Rory gave her a sweet smile, although there was nothing sweet behind it, and did as she ordered. She had a feeling he wasn’t accustomed to women telling him what to do.
Zeke ignored the byplay. He crossed his arms and looked down at her. “Did he hear something about the Alvarez family?” he asked. Of course, Zeke would think of the case first.
“No. But he just thinks it would be best if we were gone. And you know Conner. If he has decided we need to be gone, that’s the end of the discussion. He rented that house he had for the wedding.”
“That sounds like a brilliant plan,” Rory said. “Are we taking the jet?”
“Yes.”
Zeke opened his mouth to ask another question but she had too much to worry about. And she needed them out of her office right now. The combination of sexy men was starting to give her the vapors.
“Call Conner and ask him anything. I am assuming we are leaving tomorrow morning. Can you boys be ready by then?”
“I’ve been ready for months, love,” Rory said with one of those cute lopsided smiles that made her insides quiver. But she ignored it. Or pretended to. He had been saying things like that the last few weeks and completely confusing her. It was as if he was flirting with her and she didn’t get it. She didn’t have the time to even think about it.
Zeke did not like it from the look on his face. He gave Rory a warning glance, and said, “What else do you have on your agenda today? It’s almost five.”
“I’m going to meet with Jennifer. She needs to take over my meetings if I am going to be gone next week.”
Rory nodded. “Right-o. I have a few calls to make too. Your brother doesn’t like to plan ahead.”
She laughed. “If you knew Conner before Jillian, you would never say that. But this was planned. He checked out the house, probably offered an obscene amount for it, and then worked it out with Margerie. He plans, but he likes to pretend he doesn’t.”
“And you let him do this?” Rory asked.
“I don’t let Conner do anything. But, when all you have is each other, you learn to allow for your eccentricities.”
She started to pull up some files on her computer. After a few moments, they were still there, both staring at her. She sighed.
“Go away.”
Zeke opened his mouth but Rory chuckled. “Let’s go, Zee. The lady has work to do. Let us know if you need anything.”
Rory stood and headed to the door. With a worried glance in her direction, Zeke followed Rory out the door. When it clicked shut, she leaned back in her seat and growled. She couldn’t stop herself. It was impossible. Every single day she had to deal with them and every single day she felt as itchy from the inside out. Worse, she had an idea that neither of them had any idea what they did to her. Zeke knew she loved him. They were going to drive her crazy. She needed to find herself a man in Hawaii and ignore the two men who had been driving her crazy.
She closed her eyes. If only she could listen to her common sense, she would be able to do it. Unfortunately, her common sense seemed to be on a holiday. The only thing that she could think was how much fun it would be to play with both Rory and Zeke.
She was doomed.
* * *
“You want to tell me what that was about in there, Rory?” Zeke asked as they walked down the hall to where their offices were located.
“What do you mean?” Rory asked. His attempt to sound innocent failed, at least with Zeke. Most people would never guess just how devious the man truly was.
“You questioning Maura about her brother like that.” He didn’t like it. He knew that Rory was planning something and it wasn’t going to be good. Whenever Rory got crazy plans in his head, Zeke was always left cleaning up the mess and dealing with heartache.
“Nothing. Just wondered why she would do it for him. She’s a workaholic.”
That much was true, but it didn’t sound like a reason Rory would be curious about something like that. He hated to admit it but Rory could be superficial with people in his life. Not the ones that mattered, but when it came to acquaintances, he kept everything on the surface. “But she loves Hawaii and a chance to see him, she will do anything.”
They reached Zeke’s office first and he stepped in his mind on the plans for the flight. He would have to make sure to get ahold of Michaels and tell him of the switch of staff on the job, although Conner probably already did, cheeky bastard.
“I get that. It’s unnatural.”
Zeke shook his head. Of course Rory would think that. With his fucked up family, Zeke understood why he never wanted to see them…or talk to them.
“To you and me, maybe. To them, no. They have always had each other’s back. It’s kind of heartwarming to see the way they look out for each other.”