GoingUp (8 page)

“I can eat anywhere I please.”

Reese took a step forward and opened his mouth to blast the
insolent fool, but was stopped by Malachi, who calmly held up a hand. “Very
true, Mr. Putney, but what you
can’t
do is insult my future sister-in-law.”

“Future…” Startled, Putney glanced over at Reese, who was
doing his best not to react at the label Malachi gave Koko. “He’s your
brother?”

“You mean you didn’t know?” Malachi asked, deadpan. Of
course Putney didn’t know, not many people did. Malachi resembled his Israeli
father more than he did their German mother, but brothers they were just the
same.

“How was I supposed to know? Or know she was his? It wasn’t
as if he wasn’t letting us watch videos of his missus just a few days ago.
Doesn’t sound like fiancée stuff to me.”

“How my brother and my future sister-in-law choose to act
out their bedroom hijinks is between them and their God. If you feel you were
sexually harassed by catching her masturbating,” Malachi held up his hand. One
of his lawyers instantly placed a stack of papers on top of his palm, which
Malachi in turned presented to Putney, “feel free to file this complaint. You
also might want to get a lawyer. But then of course you’d have to explain to
your wife you were using the elevators to get your jollies off, even going as
far as to make your own personal DVD.”

“I don’t have a DVD,” Putney said quickly. “I just said
that.”

Malachi set the papers down in front of Putney, who was
beginning to crack like the bad egg he was. “I’m sure that will be brought up
in Ms. Brown’s countersuit against you for harassment and stalking. Either way,
this is not going to end well for you. You’re fired, you’re more than likely
going to be hit by a lawsuit from my sister-in-law, who will of course have the
full backing of my lawyers, and all the while you’ll have to explain to your
wife how all of this came about. Or…” Malachi crossed his arms over his chest
and leaned back in his chair. “You can just choose to quit your job of your own
free will and walk away, an unemployed loser, but one without a million-dollar
lawsuit coming after him. The choice is yours.”

“It’s not really a choice, is it?” Putney attempted a sneer,
but his fear was more than obvious.

One of the lawyers moved from behind Malachi and set a new
stack of papers in front of Putney on the desk. “Sign here and here, initial
there and sign here.”

Reese glanced over at his half brother, who was regarding
the whole thing with aloof amusement. The mind fuck part of this was for
Malachi, the next part would be all Reese, so he waited patiently.

When Putney finished dotting the I’s and crossing the T’s,
he pushed angrily from his chair. “All of this over some little black whore who
gets off flashing her snatch to strangers. Really? Great gal you’re bringing in
to the family, Mr. Sarraf.”

Reese saw red. He moved forward to finish it, but Malachi
stood and stepped in front of Reese. “We think she’s pretty swell. She’ll fit
right in with us. But here’s a little lesson for you, Putney. You don’t fuck with
family.”

The office door swung open and Malachi’s personal security
came in and flanked Putney. “Get him out of here.”

“Yes, Mr. Sarraf,” they said in unison as they crowded in on
the other man and escorted him out of the office.

The lawyers followed suit, leaving as quietly as they had
entered, staying long enough to pick up the paperwork off the desk. Once the
room was empty, Malachi turned to his brother. The two men regarded each other
silently for a moment. It wasn’t often Malachi came to the rescue, it was more
Reese’s role to look after his younger brother, not just because of their age
but because of his job.

Reese would have handled the whole thing himself, but as
Malachi pointed out, “You don’t send a butcher in to do a surgeon’s job.”

“Thank you,” Reese said after a moment.

“My pleasure. Did that go as you wanted?”

“The first half went well; I’ll let you know about the
second in just a bit.”

Malachi glanced down at his watch. “It should take about ten
minutes max for him to clean out his locker and head to his car.”

“I was thinking the same thing.” Reese felt exhilarated.
This was the moment he’d been waiting for since his talk with Koko. With the
thought of the carnage about to take place, he carefully took off his coat and
dropped it onto the chair Putney vacated. “I’ll give him a minute head start so
it doesn’t look like I was waiting for him.”

