He needed to remember that. He couldn’t lose focus on what was important. His work was important. Not some woman who made his heart feel things that he hadn’t ever felt in his life.
He dated women. Lots of different types of women. Not as often in the last few years as work consumed his time more than anything. But he wasn’t a stranger to the opposite sex. He was a man. He had needs. But when he thought of all those other women, they failed in comparison to her. He knew that even only knowing her less than a week.
He had a serious problem. He couldn’t fire her. He had no solid reason, other than the raging hard-on he experienced most of the workday. That wasn’t good enough. And he couldn’t fire her because he’d miss seeing her face, even if it were for the day. He ached to see her out of the work element, out in the real world. Out on a date. What would that be like?
Spectacular.
She could only be described in one word. The best word. She would make the date spectacular.
Shit. He couldn’t fire her. He couldn’t ask her out on a date while she was his secretary. That put him in a very serious predicament. And burning a hole in his floor as he paced back and forth wasn’t helping him come up with any brilliant ideas. Damn it. He should be working, not contemplating ways to get into his secretary’s pants.
He would simply have to suffer. He didn’t want to risk losing her by firing her. Because there were no guarantees, she would accept a date from him if he let her go. And he couldn’t date her while she was employed by him. He was screwed either way.
He sat down behind his desk, resting his hands on his head as he thought about his future misery. He knew he should mentally prepare himself for the meeting he was about to conduct, but he couldn’t. She wouldn’t leave his thoughts—a natural occurrence since the day he hired her.
He somehow managed to divert his thoughts for the moment when the phone rang, and he started his meeting. He almost dropped the phone when his door busted open, and the woman of his day—and nightly—dreams stormed inside his office.
Whoa.
With a level of anger he had never witnessed before.
He did something he had never done in his life. He ended the call without one word goodbye.
He stood up. “Ms. Stileano, what’s the matter?”
“What’s the matter? What’s the matter, you ask? What is your damn name?” she yelled, her face coloring into a deep red.
“My name? It’s Holloway.”
“Don’t jerk me around. Your first name.”
Okay. He had to tread carefully here. He wasn’t quite sure why she was so upset, but she wasn’t about to tell him until she had her questions answered.
“Dane. My name is Dane Holloway. Your full name is Gabriella Stileano. Are we good now? Can you tell me what has you so upset?”
“Dane. Your first name is Dane. There are two Mr. Holloways here. You have a brother. I solved my mystery within seconds of meeting Mr. Holloway number two. An entire week…” She pierced her lips as her voice trailed off, and she shook her head.
Dane walked around his desk as if he were approaching a frightened animal. “You’ve lost me. What’s going on? I just hung up on Mr. Gordon. You know how important that meeting was. I deserve an explanation here.”
She met his eyes square-on. “Your brother is disgusting. Despicable. A downright sleazy scumbag.”
“While I would agree with that, I’m not sure why you think so.”
“His secretary wasn’t at her desk. The door was ajar. I pushed it the rest of the way open without knocking. My bad. Very, very bad. I may need to wash my eyes out with chemicals to remove the nasty scene I witnessed. He was screwing his secretary on his desk. Some blonde chick. Definitely wasn’t Mia.”
She turned around, still distressed. He wanted to be surprised by his brother’s behavior. But he wasn’t. That was Champ to the T. He thought life was a joke. That everything came easy and handed to him with ease. Which wasn’t completely off when he thought about it.
“I’m sorry you witnessed that. I…I don’t know what to say. Who’s Mia?” He swore he heard her mutter that name under her breath.
She turned back toward him, taking a few steps closer, almost within his reach. The thought disgusted her of his brother banging his secretary on his desk. Yet, Dane had the insane urge to reach for her arm, spin her around, and push deep inside her on his desk. Make her forget everything she saw. Make her see how wonderful they could be together. Make her smile. He hated the anger plastered on her face. He wanted to see her smile instead.
