Complete We (A Her Billionaires Novella #4) by Julia Kent Read Free Book Online Page A

stop.
    “What do you mean he’s there? At your office? At the ski resort? Why is he there and not here, visiting with me? What am I supposed to do now? I should answer his email, shouldn’t I? Stupid, stupid, stupid of me to ignore it! Maybe if I’d answered it he would have said whatever he needed to say and none of this would be happening. I don’t know why he’s doing this! Why is he at your office? Why did he visit Good Things Come in Threes and talk to Josie and not—”
    Dylan’s voice suddenly cut through her rapid speech. “Hey, Mike. She’s freaking out.”
    “You think ?” Mike said with an arch in his voice.
    “You need me there?”
    “I think Laura needs you way more than I do. I don’t know the man. Have nothing against him except for the impact this is all having on Laura.”
    “Plus you have Shelly. I’d want her to have my back in a brawl.”
    Mike smiled and laughed, the sound loose and shaky. He’d summoned all his reserves to deal with Frank and hadn’t expected he’d need to talk with Laura and Dylan, too. Not like this. Laura’s panic was a wee bit contagious, and he drew on his inner self to set himself back to center. Whatever he was about to face in his office wasn’t going to control his entire family.
    No fucking way.
    Not normally the type to exert that alpha-male bullshit when confronting another man, Mike had to take a moment to collect himself. Channeling Dylan, he thought about which part of himself to tap into. Frank hadn’t done a single threatening thing yet. His mere reappearance and presence unsettled Laura, but one fact remained:
    Frank hadn’t done anything.
    Mike clued in on that for a moment. If this meeting was a blank slate, and technically there was no history between the two of them, then this was a pure and simple case of sniffing asses.
    He frowned. In man-to-man terms, they were establishing dominance and submission in this first meeting. His lawyer had advised him to keep control over all conversations and to delay. Don’t act. Just wait.
    That didn’t mean he had to roll over and beg to have his tummy scratched, either.
    One of the advantages of being the size of a redwood tree was that other men tended to defer to him, even if Mike didn’t know what to do with that power.
    Right now, though, he knew damn well what to do with it, and as he opened the door to find Frank sitting in the chair across from his massive desk, he braced himself.
    Alpha male engaged.
    As Mike grasped the doorknob and entered the room with a confidence he found surprisingly easy to fake, he saw the back of the head of a man whom he presumed to be Frank. The man paused, not standing at first, seconds ticking by.
    Half of Mike’s mouth lifted up in a sardonic smile.
    I was right , he thought. Already, the non-verbal power play began. Mike could play this game, too. After all, he had more than a decade of watching Dylan master it in a different setting, with jocks and firefighters and models. If anyone could provide him with lessons, it was Dylan. Funny how it hadn’t occurred to Mike to do just that.
    Get instruction from the master.
    It was just as well, for Dylan had other issues he was working on. Hiring a private investigator to understand the inner workings of the man who was in front of Mike, now slowly standing and turning, giving Mike a friendly grin, was just as important.
    “Michael Pine. It’s a pleasure finally to meet you.” Frank strode across the room with large steps, as if he owned the office. Mike stood still, knowing that being calm, centered, focused, and—most important— unflappable was key here.
    His eyes bored into Frank’s as they gripped hands. What they engaged in was less a handshake than an arm wrestling, Mike’s younger, stronger clench finally winning out as he felt Frank’s bones crunch under his grip.
    “Hello…” Mike gave Frank a puzzled look. “And you are…?”
    Frank’s eyes gleamed with cunning. Ah, so that’s how it is? they