“Remember to make him swing first. The cameras in the
parking garage will pick up everything, but he has to swing first. Might even
do you some good to let him get in a lick or two.”

Reese unfastened his watch and set it down on Malachi’s desk
then went to work rolling up his sleeves. “And that will be all he gets.”

“I’ll have the cameras monitored and have the police called
as soon as the fight starts. With the video evidence and you pressing assault
charges, I think our little friend will have a long, lonely weekend to enjoy
his black eye.”

“That won’t be the only thing he’ll be enjoying.”

Malachi
tsked
. “Make sure you don’t kill the man. We
head for England in two weeks.”

“I’m not going to kill him. I’m just going to make him wish
he were dead.”

“And my soon-to-be sister-in-law?”

This time Reese laughed at the title. “Don’t you think
sister-in-law is a bit premature?”

“I’ve never seen you this worked up over a woman before. I
take it as a sign.”

“You take everything as a sign.”

Malachi nodded his head regally. “Be that as it may, you
still haven’t answered my question. What are you going to do about Ms. Brown?”

Reese paused. That was the only thing he didn’t have a real
answer for. He wasn’t going to push her. He wanted her, God knows he did, but
he wouldn’t make the choice for her. The only thing he could do was make sure
Putney never said her name again.

“Well?” Malachi asked, persistent as always.

“I’m going to do the only thing I can. Give her time.”

“I had a feeling you were going to say that.” Malachi
reached for the file he’d been reading before everyone had joined him and went
right back to work. “Hit him one time for me, big brother.”

“Oh I will.” One for Malachi, one time for Reese, and then
every mark he put on Putney after that would be all for Koko, whether she ever
knew about it or not.

* * * * *

“Cart’s loaded.”

Koko looked up from the chalkboard she’d been writing the
day’s special on to Constance, who was standing next to her with her hands
tucked in her back pockets. Her friend had been a little jumpy all day, but
Koko had chalked it up to the remnants of their argument the day before. From
the way Constance kept stealing looks at her all day, she should have known
something else was up. “Okay…and you’re telling me this why?”

“It’s Thursday,” Constance reminded her unnecessarily. “We
have orders to deliver to Sarraf Towers.”

“I’d figured you’d want Winnie to do it.” She gestured to
the part-time employee they had working behind the counter. “To keep me as far
away from the scene of the crime as possible. I mean, you wouldn’t want me to
step foot in an elevator for fear I might jeopardize our company and all.”

Her friend had the grace to look abashed. “About that… I
might have overreacted a tad.”

“Uh-huh.” Koko narrowed her gaze as she waited for the other
shoe to drop. “Keep talking. I’m listening.”

“I was a little freaked out and I might have taken it out on
you…a little.”

Koko bit back the sarcastic remarks that were tripping up
her tongue. Instead, she set the chalk down on the ledge of the board and
dusted her hands off on the seat of her pants as she thought of the best way to
address the situation. Constance’s about-face confused yet thrilled her in
equal doses. The last thing she wanted to do was put her friendship or their
business at risk, but the idea of seeing Reese again made her happier than it
made sense for it to. “What made you change your mind?”

“Logic and my conscience. I reacted poorly,” Constance said
solemnly.

“You think?”

“Yes. The last thing you needed then, or ever actually, is
me up on a cross. I should have been your friend instead of giving you shit. I
may not agree with the way you get down, but that’s your business.” When Koko
went to open her mouth to interject, Constance held her hand up. “I do still
think wearing the company logo while you’re getting freaky is a bit much, but
I’ve given it some thought and came to the conclusion it might attract the
kinky customers, and they have money to spend as well, right?”

“Right.” Koko laughed. “That’s
who
we should be
marketing to.”

“Plus, you’ve been a real downer since you came back from
seeing Reese. Your moping is sickening. Go take the sandwiches and make up with
him. Just put on a different T-shirt if you’re going to do it in an elevator.”

“I think I can manage that, but Reese may not want to make
up with me. Besides, it was just one time.”

A flash of humor flickered in Constance’s eyes. “I’m willing
to bet you made an impression on him.”

“True.” She nodded. “I am me after all.”

