Sebastian nodded, " I know"
" So are you staying at Christian's?", Henry asked. Christian was one of their other brothers. There were four of them all together. Henry was the oldest, then it was Sebastian, Quinn then Christian.
" Are you kidding? We'll tear each other's throats out, I just sent my shit there because he's got that big ass empty garage", Sebastian snorted.
" Quinn's only got that one bedroom studio, so are you going to stay with mom and dad then?", Henry asked, a smirk curling his lips. He knew Sebastian would never stay with their parents. He'd get smothered by their overbearing mother. He liked to see Sebastian squirm though.
Sebastian sent him in incredulous glance, " Fuck no! Are you insane?!"
Henry barked out a laugh then went back around his desk to sit in his chair. " You want to stay with me?", asked, eyebrow raised.
" If you don't mind Henry, at least until I can find another job and my own place", Sebastian sighed. Henry knew he hated having to ask for help.
" Wait, you don't have a job?", Henry asked, frowning.
" I had to quit, I couldn't stay there Henry", He said quietly.
Henry nodded. " Alright, it'll be fine"
" Thanks Henry", Sebastian said sincerely.
Claire sat at her desk, smiling to herself. Henry's face was hilarious when his brother blurted that he said she had an amazing ass. He had been mortified. Claire was curious if he was going to say anything about it or if he was going to pretend that it never happened.
A knock on her door brought her head up. Instead of Henry, it was his brother, Sebastian. Claire looked at him in surprise. " Oh, Mr. Beck, can I help you?"
" Please, call me Sebastian, and I just wanted to stop in before I left to apologize for my behavior earlier, I was out of line", He said softly, stepping into her office.
Claire looked him over. His whole demeanor had changed, no longer was the arrogant man from earlier standing there, but a subdued, almost broken version of him. His eyes were now puffy looking and bloodshot, as if he'd been crying. No way Henry had made him cry. Something serious must have happened for him to show up here in the middle of the day without calling Henry first.
Claire waved away his apology, " Thanks Sebastian, but it's fine, kinda nice to know someone looks as my ass", she said with a smirk.
Sebastian laughed, " Yeah well Henry was definitely not happy with me for blurting that out"
Claire shrugged, " It's no big deal"
Sebastian smiled, watching her for a moment, " You know, Henry's never talked about a woman like he has you, just so you know", he said softly.
Claire's heart skipped a beat, but she tried to act nonchalant and rolled her eyes, " Whatever"
Sebastian chuckled, " Alright, I'll let you get back to work, see you around", he said, shaking his head as he left her office.
Claire stared at his back as he walked down the hallway. More then once now people have told her about how Henry acts different towards her. She wouldn't know because she's never seen him with his previous assistants. It made her feel good none the less. Maybe Henry did think she was special. It was nice that someone felt that way about her. She hated to admit that she had been feeling pretty lonely. She missed the feeling of being in a man's arms. Maybe she should think about dating again.
A knock on Claire's door jolted her out of her thoughts. She looked up to see Henry standing in her doorway. His hands were shoved in his pockets and his head was bowed. Damn, he looked fantastic in that suit.
" Henry", Claire said, her lips twitching as she tried not to smile.
Henry blew out a breath as he lifted his head to look at her, his green eyes troubled. " I'm sorry about what I said to my brother, I hope I didn't offend you"
Claire couldn't stop the laugh that came out. She clapped hand over her mouth as Henry frowned. Henry moved farther into her office and shut the door.
" What the hell is so funny?", He snapped. His hands now planted on his hips.
Claire waved a dismissive hand, " I'm sorry", she giggled then took a deep breath to get herself under control. " It's fine Henry really, if it makes you feel any better, you have an amazing ass too", she said.
Henry snorted and rolled his eyes. " Whatever"
Claire just smiled at him. He was being modest. The man had to know how good looking he was. And how amazing his body was. Not that Claire could see all that much because he was always in a suit, but he definitely filled it out nicely. There had to be some muscle under there. And Henry did have an amazing ass. She saw that whenever he took his suit jacket off.
" So, what's going on with you're brother? He stopped in here before he left and it looked like he'd been crying", Claire said softly. She hoped Henry would talk to her, tell her something about his life.
Henry sighed heavily and dropped down into the chair in front of her desk. He scrubbed a hand over his face before looking at her, that troubled look in his eyes again. He stared at her for a good minute or so, probably trying to decide to tell her or not.
" His wife is leaving him for another man", Henry blurted.
Claire sucked in a sharp breath, her hand coming up to press against her breaking heart. " Oh my god, that's horrible", she rasped.
" And what makes it worse was that he had no idea anything was going on, their relationship was great, they never really fought, so he was shocked when she said she wanted a divorce", Henry muttered disgustedly, shaking his head.
" Poor guy", Claire frowned.
Henry lifted his hand like he was going to run it through his hair, then he seemed to catch himself before dropping it in irritation. Claire bit her lip to stop her smile. She noticed Henry did that a lot when he was irritated. That must be a habit, to run his hand through his hair when he's upset or irritated. It was really cute.
