Men in Control: Special pack: The Smith Brothers Series

by Brenda Ford

  A shiver runs up and down my spine as I get a renewed boost of energy. This is going to be amazing.

  “So, without further ado, I am going to announce the new manager…” Andy pauses for dramatic effect. “Let’s all give a big hand for the most deserving candidate…” God, he’s hamming it up now! “Zoe Portwood.”

  There are cheers, whooping, and clapping, but it all feels pin holed, like it’s happening in another room somewhere, nowhere near me, not connected to me at all. Like I’m floating up high. I mean, what the hell is that about? I don’t even want the manager job, nor would I be any good at it. I haven’t shown any indication that this is what I would want, but I have it. Over the candidate who would be perfect for the job.

  I clutch on to my belly as the ice cold shock claims me. I can’t even process this, never mind react to it in the right way, this feels all wrong. It isn’t supposed to be this way. Right now, I have enough going on. I don’t need it to be made worse by this. This will all be a pressure that I just don’t want.

  “Why?” I gasp out, unsure if I am even making myself heard. “Why would you pick me for it?”

  “Just take it,” Hannah growls in to my ear. “You have been chosen for a reason.”

  I can’t help but wonder if she has anything to do with this. I don’t know what her relationship with Andy is like, but I know that it would work better for her if I had the job rather than Wesley. It would mean that she would be able to get away with more. At least in her mind. But if I ask her it will just seem like it’s my self-doubt creeping up. Like I don’t think I deserve the job which isn’t it… at least, I don’t think it is.

  As I finally drag my eyes off the floor, I notice that everyone is clapping me. They all look pleased for me to have the job, and I can’t help but be a little pleased about that. Whatever I feel inside, it’s nice to be accepted and liked for who I am and respected for what I can do. At least people here appreciate me.

  “Well done, Zoe,” someone says while patting me on the back. “You deserve it.”

  “She certainly does,” Andy continues. “And I am sure that we will all help her out and treat her with the respect that she deserves while she gets used to this role. Just know that we are all here for you, Zoe, if you need any help or have any questions, then my office door is always opened for you. And if anyone else would like to have a discussion about anything, then the same applies. I want this to be a happy and productive office.”

  I nod slowly, gratefully accepting his help which I’m pretty sure that I will need, and I look around at everyone else. Compliments and offers fly my way which make me smile, but there is something that doesn’t quite feel right. Something that is off, and I kind of already know what it is. That’s why I haven’t looked at him yet.

  Wesley was funny with me over the mere idea of us being up against one another. He made a point of letting me know how much he wants the position, so I can only imagine now that he’s in pain. And not only in pain, but his male pride will be hurt as well. He isn’t going to like this at all.

  Oh God. He isn’t even looking at me. That’s the worst part. He won’t even meet my eyes. He certainly isn’t one of the people clapping and cheering for me, which makes me feel absolutely dreadful. Guilt washes over me like a tidal wave. I have taken something from him that he really wants… and I don’t want it…

  How can I make this up to him? I think desperately. How can I make this right?

  Although it wasn’t really me who took it from him, was it? It was Andy. Wesley knows that I wouldn’t be the one to make that choice. I made it more than clear that I didn’t want the promotion and I haven’t shown any signs of going for it, so logically he can’t really be angry at me, can he? I haven’t done anything wrong. It’s unfair that I should be the one to make it up to him. That’s Andy’s fault. I mean, a moment ago I was wondering how I could celebrate him and make his night amazing to congratulate him for getting the job that I was up for as well, I wanted to take him out on a nice date so we could make him feel good, so why can’t he get over the disappointment and do the same for me? Is the competition really that important to him? More important than us and what we have been through together? More important than our baby?

  Finally, he senses my gaze upon him, and he turns his head to meet my eyes, but the mask is firmly back on and in place. This isn’t the Wesley that I have been getting to know at all. This is the cold bastard who likes to make the lives of others hell, and that has always included me. Is that what we’re going back to now? Enemies again because of this? That has to be a God damn joke.

