It didn't take long to find a townhouse in the city. I went with something modern but not too flashy to give our whereabouts away. The fewer people who know Delano and I are staying here, the better.

I'm supposed to be running through the financial reports of Nash Enterprises that Declan, my guru in tech received for me by hacking into their system. I attempted to access them the easy way by approaching my brother's assistant to sit in on a finance meeting, but that went as well as I expected it to. Lincoln is animate about not selling, meaning I'll have to do this the hard way. He wants to keep me as far away from the company as possible, but what he doesn't realize is I always get what I want eventually.

These reports are a representation of why it's crucial he sells the company now. Our father's company is going down the drain, and if he sells it now, we'll make at least some profit from it. Hiring a marketing manager is a waste of time and one I don't have the time to wait out for.

But the numbers blur together the longer I stare at my laptop screen. It could be due to the half bottle of whiskey I've been sipping slowly on this morning. I've been trying to numb my thoughts since Hadari left me at the club this weekend, but alas, all of my efforts have been pointless.

There's not a high enough alcohol content that could make me forget the way her lips felt. Her moans from my lips sucking her soft, supple skin. The overwhelming devastation it caused to hold her in my arms only to let her go.

I should have let her leave with that man and done nothing about it, but I knew she was doing that to get a reaction out of me. It sure as hell worked. I've become a master of controlling my emotions. Letting an enemy sense what you're feeling is a weapon in itself but with Hadari... She isn't an enemy, whether she thinks of me as one now, I can't be certain, but the mere thought of another man's hands on her had me seeing red. The years of training I've mastered flew out the door the second she waltzed by me with that stranger's hand on her hip.

And because of that, I not only ruined her life but mine too.

Hadari is just a woman I ran into at a club. That's what I keep repeating to myself, but it doesn't seem to help the excruciating knife-like pain in my heart. Her watery eyes that night have turned into my nightmares, but I had to leave her. It was for the best. I'd much rather her be safe than risk her life to be around me.

I'm not worth it.

Not by a long shot.

Dragging a hand over my face, I drain the last of my glass and rise from the table. I can't sulk today. Not anymore. Tonight, I have bigger and more important plans to tackle, like convincing my mother to sell the company. There isn't a doubt in my mind Lincoln will be joining us to try and persuade her otherwise, but he isn't going to win.

Not if I have anything to do about it.

***

I avoid coming to my parents—mother's—house like the plague.

My father's death is too recent. It's been five years, but I swear I can still catch a hint of cigar smoke from his study lingering in the air. I still imagine he's mulling over reports, but I always poke my head in, and he's never there. His study remains untouched with a box of cigars right next to the pen holder, exactly where they've always been, but the plush, leather chair where my father used to sit is vacant.

Pushing away the reminiscent feeling, I hold my mother close before kissing both of her cheeks. Despite losing her best friend, she remains poised and keeps up her busy social life, always at the top of her game. I've never seen her with a hair out of place, and tonight is no different. Her blonde hair is slicked into the perfect bob that barely reaches her shoulders, and her makeup is done heavily enough to hide her non-existent wrinkles from her monthly botox appointments.

It's agonizing to keep the truth behind my father's death from not just her, but Lincoln as well. I pulled away from both of them after I took over the real business our father ran, but they just chalked it up to my personality changing from the loss. I couldn't risk them getting involved, so I became a dick. I morphed into everything they hated to keep them at arm's length, too, no matter how painful it became.

"You look well," I say. "Did you get your hair done recently?"

"Yes," she gushes. "Porscha recommended this new hair stylist downtown, and she's lovely. I'll be going to her again in the future. Would you care for a drink?"

The formality of this seems weird, but my mother knows I didn't request this dinner only to catch up. I rarely ever see her, and that's mainly due to ensuring her safety. Ever since Rafino's threat, I've hired security to watch over her and my brother—without their knowledge, of course. I have no doubt Rafino is aware of their whereabouts, but staying away will make them less of a target.

I follow her into the sitting room where a liquor cart sits to the left of the fireplace. Katherine, my mother's maid, stands idly by and waits for my order. I shouldn't have a drink considering my driver dropped me off already tipsy due to the whiskey I've been nursing since this morning, but if I have to deal with my brother's snarky remarks all night, I'll need it.

"I'll take a whiskey, please. Straight."

With a curt nod, Katherine gets to work on the drink while my mother and I sit opposite each other on the vintage couches. She's always had a knack for antique thrifting, and it's become more intense since my father's passing. The more expensive, the better. She's resorted to shopping to fill the loneliness inside her, but considering her addictions could have been far worse, I never comment on it.

"Is Lincoln going to be gracing us with his presence tonight?" I ask.

