Chapter 1 - Part One

The Carrero Effect

~ The First Meeting ~

Jacob Carrero stood in his room in front of the large mirror over the vanity and warmed hair wax between his fingers, smirking at the familiar black and gold branded product on the wooden surface. His father was still lording over the decision to start a male grooming line with Jake’s face all over the advertising campaign; not that he cared. He was used to being publicly owned, always on show, and every woman’s idea of a fantasy male.

Which guy wouldn’t? Women falling at your feet every day. Hell yeah.

He rubbed it through his hair expertly and spiked it up toward the center and forward in its trademark style. He was never really one for much fussing over his hair, this kept it sorted and then he never had to care for the rest of the day or mess with it unless he ran his hands through and mussed it up. If he had his way, he would shave it all off, but he had done that in his teens and he had just looked like a menacing street thug and was met with serious glares from Mamma Carrero.

He caught sight of the girl in the mirror, trying to catch his eye from the bed. She was lounging sexily and letting the bed sheets slide down her naked body in a bid to lure him back in. Jake just frowned at the effort and went back to getting ready for work. He’d had enough playtime these last two weeks, and she was already boring him. This one was his most recent fuck buddy, long legs, a little too skinny for his liking, and surprisingly plain faced after all that muck was wiped off. Another supermodel who was obsessed with dinner parties where she only consumed lettuce and had her face in his lap at the click of his fingers. Nothing remarkable, boringly predictable and zero conversation in that head. He didn’t know why he kept falling into the trap of dating the same types over and over.

“I’m feeling energetic still … if you’re game?” She tried for husky-voiced and just irritated him. Sliding his jacket over his crisp shirt and adjusting the cuffs without looking at her once, he continued with the task of getting ready. Jefferson would be waiting with the car now and he had to go. Back to reality and back to running his part of the family empire.

“Nora will feed you, see yourself out.” He smirked back at her and felt a tad guilty about the look of sheer disappointment on her face. Just a tad. He stopped caring the second he lifted his shades, slid them on his head, and made his way out of the door.

He was greeted by Nora in the open-plan lounge, wielding a hoover and smiling gracefully, his heart warming a little at the maternal, little widow who kept his apartment for him. He smiled genuinely.

“Can you make sure … Umm.”

Fuck, what was her name? Trisha? Tracey? Shit, I’ve been sleeping with her for almost a week and I still can’t remember the damn thing. I’m such an asshole.

“Tiffany?” Nora blinked at him and he smiled, feeling more uneasy at his mind blank. He knew it just made him look like a dickhead, and he didn’t like Nora thinking that way about him. The woman was like a second mother and her opinion mattered.

“Yeah, her. Could you make sure she gets fed and see that she’s taken home?” He smiled again and headed toward the kitchen where he grabbed the coffee she had waiting for him in a steel travel mug. He was running late, and she obviously knew it.

Best housekeeper on Earth, she deserved another raise.

“Arrick?” He turned back to her with a raised eyebrow and then dismissed the question as his brother sauntered from the direction of his guest rooms. “Hurry up, man, I’m already late. Margo will have my guts today, she’s all in a tizzy about my new PA.” Arrick just yawned and ran a hand casually through his sandy hair carelessly.

His brother was fairer, but had his dad’s dark eyes and sallow skin, while Jake had inherited his mother’s dark hair and green eyes, and he guessed her looks, seeing as he had been voted New York’s hottest bachelor the second year in a row. He never saw the similarity to his brother, but people always said it was there.

“Shut up, I’m hungover from last night. You’re lucky I’m even upright, and how the hell do you look so fucking normal?” Arrick was irritable today, last night had been a hell of a party and they had hit the booze a little too hard. Jake was almost immune to hangovers nowadays, years of hitting it hard had given him a more steel constitution than his baby brother. He needed to get him worked up to that now he was almost legal drinking age. He had a reputation to follow and if he was going to keep up with Jake’s friends, he better get up to speed with alcohol tolerance.

“You ready to shift?” Jake pushed his brother on the shoulder as he passed him to get him moving faster, he was already restless about being away from work for a couple weeks. He had no idea how much he had missed or what was needed to catch up today. He wasn’t so sure anymore that snowboarding and base jumping in between blow out parties had been such a good idea when he had so much coming up. He didn’t feel any more rested than when he had taken off with his brother and best mate in tow.

In fact, he maybe should have cut the fun a day early and actually got some real sleep. Last night was a late drunken return and then a lot of sex before his alarm assaulted him way too early. A shower had barely straightened him out.

He shook himself mentally and followed Arrick out through the main door to the corridor where his head of security was waiting with his bag. Mathews looked like a George Clooney of sorts with an air of Jason Statham; the man was scarily efficient. Jake took the bag being held out to him, he wasn’t much of a briefcase kind of guy so had a leather messenger bag instead.

“Here you go, sir. All the files arrived last night per your request.” He smiled a thanks at the older man and patted his shoulder before taking a mouthful of coffee. A slight stirring of nausea in his stomach at the first non-alcoholic liquid to hit it in forty-eight hours.

Not a good idea at all.

Arrick was practically tripping over his own feet and holding his head. Jake swiped off his shades and propped them on his brother’s nose; poor guy would not be any better hitting the New York sunlight in a few minutes, and he felt guilty about his suffering.

Jake had goaded him into a drinking competition, knowing only too well he would beat him hands down. The baby boy had to learn to man up with the rest of them if he was going to survive in his circle of friends.

“Thanks.” He finally managed after swallowing down probably the worst thing to drink when his guts were fragile. Nora’s coffee was enough to put hairs on a man’s chest.

Jesus!

With the bag secured over his shoulder, he hauled out the first file and sauntered into the elevator.

“Work already? You have issues,” Arrick mumbled from the corner he was slumped into, and Jake could only shake his head at him and smile.

This was the future competition in his father’s company? He needed to get Arrick toughened up.

“No. Margo sent this over. My new PA’s company record and resume. She wants me up to speed with whoever she is before I meet her today. Apparently, she has high hopes that this is the one I’ve been looking for.”