“Exactly.” Constance smiled. “By the by, we have an extra
order today.”

“From who?”

“Malachi Sarraf. He requested you deliver it in person.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Weird, right?”

“Completely.” A shadow of alarm slipped over her. “Do you
think maybe he heard something about what happened and he wants to terminate
our contract?”

“I don’t think he’d feel the need to order from us first
before he tears up our contract.”

“You never know.”

Uncertainty crept over her, but she bravely put on a
cheerful front. “I guess there’s only one way to find out.”

Twenty minutes later Koko stood outside the large doors of
Malachi’s office, beginning to wonder if there might have been another way to
find out after all. She was nervous as hell and all she wanted to do was go
find Reese and make up, but first she had to deal with work first.

Clearing her throat, she knocked softly on the door. His
secretary had already told her to go in, but Koko preferred to err on the side
of caution. She waited until she heard “Come in” before she ventured into the
large room.

The second she stepped foot into the room, her nervousness
disappeared and was replaced with simple awe. Mr. Sarraf’s office was larger
than her entire apartment, and she couldn’t help but gawk at it like some
gauche schoolgirl. The size of it truly bordered on the absurd and the wow
factor was off the chart.

“Are you going to bring me my lunch or stare at my office
all day?”

Startled, Koko looked to where the voice had come from to
find a tall Middle Eastern man staring at her. She’d seen him in photos in
magazines enough to know the man speaking to her was Malachi Sarraf. “I’m
sorry, Mr. Sarraf. I have your lunch right here.”

“Please call me Malachi.”

There was a formal wording to the way he talked and an
accent she couldn’t quite place. “Where would you like me to place it?”

He gestured to his spotless marble desk. “There is fine.”

“Okay.” Intimidated by his mere presence, she rushed the
cart over to his desk and began to unload the items he’d requested. All the
while she readied his lunch, he stood back silently and watched her. And as
usual, whenever she felt uneasy, she blathered. “I want to thank you for
choosing our deli to supply you with your lunch today.”

“I have heard many good things about you and your company. I
decided it was time I discovered what all the fuss was about.”

“Fuss.” Koko froze. “There’s been fuss about our company?”
Oh God, she would hate for everything Constance said to be true and especially
so soon after they’d made up.

“No,” he said pointedly. “Not about your company.”

Gathering her courage, Koko turned to face the dominating
man. “What sort of fuss, Mr. Sarraf?”

“The sort that always happens when there is a beautiful
woman involved.”

“With all my heart I would love to pretend I don’t have an
inkling of what you are referring to, but honestly, I just can’t. I will
promise though, if you don’t break our contract, I will never step foot in this
building again.”

He cocked his head. “Now why would I want to make an
agreement like that? Besides, my brother would be none too pleased.”

“Your brother?”

“Yes, my br—” Just as he began to answer, the doors to the
right of her parted, revealing an elevator she hadn’t even noticed.

“What’s this message about you wanting to have lun—” Reese’s
words faltered as did his footsteps as he exited the lift. “Koko. What are you
doing here?”

“Good question.” Stunned, she turned from Reese to Malachi,
who was unwrapping his sandwich. “What are we doing here?”

“I’m having lunch and my brother is having you.”

“Brother!” Koko looked from one man to the other, startled
at the revelation. “You two are brothers.”

Malachi frowned. “Why is that the first thing people always
say? I’m beginning to think we need to make an announcement or something.”

“You know why we don’t.”

“Right, security. Yada, yada, yada. I believe though, we
tend to be telling a lot of people these days.”

“Not we, little brother. You.”

Malachi shrugged as if Reese’s words were of little
importance. “Same difference.”

Koko had been watching while they bickered back and forth,
still too stunned to participate in the conversation. She was too busy trying
to pick up any similarities between the two men. They were both mountains,
tall-for-no-reason tall, and their eyes had the same shape and color, but that
was where the similarities ended. Malachi’s skin was just a shade or two away
from her own, where Reese looked as white as the driven snow. She would have
never thought they were related just by looking at them, but listening to them
was a bit more revealing. From the way they went at each other, she could tell
there was a deep love between them even when they were acting childish.