Come Back to Me

Chapter 28: Present Day

"Are you ready for this?"

Noah looked down at me, his hand resting on the handle of the conference room door. I was very aware of all the eyes on us as we had walked from his office over to where we now stood and I wasn't about to chicken out with them all watching.

Noah had told me about this meeting last night over dinner. I had asked all my questions and decided that I would join him for this. I spent most of the evening studying all the files on his laptop. Looking like a moron was not acceptable. If I was going to be the Director of Design for R&R, I needed to act like it. There was no way I would let my brother down.

He waited for me to nod and then opened the door.

Two men were waiting for us. The older of them men smiled as we entered. The other one, mid-thirties and pissed at the world, did not. However, both men seemed a little surprised to see someone other than Noah joining them. They rose as I entered, each extending a hand to introduce themselves.

"Good morning, gentlemen. This is Regan Masterson, Riley's twin sister. Regan, meet Thomas and his son William."

"Miss Masterson, I am so sorry to hear of your brother's unfortunate passing. I enjoyed working with him very much." Thomas patted the back of my hand as we shook.

"Thank you, Thomas."

"Yeah, sorry," William added, not sounding sorry at all. He took his time raking his eyes over me from head to toe and back up, being obvious and very obnoxious about it. "Mugging or something, wasn't it?

Noah went to speak but I beat him to it, willing my voice to stay steady as we took our seats. "Yes, he was shot right through the heart. Killed him instantly."

"That has to suck, right?" William's attention turned back to Noah as if I hadn't just been speaking to him about the horrific death of my twin. "Dies and leaves you with a company to run on your own."

This guy William wasn't 'difficult' as Noah had described. He was just an asshole. I tried to offer him and Thomas a reassuring smile. "He left it in very capable hands, let me assure you."

I swear to God, William actually rolled his eyes before grudgingly returning his gaze to me. He quickly swept his eyes over me again for a shorter assessment but lingered too long on my breasts and folded his hands in front of him on the table. "Not to be rude, but can I ask in what capacity you're acting regarding R&R? I mean, other than the twin sister of the dead owner. I'm assuming there's a reason you're joining us so late in the proceedings."

Even though he spoke with a smile on his face, he wasn't hiding his more than mild annoyance at my presence. Thomas shot him a look.

"Please excuse my son, he's just very cautious when it comes to some details about our deal."

"Understood." I met William's annoyed stare with one of my own. "I'm taking over my brother's portion of R&R, LLC, so as co-owner, CEO, and Director of Design, I thought meeting my prospective clients would be a good idea."

William held my eye briefly, still sizing me up, and I let him. I really didn't like this man. He seemed overly arrogant, with more than a touch of misplaced misogynistic attitude. I don't think his problem was that there was someone new joining them. His problem was that I was a woman.

"I'm sure you understand my concern, sweetheart. We don't have time to rehash details you may have missed."

Noah remained silent next to me, his chin propped in his hand, his index finger tapping against his cheek. I could see him clenching his jaw, probably wanting to jump in, yet he allowed me to handle this myself, knowing I'd get pissed if it looked like he had to come to my rescue. He knew me so well and it made me want to kiss him, right here, right in front of these two guys. Instead, I folded my hands in front of me and leaned forward slightly, mimicking William's position. It worked. He leaned back away from me.