The Sunday Arrangement (12 page)

 I straightened my
pink pencil skirt and sighed. “Let’s not try to analyze Dad now. He’s like a salmon
swimming downstream, lost in the rapids. There’s no use trying to understand
the routes he swims.”

“Yet somehow he
always seems to make the right business call.”

I nodded. “Exactly.
So we need to trust him in this, even though working with this family goes
against everything we’ve learned the last several years. You know what Dad
always said, ‘If you can’t beat ‘em —’”

“‘May as well join
‘em,’” Toby interrupted. “I seriously doubt he ever had Peter Maverick in mind
when he said that.”

I shrugged. “I don’t
see how we can do anything about it now, ya know? Might as well do what Dad
says. What’s done is done.”

“Just like you always
do.”

“What’s that supposed
to mean?” I folded my arms and furrowed my brow. “I’ve done plenty of things
Dad didn’t approve of.”

“Whoa, easy there,
tiger.” Toby put his hands in the air as if to surrender the rest of the
conversation. “I think you know what I meant, Lo. I mean, c’mon. You’ve been
working for Dad since you were in college. You always do his bidding, whether
or not you agree with it.”

“So? He’s my boss. I’m
contractually obligated to.”

“Has he even called
you to see how everything is going with Pierce?” Toby let my silence hang for a
few moments before he continued. “Do you remember the Jones project?”

I shook my head.
“Like I could forget it.”

“You were young when
it happened, so you don’t even know all the hairy details. But you and I both can
agree that Dad did some exceptionally shady deals to accrue his millions for
that specific project.”

“I can hardly control
how Dad runs his business.”

“True,” Toby said. “But
you can choose to be a part of it or not.”

Toby’s disgust for
the unethical way our father sometimes chose to do business was contagious,
like the measles. Every time I spoke to him and analyzed Hart Corp, I found
myself covered in those pesky red little bumps before I knew it. The itch was
undeniable. Jealous that Toby was able to break away, part of me longed to do
the same. To follow in his independent footsteps. To abandon Dad like he had done
to us so often during our childhoods. What kept my feet planted, however, the
anchor forcing me to stay still, was fear. My life apart from the Hart Corporation
office was a giant question mark. I held on to the hope that things would be
different if I could only be named CEO.

“You’ve been here
five minutes and you’re already going to try to convince me to quit the company
again?” I asked, trying to keep the tone light. “You’re here for a Hart Corp
project, after all. Don’t you think that’s a little contradictory, brother dear?”

“I work for Dad on a
need-by-need basis. I choose the projects I’m actually interested in designing.
The second I sense something shady’s happening, I bail. Just like I did with
the Jones project.”

“Dad’s still licking
his wounds over that one.”

Toby glanced out the
limo’s window. “One day he’ll understand. He’ll never have both of his children
working full time for Hart Corp ever again.”

“He’s not the only
one who’s sad, ya know,” I said. “But let’s just ignore that ugly little detail
for as long as we can. Enough about Dad. Tell me about your life.”

The two of us chitchatted
as we made our way through the bustling streets of Las Vegas to meet Pierce at
the lot he had so carefully chosen for the building site. It was sure to be an
exhaustingly long day. We would all have to discuss dimensions, theme, overall
artistic leeway, along with a million other intricate details so that Toby could
begin forming ideas in his head. If Pierce was so selective about the
building’s location, I shuddered to think about the ridiculous hoops he would force
Toby to jump through regarding the building’s design and fancy features. Toby
was a gifted architect, but he wasn’t God. And I expected Pierce to demand
nothing but divine capabilities for his casino’s construction.

When we pulled up to
the site, my brother turned to me. “So how much will I want to punch this guy
in the face by the end of the day?”

