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consigned to hell for all he planned to do to Mia and for what he had planned for her. She sure as hell wouldn’t be just another notch on his bedpost, so he could put aside any discomfort caused by Jace’s heated retort.
    Gabe’s intercom buzzed and then, “Mr. Hamilton, a Miss Houston is here for Mr. Crestwell and Mr. McIntyre.”
    Gabe’s eyebrow rose. “Taking the brunette to California with you?”
    Ash grinned. “Hell yeah. It’ll make the flight time a lot shorter with her along.”
    Gabe shook his head. “Send her in, Eleanor.”
    A moment later, the gorgeous brunette Gabe had seen Jace and Ash with the night before walked into his office. Her high heels tapped on the marble floor, then went silent when she stepped onto the carpet.
    Ash held out his arm and the woman slid comfortably onto his lap, angling her legs in Jace’s direction. Jace laid his hand over one calf and slid it possessively up to her knee, never once glancing in her direction. It was as though he were simply reminding her that at least for the present, she was his.
    Gabe couldn’t help but make comparisons between the woman on Ash’s lap and Mia, which was stupid, given that this woman was far out of Mia’s league. She was older, more experienced, and she damn well knew the score with Jace and Ash. Mia had no idea what Gabe had in mind for her, and he’d be lucky if she didn’t run screaming from his office.
    In the past, Gabe wouldn’t have minded the scene in front of him. It wasn’t unusual for Jace and Ash to have a woman in the offices. But today he was anxious for them to leave. He didn’t want Mia to suffer any more discomfort than she had to and he damn well didn’t want Jace privy to what Gabe had in mind for his little sister.
    He made a show of checking his watch and then glanced back at Ash, who had a possessive arm around the curvy woman. Hell, they hadn’t even bothered to introduce her, which was sign enough that they didn’t plan for her to be around long.
    “Car picking you up here?” Gabe asked.
    “Are we keeping you from something?” Jace inquired.
    Gabe leaned back in his chair, forcing a bored look to his face. “Just have a lot of e-mails and messages to catch up on. I didn’t geta damn thing done yesterday with all the last-minute details of the reception to take care of.”
    Ash snorted. “You sound like you’re trying to make a point that Jace and I were conspicuously absent and you were forced to take care of things all on your own, but we all know what a control freak you are. There was little point in Jace or me trying to step in because you have to have things just so or your universe is tilted.”
    “Anal bastard,” Jace said in agreement.
    The brunette giggled, the sound annoying Gabe. So she may be older than Mia, and more experienced, but he couldn’t ever recall Mia giggling like some silly teenager.
    “Get the hell out of my office,” Gabe said with a scowl. “Unlike you two, I have work to do. Get your asses to California and get the contractor lined up. We need to be damn sure we break ground on time. We don’t want a bunch of pissed-off investors when I spent the last months schmoozing and stroking them to get where we want.”
    “Have I ever failed?” Ash asked mockingly.
    Gabe waved his hand, making a dismissive motion. No, Ash hadn’t ever failed. Gabe had no worries on that issue. The three of them made a solid team. Their strengths and weaknesses complemented one another very well.
    HCM wasn’t just a business. It was a corporation forged in friendship and fierce loyalty. The very things Gabe was about to test, all because he was obsessed with Jace’s little sister. Jesus, but if that wasn’t fucked up.
    Thankfully, Jace rose, his hand sliding from the woman’s leg. He reached to pull her up from Ash’s lap, and she settled comfortably between him and Ash as they moved toward Gabe’s office door.
    Jace paused and then turned, a frown on his face. “I’ll try to