“Were you sleeping?” Lucius looks baffled as I crack the door and squint against the daylight.
“Maybe?” I stifle another yawn and step back, making room for him to enter. “You know I haven’t been sleeping well.” That’s a true and unfortunate side effect of sleeping on the floor for so long. A new bedroom set isn’t exactly high on the list of essential purchases right now, but I’ll be happy when it finally works its way to the top.
“The sofa in here is comfy.” I hastily shield my eyes as my twin unceremoniously flips on the overhead light.
“A little heads-up next time, please?” He pauses, his nose wrinkling as his brow furrows. “Why does it smell so weird in here?” Lucius looks sidelong at me before spotting the paper towels I left on the floor where I cleaned things up. “What’s that?”
“I spilled some coffee this morning.” I sigh and shake my head. “I got it all out, don’t worry. There won’t be a stain.” I’m a little appalled by how easily I’m able to lie to my brother, but there’s no way I can tell him what I was really doing in here.
Even if my fantasies hadn’t taken the surprising turn that they did, it would still be awkward.
“What did you need?” I ask, trying to move the conversation forward. I really don’t want Lucius digging into this any more than he already has.
“The check bounced,” Lucius says, looking back at me and folding his arms. “For Candor Mead’s apartment. First and last month’s rent, plus the security deposit. Earlier, I got a call from the bank telling me that my payment to the contractors has been declined because of insufficient funds.”
My expression tightens. “That’s not possible,” I mutter, circling the desk and dropping into my computer chair. “I just checked the accounts last night, and everything was fine.”
A few moments later, the computer hums to life, and I pull up the bank website.
“Well, it’s not fine now,” Lucius continues. “I talked to Mead about it already, and he swears up and down that the check should’ve been good.”
I clench my jaw as I log into the bank account.
I hate the way Lucius refuses to call Candor by his first name. I don’t know what the problem is exactly, but Lucius has been nothing but abrasive toward Candor from day one. When I tried to ask him about it, he wouldn’t give me a straight answer.
I guess I’m not the only one being less than honest these days.
The account comes up on the screen, and sure enough, we’ve got a negative balance, and Candor’s check has been declined.
“I don’t understand.” I glance back over the transactions for the past several days. “We should have had more than enough to cover the payment to the contractors, even without Candor’s check.”
Lucius stands just behind me and leans over my shoulder to peer at the screen. He’s so close, I can feel the heat of his skin against my cheek, and the scent of his aftershave fills my nose. If I hadn’t just gotten off, I’d probably have a brand-new boner right now. As it is, my balls still twitch in response to his presence, and my stomach feels like I just stepped off the teacup ride at the county fair.
“What’s this?” Lucius jabs a finger at a particularly large purchase that hadn’t been there when I looked last night.
“I don’t recognize the name,” I admit. “Does the amount ring any bells?”
“No.” He turns away and pulls open the filing cabinet where we’ve been storing invoices and receipts. It takes him a few minutes to flip through the file. “Dammit, there’s no invoice.” He slams the filing cabinet shut and plants his hands on his hips. “There’s only one thing it can be.”
“What?” I have no idea what he’s talking about.
He meets my gaze, his expression stormy. “The account’s been hacked.”
I fight the urge to laugh. “Joke’s on them. That’s all that was in there.”
“But if Mead’s check had cleared, there would’ve been a whole lot more,” Lucius reminds me. He fishes his phone out of his pocket and starts swiping at the screen. “I’m gonna call the bank, cancel the card, and try to get our money back. In the meantime, I need you to go and get that payment out of Mead.”
“I thought you already talked to him about it.” I rise to my feet as Lucius storms toward the door.
“I asked him what the hell was going on,” Lucius corrects me. “But, like you said, there would’ve been enough to cover the payment even without his money. I was more interested in getting to the bottom of our financial situation.” He taps something on his phone and lifts it to his ear. “You’re better at dealing with the tenants directly,” he says as he listens to the pre-recorded message the bank has as a greeting. “I’ll let you know how this goes.”
A moment later, he’s marching out of the office, leaving the door open behind him.
“If I’m better at dealing with the tenants, then why didn’t you just come to me first?” I mutter as I log out of the bank account. I don’t relish the idea of trying to undo whatever damage Lucius did while simultaneously asking for money.
Resting my elbows against the desk, I bury my face in my hands and try to clear my head.
Lucius is normally the sort of alpha who everyone wants to be friends with. He makes connections easily and leaves a lasting impression on the people he meets. That’s the whole reason he was able to get the loan to buy an entire apartment complex.
And yet, when it comes to Candor, he’s a completely different person.
I laugh aloud at the memory of my dirty fantasy. There’s no way Lucius would ever be part of something like that. Not that I want him to or anything. Our relationship isn’t like that.
It can’t be like that.
“Excuse me?” Candor’s voice interrupts my thoughts.
I sit bolt upright and clear my throat, doing my best to ignore the blush creeping into my cheeks at the sight of him. He looks just as delicious as he did in my fantasies.
“Candor, welcome.” I smile warmly as I greet him. I almost get up to shake his hand, but the growing bulge in my pants forces me to remain seated.
“I saw Lucius leaving,” Candor says as he advances into the office. “I’m sure he already told you about the check bouncing.”
“Yes, he did.” The erratic pounding of my heart is making it difficult to concentrate. It’s never been this hard to control my arousal before. I’m never going to ignore my sexual needs for this long again.
“I want to apologize,” I continue. “I know Lucius can be a little rough around the edges sometimes.”
Even if it’s only when you’re around, I think as I fold my hands on the desk.
“No, no, it’s understandable.” Candor is reassuring as he moves closer to the desk. “I’m upset too. The check should’ve been good. You guys put a lot of trust in me by agreeing to rent to me, and I feel like I’ve damaged that.”
I press my lips into a thin line. I’m not gonna lie, this doesn’t look great. “So, can you tell me what happened? And are we going to be able to get back on track?”