Page 11 of By the Letter

While my rugby career had been cut short by a shoulder injury, Ben’s was going strong. He had two Olympics under his belt and didn’t seem to be running out of steam. I didn’t try to deny my jealousy that he still got to play the game we both loved, but I wasn’t unhappy with where I’d ended up either. Life wasn’t always fair, but I’d bought a stake in Denver’s pro rugby team, the Mountain Lions, keeping my foot in the game in the only way it could be.

As for my brother, he had never worked an office job, and he had no intention of ever being strapped to a desk. The idea of Ben sitting still, working at a computer for eight or nine hours, was preposterous. We might’ve been identical in a lot of ways, but we diverged in our ability to hunker down and focus. We’d become business partners years ago, but that consisted of Ben giving me money to invest and me returning it tenfold. It worked for us both.

I rubbed the spot between my brows and sighed. “When are you leaving for New Zealand?”

Ben’s team was headed overseas for training for a month, and I was dreading his absence as much as I was looking forward to the quiet. Not only was he my brother, but he’d decided to move in with me when he’d broken up with his girlfriend—the same time I’d split from mine a few months ago. He’d made himself comfortable and didn’t seem to be going anywhere, and I wasn’t in a hurry to get rid of him.

“Tuesday. Are you going to miss me?”

“Maybe.” I shrugged. “Eating dinner alone will be strange. No one stealing the food off my plate, you know?”

He cackled. “I’m saving you from all those calories. Now that you’re behind a desk all day, you’re going to get a gut.”

I patted my abdomen, which admittedly wasn’t in the same shape it had been but was nowhere near becoming a gut. “I’m doing all right. I can still take my shirt off without shame.”

Without warning, my office door swung open, and Francesca Goldman let herself in. With a smirk, she slinked up behind Ben and bent down, covering his eyes with her hands.

“Guess who?” she cooed next to his ear.

“Hmmm…you smell expensive, and your hands feel like they’ve never worked an honest day in your whole life. Gotta be Frannie.”

With a yelp, she straightened and gave his shoulder a less-than-playful whack. “God, Benjamin, I’ve told you not to call me that. When will it sink into your thick skull?”

Ben climbed to his feet and gave her a bear hug, squeezing a squeal out of her. “I dunno, Frannie. My thick skull has taken a lot of hits. Might be a while before I remember. Wait, what was I supposed to remember?”

I had to hide my laugh behind my hands. When Ben found someone’s button, he pushed the hell out of it. I would have told him to cut it out, but Francesca deserved some razzing. With looks, money, and status, she’d been skating through lifesince birth. She was used to people kissing her thousand-dollar heels, even when acting like an entitled bitch. After a month of observing her lack of professionalism and work ethic, I’d come to the conclusion that was pretty much all the time.

I didn’t bother talking to her about it. Things would be changing around here—and soon.

Francesca stomped her expensive high heels and circled Ben, her hands on her hips. Ben leaned back in his chair, his legs stretched out in front of him, a crooked grin on his face.

“I thought you’d be happy to see me,” Francesca whined. “Must you be such a tease?”

“Yes, I must.” Ben raised an eyebrow at me. “Rome and I were just talking about you.”

“You were?” Francesca whirled around to me, her shiny pink lips pursing. “All good things, I hope.”

“Ben was trying to ascertain your work schedule,” I informed her. “I couldn’t give him an answer since I’m not really sure what it is.”

She waved me off like I was a big joker. “You know I work from home most of the time. I can’t stand being here withher. Her presence upsets me so very much.”

“Interesting.” I steepled my fingers beneath my chin. “I never see you online when you’re not in the office.”

Her brow arched. “Have you been looking for me, Roman?”

Ben grunted before rising to his feet. “On that note, I’m going to get going. Nice seeing you, Fran.” He winked at me. “Have fun, bro.”

With a sigh, I nodded toward his vacated seat. “I’ve been meaning to schedule an appointment with you. No time like the present, right?”

“An appointment? This should be interesting.” She perched on the edge of the chair, leaning forward to give me a view downtheVof her dress. I turned away, and she made a little chirp of disgruntlement.

Given the admiration I held for her father, I almost felt bad for how strongly I’d come to dislike Francesca Goldman. Getting to know her over the last month had been enlightening in a way going to school with her hadn’t. Francesca was thirty years old and still behaved like a spoiled princess who dodged work like that was her actual job. But there was nothing I could do about the mistakes Frank had made in raising his daughter.

GoldMed was my sole focus, and luckily for everyone, soon, Francesca would have no reason to pretend she worked here.

A couple more weeks, my plans would be in motion.

Chapter Five

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