How disgusted would she be if he actually did that? How disgusting was he to even contemplate it at a time like this?
“I forgot to leave this behind. Don’t even ask me to go back up there. It’s not happening. Even with a please and thank you.” She held out the file.
“Of course. I would never ask you to do that.” He reached for the file, brushing her fingers as he did. The tingles that jolted from his fingers and up his arm almost had him giving in to his earlier urge. Damn, he wanted to pull her closer. Wipe the anger from her face with a light kiss. Erase her memory and fill it with something better—something that would put a smile on her face. He loved her smiles.
“I’ll talk to my brother. That never should’ve happened. Ever.”
She pressed her lips together, a sad shadow filling the worried lines dotting her face. “You do whatever you want. I’m sorry, Mr. Holloway. I really am. After you get under that thick skin of yours, there’s a very nice man, perhaps even sweet. Try to lighten up once and a while. It’ll help.”
“What are you talking about?” His chest started to pound with a fear he didn’t like feeling.
“I quit. But you are much better organized now.”
His mouth dropped open as she turned around and headed for the doors. “You can’t quit. Don’t do this…please. It was my brother who made the idiotic mistake. Not me. I didn’t bend you over my desk and have my wicked way with you.”
He pressed his eyes closed and cringed. Holy. Shit. He did not just say that.
He opened his eyes as she turned back around toward him.
“I truly am sorry.”
“Gabriella, don’t quit.” He took a step forward as she continued toward the door.
“You’re better off without me.”
“That’s not true. I’m better when I’m with you. You make me a better man. I didn’t realize how aloof I could be with people. How abrupt and rude I can be. You make me better. Don’t you see that? I’ll never ask you to take anything to my brother’s office again. I promise.” He knew his voice was getting closer to the sound of desperation.
“Like I said, it doesn’t matter.”
“Gabriella. Don’t leave. Please.” He took another step toward her. “I need you.”
“Maybe…as a secretary. I never liked being a secretary. I’m sorry for lying. I hope you can forgive me someday.”
With that, she walked out of his office, closing the door behind her.
Walked right out of his life.
4
Gabby curled her arm around Mia as the tears trailed down her face. “Stop crying over that shithead. You cried earlier over him when I first told you, and you were better when you left. Why are you back at my apartment crying over him again? He’s not worth it.”
“I can’t…help…it,” Mia said between sobs.
Gabby rubbed Mia’s arm, wishing she would’ve given more of her wrath toward Champ. He deserved the biggest ass beating on the planet. He made Mia cry, and that always made Gabby want to murder someone. “All right, this might call for some drastic measures. Do I need to get the tequila out?”
Between the frenzied cries, Gabby heard a laugh escape. Before long, Mia’s crying subsided to minimal. Enough for her to have a conversation without sounding like a blubbering idiot.
“I went over to his house. I wanted to see him admit it to my face.” Mia sniffed, wiping her nose with her shirt sleeve.
&nb
sp; “Eww, Mia, don’t do that. Let me get you some tissues.” Gabby walked to the kitchen and grabbed the box of tissues she kept on the edge of the counter. “Here, blow your nose.”
Mia tried to compose herself, using several tissues before she sounded better.
Gabby took the tissue box from her and set it on the coffee table in front of them. She hated to do it, but it was time for some tough love. “Now, tell me why you went over there. I’m pretty sure there’s nothing left to say to that asshat. I don’t want to describe what went on in that office, but if I have to, I will.”
“No tough love right now, Gabby. Please.” Mia grabbed for her purse on the floor and found a hair tie. She roughly grabbed her hair, pulling it into a messy bun. “I wanted to see what he would say. If he would deny it. He tried calling me several times before you called me. I was busy working. His messages were weird until I talked to you.”
“What did he say when you saw him?”
“That it wasn’t what it looked like. That the crazy bitch misinterpreted what she saw.”
Gabby looked indignant. “He called me that. I should’ve punched him in the face like I wanted to. I know what I saw, Mia.”
