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as soon as Blake leaves,” he said briskly, hoping his brother would take the hint and go away.
    “Maybe I should help you with that,” Blake said, his expression changing as he looked between Byron and McKenzie.
    Byron fumed. He in no way wanted his brother getting any ideas in his head about him and McKenzie. Hell, there was no him and McKenzie.
    “Also, I thought I would have a couple of our employees come over for interviews later today or tomorrow if you’re up for it, Byron. I know you’re wary about trusting anyone else, but you’ll see that I have a more than competent staff.”
    Byron’s temper escalated even further.
    With Blake standing right there, though, he couldn’t refuse McKenzie’s request, which appeared to be what she already knew. She was smart. He would have to give her credit for that. A person didn’t get to where she was in life at such a young age without having some decent brains. But still, it didn’t take a lot of brains to run a whorehouse, did it? No, it just took a lot of conniving. He would do best to remember that.
    “I’m very picky, as you know,” Byron said. “But go ahead and bring them in.” He thought that sounded gracious enough.
    “Of course.” Her tone hadn’t changed, but the expression in her eyes told him that she wasn’t fooled — he wasn’t going to give any of the employees a chance. He wanted her, and only her, working here. And they both knew it.
    “That will be all for now, McKenzie. I’ll call you in when I’m finished speaking with my brother.”
    It was more than obvious that Byron’s dismissal rankled her, but she gave a slight nod of her head, turned on her heels, and walked stiffly from the office.
    During those few seconds, the tension could have been cut up and deep-fried, and Byron almost smiled at knowing he was getting under her skin. She got beneath his thick hide so easily that it was more than fitting that he got to her as well. Turnabout was fair play.
    “Did you forget that we own this company together?” Blake asked, clearly irked at Byron’s attempt to shut him out.
    “Of course not, but I’m the one who’s over the accounting department,” Byron said, hoping that would be enough to get his brother to back the hell off.
    “Since when did we ever say something like that?” Blake asked, though he didn’t look angry — he seemed more curious. That was worse.
    “I’ve just been under a lot of stress,” Byron told him. “I spent too much time away from the offices and now it’s catching up to me.”
    “Hmm.”
    “What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Byron fumed.
    “You seem awfully upset,” Blake said, and gave him an assessing look.
    “I’m not some damn specimen for you to place underneath a microscope, Blake!”
    “I’m not the one getting upset over nothing, Byron.”
    “Don’t you have work to do?” Byron practically yelled.
    Blake was quiet for several moments, and for the first time he could remember, Byron felt like squirming in his seat. What was wrong with him? But Blake’s next words absolutely infuriated him.
    “So, I’ll ask you this question again; Why is McKenzie working here?”
    “I already told you that we needed to have the position filled.”
    “She runs her accounting company. She doesn’t fill in personally,” Blake pointed out.
    “Well, the job called for her and only her,” Byron said. He was getting sick of defending himself.
    “You’re playing with fire, Byron. You will get burned,” Blake said, a knowing smirk now on his face. “Badly burned.”
    “She’s just filling in for a job, Blake. Why don’t you stop trying to look any further than that and stop trying to play the shrink with me? We promised years ago that we wouldn’t pull that crap with each other.” Byron was fuming.
    “Just don’t play games with her, Byron. She might put on an act that she’s strong and independent, and she certainly isn’t weak, but she has some wounds, some deep wounds, and