Page 16 of One Hot Moment

Now that our discussion has ended, we both stand up. I offer my hand to shake, and Clayton hesitates for only a second or two before he does that. Based on what I've heard about the previous chief risk analysts at this company, I'm sure none of them gave their underlings personal training. I doubt they shook hands with the team members either.

My interviews with the other team members go just as well. They understand that I'm not an ogre or a moron and that I want to help them succeed. It feels bloody good to be the man in charge.

Just as Kelly Jones exits the atrium, Tabitha comes over to me. "How does it feel to have your team members worship the ground you walk on?"

"Worship me? No, that's ridiculous. Maybe they respect the way I analyze data, but no one idolizes me."

"Maybe I do."

I freeze, rotating only my eyes to look at her. She must be having me on. A clever, accomplished woman like her would never fall for a finance geek.

She hooks her arm around mine. "Don't look so shocked. Who wouldn't worship you? A handsome, sexy, smart, talented man with a British accent? That's catnip to American women."

"My mates told me the same thing, but I didn't believe it then either. Some women might have idolized Kendall back in the old days, but that was..." No, I shouldn't tell her about my brother's former career. Not without his permission. Then again, he told all our friends.

Tabitha ambles toward the atrium exit, keeping her arm around mine. "You can't trail a sentence off like that, not after telling me women used to idolize your brother. I need the juicy details."

"We need to get in the lift. Then I'll finish that sentence, assuming no one else tries to join us."

"Okay. I can be patient up to a point. Then I'm just plain annoying about demanding to hear the details."

I doubt Tabitha Remington could ever be annoying. "You won't need to wait long, I promise."

As soon as we're in the lift, alone, rising toward the seventh floor, I finish what I'd started to say.

Chapter Eight

Tabitha

"My family was in financial trouble back then due to my father's accident. He was injured at work. As the oldest sibling, Kendall felt responsible for all of us." Spencer turns toward me, and I unconsciously do the same. "My brother started searching for a job, but he had no experience at...anything. So, he took the only position he could find." Spencer's mouth twists upward into a half smirk. "He was the lead dancer at a male revue club called Bodacious Nights."

"Male revue? I don't know what that means."

"Kendall was a stripper."

I stop blinking. Did he just say what I think he said? I stare at Spencer, unable to speak for several seconds. "Stripper? They have those kind of clubs in the UK?"

"Oh, yes, we have them. No one in our family knew what sort of job Kenny had taken, and we never asked. He kept our family afloat. That's all we needed to know."

"Sounds like your family is tight knit."

"We always have been. But clearly, we weren't close enough. Kendall kept his secret for a long time after he gave up working at Bodacious Nights."

My boss's brother used to rip his clothes off for a living. I shouldn't ask, but I can't shut my mouth up. "How much did he take off?"

Spencer's entire face cinches up into the cutest expression of embarrassment. "Must we discuss the details?"

"Oh, God, I'm being such a nosy jerk. I'm sorry, Spencer."

He blusters out a sigh. "No, I'm the tosser. It's unfair for me to tell you Kendall was a stripper without giving more of an explanation. The truth is that Bindy and I knew about Kendall's job at the club. My sister went to the club with her mates one night, having no idea her brother would be on stage. When Bindy saw Kendall wearing nothing but a G-string, she panicked."

"I can understand why. But I assume she got over the shock."

"She did. But Bindy and I agreed to keep the secret. Kendall didn't want our parents to know about his line of work." Spencer knifes a hand through his hair. "Talking about my brother's racy job isn't my favorite topic of discussion. Kenny doesn't like to talk about it either. I'm not ashamed of what he did, but I'm glad he left that profession behind him."

No wonder his sister freaked out. Seeing her older brother practically naked, writhing around on stage... Even I would freak out in her place, and I'm not easily shocked.

Spencer glances at the display that shows what floor we're passing through---the fifth floor, it says. He sighs again, but this time he smiles too. "Kenny got over his embarrassment at last during the Sommerleigh Halloween bash. He and several of his mates did striptease routines, then Kendall apparently ripped the G-string off. Then he grabbed his girl, Rachelle, and stalked through the house in the nude to take her into one of the bedrooms."

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