One of a Kind: Kind Brothers Book 1 Read online

  One of a Kind

  Kind Brothers Book 1

  Sandi Lynn

  Sandi Lynn Romance, LLC

  Contents

  One of a Kind

  Mission Statement

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  One of a Kind

  New York Times, USA Today & Wall Street Journal Bestselling Author

  Sandi Lynn

  One of a Kind

  Copyright © 2021 Sandi Lynn Romance, LLC

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are the products of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Photo by Wander Aguiar

  Model: Sam M.

  Created with Vellum

  Mission Statement

  Sandi Lynn Romance

  Providing readers with romance novels that will whisk them away

  to another world and from the daily grind of life – one book at a time.

  Chapter 1

  Sam

  I opened my eyes, and with the slight turn of my head, I cringed when I saw her lying there.

  “Shit,” I whispered to myself as I brought my arm up and laid it across my forehead.

  “Good morning.” A bright smile crossed her lips as her finger slid down my bare chest.

  “Morning.”

  I climbed out of bed, went into the bathroom and shut the door. Gripping the edge of the sink, I leaned forward and lowered my head for a moment before looking in the mirror and asking myself what the fuck I’d done. My head was pounding from all the alcohol I drank last night at our birthday bash. Did I regret it? No. The only thing I regretted was sleeping with Kendra.

  My brothers, Stefan, Sebastian, Simon, and I rented out the Rhythm Room in L.A. where a hundred of our friends and office staff attended to celebrate our thirty-second birthday. We all drank too much, and I didn’t remember getting home, nor did I remember Kendra accompanying me. Shit. Walking back out to the bedroom, Kendra laid there and scrolled on her phone.

  “Kendra, we need—”

  “Come back to bed.” A smile overtook her face as she held the sheet up.

  “I can’t right now.” I walked over to my pants that were lying on the floor, pulled my phone from my pocket and sent a text message to my brothers.

  “Need to surf. Anybody up for it? I’m heading out there in a few.”

  I looked up from my phone and over at Kendra who was still in my bed.

  “Listen, Kendra,” I said as I walked over to her. “Last night shouldn’t have happened and I’m sorry. I was really drunk, and I crossed the line. It will never happen again, and I just want to make that very clear.”

  “But Sam—” She brought her hand up to my cheek as tears filled her eyes.

  “No buts, Kendra. It was a mistake, and I’m sorry.”

  “Okay.” Her voice whispered as she slowly nodded her head.

  I stood up from the edge of the bed, grabbed her clothes from the floor and handed them to her. Walking over to the dresser, I pulled a pair of board shorts out of the drawer and slipped them on.

  “I’m heading out. I’ll see you on Monday.”

  I stepped out the sliding door off the kitchen, grabbed my surfboard from the deck and headed down to the beach.

  “Why, Sam?” I heard my brother Stefan shout as he walked towards me. “I’m so hungover right now.”

  “So am I. But once we hit the cold water, we’ll feel better. You know that.”

  Looking over Stefan’s shoulder, I saw Simon and Sebastian heading towards us.

  “Are we going to do this or what?” Sebastian said as he ran by us and put his board in the water.

  The four of us paddled out and I had to tell them about Kendra. They were my brothers and we told each other everything.

  “I slept with Kendra last night.”

  “What?!” Stefan exclaimed. “Come on, Sam. Not again.”

  “I honestly don’t remember anything. I was just as surprised as you when I woke up and saw her lying there.”

  “Isn’t she like the fourth assistant you’ve slept with?” Simon smirked.

  “Shut up.” I splashed him.

  “She’s going to quit,” Stefan said. “And then we’re going to have to hire someone else. She’s only been there three months, bro.”

  “She’s a mature woman. She’ll be okay.”

  “Women are not okay after sleeping with you,” Sebastian said.

  “Like any of you can talk. You’re no strangers at leaving a trail of broken hearts.”

  “True. But at least we don’t work in the same office with the women we sleep with.” Simon smirked.