  Now, I am absolutely fuming. I’m raging at him and I hope that he knows it.

  Chapter 11 - Wesley

  ‘She has even faked pregnancies before. Hannah told me. She will do anything to get to the top.’

  Court has been in my ear all day long, telling me that I am wrong about Zoe, letting me know about all of the things that she is willing to do to take me down, to make sure that she climbs above me in the work place. Of course I haven’t wanted to listen to him, I know that he can get carried away with drama from time to time, but as I look at Zoe now all I can see is a stranger. It feels like everything we have shared is a lie. Absolutely all of it. The baby, the dating, the falling for one another… it was all a part of her stupid big plan. Maybe.

  Could Hannah be right? I mean, she is her best friend in the office, they do seem to share a lot. Hannah is definitely a manipulator who I wouldn’t put anything passed, so f Zoe is her friend then maybe she is the same. I could be blinded to her because of my feelings, which is exactly what Court has told me that she wants. Zoe wanted me distracted so she could work Andy and make sure that she got the job that I want.

  I hated her; I remind myself. My instincts are usually right. I should have stuck with my gut…

  But I didn’t. I got sucked in to Zoe’s game. The moment that she told me she was pregnant with my baby; I fell under her spell. Maybe I fell in to it the moment that we had sex. Perhaps that was all a part of this plan as well. She was so tight with Old Bill, she could have known that he was retiring a long time before anyone else. Perhaps she even made up the wedding because of it. A fake fiancé that left her at the altar, a pretended virginity that she gave to me in exchange for a baby that isn’t real… then a relationship to keep me distracted.

  It seems extreme, but in the cut throat business world people will do anything to get to the top. Anything. Including lying and making enough shit up to ruin someone’s life. I just trusted her, didn’t I? I never even saw a pregnancy test or anything, I simply took her blindly at her word, which might have been a mistake. I probably should have asked for evidence for all of it rather than being a dumb ass soppy bastard for her.

  What sort of idiot was I? I want to go back in time and punch myself for being so utterly foolish.

  It’s the baby that gets me the most. The fake pregnancies. Me and Zoe might not have been one hundred percent discrete about me and her, but no one knows about the baby. So, for Court to come up with that… well, it feels too much of a coincidence to be real. I really have been played like a fool.

  I can’t drag my eyes away from Zoe, not yet because I know that the moment, I do everything changes. No longer will it be me and her simply enjoying one another’s company, seeing where things go, starting a relationship for the sake of our baby… no, that will be over, and I’ll have to accept the lie.

  Her hands fling on to her hips and Zoe actually has the indecency to be angry at me, like I am the one who has done something wrong. All I’ve done is being kind to her… well, for the last few days anyway. Maybe not before, but we were both in that competitive stage then. Only I wasn’t as willing to play the game as much as her. I never would go as far as to make up lies and to fake feelings. I just can’t believe that anyone would do that.

  There are so many things that I want to yell here, so many things that I want to cry out in front of everyone, so they all know what Zoe is like,
but I can’t. I have never brought my personal life in to work before and I don’t intend to now. Just because she has and Andy can’t see through her, I will not stop to her level. I need to find a way to hold my head up high so that Andy comes to me when she eventually fucks up.

  So, I do the only thing that I can, I make the only smart move, and I spin on my heels to leave the room. It’s getting too small in there, the walls are closing in on me, I need to be somewhere that I can breathe… which unfortunately isn’t the office at all. The whole place is making me claustrophobic, so without thinking too much about it I head straight outside, leaving the office far behind me. There’s no way I will get any more work done today, not with my head spinning like this. All the office politics, all the game playing, it’s out of my control. It’s too much for me. All of this is. Perhaps this is a sign that it’s time for me to move on, to do something else. I know that Brad would want me to work for the family business if I decided to. Two of my other brothers work there already so it would be nice, a real family atmosphere. Maybe not exactly what I would like to do, but it would be better than being here with her for any longer. Looking her in the eye and knowing that she has taken everything from me to become my boss. My fantasy, my future life, my job, my happiness, even my child…

  Or not since it doesn’t seem like my child ever existed.

