Page 29 of Off Limits Billionaire

Hi. You’ve reached Anabella Pierce of Priceless Pierce. I’m unable to take your call right now. If this is Marcus Adler, please jump off a bridge and never dial this number again.

That’s what her voicemail sounded like after the tenth time I called her this morning. What the hell happened?

I paced my office wondering what I needed to do to fix things, but I still didn’t know what was wrong or why it went wrong to begin with!

It was close to lunch when Cameron and Lucky barged into my office. I wasn’t in the mood for either of their shit, but it’s not like I’d kick them out. I could use the distraction. Maybe coming back to Ana’s voicemail with a clear head would help me remember where I went wrong.

“About time you came into the office,” Cam sighed as he plopped into the chair in front of my desk. Lucky sat next to him as Cameron tossed a sheet onto my desk and the sight of an invoice made me wonder what they were up to.

After scouring the details, my pulse raced.

“Cameron, what did you do?” I asked my brother.

“I did what any normal accountant would do. I got a second opinion on a service that we’re clearly paying too much for. Why do you look so upset, Marcus? You have that same little vein pulsating on the side of your head as Anabella Pierce did.”

My fists clenched, eyes widened, and I turned away from my brother to keep the fury burning near the surface from exploding onto him. After three long deep breaths, I turned back around to face Cam. “You got a quote on a second opinion, and all while Anabella Pierce was in the workshop?”

“Well, in my defense, that’sourfamily's property. I don’t need to announce my presence, but she sure as hell felt comfortable waltzing in there. Do you know that she had some guy with her? She’s just letting strangers into our investment property, and stealing 12,000 dollars from you tops it all.”

“Whoa!” Lucky sat up with a huge grin on his face. “Anabella Pierce got you for 12 grand? Sure glad I didn’t chip in for that stupid clock.”

“It’s not stupid!” Cameron and I told him at the same time.

Another exasperated breath forced itself through my nostrils. “Family meeting, tonight!”

“Hey, I got plans!” Lucky waved his hands in front of his face.

“Same,” Cam chimed in.

“No you don’t!” I told them with finality. “It won’t take long. Everyone needs to be at Nana’s tonight by 7 or I swear you’re going to be on my shit list for the next century.”

“I’m pretty sure we’re going to outlive him,” Lucky joked to Cam, but I wasn’t playing around. Cam had possibly ruined the only relationship I’d ever wanted and it was going to look like I screwed Anabella. Her voicemail finally made sense, and I had to fix things. But first, I had to get my family in line.

* * *

It took every ounce of strength and willpower not to storm into Priceless Pierce and make Ana listen to me, but everything her family’d been saying about us would sound true. It wasn’t going to be an easy fix, and it might actually require me to beg on my hands and knees for her to give me another chance. Although, I’m sure she’d love the kind of apology I would give her on my hands and knees.

I really had to stop. She was the only woman who'd ever made me fantasize about her every free minute of my day. Was she right? Was it the challenge of us not being able to be together that drove me to these deep corners of my sexual imagination?

I’d deal with that later. Right now, I stood outside a mansion on the outskirts of Chestnut Hill. The number of cars in the circular driveway told me everyone was there. I hated to pull rank, but my individual net worth surpassed the family’s combined. I could be just as childish as the rest of them and looking at their cars parked told me that they knew as much. I’d go months without speaking to them or showing my face, working remotely from every corner of the globe and skipping out on family meetings like this.

Sounds of laughter and conversation greeted me when I stepped into the warm home. The smell of a roasted brisket greeted me and made my stomach grumble. I’d eat, but only after we cleared the air.

My parents, Christopher and Jolene Adler, sat at a table with my Nana. The old woman sat patiently with a smile on her face as my grandfather prepared the meat to serve for dinner.

Roasted potatoes and veggies sat in dishes atop a long dining room table. My sister, Julie, sashayed into the room in a suit that looked like it would give Cameron a heart attack if he crunched the numbers.

She sat down with a glass of wine in her hand and set the bottle on the table in front of her. “Can we get on with whatever this is? I have a client waiting.”

“Ooh, working late?” Lucky joked as he and Cameron worked on setting the place settings around the table. “Are you going to get lucky?”

“Only you get lucky with clients,as-ashhole!” Julie sniped. “Where’s Brett? How come he gets to skip this intervention?”

“Brett’s at school where he should be and this concerns you guys,” I told her. “Everyone come sit down.”

Dinner was served and everyone took seats around the table. “It’s been brought to my attention today that I’ve not been on my best behavior. I’ve not been completely honest about some of the relationships I’m fostering, business and otherwise. Because of that, I’m liable to lose out on something I never knew I needed until it was yanked away from me.”

“He’s talking about Cam, everyone!” Lucky volunteered. I wanted to hurl something at him, but Cam beat me to it, throwing a roasted vegetable off his plate at his twin.

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