I grimaced. Pierce had obviously started to grow on me, in more
ways than one, but I couldn’t let my older brother know this. It wouldn’t take him
long to put two and two together and figure out that Pierce and I were strangely
involved. He’d tell Margret, she’d tell my mom, and word would surely get back
to Father faster than I could say the word “fantasy.” The Harts were one big
rumor mill of a family. Dad would have a heart attack or a stroke and, knowing
him, probably both. And then he’d fire me, no question. At this point, I
couldn’t afford to lose my job. I had worked too hard, even if my father was an
unethical dictator.

I tried to keep a straight face. “Pierce isn’t so bad,” I said.
“Yes, he’s arrogant. Yes, he’s young with a million harebrained ideas.
Seriously, he thinks he knows it all.”

“Sounds like someone else I know . . .”

“I’m going to pretend you’re talking about Dad,” I said with a
small smile. “Really though, the twerp is barely out of college.” I folded my
arms across my chest. “But he’s a hard worker, and he’s trying to prove himself
with this project. It’s sort of admirable.” I prayed he bought my bit. Though I
meant every word of it, I definitely didn’t feel my dislike of Pierce as strongly
as I let on. Sure he wasn’t my favorite person to be around at work, but I
could hardly wait to get into bed with him once again. Talking wasn’t exactly a
requirement for an excellent fuck.

“I guess we’ll both
need some drinks with dinner tonight?” Toby asked.

“I couldn’t agree
more.”

We got out of the car
and made our way over to where Pierce was standing beside his Shelby Cobra. A
tall, blonde woman stepped out from the passenger side. Her hair was long and
curly, her dress sleek and black. She glanced my way before forcefully smiling
at Pierce.

Immediately, my heart
began to pound. I felt my skin coil. A million questions danced in my head as
my brother and I approached the two. Who was this woman? Why did I recognize
her? And for Christ’s sake, why did she have to be so damn beautiful?

As though she could
sense my brazen insecurities, she leaned closer into Pierce, her breast
touching his arm. She whipped out a small notepad and scribbled down something
he was saying. It was then that I recognized her—she was the woman I saw with
him at the French restaurant the day before we flew out. Granted, that evening she
hadn’t been wearing a pair of silver wire-rimmed glasses, but she looked just
as lovely. I hated her for it. And I knew he was sleeping with her. Jealously
raged through my veins.

He smiled at us when
we get closer. It wasn’t a true smile. It was a polite grin, one that didn’t quite
reach his eyes. I found myself wondering what a genuine smile on his face would
look like and how I could make that happen on Sunday. He walked forward and
held out his hand. “Mr. Hart, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I hope your flight
out here was a good one?”

Toby also gave a
polite smile and briefly shook his hand. “Yes, it was, thank you.”

“Lauren and Mr. Hart,
this is my assistant, April. She flew in last night.” He glanced at her like
she was an adorable puppy he couldn’t help but love. “I’m kind of lost without
her, so I had to get her out here. The paperwork is really starting to pile up.
And you know how I feel about e-mail . . .”

I resisted the urge
to gag. Paperwork had nothing to do with the gorgeous secretary’s sudden
arrival in Vegas. Were our Sunday rendezvous not enough for him?

April smiled coyly. “Pleased
to make your acquaintance.” Her voice was sweet. She had a thick Southern drawl
that was hard to ignore. It only added to her unique charms, which were
becoming overwhelmingly annoying. It wasn’t like me to dislike someone so
instantly, but she represented everything I was not: thin, beautiful, and at
Pierce’s right arm. Green was certainly not my best color.

I clenched my fists,
trying not to picture the two of them screwing. It was nearly impossible, and I
hated myself for even caring. It wasn’t like Pierce was committed to me in any
way. As far as I was concerned, he could sleep with whomever he wanted. I only
wished she wasn’t so outstandingly gorgeous. Maybe that would make it a bit
easier to bear.

Toby lifted his hands
in the air “So, where do we start?”

“April, give him the
dimensions of the lot,” Pierce said.

