Free Brother to the Boss: Billionaire Romance (Managing the Bosses Series Book 8) by Lexy Timms Page B

or funny, but Anna laughed.
    The sound of footsteps in the grass alerted Mark to Erica's presence. He turned to her, catching her scent and smiled nervously at her. She looked less pleased than he had expected. Almost as soon as he had noted that, however, her face shifted to an overly-sweet smile.
    “Mark,” Erica said, “who is this?”
    “Erica, this is Miss Anna Blake. She's one of our new club members. I was just showing her around and explaining some of the perks of being a member here.”
    Erica’s smile looked sweet, but its edges were vicious as she turned it on Anna. “Nice to meet you Miss Blake,” she said. “I hope that you're enjoying your time at the country club so far.”
    “Oh, absolutely.” Anna smiled a smile that was just as sharp as Erica's. “I'm enjoying it very much. Mark has been so kind. He really is an excellent host.”
    Mark was beginning to get the feeling that he'd stepped into something he should have stayed out of. He didn't really understand the way women communicated. Sure, he could tell what they meant when they said it, but when they did that thing where they pretended to be happy and were obviously angry, he started to struggle. His ex-wife had done that. A lot.
    “So, Miss Blake, are you here alone?” Erika pointedly asked, surprising Mark slightly.
    Anna shook her head, her glossy dark hair spilling over her shoulders with the motion.” No, actually,” she replied. “I'm here with a friend.”
    “Oh? And who might that be?”
    Anna scanned the golf course and, seeming to spot him, lifted one hand and waved it in the air to try to get his attention. It worked.
    The man who walked over was tall and dark-haired, with bits of silver distinguished throughout, the sort of attractive that seem to run in wealthy families. He smiled charmingly at them.
    “This is Nicholas,” Anna said.
    “Nicholas,” Mark said slowly. “Not Sunrise Applications Nicholas?”
    The man looked surprised, but he smiled. “Actually, I am Sunrise Applications Nicholas. I didn't expect you to know the name.”
    Mark's eyebrows lifted, the friendliness disappearing from his face. “I do actually speak to my brother on a regular basis, you know.”
    One of Erica's hands hooked around Mark's arm as Nicholas started to frown, and she smiled at Nicholas and Anna both, the expression strained this time rather than sharp. “If you'll excuse us for a moment,” she said, tugging him away.
    Mark let himself be drawn a few feet to the left, but he shook his head when she tried to go farther. “What?”
    “Do you really think it's a good idea to take that kind of attitude with a patron?” she whispered.
    “You may not be aware of this, Erica, but he’s trying to ruin my brother. He's buying out his stock in an attempt to run his business into the ground.”
    “I am aware of it, actually,” Erica retorted. “You've told me about it, remember? But your brother has it under control, doesn't he? So why create a problem here just because he annoys your brother? If anything, you're helping Alex. You’re taking some of Nicholas' money. Is it a bad thing to let your enemies enrich you?”
    That wasn't really what he would have expected to ever hear her say.
    It was also kind of hot. Mark shook himself. “Letting my enemies enrich me isn't going to be a great excuse when Alex shows up demanding to know why I'm serving his arch-rival in the business world. This guy tried to screw over Alex and Jamie. He’s nothing but trouble.”
    “Who says Alex has to know?” Eric's hand tightened a little around his arm. “I mean, think of this, Mark. He's rich. As rich as Alex is, if not more. You should see the tip he gave me. The man is loaded and he's not afraid to flash it around. That, and his presence could be really good for the club. People are going to want to be where he is. He's a popular man. And he already told me that he likes to have a lot of his business meetings over golf. So he'll be bringing in