glare. “You stay out of it. Understood?”
“Don’t you have work to do? Clients to harass?”
“Apparently, I have a whole new charity proposition to deal with.”
“Good, then take care of it and leave me in peace.”
Matt stood. “My leaving,” he said, his voice forceful yet compassionate, “is not going to give you peace. Only you can find that—when you’re ready to start looking.”