My mother's lips purse in disapproval. "Yes, and you will not make a scene. I'll never understand..." Her voice drifts off into a melancholy state. "You used to be so close. It hurts me deeply that you drifted apart."

For reasons she nor my brother will ever understand. I'll be painted as the bad guy day in and day out if it means no one else in my family gets hurt.

"Jett," she replies more firmly. "I mean it."

Katherine drops the drink in my hand just as the doorbell rings, and fucking hell the use of my real name causes my heart to stutter. I haven't heard it from her in months, and I despise the longing and aching I feel at the sound of it. I missed it more than I thought.

Before I can reply, Lincoln strides into the room with a smug grin on his face. I begin to question it until a tall, smoking-hot woman follows in behind him.

Oh, so he wants to play dirty?

I inwardly smirk.

Two can play this game, brother.

Sprawling out on the sofa, I scan the woman before me up and down, noting her long legs and curvy body. The woman glares at me with disapproval, but it's to be expected when my brother probably fed her a bunch of bullshit about me before their arrival. It doesn't slight me. It fuels me with an adrenaline rush to win this duel between us.

"This is Sienna Stone," Lincoln announces proudly. "She runs the largest marketing company on the East Coast. I've hired her to rebrand the business, and I wanted her to discuss the ideas she has with you."

Oh, please. I roll my eyes at the obvious attempt to ruin my plans for the night. He thinks that bringing her here will stop me from persuading our mother to sell. He's got a rude awakening coming.

I'm in a pissy fucking mood for a multitude of reasons, and I'll love nothing more than to wipe that smirk off his face. Besides, the more he hates me, the more protected he is. It's a win-win situation for me.

"It's such a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Nash. Your home is stunning. I can't help but notice, but are those couches from that furniture shop downtown? Next to Bergdorf's?"

My mother practically pounces at the opportunity to brag. "You can call me Estella, and yes, actually, they are. You know it?"

"It's lovely. I own several pieces from there."

Fucking hell. Sienna did her research and is currently having my mother eating out of the palm of her hand. Clearly, her looks aren't the only charming thing about her. She's smart, too, which means I'll have to be a bit more careful when it comes to defeating her.

"And where is it that you stay?" She asks.

"The Upper East Side," she replies warmly.

Unsurprising. I conducted research of my own, and Sienna Stone is a self-made billionaire. She could live anywhere in the world if she wanted, and yet, she chose New York—a city across the country from where she grew up. Why would she want to leave Los Angeles to come here? No matter how much digging I did, I couldn't find anything, which made me all the more suspicious.

Sienna also knows how to cover up her past.

Katherine comes into the room to take their drink orders, and my eyes zero in on Lincoln's hand, which he places on Sienna's lower back before ordering a whiskey straight like me. He doesn't even notice the action, and isn't this intriguing? Just how well do these business partners know each other?

I take the opportunity and rise from the couch to waltz over to them. Lincoln keeps his hand on her lower back, still seeming oblivious that he's even doing it. "Am I not to be introduced?"

"Jett, Sienna, Sienna, Jett," he mutters. Once Katherine passes him the whiskey, he takes a large gulp of it.

Intriguing, indeed. How attached to her is he? My brother is known for hooking up with endless women, but this one...

He sends me a sharp look, which only fills me with glee. Oh, this is going to be very fun. There's only one way to find out if she's important to him.

Let's see just how much I can piss him off.

With a cocky grin, I lift Sienna's hand and bend down to kiss it. There's a twinge of regret as soon as I do it, and holy fuck does that scare me. Sienna's skin doesn't feel like Hadari's. My lips feel tainted when I lift my head back up, but I continue to keep the mask on that I've trained for so long to maintain. "A successful businesswoman. How rare."

"Jett," my mother warns.

"It's okay," Sienna replies. She lifts her brown eyes to mine, and they're filled with nothing but a challenge. "I'm used to men who make less than me trying to obtain dominance. It's never worked, though."

My brother goes into a coughing fit from the jab, but her comment doesn't offend me. Rather, it impresses me. Add cunning to the list of Sienna Stone's traits.

"Women are more than capable of running a successful business, Jett. If you're going to be rude to our guest then leave. I didn't raise you both not to have manners."

"Hey." My brother throws his hands up. "I've treated Ms. Stone with nothing but professionalism and kindness."

"And why do I think that's not the case at all?" I snap. Fuck. I have to pull myself together. Lincoln knows exactly how to get under my skin, and it's working. If I continue to pry and piss him off, it'll only make my mother more upset with me, and this dinner is about winning her over.

With a tight-lipped smile, I say, "My apologies, mother. Of course, I'll be respectful to Ms. Stone." But I still make a show of checking Sienna out when my mother can't see just to get back at my brother for being a total dick. I have no romantic interest in the businesswoman. How could I when Hadari has taken up the entirety of it?