  My brothers and I were quadruplets who were conceived naturally when our parents were twenty-two years old. They said ninety percent of quadruplets that are conceived, are done through fertility treatments and IVF. We were the natural ten percent. The second we were born, our mother had her tubes tied. Four children all at once was enough for her, our father, and their marriage. Unfortunately, the stress of raising the four of us at the same time was too much of a strain on their marriage. My father was just starting his architect firm and was barely ever home to help. His work consumed him, and he used the excuse of having to put in the time and effort to make sure the company made enough money to provide for us. They ended up divorcing when we were just five years old. I remembered the fights, the screaming, the arguing, and the tears that fell down my mother’s face more times than not. In the custody battle, my father was awarded joint custody of us, and we traveled back and forth between homes. Since that time, my mother married a man named Jacob. They were together ten years before he cheated on her and she divorced him. Then she met her current husband, Curtis, and they’ve been together since. As for my father, he’d been married and divorced four times and was now getting married for a fifth time to a woman named Celeste.

  My brothers and I had never seen a healthy relationship. We’d only saw the destruction and chaos it caused. It was enough to turn us off from having any type of relationship with women, except a sexual one. We’d made a pact. One that would keep us single and living the bachelor life with no strings and no drama. Except for my brother, Stefan. He ended up getting a girl named Monica pregnant when he was twenty-three years old. When L
ily turned three, Monica dropped her off at Stefan’s house for his weekend visit and never came back. That was five years ago. Now, he was a single father to an eight-year-old girl whom we loved very much and would do anything to protect her.

  * * *

  We finished our surfing and headed back to our homes. A few years ago, our father bought a stretch of property along the beach in Venice. He was going to build high rise condos but instead gave it to us to build our own homes. I designed them and Stefan built them. We both worked at Kind Design & Architecture. The company my father started when we were babies and grew to be one of the largest architect firms in the country. I ran the architect division and Stefan ran the building division. As for my other two brothers, they had other interests. Sebastian loved to cook and owns his own five Michelin star restaurant in Los Angeles, and Simon became a homicide detective for the LAPD.

  I said goodbye to my brothers and stepped inside my luxury beach house praying that Kendra had left. When I walked into the bedroom, I saw the bed was made and she was gone. Monday was going to be uncomfortable to say the least. I couldn’t help that I always hired beautiful women, and I couldn’t help that I couldn’t keep my dick in my pants. I’d done good keeping away from Kendra the past three months, even though she tempted me on more than one occasion. Maybe I needed not to drink so much in the presence of beautiful women.

  Chapter 2

  Two Weeks Later

  Sam

  Things with Kendra were out of control. She started to come to work in very provocative clothing. More so than before. Her blouses were unbuttoned a little further, her skirts were shorter, and her heels were higher. One day, she walked in wearing a sheer blouse without a bra. When I told her that was inappropriate for the office, she said she figured I’d like it and found it sexy. It was, don’t get me wrong, but it was still inappropriate.

  I was sitting at my desk when Grayson, our human resources manager came to my office.

  “You got a minute, Sam?”

  “Sure, Grayson. Have a seat.”

  “Kendra was just in my office.”

  “Really?” I cocked my head and furrowed my brows. “She called in sick today.”

  “She quit, and she said it was because you created a hostile work environment, and she couldn’t deal with the pressure anymore. It wasn’t good for her mental health.”

  “I did not create a hostile work environment. What the hell is she talking about?”

  “She said you criticized her clothing, you constantly yelled at her, and you made her feel worthless and unworthy as your personal assistant. You slept with her, didn’t you?”

  “First of all, she’s lying. She came to work in a sheer blouse with no bra on. Her tits were as visible as the sun on a clear day. I told her it was inappropriate, and I sent her home to change. And yes, I slept with her. But I didn’t know I did until the next morning. It happened the night of the birthday party. I had way too much to drink.”

  “Do I need to tell your father about this?” His brow arched.

  “No. You do not.” I pointed at him. “If he asks, just tell him she found a better job or something.”

  “Alright.” He let out a sigh. “Now I need to start looking for another assistant for you.”

  “Do me a favor, and I’m very serious, Grayson. Make sure she’s not attractive at all and she’s a lot older. Maybe a woman in her fifties or something.”

  “Why? You’d still sleep with a woman in her forties?”

  “If she was sexy as hell, yes.” I smirked. “Find me someone like Joan.”

  “And you think someone in their fifties is going to put up with your shit? The only reason Joan does is because she’s known you since you were a kid.”

  “Just make sure the woman you hire isn’t attractive, so I won’t be tempted.”

  He got up from his seat and shook his head all the way out of my office. Picking up the phone, I dialed Stefan.

  “What’s up, bro?”

