Enamored - J. S. Scott

CHAPTER 1

SETH

“Just turn that damn property into a wildlife refuge, Seth,” my sister Jade said as she stopped directly in front of my desk. It was hard not to notice the displeasure on her face as she continued, “The birds on your land are endangered. They don’t need to lose their new nesting site.”

“Hello, and nice to see you, too, little sister,” I said drily. Damn! Didn’t I deserve some kind of greeting before she started to rip me a new asshole? She’d just bulldozed her way into my office, and immediately proceeded to talk about a subject I really didn’t want to discuss. I had no desire to talk about my beachfront-property acquisition. Truth be told, I’d been hoping she’d never hear about the property I’d purchased or discover that endangered birds had taken up residence there right after I’d bought it.

Obviously . . . she heard.

Jade just kept glaring at me, which told me that she wasn’t about to be deterred from her apparent mission.

I knew that look. I’d helped raise my little sister, so I was well aware of how stubborn she could be when it came to wildlife preservation.

This time I’m absolutely going to say no to my younger sister.

Regardless of Jade’s outrage, I’d be damned if I was going to lose millions of dollars because some birds had decided to use the prime coastal land I’d purchased as their new nesting site.

Jade wasn’t the first person to object to me building a resort on that beachfront location. Some tree-hugger female attorney was also trying to make my life miserable over starting construction on that property, because it had become the nesting spot for a colony of threatened feathered creatures. I’d fought a legal battle with Riley Montgomery all summer—a battle I intended to win.

After months of legal bullshit, I really didn’t want to argue with my little sister about it, too.

I leaned back in my office chair, determined not to let Jade talk me out of the property I’d spent a small fortune on. “The birds are gone,” I told her irritably.

Okay, they might come back next nesting season, but I didn’t see how that was my problem. I’d waited until the damn birds had laid eggs, nurtured their young, and finally vacated the property just last month. Now that summer was over, and my sister’s feathered friends had flown off to a warmer climate for the winter, I wanted to move ahead with the resort I planned on building on the beach.

The construction had already been delayed long enough. In fact, I thought I should get some kind of award for my patience. Sinclair Properties was a pretty new company, and the deal would mean further growth for my fledgling corporation.

Jade crossed her arms over her chest. “The majority of the species will come back next year,” she argued.

Okay, I wasn’t completely heartless. Well, not really. But this was the first year the endangered species had found their way to this beach. So they could very easily find another spot next year, right?

“Not if I can help it,” I grumbled. I was hoping I could finally get the building permit that had been on hold for months. Once my project was completely in motion, I had a feeling the birds would avoid the site in the future.

Riley Montgomery, the pain-in-the-ass attorney who seemed to have a thing about saving endangered birds, had apparently made my wildlife-conservationist sister into her ally.

How else would Jade have found out about the situation? I sure as hell hadn’t told Eli, her husband. And my brother Aiden was sworn to secrecy about the bird thing.

Obviously, this new friendship—or whatever the hell it was—between Jade and Riley had happened recently, because my sister hadn’t mentioned the bird situation . . . until she’d come busting into my office today.

“So Riley got to you?” I guessed.

“I heard about this from her, yes. I wish I had heard about it from you.”

“Couldn’t,” I informed her. “I knew we’d end up fighting just like this.”

“What in the hell is wrong with you, Seth? You haven’t always been this callous. In fact, you used to be a really nice guy.” Jade let out a huff of frustration.

Yeah, well, I didn’t use to be one of the richest men in the world, either. When I’d been poor, it hadn’t mattered if I had a heart.

Now, I was a businessman with a company to grow, and I had to be ruthless. It was necessary in my business.

I’d