Free Mr. Right Now: Vol. 1: Party Boys Who Get What They Want by HJ Bellus

night.”
    Chloe’s face heats, and she knows it must be bright red. She buries her face in his shoulder, avoiding the stares of the other brothers. They all get quite the kick out his comment. Even Chloe has to admit it was a good comeback.
    “I know it’s Sunday,” Cole taps the side of his glass, “but it’s business time. No more funny biz.”
    Just like clockwork Chloe shifts into business mode, her mind racing with numbers, dates, and calculations.
    “We’re still on to meet with Seidman’s tomorrow. I have a groundbreaking ceremony scheduled tomorrow as well, with the press and media to attend.”
    “Nice,” Cole mutters. “But we have a slight problem.”
    Eli shakes his head in disgust, as does Kam. Chloe immediately picks up on their foul mood. Something lingers over the table, dampening the atmosphere and clearly hindering their plans.
    “We can’t break ground tomorrow, and will have to wait a couple days.”
    Chloe’s brows scrunch as she tries to process his words.
    Eli sits up in his seat and rests his elbows on the table. “See, the morning you bailed out numbnuts, here…well, he was thrown in jail for assault. Assault against Harwell’s youngest son.”
    “As in the Harwells.”
    Eli nods in Chloe’s direction. She instantly flies off the handle. She tamps down deep, trying to control her rage. She dealt with months and months of fighting and legal battles with the Harwells, and then this. A drunken asswipe does this to ruin it all.
    She strikes Dax in the arm with a closed fist. Not once or twice, but repeatedly.
    “Are you fucking kidding me, Dax? Do you even have any idea of how many hours I fought to get all your permits with planning and zoning?”
    The other men’s faces are somber as Chloe rattles on her anger.
    Cole finally interrupts her. “It wasn’t Dax’s fault.”
    “Never is,” she mutters under her breath. Chloe remembers the eight stiches across Eli’s head their freshman year. A knife accidentally slipped from Dax’s hand and coincidentally landed on Eli’s forehead.
    “Really, Chloe, it wasn’t.” Cole takes a long pull from his beer bottle. “We were at a club, not even theirs, minding our own business. Dax was dancing with a blonde.”
    “First mistake,” Chloe interrupts. “Enter a new town, not your turf, and start dancing with the hottest pussy around.”
    Chloe’s fists clench to balls underneath the table to prevent her from picking up the steak knife and stabbing Dax in the eyeball, but Eli intervenes. He pries her fingers open, lacing them with his. The action comforts her, but she’s still reeling from the colossal fuck-up sitting in front of her.
    Cole tries again to defend his brother. “I understand where you’re coming from, but we didn’t do a damn thing. The blonde came to Dax, and I questioned her ass. She was either sent to start a fight or damn hard up for Dax.”
    “Ethan,” is all that leaves Chloe’s mouth. “It was Ethan.”
    “Yes.” Dax nearly leaps from the booth, his knees jolting into the table. “How do you know?”
    “Like I said, I’ve been working on this project for months. This wouldn’t be the first nasty thing he’s tried to pull.”
    “Is there a loophole? Dirt on him? What can we do not to hold it up?”
    “I have more than dirt on him.” Chloe digs her phone from her purse. “I have pending charges against the motherfucker.” She pushes against Eli’s shoulder, nudging him. “Let me out.”
    Eli doesn’t ask questions and stands, holding his hand out for her. She lets him drag her to her feet.
    “What are you doing?” he asks.
    “Taking care of this. Would’ve been nice to know this interesting little fact a couple fucking days ago.”
    Chloe spins on her heels in search of a private place. She knows exactly what needs to be done and whose strings to pull. Being the second person behind the scenes to Clint for years has left Chloe very street savvy. There’s no way in hell she’ll let