His Rival Her Sin

Nina Wells had spent three months watching Ryan Cole, and in all that time, she had never once spoken to him. She knew the black cars he preferred, the restaurants he visited when he wanted privacy, the hour he usually left his office, and the particular brand of bottled water he carried into meetings. She knew which entrance he used when he wanted to avoid reporters and which security guard looked the other way when Ryan arrived after midnight. She knew far too much about a man she was supposed to hate. And yet, Ryan Cole remained a mystery. At twenty-five, Nina had learned that grief could change a person. It could make them patient, suspicious, and capable of things they once would have considered unthinkable. Five years ago, her father had been accused of stealing millions from a powerful investment group. His reputation had collapsed overnight. Friends disappeared, business partners denied knowing him, and the newspapers turned his name into a warning about greed. He died before he could clear his name. Nina had never believed he was guilty. The one thing she lacked was proof. Somewhere inside the Cole business empire was a collection of documents that could explain what had really happened. Nina believed Ryan had access to them. He was the man who controlled the company now, the man whose signature appeared on the deals that followed the scandal, and the man whose silence had haunted her family for years. She had tried every legitimate route she could think of. Nothing worked. Records had disappeared, former employees refused to speak, and lawyers who once promised to help suddenly stopped returning her calls. So Nina had chosen another route. She would get close enough to Ryan Cole to find the evidence herself. Her first mistake was assuming she was the only person playing a game. On Monday morning, Nina stood outside the headquarters of Cole International, staring up at the glass tower that seemed to pierce the clouds. Her blonde hair fell in soft waves over the shoulders of her cream blazer, and her fitted black skirt gave her an air of confidence she did not entirely feel. She had spent nearly an hour choosing her outfit, rejecting anything that made her look too innocent or too eager. She needed to look like a woman who belonged in a building full of powerful men. Not a woman who had spent the previous night studying photographs of one of them. She checked her reflection in the glass doors, lifted her chin, and walked inside. The lobby was all polished marble, gold accents, and expensive silence. Employees moved with purpose, their shoes clicking across the floor. A receptionist directed visitors toward the elevators while two executives discussed a deal beside a sculpture that probably cost more than Nina’s apartment. She was studying the directory when a familiar voice interrupted her thoughts. “You’re looking for someone.” Nina turned. The man standing beside her was tall, handsome, and dressed in a charcoal suit that fit him perfectly. His dark hair was styled carelessly enough to look natural, and his smile carried the easy confidence of someone who rarely heard the word no. She recognized his face from company photographs. Alex Cole. Ryan’s half-brother. The rival who had been challenging Ryan’s decisions at board meetings and pushing for a larger share of the family business. Articles about their disagreements had appeared in the financial press for months. Their father had left behind an empire, but the brothers had inherited anything but peace. “I’m looking for the legal department,” Nina said. “That depends.” Alex glanced at the folder in her hand. “Are you here to sue us, work for us, or make someone’s day more interesting?” Nina laughed before she could stop herself. “Do you always interrogate strangers in the lobby?” “Only the interesting ones.” His eyes stayed on her face a moment longer than necessary. Alex had entered the lobby thinking about a contract that Ryan had quietly redirected without consulting him. He had been preparing an argument for the next board meeting when he noticed a blonde woman standing beneath the directory, looking far too composed for someone who appeared to be searching for the legal department. Then she turned toward him. And the argument disappeared from his mind. It was ridiculous. He didn’t believe in love at first sight, and he certainly didn’t fall for strangers in office lobbies. Attraction was simple. Love required time, knowledge, and a willingness to be disappointed. But there was something about her. Perhaps it was the way she looked directly at him without immediately trying to impress him. Perhaps it was the little smile she tried to hide after his question. Or perhaps he was simply having a terrible morning and had decided that a beautiful woman was a perfectly reasonable distraction. Whatever it was, he wanted to see her again. “I’m Nina,” she said. “Alex.” “I know.” His eyebrows lifted. “Should I be concerned?” “You’re in almost every article about this company. Usually standing on the opposite side of your brother.” Alex’s smile sharpened. “And what do the articles say about me?” “That you want more control.” “They leave out the interesting details.” “Such as?” “Such as the fact that my brother thinks owning most of the company means he should make every decision without asking anyone else.” There it was. The bitterness beneath the charm. Nina had expected it, but hearing it directly from Alex was different. Ryan’s name changed the temperature of the conversation. Alex spoke about him with the resentment of a man who had spent his life standing beside someone who always received the larger prize. “And you disagree with him?” she asked. “I disagree with anyone who mistakes inheritance for superiority.” The answer was smooth, but Nina noticed the tension in his jaw. She wondered what it would be like to be wanted by a man like Alex. He was attractive in a way that felt effortless, with a smile that invited trouble and eyes that seemed to promise he would make the trouble worthwhile. For one reckless second, she imagined him taking her hand and leading her away from the busy lobby. She imagined a private dinner, his fingers brushing hers across a table, his mouth approaching hers while he asked whether she always made strangers curious. The image was so vivid that she nearly forgot he was standing in front of her. “Something amusing?” Alex asked. Nina blinked. “No.” “You smiled.” “Perhaps you’re not as intimidating as you think.” He placed a hand over his chest. “That’s devastating.” She laughed again, and this time Alex looked genuinely pleased with himself. A woman in a navy suit approached them carrying a tablet. “Mr. Cole, your ten o’clock meeting has been moved to the executive conference room.” “Which Mr. Cole?” Alex asked. “The other one.” His expression hardened for half a second. Nina noticed. Of course she noticed. She had come here to learn about the Cole family, and already she was watching the cracks in its polished exterior. Alex