" He's gonna be living with me for a while, so you might be seeing more of him", Henry murmured, squeezing the bridge of his nose.
" Can you two live together without killing each other?", Claire chuckled.
Henry smiled and leaned back in the chair. He crossed his arms over his chest then shrugged, " Yeah, we get along fine, he just likes to push my buttons every chance he gets"
Claire smiled, happy that Henry was finally sharing some of his life with her. She already considered them friends in a boss/employee kind of way, so this just took it to the next level where they could possibly be friends outside the workplace.
" Is Sebastian your only sibling?", Claire asked, resting her chin in her hand as she leaned on the desk in front of her.
" No, I have two more brothers besides him, Quinn and Christian, they're all younger then me", Henry supplied without hesitation.
" You say that like you're old", Claire scoffed.
" Yeah well, I'm older then you and I feel it", Henry grunted, his green eyes sparkling with amusement.
Claire liked Henry this way, open and relaxed. She didn't see it nearly as often as she would like. The only other time was when he came to her apartment. " Oh come on, you can't be that much older then me, you're what? 30? 32?"
Henry's smiled widened, showing off a pair of dimples that Claire's never seen before. Claire couldn't get over how that smile lit up his face and made him look just stunning. " I'm flattered, but no, I'm 34 and feel like I'm 40"
" That's because you're all work and no play. And you're only 9 years older then me", Claire snickered about the last part, knowing it would irk him.
Henry groaned and dropped his face into his hands. When he emerged from his hands he stood. " Get back to work", he huffed then headed for the door. He sent her a wink over his shoulder before walking out.
There was that wink again. That sexy wink with that sexy smirk. Claire watched him as he headed down the hallway. He turned his head when someone called to him. He moved over towards the cubical and leaned against the divider with his forearms. This caused his jacket to ride up as he cocked a hip. Claire's eyes dropped to his amazing ass, which was now on full
display. Oh what she would give to dig her nails...Claire shook her head to clear her dirty thoughts. She needed to get laid. Preferably by Henry.
Chapter 4
Henry groaned as he woke. Jesus Christ, his whole body ached. Which he didn't understand because he hadn't worked out too hard the day before. Come to think of it, he had felt pretty run down yesterday. Henry sat up and rubbed his eyes. Fuck, he was exhausted. He reached over and shut off his alarm clock, which was giving him a freaking headache.
Henry shuffled naked to his bathroom, which was attached to his bedroom. He caught a glance of himself in the mirror before going to take a piss and damn, he looked like shit. After going to the bathroom, he turned on the shower and hopped in, hoping it would make him feel better. Nothin' doin'. The shower didn't do anything other then clean him.
He got dressed. Half the time he had his eyes closed and he was sure he looked horrendous. He didn't even bother shaving or using hair product, he just brushed it. He didn't bother with his contacts either. He put on his sleek black rectangular plastic frames and headed downstairs. Sebastian wasn't up yet, but he had no need since he hadn't found a job yet. It's been only two weeks, so Henry wasn't really surprised. Sebastian was a gunsmith, so finding a job wasn't going to be easy.
Henry groaned as his stomach rolled. Forget eating breakfast, he was just going to head to work and see how he felt then, he could always have Claire go out and grab him something. Henry grabbed his keys and headed to the garage. He took his jacket off and laid it in the passenger seat of his white BMW M3 coupe. He was sweating to death.
The drive in was hell. His eyes kept watering, his nose was runny and he kept coughing this dry cough that hurt his throat. Then on top of that, the aching in his body just seemed to get worse. And shifting the gears on the car was not helping.
Henry felt about ready to pass out when he finally got up to the office. He was feeling extremely weak. What the hell was he thinking coming in here today? And there was no way he was going to be able to drive home himself. He'd better find Claire and see if she can drive him home.
He got stared at by everyone as he walked down the aisle towards his office. No doubt he looked like shit, plus he's never worn his glasses into the office. He's also never showed up unshaven. He saw Claire walking up just as he cleared the aisle. He reached his door the same time as her. When he looked at her she was frowning at him.
" You wear glasses?", she asked in confusion.
" Contacts usually", Henry replied weakly.
Henry rummaged around in his pockets for his keys. He always locked his office when he left and the key was on his car keyring. Henry leaned forward and put his forehead on the door, groaning when the coolness felt amazing on his flushed skin.
" Henry, you don't look good", Claire said, a hint of worry in her voice.
Henry fell into a coughing fit, covering his mouth with the crook of his elbow. The coughing doubled him over. When he was finally able to draw a breath and straighten, Claire's cool hands were on him. One went to his forehead the other to his neck. Henry closed his eyes, her hands felt so good on his skin. Not only because they were cool, but because they were her hands.
" Jesus Henry, you're burning up, why did you even come in?", Claire said softly.
Henry shrugged, eyes still closed, " I've never missed a day"
" Well, you need to go home and get in bed", Claire said firmly, her hands now cupping his scruffy face.
