Big Shot(50)

He had a horrible, awful feeling he’d f*cked that all to hell, and might not have only lost Natalie but possibly Connor’s friendship, as well, all in one fell swoop.

“You did it, didn’t you?” Connor demanded, gaze narrowed and his voice heated. “You f*cking slept with my sister, the one woman I’d expect you to keep your dick out of. Was screwing around with Natalie part of your requirement for her to fulfill the terms of your bet?”

Irritation tightened across Wes’s shoulders, but he let his friend get everything off his chest before he answered, telling himself that Connor, as Natalie’s big brother, had the right to defend his sister’s honor. Even though they’d done nothing wrong.

“Yes, we slept together and no, it wasn’t a requirement,” he replied, glaring at Connor for him even thinking that Wes would stoop to that level. “Everything about it was consensual.” He wasn’t about to inform Connor that Natalie had suggested the affair. It didn’t matter at this point, because they both had agreed.

Connor jabbed a finger toward the door. “Then why the hell did she just leave here looking f*cking devastated?”

Wes wasn’t sure he had an answer to that. He hadn’t ended the fling, she had. And she was accepting a great job in Atlanta with an upscale firm that was everything she claimed she was working toward, so he didn’t understand why she’d be crushed by the end to their affair. Wasn’t this what she wanted? A temporary f*ck buddy before she transitioned into the next phase of her life?

Jesus Christ. He was so f*cking confused.

“I need a drink,” Wes muttered, and headed over to the wet bar in the corner of his office.

He retrieved two lowball glasses from the shelf and the bottle of Macallan single malt scotch he normally reserved for clients, usually to celebrate a sale or purchase. Today, he needed a shot to soothe his ego and his nerves, and Connor needed one to calm the f*ck down so they could have a civilized conversation.

After pouring a liberal amount for each of them, he carried one of the glasses over to Connor and pressed it into his friend’s hand. “Care to sit down and stay awhile?” Wes asked in a droll tone, and fully expected Connor to tell him to f*ck off and die.

Surprisingly, Connor huffed out a breath, then settled his big body into one of the chairs in front of Wes’s desk, while Wes sat down in his leather chair across from his friend. He didn’t dare look at the desk itself because he knew he’d remember how beautiful Natalie had looked spread across the mahogany while his name fell from her lips not even a half hour ago, so instead he kept his gaze trained straight ahead at Connor.

The two of them stared each other down as they drank their scotch in moody silence, though Connor’s gaze was far more intimidating. He figured the man would speak when he was good and ready.

Wes understood why Connor was so protective of his little sister. For one thing, growing up, he’d always been that way, but Wes knew this current anger stemmed from the fact that Connor had been the one to catch Natalie’s douchebag of a boyfriend cheating on her. He’d been the one to tell his sister what he’d seen, and watched as she’d fallen apart. So yeah, when it came to men and his sister, Connor was definitely in protective big brother mode and had taken it upon himself to make sure anyone interested in her was good enough for Natalie.

Wes hated that Connor lumped him into the latter category and found him lacking.

Connor downed the rest of his liquor and set the glass on the desk with a loud, aggressive clack. Wes decided they’d spent enough time having a Mexican standoff, and now it was time to be the adults they were.

“You ready to discuss this rationally?” he asked, then finished his own drink and set his glass aside, not nearly as belligerently as Connor had. Wes wasn’t interested in having a pissing contest. Honestly, he just needed someone to talk to about the situation, and he really wanted that person to be Connor, his best friend—if the other man could be level-headed about the situation.

“That depends on how much of an * you were to my sister,” Connor said, deadpan.

So much for level-headed. “I wasn’t an *, and I swear I didn’t take advantage of her.” Wes plowed his fingers through his hair in frustration and decided to lay everything out on the table. What the f*ck did he have to lose at this point?

“We both agreed to the affair because we’re attracted to each other, and yeah, it was supposed to be temporary and just for the duration of the bet. She wasn’t looking for anything serious and neither was I.”

Connor’s gaze darkened with animosity again and his hands gripped the sides of the chair, but he kept quiet and let Wes continue explaining.

“But then . . . that changed and it wasn’t about just the sex anymore.”

Connor made a face at the insinuation of his sister getting it on with his best friend, and Wes almost laughed. God, he couldn’t believe he was discussing his sex life and his feelings for Natalie with her brother. It was all kinds of wrong, but no way did he want Connor to think that his sister had been nothing more than a casual f*ck. It was the furthest thing from the truth.

“There’s always been this thing between me and Natalie, even when we were teenagers. We’ve always been competitive, and we’ve always butted heads and antagonized one another, but beneath all that, we were both attracted to each other and trying to act like we weren’t.”