  “Come to my office.”

  “On my way. What’s up?” he asked as he stepped inside.

  “Kendra quit.”

  “Shocker!” He shook his head.

  “She told Grayson I created a hostile work environment and I made her feel unworthy and worthless as my assistant.”

  “You know I never cared for her. Something always seemed off. And she was always in a bad mood. Honestly, I’m glad she quit. So now what?”

  “Grayson is going to find me an unattractive and older assistant. One that I won’t be tempted to bend over my desk and fuck every day.”

  “Good.” He pointed at me. “That’s exactly what you need. I have to run. I’m picking Lily up from school today.”

  “Where’s Nanny Kate?”

  “She has jury duty today. I’ll talk to you later. Good job on losing another personal assistant. I knew you could do it.” His lips gave way to a smirk as he walked out of my office.

  I let out a long sigh as I leaned back in my chair.

  “Joan, can you come in here, please?” I asked over the intercom.

  “What can I do for you, Sam?”

  “I want you to know that Kendra quit.”

  “Thank the lord.” She made the sign of the cross. “I never liked that floozy of a girl.”

  “I know you didn’t.”

  “She was rude, always in a bad mood and chewed her gum like an ape. Not to mention her choice of clothing was—” She put her hand up and shook her head.

  I couldn’t help but let out a laugh.

  “Grayson is working on finding me another personal assistant.”

  “Can you do me a favor and not sleep with this one? I’m getting a little tired of training these women.”

  “I already told Grayson to make sure she’s not attractive and a lot older.”

  “No one older than their mid-thirties will put up with your crap.”

  “Why does everyone keep saying that?” My brows furrowed.

  Chapter 3

  Julia

  I had just walked through the door when my phone rang. Pulling it from my purse, I saw Mrs. Hart was calling. Suddenly, a sick feeling rose inside me.

  “Hello.”

  “Julia, Steven is asking for you.”

  “I’m on my way.”

  I climbed in my car and headed straight to Steven’s house. When I arrived, Gina, his wife greeted me in the foyer.

  “Thank you for coming over so late.”

  “Oh my gosh. It’s totally fine. You know I would do anything for him.”

  “I know.” A weary smile crossed her face. “He’s declined since you were here two days ago. I just want you to be prepared.”

  “Thanks, Gina.”

  I went to the bedroom and the moment I stepped through the door, he turned his head and looked at me.

  “Thanks for coming, sweetheart.”

  “Of course.” I walked over and took hold of his hand.

  “Did you deliver those contracts?”

  “I did. And I sent the emails you asked me to and picked up the bracelet you ordered for Gina. It’s all giftwrapped and ready to give to her.”

  “Thank you, my dear.”

  I stayed and talked with him for a while until he fell asleep. After quietly walking out of the room, I went into the kitchen where Gina was sitting at the table drinking a glass of wine.

  “Would you like a glass of wine?”

  “No. Thank you. He’s asleep now so I’m going to head home.”

  “Okay.” She stood up and gave me a hug. “Thanks for coming by. I know it meant a lot to him.”

  “Of course. Are you okay?”

  “I’m hanging in there.”

  “If there’s anything you need, call me.”

  “Thank you, Julia.”

  I gave her a hug goodbye and headed home.

  * * *

  One Week Later

  As I walked by Steven’s casket, I laid down a single red rose on top of it. It was hard to believe he was
gone. One minute he was healthy and the next he was given a few months to live. As I was on my way to the funeral luncheon, my phone rang with an unfamiliar number.

  “Hello.”

  “Hi. Is this Julia Benton?” A man’s voice on the other end asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Ms. Benton, my name is Grayson Peterson and I’m the human resources director at Kind Design and Architecture in downtown Los Angeles. I received your resume and a recommendation letter from Mr. Steven Hart.”

  “You did?”

  “Yes. I’m currently interviewing candidates for the personal assistant position we have available, and you came highly recommended. I would like you to come in for an interview if you’re interested.”

  I was caught off guard and took a moment to process what Mr. Peterson had just said.

  “Hello? Ms. Benton, are you still there?”

  “Yes. I’m sorry. Can you tell me when you received my resume and recommendation letter?”

  “I received it five days ago. I’m sorry I didn’t reach out sooner, but I was out of town. Mr. Hart said you would be needing a job and he couldn’t recommend you enough. Would you be interested in coming in for an interview?”