looked back at her. “I have to rescue a meeting from my brother’s latest masterpiece.” “Good luck with that.” “I might need something more useful than luck.” “Such as?” “Your number.” The directness surprised her. Nina could have refused. She should have remembered why she was here and how easily a simple attraction could complicate a carefully constructed plan. Instead, she found herself smiling. “That’s a bold request from a man who doesn’t even know me.” “Then give me the opportunity to correct that.” She hesitated only a moment before taking his phone and entering her number. Alex watched her type, trying not to look as pleased as he felt. “Now,” he said, taking the phone back, “I have a reason to survive this meeting.” “And here I thought you were fighting for your family’s empire.” “I can fight for two things at once.” His eyes lingered on hers. For the first time since entering the building, Nina felt her mission slip from the centre of her mind. Then she remembered her father. The warmth inside her cooled. Alex was Ryan’s brother. He belonged to the very world she had come to investigate. She couldn’t afford to forget that simply because he had a beautiful smile. “Enjoy your meeting, Alex.” “I will if you promise to come back.” She gave him a small, unreadable smile. “We’ll see.” As Nina walked toward the elevators, Alex watched her leave. He had met beautiful women before. Women who knew his name, his family, his money, and exactly what they wanted from him. But Nina had looked at him as if she were trying to decide whether he was worth the risk. He wanted to know what she was thinking. He wanted to know why she had come to the building. Most of all, he wanted to see her again. He had no idea that the woman who had just given him her number was investigating his family. And he had no idea that, somewhere upstairs, his brother already knew she was there. On the thirty-eighth floor, Ryan Cole stood in front of a wall of windows, reading a report on his tablet. His assistant had informed him of a new visitor in the lobby. A blonde woman, twenty-five years old, who had arrived at the building without a scheduled appointment and spent several minutes studying the directory. Ryan had recognised her from the photograph attached to the security report. Nina Wells. The same woman he had noticed outside his private club three weeks earlier. The same woman who had appeared across the street from a restaurant where he had held a confidential dinner. The same woman whose reflection he had caught in the window of a car parked near his building one evening. At first, he had assumed she was a reporter. Then he had checked. Nina had no press credentials, no obvious connection to his competitors, and no employment history that explained her repeated appearances near him. She had asked questions about old corporate records through a third party, only to withdraw the request when the company demanded formal identification. She was careful. But not careful enough. Ryan enlarged the photograph on his tablet. Nina was standing in the lobby beside Alex, her head tilted slightly as she laughed at something he had said. Ryan stared at the image longer than necessary. His brother was smiling. That alone was enough to make him suspicious. Alex rarely smiled at anyone unless he wanted something. And if he had taken an interest in Nina, Ryan needed to understand why. He had been trying to discover her motive for weeks. Now she had walked straight into his building and introduced herself to the one man who would happily turn any opportunity into a weapon against him. Ryan set the tablet on his desk. “Get me everything you can find on Nina Wells,” he told his assistant when she entered. “Everything, sir?” “Every company she has contacted. Every old file she has requested. Every person connected to her family who has worked with Cole International.” His assistant nodded, then paused. “Would you like me to arrange a meeting with her?” Ryan looked back toward the city. “Not yet.” He wanted to know what she was searching for before he let her see how much he knew. There was something deliberate about her appearances. She had watched him from a distance, but she had never approached him. Now she was inside his company, speaking to Alex as if she had every reason to be there. Perhaps she was trying to get to his brother. Perhaps she was trying to get to him. Either way, Ryan intended to find out. “Keep watching her,” he said. “But don’t let her know.” His assistant left. Ryan remained by the window, thinking about the woman whose name had appeared in his reports too many times to be a coincidence. He had no intention of falling for her. He had no intention of allowing her close enough to become a problem. And yet, when he looked at the photograph again, he found himself wondering what her smile would look like if she were directing it at him. The thought irritated him. He closed the file. Nina Wells was hiding something. He would discover what it was, even if he had to make her believe he was the one person she could trust. Neither of them understood the danger of that decision. Because Nina had entered the Cole empire to uncover a secret. Ryan had begun drawing closer to uncover hers. And Alex, who had never intended to share anything with his brother, had just met the woman who would make their war far more personal. By the time Nina reached the ground floor, her phone vibrated. A new message appeared from an unknown number. Unknown: I hope the legal department was useful. I can think of a few better reasons for you to visit again. Nina stared at the screen, then laughed softly. Alex. She saved his number, telling herself it was harmless. She was allowed to enjoy a conversation. She was allowed to notice a handsome man. None of that had anything to do with the documents she needed. Her phone vibrated again. Alex: Dinner sometime this week? Nina’s fingers hovered over the keyboard. She should say no. Instead, she typed, Maybe. Then she slipped the phone into her bag and stepped out into the afternoon sunlight. She had come to Cole International to move one step closer to Ryan Cole’s secrets. She had not expected to meet his brother. And she certainly had not expected to be thinking about Alex’s smile long after she had left the building. Across the street, a black car waited at the curb. Its tinted windows concealed the passenger inside. Ryan had not followed her there. He had arranged for someone else to watch. When Nina entered a taxi and disappeared into traffic, the observer sent a short message. She’s leaving now. Ryan read it in his office several floors above and placed his phone facedown. He had a name, a photograph, and a growing list of questions. Soon, he would have the answers. And when he finally met Nina Wells face-to-face, he intended to make sure she never realised how long he had been waiting. For now, he would let her believe she was the one in control. After all, every game required two players. And Ryan Cole had never liked losing.