One Wild Night

Harry raised his head from the documents in front of him when Tom opened his office door and walked in, "Wow! What a rare sight to behold. Thomas Hank walking majestically into my office," Harry said since Tom hardly ever had any reason to visit his office.

"You're CEO now, so I can't order you around anymore," Tom said with a grin as he took the seat opposite Harry.

"Oh! I forgot about that already," Harry said with a chuckle, and Tom laughed too.

"So... how are you?"

"Your concern for my wellbeing today is very... concerning. Is there something you want to talk to me about? Or perhaps I'm dying, and I don't know it yet?" Harry asked curiously.

"Since when did it become a crime to check on my best friend and find out how he is doing?" Tom asked dryly, and Harry snorted.

"Do you realize that this is the fifth time you're asking me how I'm doing? Just say whatever it is you want to say," Harry said, and Tom smiled at him, making him wonder if perhaps Jade had told him something. He doubted that was the case since Tom had been this way since he first saw him at the lobby that morning, and he was certain that Jade had woken up early enough to call him to report anything.

"You know that I love you, right?"

"For god's sake, Tom! Just tell me whatever it is, and stop beating around the bush. You are making me anxious," Harry said in frustration, and Tom chuckled.

"Thanks for watching over Jade. I'm sure she was a handful," Tom said, watching him closely.

"Oh! So it's about your baby sister?"

"She's hardly a baby anymore, and I'm sure you would have noticed that by now, yeah?" Tom asked, a smile playing at the edge of his lips as he watched Harry.

Harry silently agreed with him that Jade was in no way a baby. Not with those lips, and definitely not that body she kept flaunting at every chance she got. Not that he was going to say any of that to Tom though.

"We've been over this topic before, but I guess you're just trying to know if I'm still mentally stable after spending some days babysitting your grown-up sister. If that's the case, you don't have to worry. I'm okay. Besides, she wasn't that bad," Harry assured Tom, who was watching him closely.

"I'm glad. Is there anything else you would like to talk to me about?" Tom asked, and Harry looked at him with a confused frown.

"Like what?"

"Like the night you spent making love to my sister?" Tom asked with a straight face, and Harry blinked a couple of times in confusion before his brows pulled together.

"What night are you talking about? I never touched her!" Harry denied it fiercely, and Tom chuckled.

"I had the best night of my life making love to your sister all through the night. It was sooo hot! Does that statement ring a bell?" Tom asked, and Harry glared at him as he threw a balled paper at him, making Tom laugh.

"I already told you that was a joke," Harry hissed at him, and Tom laughed even more.

"But you did think about doing it, didn't you?" Tom asked, and Harry looked at him in mortification.

"You surely don't expect me to talk to you about fantasizing about your younger sister, do you? Are you crazy?" Harry asked, and Tom shook his head.

"You could have easily said no if that were the case. So you did fantasize about her," Tom pointed out with a grin.

"What kind of an older brother are you?" Harry asked in disbelief.

"Right now, I'm being your best friend, not just Jade's older brother," Tom said, and Harry stared at him speechlessly.

"Listen, okay? I'm not interested in Jade if that's what you are asking to know. She is pretty, intelligent, and all of that, but she is your sister, and since you are like a brother to me, that makes her my sister too," Harry said, ignoring the voice in his head which was calling him a liar.

"Jade is like a sister to you?" Tom asked, trying not to sound amused.

"Yes. Even if she wasn't, but she is, I'm not going to pursue anything with her. If I do and anything goes wrong between us, it's going to affect both my personal and business relationship with you, and I don't want that to happen. So let's maintain the boundary. She is your sister, and as such, my sister too," Harry said, trying his best to convince both himself and Tom.

"Yes. You are right. My sister is your sister too," Tom said with a nod as though he was convinced.

He knew that Harry was good for Jade, Jade was beginning to believe that he was good for her too, but it seemed like Harry was the one who needed a little push to make a move.

If it were a different guy in the picture, Tom would probably have suggested that Jade try to seduce him or even make a move and tell him that she was interested in him. But Harry was old-fashioned. No matter how much he admired women who were gutsy and bold, he would prefer he court his woman the old-fashioned way. He was the chocolate and flowers type.

Tom decided to change the subject, "By the way, our sister told me that you both ran into Tanya Reynolds," Tom said, and Harry sighed.

