Checkmate Read Online Free PDF Page B

and I think I knew exactly what he was talking about.
    “I’m sure you do,” I said. “You have twenty minutes to join me for lunch.”
    Oliver was five years younger than me. The biggest part of his young-adult life he spent in the States. It took him no more than two seconds to turn into a real American, that’s why sometimes it felt as if we were on a different wavelength. He liked music and did his best to prove everyone, especially me, that even without wearing a tie and a suit he could be successful. Well, I truly hoped that one day, his words would become true. For now, I was sure that his music career brought him more physical pleasures than money. After all, girls had always been crazy about bad-ass looking musicians.
    “Your lunch is here, Mr. Altier,” Jillian said into the speakerphone. “Would you like me to serve it in your office?”
    “Yes, please. And I will have a guest, so serve it for two.”
    “Of course.”
    “Oh, and one more thing-”
    “Yes?”
    “Could you ask Miss Wilson to stop by my office after she is finished with lunch?”
    “I will call her right away.”
    “Thank you.”
    Why did I ask Jillian to call Scarlett? I had no idea. Apparently, it was a momentary thought from my lower body that still craved for something that only she could give.
     
    “Well, well,” Oliver sang, entering my office about an hour later. “This is so very you, Dom,” he said, looking around. “Aren’t you sick of leather seats, endless bookshelves and heavy curtains? It’s twenty-first century outside, do you realize that?”
    “Good to see you too,” I said, coming to give my brother a hug. If I didn’t know we were raised by the same parents, I would have never believed that we were brothers. Unlike me, Oliver took most of his features from our mother. We shared the same height, but his hair was sandy, and he had honey eyes.
    “I didn’t have time to change thing s. Thanks for the reminder,” I said.
    “Anytime.” He smiled, taking a seat on a couch. He was wearing white jeans and an untucked, dark-brown shirt, with the sleeves rolled up, showing two thin tattoos on his hands. As far as I remembered, one of them said ‘I don’t give a damn’ , and the other one ‘ The world is mine’ . 
    “So, how did Joss react to the news about moving here?”
    “Do you really want to hear about that?”
    “Dying to,” he replied, taking a croissant from the plate.
    “Quoting, “You are the most arrogant and selfish asshole, I have ever met! God was obviously in a shit mood making me your sister.”
    Oliver burst out laughing. “That’s exactly what I expected her to say. Is she going to stay at your place?”
    “Thank God, no. She said she would rather live with Mom and Dad. Though I’m sure , she has regretted that decision a million times over by now.”
    “I bet.”
    “So tell me, how have you been doing? Still stay up all night and fall asleep closer to noon?”
    “You know me too well. I work better at night ,” Oliver said.
    “ Since when did they start calling that work ?”
    “ Ha-ha.” He grimaced in response. “I do work a lot. And not only on boobs and pussies.”
    “I hope so.”
    “What’s your point anyway?” He eyed me skeptically.
    “My point is that you can’t spend the rest of your life banging around and believing that it’s okay.”
    “Please, don’t start this boring-to-death lecture again. I know what I’m doing, and trust me, one day you will be very proud of me.”
    “Amen.”
    He shook his head, saying, “I know I’m the black sheep in our family, but you are a real ass, and this is one hundred percent worse. So fuck off, Dom. You’d better follow your own advice and stop banging around. Men your age think about having a family with little smiling monsters, which run around your office and tear your latest contracts to pieces.”
    I laughed, saying, “I thought you would be the last person to talk about it. Have you ever thought about the