Page 9 of Steel Queen

“When does she arrive, Brian?” Mrs. Schmidt inquired. “I’d like to meet her very much.”

“She comes next week for an official meeting,” said Dad. “We’ll arrange for a casual dinner later in the evening for all the board members. It would be a good time to make your acquaintance then.”

“Will family be allowed?” asked Mr. Keating, another senior manager. “I want my daughter to speak to Miss Azalea. She needs someone to motivate her to continue with her undergrad studies.”

Dad smiled. “Of course. Azalea was among the top graduates in her year at Silverlake University.”

Milla’s face rose before my eyes. Azalea sounded like a dedicated, determined young woman and inadvertently, reminded me of the girl I once loved.

No. Scratch that. Milla was still the girl I was in love with.

It’d been five years since I last saw her but she still owned my mind and heart. She’d punished me and my brothers in the most brutal way possible.

She disappeared, leaving us searching for her everywhere until we were forced to give up.

None of us knew if she was even alive.

I swallowed a choke in my throat and focused my attention on the meeting. Dad was back in his chair but he was being inundated with questions about Azalea Amhurst.

The name didn’t ring a bell. I wasn’t even aware we were related to anyone by that name until now.

Noah stalked out of the room quietly.

Corey got up from his chair and came toward me.

“Hey,” I said, getting up to meet him. “Are you okay?”

“My balls are steamed,” he said, pulling at the tie knot around his tightly-buttoned up collar. “Looks like the meeting’s over. Let’s get out of here.”

I gave a nod and followed him out of the stiflingly heated boardroom.

The cooler air of the corridor felt incredibly good.

Corey hurriedly took off his tie and opened his collar and the first few buttons of his shirt. “Who’d say this was February?” he grumbled.

“Are you going to strip right here?” I teased with a grin.

“I’m sure the ladies won’t mind,” he replied with a lascivious smile.

I chuckled, knowing he said those words out of habit. Corey was still stuck on Milla.

We’d both tried dating other women in the past five years but nothing stuck.

None of the girls were as warm, quirky, or sweet as her. They were only interested in our name and inheritance.

Grabbing my brother’s arm, I pulled him down the corridor to reach the elevators. “Let’s go home,” I said in a grim tone. “Noah’s probably already there and waiting for us.”

“Then, let’s stop at a bar and have a drink first,” said Corey. “We both know we’re going to need it.”

“Yeah,” I agreed, knowing we were about to face a massive storm when we got home tonight.

4

Corey

The chauffeur hurriedly opened the car door for me.

Climbing out, I glanced at the lights shining through the windows of the mansion before climbing out. A cold breeze blew by, cooling the warmth on my cheeks. I enjoyed the feeling and the light buzz from downing five shots of bourbon at the bar.

---