Claimed by My Steadfast Soldier

Chapter Five

Gage’s POV

I stand in disbelief, open mouthed, as I watch the fiery blonde disappear from my view at lightning speed, rounding the corner, leaving me standing like an i***t, on my own, outside of the building we just viewed.

Her stinging words still ring in my ears, the righteous indignation that flamed through her when she thought I was my brother and that he was hitting on her. I don't think I have ever been so impressed, nor so turned on in my entire life.

Slowly, I shake my head, trying to knock myself out of the daze that the intriguing woman has left me in, before I head back to my truck. I press the remote locking for my vehicle, my head still consumed with Hali Montgomery, with her quick temper and sharp tongue, the flash of ire that my body just itches to tame. I wonder how that fire comes out in the bedroom, even while she was shouting at me, all I could imagine was f.ucking that anger out of her, turning her from a clawing lioness to a purring kitten before letting her take control and dominate me any way she wants.

Climbing heavily into my truck, I have to take a moment to adjust the tightness in my jeans, closing my eyes in an attempt to make my d**k deflate as driving is going to be unbearable if I don’t get myself under control again.

Conjuring up images of Callan’s dirty underwear piled on the floor by his bedroom door and the smell of his sweaty socks after he hits the gym is enough to get my d**k to lose interest. Sighing with relief, I start the engine and throw it into gear, pulling out of my space and heading back toward our current premises.

Pulling into the lot, I look up at the building where we currently rent office space and pull a face. After the sleek building I just left, this one suddenly looks even worse than usual. The crumbling signage and worn brickwork, mixed with the weeds that grow through the cracks in the pavement is even more pronounced after what I just saw. This is not the impression that we want to give to our clients, we are trying to tell them that we are top of the line when it comes to their security and yet here, we work out of a run down building with zero cameras and a front door that could probably be broken down with a good shove of a shoulder, why would anyone trust us with their safety?

Huffing loudly, I kill the engine, climbing out and heading toward the entrance, pushing it open and heading up the stairs toward the floor that is currently home to Cadell Security, the company built from scratch by my father and now handed down to my brother and I.

Opening the door to our office, I glance toward our reception desk finding it empty of all personal effects . . . again. I sigh loudly, looks like my brother’s shining personality has scared off yet another new hire.

Stomping toward Harrison’s office, I listen for the sound of him on the phone for a second. Hearing nothing, I shove open the door without knocking and walk in.

‘Callan, I’m busy, I told you to deal with it’ my brother growls, not even looking up at me as he pores over paperwork, brow furrowed in concentration.

‘You terrified another receptionist into quitting?’ I demand, throwing myself into the chair across from my surly twin, putting my feet up on the corner of his desk, ignoring his scowl as he glares at them. ‘Seriously dude, that’s like the fifth one! How many more are you going to make cry before you realise the problem is you and not them?’ I continue in annoyance. It's hard enough to find someone who wants to work in this dump we don't need my brother being an ass and making the few people we can get in the door back out of it again.

My brother finally looks at me, his scowl deepening, ‘if they can’t do the job right then I don’t want them here’ he responds indifferently, 'get your feet off my desk' he adds grumpily.

I roll my eyes, as I drop my feet back to the cheap carpet of his office, this man is such a pain in my ass, he is literally the antichrist of fun and happiness, as though he was placed on this earth just to make everyone miserable, well except where my stepsister is concerned that is.

The thought of Eden, my father's wife's daughter and the love of my brother's life, makes me smile, that woman was possibly the single best thing to happen to the grumpy asshole across from me, and I’m just waiting for him to pull out a ring for her, I wouldn't be at all surprised if he already has it stashed somewhere.

‘So, what did you think?’ he demands, his attention already back on the spreadsheet that is on desk in front of him.

I nod, ‘it’s perfect’ I reply, leaning back in my chair to get more comfortable. ‘You are right, the basement is perfect for a shooting range and as long as we go above and beyond on a dividing wall, we could easily add a gym for the guys to work out.’

Harrison grunts, ‘would save us a fortune, the gun range isn’t cheap, and with the way we are hoping to grow, we need our own facilities. I was impressed when Hali showed it to me, just wanted your opinion before I pulled the trigger and made an offer.’

I stiffen at the mention of Hali’s name, her vivid green eyes swimming at the forefront of my mind.

‘Yeah, she did good’ I agree, ‘but, did you perhaps forget to mention something to her when you booked my viewing?’

My brother shrugs, ‘no’ he replies, bored, ‘I said I wanted to book a viewing, she turned up, what else was there?’

I huff out a laugh, ‘I don’t know’ I retort, ‘maybe the fact that it wasn’t you that was going to be shown around?’

Harrison looks up at me in confusion, ‘so?’ he mutters.

I swallow down my retort, ‘Harry, do you not think that when the realtor saw me, she would think that it was you she was showing around?’ I ask pointedly.

The Marine's frown deepens, ‘what?’

I groan, loudly, ‘dude, she thought I was you’ I explain slowly, like I’m talking to a damn child. ‘She’s confused as hell because I want to see everything, must have thought I was an imbecile or something as I no doubt asked the same questions that you did! It wasn’t until we were leaving that I realised what was going on!’

I watch my brother absorb my words, clearly having no grasp on why this was a tremendous f.uck up.

‘But she showed you the place’ he questions, ‘and you liked it?’

I nod, ‘yes, I loved it, I think we should absolutely buy it’ I agree.

Harrison shrugs, ‘can’t see what the problem is then’ he replies, his gaze moving back to his spreadsheet again and I know he’s already tuned me out.

Resisting the desire to flip the grumpy asshole off, I push up out of my chair and head back to my own office, sticking my head into Callan’s office as I pass.

‘Hey! The part-timer is here!’ my best friend calls out, grabbing the tiny basketball that sits on his desk and throwing it at me.

I catch it easily in my left hand and throw it back, grinning, ‘yeah, yeah, just remind me what time you rolled in on Monday?’ I tease.

Callan laughs, ‘I had a breakfast meeting’ he replies easily.

I roll my eyes, ‘s*x with the latest girl you picked up in a bar is not a breakfast meeting’ I remind him.

My best friend laughs, leaning back in his chair, ‘so how was the premises?’ he asks me.

I nod, walking in and perching on the edge of his desk, ‘good’ I admit, ‘really good in fact, I told Harry to go for it.’

Callan nods approvingly, ‘I saw photos online’ he agrees, ‘it looks like it has everything we need.’

He studies me interestingly, ‘sooooo, what was the realtor like?’ he queries, ‘Harry is awful at trying to get information out of about a woman.’

I feel my stomach tighten slightly, ‘why do you want to know?’ I demand.

Callan’s eyebrows raise in surprise, ‘well, my dad is always looking for new property to invest in’ he replies, ‘could always use a good realtor . . plus, if she’s hot, it would make the process so much easier if he forces me to go and look at places.’

‘She’s not that kind of woman’ I growl, ‘so get that out of your head, she’s no easy lay.’

My best friend’s shock is palpable before his eyes narrow slightly, ‘how do you know what she’s like?’ he asks curiously, ‘you spent like an hour with her.’

I stand up, heading back toward the door, ‘I just know’ I reply firmly, ‘so look elsewhere for your one and done.’

Not waiting for the man to reply, I storm out of his office and into mine, shutting the door a little more firmly than I meant to.