“I know. I told him that. Then I told him I wasn’t surprised and that I thought something was going on.”
“Oh, no, Mia. Please, you didn’t. Please tell me you didn’t tell him why I was there.”
“It just came out. I told him I wanted to know the truth and that you would find out the truth. And you did.”
“Yeah, well, I almost didn’t. I was working for the wrong brother. You said your boyfriend was the one who needed a new secretary for a while. How in the hell did I get an interview with his brother Dane?” Gabby stood up from the couch, more annoyed by the fact every time she thought about it. And oh, boy, she’d been thinking about it nonstop since she left Dane looking lost and confused. She’d never forget the hurt on his face—the pain in his eyes. It hurt her, knowing how much she hurt him.
“He laughed when I told him why you applied for the job. He thought it was funny that you got the wrong guy. He said that his secretary was on maternity leave. He didn’t want to be bothered to get a new secretary. He said his brother Dane goes through secretaries more than anyone else in the building because he’s a hardass and doesn’t like any of them. So, he took his brother’s secretary without asking him. Champ told him that he’d end up firing her anyway. I didn’t know he did that. I didn’t realize it was his brother looking for a new secretary. I would’ve never asked you to do that otherwise. I’m sorry, Gabs.”
“It’s not your fault. Champ sure sounds like a winner,’’ Gabby drawled, the sarcasm clear in her tone. “What an asshole! To his own brother.”
“I agree. But, I mean, he did make it sound like his brother is a real jerk. Maybe he deserved it if he was going to fire the woman anyway.”
Gabby turned toward Mia, her face twisted with rage. Dane was far from a jerk. Sure, he had a hard exterior, a little arrogant at times, but once a person got underneath his protective shell, he was a—well, a good boss. Thinking any other term, like sweetheart, was not a path she should venture down.
“He’s not a jerk! He didn’t deserve his brother taking his secretary without asking. Listen to you. That same woman is the one he was screwing on his desk. Don’t make him a victim. Dane is not a jerk.”
“But you said he worked you to the bone.” Mia stood up. “Remember, your first day, I came over here to see how it went. You didn’t sound like you liked him very much.”
“That’s true. He was a little abrupt and rude. But after you get under the surface, he’s very nice.”
“Oh, my God. You like him, don’t you? How long have you liked him?” Mia walked around the coffee table to stand in front of her. She leaned in close, almost as if she was inspecting for any tiny reaction. “You like Champ’s brother.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.” Gabby turned around, fleeing to the kitchen. There was no way she could admit she liked Dane because that would be admitting she had liked Mia’s boyfriend. Because when she first met him, that’s who she thought he was. How shameful. There was no way in hell she could admit that. Not to her best friend.
“Then why are you walking away from me? You never walk away. Admit it.”
Gabby grabbed a glass from the cupboard. “There’s nothing to admit. He was a jerk at first, but as I said, you have to get to know him to like him. He’s nice.”
“We’ve been friends for twenty years. We’ve been through so many things together. Tough and rough stuff. I know when you’re lying.”
Gabby clutched the glass tighter. Damn. Mia knew right where to hit her. “What do you want me to say? You want to hear that I was attracted to your boyfriend? That I felt guilty as hell all week because I liked him?”
“He’s not my boyfriend.” Mia smiled wide, a giddiness in her step as she came closer.
“Yeah, well, for an entire week, I thought he was. It wasn’t my proudest moment, having dirty thoughts about a man I thought was your boyfriend.”
“No worries. I know you wouldn’t go behind my back. And even better, he’s not my boyfriend. Never was.”
“What is so better about that? Shit.” Gabby sighed, setting the glass on the counter.
“Um, you can make your move. Fulfill your dirty thoughts. Which, by the way, you should share with me.” Mia wiggled her eyebrows in playful anticipation. “And I’ll even pretend I haven’t been counting how many times you’ve sworn tonight. That’s what besties are for.”