Lincoln's knuckles are white around his glass, and it's an effort to withhold my laughter.

By the end of tonight's dinner, I'm confident I'll have my answer on whether or not Sienna is more than just a business partner to him. If that's the case, I'll have found the perfect target to get exactly what I want.

Lesson number one, brother: never show your weakness.

***

Throughout our meal of smoked salmon, rice, a mixed berry salad, and red wine, I had to listen to Sienna woo our mother off her damn feet. The woman knows exactly what she's doing, I'll give her that. She works with clients of all different backgrounds, and if she wasn't good with people owning a marketing business, she wouldn't be a billionaire.

However, I wasn't prepared for her to be here tonight, so I'm lacking the rebuttals. I'm used to plans being made days in advance before striking out. To be thrown off guard isn't something I'm used to.

My time of opportunity is dwindling, so as a last effort to make this night turn in my favor, I sit up straighter in my chair and lay down my cards. "So, Lincoln, tell us again of the business plan you have for Nash Enterprises. If you want me to back off so badly, let me know what you have planned to fix this."

His body stills with his fork of pie halfway to his mouth. "What do you mean?"

"Your business plan," I repeat as if speaking to a toddler. "Or do you not have one? I always forget that you didn't go to business school. Face it, Linc, Dad's company is in the hands of some woman we barely know, and sometimes your secretary that you met in high school, but never you, the CEO of the company, because you don't understand it."

My response elicits a spike of anger from Sienna. The woman is looking at me as if I'm a spec of dirt for speaking to Lincoln this way, and I send her a sharp smile in return.

Bring it on, honey. Show me what you've got. Prove me right.

"No need to worry," she says more to our mother than me. "I've been running my business for almost ten years now, and my company's net worth is worth twice the size of Nash Enterprises. I already told Lincoln that we will be having weekly tutoring sessions to try and get him up to speed. He'll be a business mogul before we know it."

Well, I'll be damned. Sienna Stone is not one to be underestimated. She's defeated me, and judging by the wicked smile on her face, she knows it, too. This entire process of selling the company has become a lot more interesting.

And difficult.

I already anticipated the verbal lashing before my mother throws her napkin down and sneers, "That is enough, Jett. I will not tolerate any more disrespect tonight from you." Turning apologetic eyes to Sienna, she adds, "Come with me. I have something I think you'd like to see."

They excuse themselves from the table, leaving Lincoln and me alone. The grandfather clock ticks at a gentle speed as we have a stare down. My arms are crossed over my chest, eyes narrowed when I ask, "How long?"

He lifts a brow. "How long since what?"

"Since you've been fucking her."

Lincoln seems to be having a war with his emotions, but all I need is for him to break and admit that Sienna is more than a business partner to him. He fails to realize I've been interrogating people for a living for five years now, so I know the nervous tells.

"We aren't fucking," he replies, but his voice wavers.

"I've known you my entire life, Lincoln, and I could tell that you've fucked her after being around you for five minutes. In fact..." I take a sip of red wine and tilt my chair back to balance on two legs. "If I didn't think I was completely losing it, I'd say it's more than fucking."

"It's not," he blurts.

Hook, line, and sinker.

"So it's fucking, then." I've caught him red-handed. It shouldn't bring me such a thrill, but it does. I only need him to admit it, and I'm so damn close. "Tell me, how good is she in bed? Does she do as she's told, or is she wild?"

His face is red from the anger he's trying to internalize, and if I had to guess, that wine glass he's holding is seconds away from shattering.

Almost there.

"How much of a slut is she, Lincoln? Can I have a turn?"

I'm rewarded with his hands slamming on the table, rattling the porcelain. His chair flies backward until he's leaning across the tablecloth to glare at me. "Shut your fucking mouth. Whatever beef you and I have, leave her out of it. She's done nothing to you, and she doesn't deserve to be talked about with so much disrespect."

Panting heavily and nostrils flaring, his levelheadedness is unraveling. Deep down, he knows I'm officially aware of the biggest secret he's tried to keep from me. Sienna may have won the battle with our mother, but I have won the battle against him.

"Looks like I've found your new weakness," I croon. Gracefully rising from the table, I adjust the tie of my suit to ensure there aren't any creases."This should be very fun. You may have won tonight, brother, but know that I will use your weakness until this company burns to the ground and you with it. I won't stop until the right person is finally in charge, which is me. Tell Mother and your conquest that I had to leave."

Leaving him in his fit of rage, I push down the regret bubbling up my throat, but the anger overpowers my years of training and I slam the door shut loudly behind me. Becoming an asshole was for the best because it keeps them all safe. It's worth it.

Selling the company will be worth it.

Keeping everyone at arm's length, including Hadari is worth it.

I just have to keep repeating that to myself until I believe it.