The next morning, Beau stormed into Sam's office before he'd even gone to his own, certain he'd find his brother in an almost comatose state since he wouldn't have finished his coffee yet and choosing not to care.
Sam was half asleep. He gazed up from his laptop, his head resting on his fist. "What the hell do you want this early in the morning?" he asked before groggily picking up his mug and taking a sip of coffee.
"Let her go." It was all he could say. He'd rehearsed a long speech all morning while he was getting ready for work and half the night when he was lying awake, tossing and turning, thinking of Mia and unable to get her scent out of his mid. "You've gotta let her go."
"And... exactly whom are you referring to?" he asked, irritating the hell out of Beau because they both knew. The younger brother didn't answer; he merely folded his arms. "Why do you want me to do that? First, you wanted her to get this job. Now, you want me to fire her?"
"Not fire her. Just... let her go. Without having to repay you the money."
A crooked grin took over his brother's face. "You know it doesn't work that way. You either make it, or you pay me back."
"That's called blackmail. You're blackmailing these women into doing sexual favors for you."
"I haven't done anything sexual with Mia... yet."
"You have. You pervert."
"Hey! I haven't touched her. I'm not a pervert. She's not a child. She's child-like...."
Beau narrowed his eyes. "You know what you're doing is wrong."
"It isn't wrong. I have them sign a contract to make sure everything is perfectly legal."
"Just because something is legal doesn't mean it isn't wrong," Beau pointed out.
Sam shrugged his shoulders, clearly awake now. "I'm not going to let her go. I'm not going to fire her. I like her. I understand that you do, too. What she does outside of this office is up to her, but unless she quits, I'll continue to have her fulfill my... needs."
"I'll pay you the money."
"She'd never let you do that, and you know it."
He was right there. Beau had already offered, and Mia had refused. "Why does she need to know?"
"I can't have people thinking they walked away without paying their debt. What kind of reputation would that give me?"
Beau shook his head. "You're a real piece of work, brother."
Sam's chuckle was devilish. "Thank you. But... now that you're here, you should probably know, I'm not going to be able to control myself much longer. I will likely touch her soon. Probably today."
Beau could feel his blood beginning to boil. He hoped Sam didn't figure out that she was a virgin. The idea of his brother claiming her innocence made him seethe.
"You wanna watch?" Sam asked with a mischievous smile.
"Go to hell, Sam." Beau realized there was nothing else he could say, so he headed out of the office, listening to Sam laugh like a sadistic hyena.
He wasn't sure where he was going, but it wasn't his own office, and when he walked around a corner, he ran straight into Mia-for the second time since he'd met her. "Oh, hey. Sorry," he said, making sure she wasn't hurt.
Her cheeks reddened. "Hi. Good morning."
There it was, that heavenly, intoxicating aroma that was purely Mia. "Good morning. How are you?"
"I'm good," she said, smiling up at him. "How are you?"
"Good. Good. A little tired."
"Yeah, me, too. I didn't sleep very well. I had a lot of fun at your house last night, though."
"I had a lot of fun, too," he said with a smile. "Are you busy tonight?"
Mia's eyebrows shot up, and he thought perhaps he was pushing it, asking her out so many times in a such a short span of time. But he needed to make sure she was safe, especially since he knew now that Sam had his hooks in her. "I'm not busy. What did you have in mind?"
"I don't know. We could go for a swim or a soak in the hot tub." Did it sound like he was pushing things too far too fast?
She had a peculiar look on her face, like she thought maybe he was doing just that. "Sounds great," she said, much to his relief. "I've gotta get to my office, though. In case Sam needs me."
"Right." Her words brought back the anger he'd felt at his brother earlier. "Mia, just remember, you can say no... if you want to."
She stared at him for a moment and then nodded, but he could see in her eyes that she wasn't sure she'd want to say no to Sam, and it made him want to punch his brother in the face. How did he have his hooks in her already?
Mia smiled and walked away, leaving him standing in the wake of her intoxicating scent realizing he was in a tight position. He couldn't lose her to Sam, but he just might have to share her, and he wasn't sure he could do that either. What was worse? A world with no Mia or one where she could only be his outside of work? Knowing what his brother had in store for her behind that closed door made the decision even harder because if she liked what he would do to her, how could she also like Beau?