Any Way You Want It (Brand Clan #2)(18)

Though I wouldn’t have minded another week in paradise with Zandra, just the two of us.

Remy smiled to himself as he entered the elevator.

Once the doors closed behind him, his thoughts shifted to the busy day that awaited him as head of Brand Security Solutions, a multimillion-dollar global corporation that provided executive protection and investigative services to government, military and corporate sector enterprises. His itinerary for today included a series of meetings and consultations that would hopefully result in new contracts.

When he reached the top floor, his assistant was waiting for him. She had her Bluetooth headset in place and held a steaming cup of black coffee, which she handed to him as soon as he stepped off the elevator.

In her late twenties, Mona Fay Yancy had dark hair that she always scraped back into a severe ponytail, square shoulders and wide childbearing hips, though she swore she’d yet to meet a man who could sweet-talk her into “birthing his melon-head babies.” She was a sassy Southern girl whose tough, no-nonsense demeanor would have made Remy’s tobacco-chewing, ball-busting BUD/S instructors gush with pride. She kept Remy on track, ran a tight ship and suffered no fools.

“Good morning, boss. Nice to have you back.” She gave him one of her rare smiles, which faded the moment her eyes landed on his combat boots. “Good Lord, what are you wearing?”

Remy grinned, sipping his coffee. “I took the Turbine today.”

“Whatever for?” Mona demanded, falling into step beside him as he started from the lobby with long, ground-eating strides. “You’re supposed to be meeting with the top executives of a major pharmaceutical company. You can’t show up wearing an Armani suit with combat boots.”

“I’m not showing up anywhere,” Remy corrected. “They’re coming to me. So why the hell should they give a rat’s ass what I’m wearing? They’re interested in the services I provide, not my fashion sense.”

“Or lack thereof,” Mona muttered under her breath.

“I heard that.”

“Good morning, Mr. Brand. We missed you.”

Remy smiled and winked at the attractive young receptionist manning the phone from behind a futuristic-looking glass desk.

While the exterior of the old warehouse resembled every other warehouse on the block, the interior featured an ultramodern design with exposed steel beams, sleek leather furnishings and glacial white walls that formed a dramatic contrast to gleaming black granite floors.

Given his military background, Remy would have gone for something stark and functional, but when he brought Zandra to the empty warehouse and gave her the grand tour, she’d seen so much potential that she’d urged him to commission one of her interior designer friends to renovate the space. Even if Remy hadn’t been pleased with the results—which he was—it would have been worth it just to see the girlish delight on Zandra’s face as she’d rushed from room to room oohing and aahing over everything.

As Remy and Mona headed toward his office, they came upon a pair of tattooed, rough-looking ex-marines, one sporting a blond Mohawk while the other wore long dreadlocks. Their beefy hands were wrapped around coffee cups and powdered beignets that they’d just pilfered from the kitchen.

They nodded to Remy. “Wassup, Chief.”

“Gentlemen. How’s it going?”

“Need to talk to you about that assignment in Abu Dhabi.”

“It’ll have to wait until later,” Mona interjected before Remy could open his mouth. “He has important meetings all day, and y’all aren’t leaving for Abu Dhabi till Wednesday.”

As the two marines walked past, Remy made eye contact with them and subtly gestured to indicate that he’d be available in ten minutes.

“Nice try,” drawled Mona, who missed nothing, “but I don’t think so.”

The men could only chuckle and shake their heads. “Catch up with you later, Chief.”

When Remy and Mona reached his office, he sauntered to the black granite desk, sat down in the leather executive chair and propped up his booted feet as he drank his coffee.

Mona arched a brow at him. “Someone’s feeling mighty relaxed this morning.”

Remy grinned. “Five days of fun and sun in the Caribbean will do that for you. You should try it sometime.”

Mona snorted. “This place would fall apart if I went on vacation.”

“Probably, but that shouldn’t stop you from going anyway.”

She made a face. “I will, but not now. Things are too busy around here.” Which, of course, she’d been saying for the past two years. “Anyway, I know you’re already familiar with Hospira Pharmaceuticals, but I prepared some additional notes for you to review before your meeting at nine. The file is on your desktop.”

“Thanks, Mona. Oh, and I brought you something.”

She eyed Remy curiously as he reached inside his breast pocket, removed a narrow envelope and leaned forward to pass it to her.

When she opened the envelope and saw what was inside, her eyes widened in shock. “Oh, my Lord. Are these plane tickets to St. Lucia?”

“Yup. One for you and your mother, or whoever else you want to take. The hotel accommodations have already been arranged.”

Mona stared at him, shaking her head in disbelief. “This is too much. I can’t—”