  It’s too fucked up. I really do need to get out. I need a clean break from this.

  “Hey, Wesley!” Before I can make my escape from the parking lot as well, Court catches up with me. “Don’t go. You can’t run away from that situation. It isn’t going anywhere.” I snort derivatively since as far as I am concerned, I’m already half way out the door. For me, it is over. “Look, I don’t know what that bitch did to you since you won’t tell me anything, but she has clearly fucked you over to make sure that she gets the job.”

  “She won,” I reply in a moto tone voice. “I fell for her shit and so did Andy.”

  “It doesn’t matter who fell for what because we aren’t going to stand for it.” Court shakes his head determinedly. “We don’t think that it’s fair and we’re going to make a stand.”

  “What do you mean? Also, you and who? Huh? Because everyone else is celebrating Zoe…”

  “Hannah isn’t,” he shoots back smugly. “Hannah is on your side. She has been friends with Zoe, for sure. But over the last few months she has seen a different side to her, she has learned about her past and what she’s been willing to do to get to the top. Now, Hannah is no angel, she can be bitchy and a bit of a gossip, but she isn’t crazy like Zoe. Zoe has got a history like you wouldn’t believe. The stories I have heard…”

  “Why didn’t I hear them?” I shrug sadly. “Then I could have prepared myself.”

  “I tried. Hannah wanted to tell you, but she didn’t know how bad things were… none of us did.”

  I don’t know if he wants me to fill in the gaps here but I’m not going to. I’m far too embarrassed for that. I can’t let anyone know that I was actually falling in love with this woman. No way. That I believed a child was on the way and that me and her were going to overcome our differences and have a happy ever after.

  Again, I’m overcome with the urge to punch myself. I just about manage to resist.

  “We will take her down, Wesley, I can assure you of that,” Court tells me firmly. “The three of us… we can take her down. Make sure that we expose her for who she is. Get you in the job where you are supposed to be and show Andy what a damn fool he has been. You have people on your side, Wesley, don’t forget that.”

  Huh… I don’t know if I want to ‘take Zoe down’ or whatever. It feels a bit vengeful even if she has wrecked me, but it does feel nice to have someone on my side, to not be alone in this pain. If I walk away from this now, then I know that I won’t have anyone to talk to about this at all. I won’t tell my brothers; I just know it. I can’t. It’s too humiliating. And while I can’t say everything to Court, at least he understands enough.

  “I don’t want to go back in to that office.” I point towards the building. “Not today.”

  “Me neither, which is why I told Andy that we are having the rest of the day off.”

  “You just told him that?” I laugh. “Are you serious? And how did he take it?”

  Court shrugs. “If you just tell Andy things then he goes for it. You need to know how to work him, that’s all.”

  “Okay sure. I will bear that in mind. Maybe that’s where I went wrong when it came to the promotion. I let him know that I am the best person for the job, but I didn’t tell him to give it to me.”

  “Exactly. Now you are getting it.” Court pats me on the back. “So, now that we don’t have to go back to work, we’re going out for drinks. Me, you, and Hannah too. She’s in this as well and she wants us to take Zoe down. She doesn’t want anyone else to get hurt by her.” He grabs out his cell phone. “I’ll call her.”

  “I…” I’m about to argue that I just want to go him but as Court begins talking to Hannah, he holds up one finger to silence me, which I do instantly. Clearly, peer pressure is going to win out today.

  “Right, all sorted.” Court smiles. “She will be down in a moment. Then we can get going.”

  Well, it looks like I am going out drinking on a work night again, and not for the reason that I would have assumed. I thought that I would be out celebrating my new job, but instead I’m drowning my sorrows. It beats sitting at home and staring at the walls, wishing that I could do something to blow off some steam.

