Page 36 of How to Undo the Proud Billionaire

Brin stomped over to a lounger, snatched up her towel and wrapped it around her torso, hiding her curvy body. Damn.

Radd blew air into his cheeks and pulled himself out of the pool. He walked across the deck to where she stood, water running off him and darkening the planks of the light wooden floor.

“I wasn’t meaning to make light of your anger, but you’re an incredibly sexy woman, a woman I want.”

“That ship has sailed.”

“I gathered that.” Radd folded his arms across his chest and looked for words to regain some lost ground, preferably without having to explain why keeping the Radebes happy was so very important to him. She knew the basics, the surface stuff, but he couldn’t find the words to explain the PR campaign, rebranding their name, putting his parent’s ugly legacy to rest. Rebuilding a legacy they could be proud of…

“I need to keep the Radebes happy. Can we leave it at that?”

“At the risk of alienating your staff, losing their respect? My respect?” Brin’s words were as hard and cold as an Arctic wind. “Oh, but wait, our opinions don’t matter, because we’re not as rich or as powerful or as successful as you.”

“I didn’t say that!” Radd snapped back, stung.

“But it was what you meant!”

“The hell it was!”

A tide of red crept up Brin’s neck and he could see the light of battle in her eyes. Radd knew that he was in for another tongue lashing. He wasn’t wrong. And that was okay, he far preferred angry Brin to the subservient creature who’d apologized earlier.

“I know your type. Hell, I worked for people like you, Radd! I was blamed and castigated for things I didn’t do, things that weren’t my fault and over which I had no control! People like you, like my…like Naledi are entitled and demanding and disrespectful, and why the hell am I arguing with you about this?” Brin pushed her fingers into her hair, pushing away the long, wet curls. “This is ridiculous! Just get me out of here! Take me back to Cape Town!”

Oh, hell no. “Running away, Brin?”

“Just removing myself from your company,” Brin replied, turning around and walking into the room. Radd watched her go and, when she stopped suddenly, he looked past her to see Mari standing by the doorway, looking uncomfortable.

“Sorry, I knocked.”

His villa was like Grand Central Station today. If another person arrived uninvited, he just might lose it. Radd pulled in a deep breath, then another and tried to hold on to his temper.

“What is it?”

Mari sent him aDon’t mess with melook. Another female who was mad at him. Wonderful. “I had Simon bring a vehicle over and Chef has packed a basket of food for your dinner and breakfast.”

Mari turned her attention to Brin, sending her a sweet smile. “Thank you for sticking up for us, Brin, but it wasn’t necessary. We’ve had worse guests than the Radebe party and we know how to handle them. Mostly it’s best if you just let them rant and vent and then do what you intended to do all along. Radd knows this, as do I.”

Brin rolled her eyes at Mari’s calm statement.

Mari turned her attention back to Radd. “I think you and Brin need a break, and it would be sensible to put some distance between Brin and Naledi right now. She’s still demanding an apology from you, Brin.”

Radd’s “that’s not going to happen” coincided with Brin’s “I’d rather die.”

Mari rubbed her forehead with the tips of her fingers before refocusing her attention back on the pair of them. She was acting as if they were both high-maintenance toddlers. “Guys, that wasn’t a suggestion. And I think we could all do with a break.”

“I think Cape Town is far enough away,” Brin said, her expression stubborn.

“Let’s not get carried away, honey,” Mari said on a small smile. She turned to Radd. “Take Brin to The Treehouse, Radd. Leave now, while the Radebes are having their afternoon siesta. Your vehicle is parked by the staff quarters and you can avoid the lodge altogether.”

Radd nodded, thinking that Mari’s suggestion held a lot of merit. Maybe if he and Brin were alone, truly alone, they could recapture some of their earlier ease. And, even if they didn’t, they’d give Naledi time to calm the hell down.

And it had been a while since he’d been to The Treehouse.

Pulling a towel out of the pile on the shelf near the door, he swiped the cloth over his chest and rubbed his hair. Mari sent him aGet this donelook and he gave her a small nod, hoping he could get Brin to agree.

How to do that?

He thought it best to stick to the facts and hopefully, whet her curiosity. “The Treehouse is a secure, completely private and lavish platform above massive boulders. Behind the structure is woodlands, and it’s my favorite place for watching the sun rise and set.”

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