Page 3 of Kane's Fake Relationship

“Go ahead and order. I’ll be there soon.”

“Fine. Just hurry the fuck up.”

Nick hung up on me before I could get another word in. Cody was right about one thing; my brother was a serious asshole and lately it seemed ten times worse. He was more private than me or Jack, and rumors had been circulating about him and a sub. I didn’t know if I believed them, so I didn’t bother asking him. Besides, one thing I’d learned about my brother was if he wanted me and Jack to know something he’d tell us. Otherwise, we’d get our asses reamed for poking around. Regardless of what it was, I really hoped it would be over soon. Working with him was one thing. Living in the penthouse with him while we were here instead of our homes in Whitewood had become absolutely miserable.

I got in the car and headed to the Steakhouse, hoping that by the time I got there he would be in a better mood.

Chapter Two

Trinity

Ihadbeenadmiringthe warehouse I was standing in for years. Ever since I was a little girl and my uncle would take me up here on the weekends, this one always stood out to me. It was smaller than the others and the previous owners used it to store wood furniture they hand carved. The stuff was beautiful. I’d sneak up along the windows and peek in anytime I had a chance, and now I was standing in the middle of it waiting to sign the paperwork I needed to transform it into my dream business. You could still smell the wood that had permeated the walls over the years. Buying real estate in New York was a fool’s game, but when my uncle called to tell me this was going on the market, I couldn’t believe my luck. It was massively over my budget, but I had a lot in savings and made an all-or-nothing decision that I desperately needed to work. There was a ton of risk living in the city and doing what I do. I wasn’t lucky in business. I worked my ass off, and I was paid well because I had proven myself. But, if this flopped, I’d be broke as hell and have no choice to move back home. That was the last thing I wanted to do.

“Ms. Hill?”

I turned at the sound of a man’s voice and nearly choked. What the fuck was Kane Saint doing here? When Beckett referred me to Saint Construction, I dealt directly with Nick. His agreement to handle my build personally, was the only reason I agreed to move forward.

“Where is Nick?”

“I’m sorry for the last-minute change. It appears he’s had a personal matter he needed to take care of.”

“Then we will reschedule.”

“I’m sorry, but we can’t do that, Ms. Hill. With the holiday only a few days away, our offices are closing and I understand your time constraints for this job are tight. If we wait until after the holidays to meet, it will delay construction and we won’t be able to hit the agreed upon dates.”

I stood not even five feet from the man, but the heat that radiated off his body was blinding. The Kane Saint I knew was the same idiot who thought he could ask me out to dinner without even knowing me. He was also the Saint brother with the reputation of not following the rules and whoring himself around town. No, thank you. But this man, the one who stood in front of me now, was… different. A long black wool coat covered his three-piece suit. The collar came up just high enough to brush his sharp jawline, which made me want to pull it back and bite. Everything he wore had to have been tailored to fit him. He was large, too bulky for my tastes, but the clothes he had on today hid most of that. I looked back up at his face and found a small smile that told me he realized I was doing more than considering what he had just said.

I reached my hand out, “I’ll take the paperwork with me to review it then and have a courier return it to your offices.”

He shook his head slowly, and a smirk crept over his face. “Ms. Hill, I understand this isn’t what you expected, but I promise you I am more than capable of handling your contract. I’m not sure if you are aware, but this is normally my responsibility, anyway. Nick handles the construction crew, Jack handles sales, and I do contracts. My parents didn’t pay for my fancy law degree for me to push my responsibilities off on my brothers.”

“You have a law degree?”

“Don’t be so surprised,” he said with a laugh, “Now, can we put your preconceived notions about me aside and get to work?”

A law degree. My mind was swirling with confusion. Or was that lust? Damn, he got closer as he spoke, and he smelled like sandalwood and cedar.

“Fine.”

I took a step back and walked over to the lonely table with two chairs that sat in the corner. My uncle helped me bring it here a few weeks ago, so I had a place to sit while I worked. Even though this was a shell of a building, it inspired me to work hard towards my goal, so I spent a lot of downtime here planning what the next year would unfold.

Kane sat down and pulled a folder out of his briefcase along with two pens. He laid the black folder with Saint Construction imprinted in gold in front of me.

“Now, if you can turn to the first page, I’ll outline for you everything you’ll be signing today.”

By the time we were done, I had no idea what I had just signed. At least their offices had sent a copy to my attorney before I showed up. Christy Calvano was a shark in the world of commercial real estate and I trusted her immensely, which was a good thing considering I was concentrating more on the tone of Kane’s voice and the way his breath ran over my skin as he exhaled than I was on the actual contract itself.

“That should do it, then. Are there any questions you have for me before we begin construction?”

“Nick had signed an NDA on behalf of Saint Construction. Would you be willing to do the same?”

“I already did. Nick explained to me the delicate nature of what you are doing here, and I wouldn’t have shown up without protecting you. My assistant sent it to your attorney before I left the office.”

“Thank you.”

“Is there anything else?”

“No, I believe that’s it.”

---