  I glance up towards the office once more, thinking about Zoe in there celebrating her victory. I wonder what she thinks about me now that she has used me and discarded me. She obviously doesn’t give a shit about how I’m feeling about it all because she hasn’t even come out to check on me. She doesn’t even care enough to say sorry for all that she’s done. I guess this must be something that she does a lot and it doesn’t even worry her that I am a part of the hurricane that she has left behind. I’m just a piece of debris to be left behind.

  Yep, a night at the bar and a slanging match is just what I need right now. The plans to take Zoe down might even be fun to create, even if we don’t actually make them happen. Just to help me recover.

  Can I recover from this? My fragile brain asks me. I don’t suppose that now is the best time to think about this because right now it’s as if I won’t ever be able to trust another human being again.

  Chapter 12 - Zoe

  I have been stewing all night long, getting increasingly pissed off by Wesley and his childish behavior. The way that he couldn’t congratulate me on doing well and getting the job, the fact that he stormed out of the office after the announcement then didn’t even come back, the way that he ignored me all night long and didn’t respond to any of my calls… I couldn’t sleep because I was so annoyed about it and this morning, I feel even worse.

  This isn’t something that I would like to confront him about at work, I would much prefer to do it somewhere more private, but I’m raging, and I need to get it off my chest. I won’t be able to focus on starting my brand new job which I’m determined to do well at until I have gotten everything out. He needs to hear what I have to say.

  But just as I’m about to storm across the office to see him, I catch a glimpse of his face and it stops me. He looks dreadful. All pale and green. Maybe even sick. Could there be another reason why all of this has happened? Perhaps I have been reading things the wrong way and here is actually something wrong with Wesley…

  “Cracking night last night,” Court cries out to Wesley, changing my mind all over again. “You were absolutely mental, Wesley. Do you even remember puking on that girl’s shoes last night just as she went to kiss you…?”

  Okay, so he’s hung over, not sick, and hung over from a wild night making out with random girls apparently. While I have been at home, stewing and getting upset, worrying about him. I am an idiot. Instead of taking me out on a romantic date like I was going to do fo
r him, he kissed other women instead. Perfect.

  I continue on with my journey to see that asshole and to give him a piece of my mind because that’s exactly what he deserves. He’s made me feel like shit instead of happy for what I have achieved.

  “Hey, you,” I bark in a whisper at him. “Are you ever going to talk to me or what?” He glares at me, again looking at me like I am the one in the wrong here. “I will answer that for you. Yes, you are. You’re going to talk to me right now. We can either do that here at your desk or somewhere more private.”

  For a moment, I fear that he’s going to call my bluff and stay where he is, forcing me to either give up the conversation or have it right here, but finally he rises up and he stomps from the room right back to the cleaning cupboard where we tried to have a private conversation before. This time, we have to try not to shout.

  I make sure that I don’t stand anywhere near him this time so we can’t end up touching one another. The last thing I need is to feel him right now. I already know what hate can do to me and Wesley. It’s dangerous.

  “Why can’t you just be happy for me?” I demand, trying to keep my voice steady. “I know that you are disappointed that I was given the job for you. But I would have been happy for you. Why can’t you do the same?”

  I expect a guilty look on his face, some sort of sign that he feels bad about what he’s done, but that doesn’t happen. He steels and becomes even more enraged by me, his cheeks reddening with the anger.

  “I can’t be happy for you, Zoe, because I know who you are now. I didn’t know before, but I do now.” He runs his eyes up and down me like he’s disgusted by me. It makes me feel like shit which is sad because he’s been the only person who’s made me feel alright about myself. “I know who you are and what you do.”

  “What the fuck are you talking about, Wesley?” I fold my arms over myself, trying to hide some of my body away from him. I don’t want his eyes feasting on me when he’s so angry. “I don’t know what you mean?”