Gabby rolled her eyes, glancing at her swear jar. She’d pay up later regardless of Mia’s reprieve. “I’m not sharing any of those thoughts with you. I never should’ve said anything. It doesn’t matter, Mia. I lied to him. For an entire week. Do you know why he hired me? Because of my honesty.” Gabby laughed in disbelief. “What a joke. I was dishonest the entire time. He’ll never forgive me. I was his secretary. I’m sure he didn’t see me as anything other than that.”
“You don’t know if you don’t try.”
“Not gonna happen. I’m not stepping foot in that building again. And you’re not stepping foot in Champ’s place again either. Move on. You don’t need any lame excuse from him. Don’t shed any more tears over that jerk. Okay?”
Mia nodded her head. “Okay. I know we only dated two months, but those two months, he was a dream. He was attentive to my needs, and he was dynamite in bed. I just wanted to be wrong. I hate that I was right, and he was cheating on me.”
Mia grabbed the glass sitting next to Gabby and put it back in the cupboard. “You’re feeling down as well. You like his brother, and it’s my fault you can’t have a chance with him. I’m the reason you had to lie.” She walked over to the stove and reached high above to the top cupboard. She pulled down two shot glasses. “I do think we need the tequila. Let’s drown our sorrows for the night.”
“We shouldn’t.”
“Maybe. But we’re going to.” Mia grinned, waggling the glasses in her hand.
“Oh, alright. Start pouring.” She missed Dane’s handsome face. His sweet smile that he shared sparingly.
I need you.
That’s all she heard in her mind since she walked out of his office. The devastation in his tone. The plea. The sharp ache of how much he needed her to stay. He didn’t need her. He needed a secretary. Her wishful thinking wanted it to mean more than the simplicity of it. But she knew it was ridiculous. He never saw her more than a secretary. After his brother told him the complete truth, he’d wish he never laid eyes on her.
Dane looked up from his paperwork sprawled across his desk as his office door opened without a knock or word beforehand. Damn. He should’ve locked his door. He wasn’t in the mood for company.
“You know I hate it when you don’t knock or announce yourself before you step inside my office.”
“Which is why I don’t do it,” Champ said with a devilish smile. “We need to talk.”
“Yeah, what w
ould you like to talk about? The fact you stole my secretary, then decided to screw her on your desk with the door wide open? Or the fact you’re the reason my new secretary, the best secretary I’ve ever had, quit because you decided to screw your secretary on your desk with the door wide open.”
“First off, the door wasn’t wide open. Maybe I didn’t close it firmly, but it wasn’t hanging wide open.”
Dane stood up, clutching the desk hard, his fingers started to turn white. “That’s all you have to say? You want to talk about semantics? I lost my best secretary because of you. I’m sick and tired of you coming in here and ruining my peace. Get the hell out, Champ! I have nothing to say to you.”
“You are right about one thing. You lost your secretary because of me. But,” he grinned like a Cheshire cat, “you also would’ve never had her because of me.”
“Get out.”
“She lied to you,” Champ said as his sly smirk grew bigger. His damn brother was trying to bait him, knowing how he hated liars and dishonesty.
“She’s the most honest person I’ve ever met. She has more honesty and integrity than you. And you’re my brother. That’s pretty sad.”
“What’s sad is that you can’t get over the fact Dad gave me reins to the company and not you. Grow up.”
Dane rounded his desk. “Grow up? You’re telling me to grow up? I’m not the one banging his secretary with the door. Wide. Open.” Dane made sure to enunciate the last two words just to piss him off.
“It wasn’t wide open.” Champ grounded his teeth together. “Do you even want to know what your precious secretary lied about?”
“Nothing. She’s not a despicable human being like you.”
“And why am I despicable? Because Dad chose me over you, or because I live life to the fullest? You don’t even know what the word fun means.”
The Wrong Brother (a perfect for you novel Book 1) Page 5