April tapped around
on her tablet for a moment before she found the document she was looking for.
She handed the tablet to my brother and glared at me as she did so. I looked to
see if Pierce noticed her snarky stare. He didn’t seem to notice or care, and I
could feel my irritation for the girl begin to fester within me. She had to go.
Her disgust for me was as evident as her boob job, which made me feel a little
better. Clearly, she saw me as somewhat of a threat.

 Toby quickly scanned
the tablet screen. His free hand stroked the imaginary beard on his square
chin. “Well, we have a lot of space to work with. That’s never a bad thing.” He
looked up at Pierce. “What are your initial thoughts on how it should look?”

“Lauren, do you want
to go first?”

“I’m leaving this
part up to you. It took us three days and a hundred lots for you to find one you
liked. I figure you have a specific vision in your head of what you want to
do,” I said. “I’ve got my notes though. I’ll chime in if I need to.”

Pierce got an excited
look in his eye as he stared at me. “She’s right. I know exactly what I want us
to do together.”

My stomach flip-flopped
as I saw the glimmer in his eyes. His insinuation wasn’t lost on me. He still
wanted to be with me on Sunday, even if Miss New Boobs was suddenly in town.

“Basically, Mr. Hart,
I want—”

“Please, call me
Toby.”

Pierce nodded. “I
want something new, something fresh. I want a casino unlike anything Vegas has
ever seen. I want artsy and eye-catching, something that’ll make people want to
step inside and see what we have to offer.” Animated hand movements accentuated
his words. In the few days I had been around him, I had never seen him so
excited when talking. “We are not only going to have a gambling area, but a
ballroom and spa area also. In one of the spa areas, we want a wall-sized
aquarium that’s big enough to house large fish and mermaid actors—think new age
and curvy and magnificent.”

“Well, that doesn’t
sound hard at all,” Toby said. “I’m sure it will be real cheap, too.”

Pierce didn’t seem pay
attention to Toby’s sarcasm. “Your father actually told me you’re one of the
best.”

Toby smirked. “That’s
funny. He never tells me that.”

“If you’re the best,”
Pierce said firmly, “my little designs will be like child’s play to you.”

I saw my brother
stiffen at the challenge in Pierce’s words. “I suppose so.”

“All right then, let
me share with you some of the specifics I’d like you to incorporate into your
initial design. We’ll talk more about those back at the office.” He gestured
toward the vast, open lot. “Take a walk with me. I’ll show you where I want
things to go.”

~*~*~*~

Toby and I went to a
club that featured one of his favorite magicians, The Incredible Geronimo. The
dinner theater was small, the stage simple. It was packed. People were crammed
into small tables all across the dimly lit room.

“The Incredible
Geronimo will be performing here shortly,” the waiter said as he ushered us to
our table. “Please have a look at the menu while you wait. Just raise the Top
Hat here once you’re ready, and I’ll swing by to take your order.”

“I wonder if he’s going
to do a cannonball into a swimming pool,” I said after he left.

“Yeah, that’d be a
real splash,” Toby added with a laugh. “Obviously, he has to yell his name when
doing it.”

“Obviously! That’s
kind of the point,” I said. As we settled into our quaint booth near the front
of the stage, I glanced over the eclectic dinner menu. “I’m glad I made
reservations. This place looks slammed. I guess he really is incredible after
all, huh?”

Toby grinned. “He
really is. You’ll be amazed. Margret and I couldn’t figure out how he does any
of his tricks, but especially his grand finale. It puzzled me for days until I finally
gave up on ever understanding what he does.”

“Well, I’m going to
need some alcohol in me before we take notes on this guy’s main act.” My
shoulders felt lighter. I was glad my brother was here to distract me for a
while.

Toby turned from the
empty stage to look at me. “I’m surprised you’re not already drinking. That guy
you’re working with, he’s a real piece of work.”

“I didn’t think he was
that bad today.”

“He won’t settle for
anything less than a new age Taj Mahal, Lauren. It’s simply not possible. He’s
going to have to compromise on something. I mean, a floor-to-ceiling underwater
aquarium?”