Page 1 of Wright Together
PartI
Peonies
1
Whitton
My hand flattened on the surface of my new desk. Perhaps it was egotistical to have always wanted this dream to become a reality so that I could bring a woman up here and fuck her against the glass panes. Brown hair so dark that it streamed through my fingers like an oil stain. I curled my hand into a fist, picturing the curve of her neck as I tugged the strands backward. The pant from her pert red lips as her back arched and ass pressed against me.
I exhaled and released the image.
Eve.
I’d been imagining Eve again. The enigma of a woman still confounded me, wrapping around my subconscious and burrowing down into my daydreams. I’d gone home for the summer, and those inscrutable emerald eyes still haunted me.
Now, I was back in dry, dusty Lubbock with a promotion in hand and my dream corner office. It had the massive mahogany desk, stocked bookshelves against one wall, and floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the local university. Who knew all I had to do to land the dream job was move to middle of nowhere, Texas?
Lubbock had never been on my radar, and somehow, it felt more like home than Seattle ever had. The only thing that misty, shadowed city had going for it was Mom still lived there. But after visiting with Harley this summer, I was glad to be back in Lubbock. The promotion sure didn’t hurt.
The only thing it was missing was the girl bent over the desk.
A throat cleared behind me. “Well, what do you think?”
Jordan leaned against the doorframe. He was dressed impeccably in a black tailored suit, his hair sleek, and his command, as ever, unparalleled. Sometimes, it still made me falter when I thought about him being my brother. Half-brother technically, but my siblings and I had dropped the half part. Our father had had an affair, and we were the result—me, Weston, and Harley. We’d only found out a few years back that he had another family and two sons—Jordan and Julian. It was West’s crazy scheme that had gotten us all to move here to get to know them. I’d gotten a job at Wright Construction, the company of our namesake, and now, here I was, hitting every milestone I’d set for myself before thirty.
Sometimes, life threw you on a crash course to get you to where you belonged.
“It’s even better than I imagined,” I confessed, straightening and buttoning the top button of my charcoal suit.
“You earned it.”
“Thank you,” I said with all sincerity. The last job I’d had felt like banging my head against a wall repeatedly. Every ounce that I put into it was given credit to my superior, and still, I’d wavered about whether or not to make the jump and work at Wright. Best decision of my life.
“Morgan wants to throw a promotion party,” Jordan said.
I barely managed to hide my cringe. “If that’s what she wants. She’s the CEO.”
Jordan laughed. “Good save. I can nix it.”
I could schmooze with the best of them, but I’d never been one to want to draw attention to myself. I had a five- and ten-year plan. My upward trajectory was finally moving on the slope I’d always envisioned. Still, every small achievement felt just that…small. I’d celebrate when I reached the top.
“Appreciate that.”
Jordan dropped some paperwork on my desk. “I know it’s your first day back, but this is your new assignment.”
“I never stopped working, Jor,” I said, reaching for the documents. “I was remote while I was gone.”
“I know. I know. But this one will be more hands on.”
I flipped through the pages with a furrowed brow. “Midland?”
“It’s only two hours south of here.”
“I’ve never been.”
Jordan shrugged. He’d moved here a few years before me from Vancouver. That was how our dad had been able to have two families. The cities were just close enough to fool everyone. Jordan had adapted to Texas even easier than I had. It probably helped that he’d gotten married this spring to his spitfire doctor, Annie.
“Well, read through the assignment so you can fill in the new real estate agent when she gets here. You’re going to be working closely with her over the next month to get this off the ground.”