Page 8 of Off Limits Billionaire

Truth be told, I’m not that sentimental. I just like winning. I always gave my parents the best gifts and my siblings were shitty competitors because they didn’t pay much attention to the things that made them smile. My dad would laugh to himself every time he walked by the picture and say, ‘That kid didn’t know shit about anything, but he knew enough to marry her.’

My dad was successful and my grandfather had made sure of that, as every Adler was seemingly bred to get into the family business. Each generation did better than the last. I was proof of that.

I’d spent a good portion of my early 20s in the Navy while my folks set up a trust fund for me and my siblings. By the time I’d received my honorable discharge, I'd also earned my law degree, then came home to join Adler Realty and Investments.

We were young and brash. A significant portion of that trust fund came out and we used it to buy up properties and flip them, catapulting us into the billionaire tax bracket within a few short years. The youngest Adler sibling, Brett, decided to go after his law degree to join me. I couldn't help but feel proud.

I arrived at our headquarters in Center City about an hour or so after I finished my run. Lucky’s pickup truck was in the right space, and he wasn’t sweet talking Geneva when I stepped off the elevator. Lucky and Cam were about the same height as me, with dark blonde hair that Cam kept short and Lucky let grow to his shoulders. Lucky’s days as a contractor kept him about 20 pounds heavier than me.

Right now, he stood out like a wall of muscle in the middle of our corporate offices, wearing a tight t-shirt and letting his tool belt hang off his waist. He was definitely up to something.

Cam came out of his office, right next door to mine, and approached Lucky while I walked toward them.

“Dressing like a home improvement calendar model isn’t going to get Geneva to pay any more attention to you. Let it go, Jacob.” Cam purposely called him by name when he was annoyed with his twin.

I joined the conversation. “Let’s not forget why Marie quit. You can’t come into the office to date the women and then break their hearts, Lucky.”

“Heartbreaker?” He threw a hand over his chest in dramatic fashion. “Me? And don’t blame Marie on me. Mom tried to pair us up and it just didn’t work out.”

Cam interjected. “Well, sticking your dick in other women while you’re supposed to be dating another … kind of makes them mad.”

“We weren’t exclusive!” Lucky replied.

Cam chuckled. “Wait a minute, you’re right. Let me rephrase that. Sticking your dick in another woman while your ‘girlfriend’ watched was cruel.”

“She dared me and set herself up for disappointment.” He shrugged.

I sighed. “Enough. Cam, do you have those reports for me?”

He nodded. “Yeah, on your desk. I just need to confirm with your horologist their rate.”

Lucky shuffled a stack of folders in his hand. “Guys, I’ll be back later. I’m off to tour the sites. Cam, send me the financials on the Biggs job.”

“I’ll get it to you in the next hour,” Cam told him as he headed into my office.

I followed him as Lucky left and I began sorting through the pages. “It’s Pierce.”

Cam raised an eyebrow. “I’m going to need a bit more information than that.”

“It’s Pierce, the horologist.”

“Yougot August Pierce to commit to a job? Isn’t he like a hundred years old?”

“No, jackass! Anabella,” I said. “My horologist of choice is Anabella.”

Cam walked over to the desk and picked up the contacts. “I should just shred these now. There’s no way she’s going to work with you.”

I flashed him a grin. “She already said yes.”

“How? Why? Nana is gonna lose her shit if she finds out.”

“Relax, Cam. No one is going to find out because you’re not going to say shit. Besides, it’s time to put the past behind us. And that property is under threat of foreclosure. She doesn’t have a choice but to take the job.”

“Ah, coercion,” Cam nodded. “Is that a property on our watchlist?”

“I told her it came up as a potential investment.”

“And you trust her not to slice your throat while you travel together?”

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