Our sister? Harry decided to ignore that part of the sentence and just focus on the other part, "Yeah. That spoilt brat," Harry muttered under his breath, and Tom smiled.

"I heard you handled it pretty well."

"I had to. Your sister looked like she was ready to pull out her hair and tear her apart. I couldn't let her do that even though it would have been fun to watch," Harry said in amusement, and Tom laughed softly.

"Our sister, you mean? Maybe you should have let her do it. I wonder if Tanya would have had the guts to press charges when she finds out who Jade is," Tom said, and Harry shook his head.

"You shouldn't encourage her to indulge in fights like that simply because you have the means to help her. Jade is a lawyer, and it wouldn't tell well on her image if she goes around pulling out people's hair simply because her big brothers can save the day," Harry said, and Tom's lips twitched with a knowing smile.

"I hear you," Tom said with a nod, and then his eyes became serious when he remembered the other reason he had come to see Harry.

"I spoke with Barry earlier," Tom said, and Harry raised a brow.

"You called, or he called?"

"I called."

Harry looked at him, "I take it you didn't call just to check on him or did you?"

Tom didn't say a word as he played the voice recording he had been sent earlier, and Harry listened to it quietly, "Who is Rachel?" He asked after it ended.

"The lady Lucy's twin was engaged to," Tom said, and Harry shook his head.

"This whole thing is crazy," Harry said, and Tom nodded before going on to tell him about the information Alicia had sent concerning the Miller family, as well as the foundation that was offering Lucy a job.

"If it's what I think, then they're trying to remove her from your side. Maybe you should let Lucy take the job," Harry suggested.

"Are you crazy? What are you talking about?" Tom asked, looking at Harry as if he had lost his mind.

"Before I say what I want to say, what is Barry's role in this? Why did you reach out to him?" Harry asked curiously.

"The easiest way to find something tangible against them is to find out something they did that no one else knows about. Something that can bring them down. I can't put investigators on their tails since even that won't tell me enough. We both know that Barry is the best when it comes to stuff like this. If Barry hacks their phones and systems and he finds something that I can use to bring them down, then it makes the work easy," Tom explained, and Harry nodded.

"You have a point. So I stick to my suggestion, while Barry works on this, allow Lucy to accept the job," Harry suggested.

"No. There is no way I'm taking that risk. Why should I expose her to such when I don't even know what their plan is?"

"If she doesn't accept this offer, they will come up with an alternative plan. And most likely, it will be a more dangerous plan. At least we know that this is their plan. Why don't we pretend to be stupid and go along with it to see what they actually want to do while Barry does his job? You could even offer to become a sponsor too. Invite those ladies and talk to them without Mrs. Miller's knowledge," Harry advised, and Tom became thoughtful.

"We don't know how she is connected to the owners of the foundation or what she offered them. The last thing I want is to reach out to them, and they inform her about it," Tom said, and Harry paused to think about it.

"Just tell them you want to be a sponsor to support Lucy since they offered her a job. And trust me, if they are greedy enough, they will accept your offer without telling Mrs. Miller about it, even if they have any dirty dealings with her. You can also have someone keep an eye on Lucy to make sure she is safe. Let's use this to buy enough time until Barry gets us some useful information. It's safer for Lucy this way," Harry suggested, and Tom nodded.

"I think I agree with you. I will talk to Lucy and hear what she has to say before I proceed," Tom said with a smile, grateful that he had a best friend like Harry.

"If you don't want to get involved, I could talk to them myself," Harry offered.

"Nah. I can handle that myself. You have no idea how relieved I feel now," Tom said as he stood up, ready to leave.

"I've always been the wise one," Harry said with a grin, and Tom shook his head.

"Unfortunately, you lack wisdom when it involves your personal life," Tom muttered as he headed for the door.

"I heard that," Harry called after him, and Tom turned to look at him as he opened the door.

"You were meant to hear it. I hope you're coming tonight?"

Going there meant he would have to face Jade again. They had said their goodbyes already, and he didn't want to go through that again and have to start struggling with thoughts of her.

"I haven't made up my mind yet. If I can't make it tonight, I will drop by the house before your parents leave to say hello to them," Harry said, and Tom shrugged before walking away.

It was obvious to him that Jade was going to need all the help she could get to bring Harry to his senses. He was more than willing to help.