Henry shook his head and drug his eyes open, " I barely made it here", he muttered, pulling off his glasses to rub his watery eyes. " Do you know how to drive a stick?", he asked, putting his glasses back on so he could see her.
" Yeah. I'll drive you just let me tell Asher that we're leaving", Claire said, her thumb stroking his stubbled cheek.
Henry nodded. When Claire moved away, he leaned against his office door. Shit, he's never felt so weak in his life. He had no idea the last time or if he's ever been this sick. Claire returned a few minutes later and intertwined her arm with his.
" Come on Henry, lets get you out of here", She said quietly and led him out of the office to the parking garage where he had parked his car.
Claire glanced over at Henry as they sat at a red light. He really looked bad. His head was back against the headrest and his eyes were closed. Every once in a while he'd have a coughing fit which ended with a miserable groan. Henry set the navigation with his address so Claire was able to follow that instead of having him give her directions. It was about a 45 minute drive, but Claire finally pulled into a gated drive.
" Hit the button on the visor", Henry grumbled next to her.
Claire did as she was told and the gates swung open. She drove through and the gates started closing behind them. Claire had been blown away by the car Henry drove, not that she was surprised, he was a CEO of a major advertising company. And as Henry's house came into view, Claire was blown away all over again. It was a Tudor style mini-mansion. Jesus Christ, he must be loaded.
Henry had her pull into the garage, where she shut the car off and they both got out. Henry shuffled weakly towards the door to their left. Claire went over and slid her arm around his waist. Henry let her, draping his arm over her shoulder.
" My whole body hurts", Henry groaned.
Once inside his gorgeous house, Henry and Claire headed upstairs to Henry's bedroom. Claire wasn't surprised by the masculinity of the bedroom. It was all dark wood, leather and dark blues. His large bed with black leather head and footboard was made with a navy blue comforter and sheets.
" Your house is gorgeous", Claire murmured as Henry shrugged out of his jacket as he headed towards the bed.
" Thank you, Darlin'", he breathed wearily.
Henry tossed his jacket onto the end of the bed then went to sit on the side of it. He yanked at his already askew tie, pulling it apart and letting it fall to the floor. Claire moved to stand in front of him as he kicked off his shoes and started on his cuffs.
" Do you have aspirin somewhere?", Claire asked.
" In the medicine cabinet in the bathroom", He said, pointing behind her.
Claire turned and went into the bathroom that was attached to his bedroom. It was a gorgeous bathroom, all marble and glass. The shower stall was floor to ceiling clear glass. There was also a jacuzzi tub. Claire would love to soak in that thing for hours. She went to the mirror above the sink and opened it. She found the aspirin then filled the glass that was on the sink counter with water. She brought them out to Henry, who was now shrugging out of his dress shirt, which left in him in just a white wife beater.
Claire could not stop her gaze from raking down his beautifully muscled arms and defined chest. She could also see the six pack under his tight beater. Claire understood that Henry had to be somewhat built to look so fabulous in his suits but she hadn't expected him to be all rippling muscle. And she really loved the glasses and stubble. It was so un-Henry-like but damn he made it look good, even as sick as he was.
Henry hung his head like he just couldn't kept it up any longer, " Claire, I know this is totally unprofessional but can you please help me get undressed, I just don't have the strength", he sighed heavily.
" Henry, I think we're past the point of having to be professional 24/7", she said and set the water and pills on the nightstand.
" Yeah but this is like the sexual harassment level of unprofessional", Henry snorted.
Claire stood in front of him, their knees touching. " Not for us Henry, we're friends, you're seriously sick and I don't mind taking care of you", she said softly and tugged the beater out of his pants.
Henry barely lifted his arms as she yanked it over his head. And yep, she was right, he had a six pack. Good God, he was breathtaking. Claire tossed his beater on the floor then gave him a little push, which being as weak as he was, he just fell back onto the bed. Claire pulled Henry's socks off while he worked on his belt and pants. Claire heart pounded and her stomach fluttered. She was actually going to see Henry in
his underwear! She wished that the circumstances were different, but she'd take it.
Henry put his heals on the side rail of the bed frame and lifted his hips so that he could push his pants down. Once they were over his knees, he just kicked them off. Then he rolled and crawled up farther onto the bed. Claire just stood there staring, her mouth hanging open. He wore the micro low rise trucks, which were in between briefs and boxer/briefs. They were white with a baby blue waist band that had Calvin Klein in large letters around it.
Henry laid his head down on a pillow, placed his glasses on the nightstand and flung an arm over his eyes, completely oblivious to Claire wandering eye. Claire took the opportunity to ogle him. Now that he was flat on his back, she could see the sexy V that started at his hips and disappeared into the top of his underwear. Good lord, he had an amazing body. All hard muscle covered in smooth taut skin. There was not an ounce of fat anywhere. There was a light dusting of hair on his chest and also a light happy trail that lead into the top of his low rise underwear.
Henry (The Beck Brothers) Page 5