Feeling determined, I headed back to Zander’s apartment. Carefully creeping back inside, I was grateful to find him passed out from his drunken stupor.
As quickly and quietly as I could, I packed everything I owned, ready to leave him behind forever.
CHAPTER 2
Anderson
It was a slow day at the office, but I didn’t exactly mind. Sitting at my desk, I leaned back in my chair and stared out the window, taking in the highway and the constant flow of traffic.
“What’s going on? Working hard or hardly working?”
I looked up to find Tobias, my best friend as well as my business partner at our firm, strolling into my office. Sometimes it was hard to imagine that fortune had been so good to us. We had grown up together, studied together, and now worked together, each of us having more success with our careers that we could have ever anticipated.
“Let’s make a deal,” Tobias had said to me when we were young. “We’re never going to leave each other behind, got it?”
I had readily agreed. “Right. Whoever succeeds first helps the other.”
“That’s right! We make our money together. Partners for life.”
We’d clasped hands afterwards and vowed to each other that we would honor that promise for the rest of our lives.
It had been easy to keep that promise. Throughout our time knowing each other, we had become more than best friends and partners in crime—we were brothers. We knew each other’s families, secrets, strengths, and weaknesses.
“Well, you got to work hard at some point to get to the point where you can hardly work, right?” I said as Tobias flopped into the chair opposite of me.
“Guess you’ve got a point there,” he said, temporarily closing his eyes.
“Looks like your day has been busier than mine,” I said.
“Damn straight it has.” Tobias reopened his eyes and sighed. He then grew quiet for a moment, a deep line forming across his brow, letting me know that something was wrong.
“What is it, man?” I asked, watching him carefully.
Tobias grimaced. “You remember that asshole, Zander?”
“No,” I said, drawing a blank. The name sounded somewhat familiar, but I couldn’t place my finger on why.
“You know, the guy my sister is dating. I know I’ve told you about him before.”
“Oh,” I said, nodding. “Okay. Yeah. What about him? Are they getting married or something?”
Tobias shook his head. “No. She’s leaving him.”
“Why? What happened?”
Tobias shrugged his shoulders, although I got a feeling he was holding something back. I knew how protective he was of his sister though, so I decided not to press the issue; if he didn’t want to talk about it, it must have been something pretty fucking bad. And if he wanted me to know, he would tell me when he was ready.
I had met Tobias’ sister, Joanna, back when she was just a kid in high school. She had been tiny and nerdy, with a bad attitude and a knack for following us around, just to aggravate us. In other words, a typical annoying kid sister. Although I had never been particularly fond of her, I kept those feelings to myself because I knew Tobias well enough to know that he would probably kill for that girl. I never had siblings of my own, and she had always made me glad that I didn’t.
I had a feeling that if things went wrong with her boyfriend, the fault probably lied on her, for if she was still the obnoxious know-it-all that I remembered her being, no man would be able to put up with her long. Thus, Zander probably just wanted a way out, and I couldn’t blame him.
Tobias, on the other hand, was clearly peeved off about something breaking his baby sister’s heart. He was still being mum about what precisely happened though.
I cleared my throat. “Why are you telling me this?” I asked. “You’re not planning on doing something stupid, are you? You work for a huge firm, Tobias. You know we can’t afford to have you going on a killing spree in your little sister’s honor. She’s a big girl now. Let her handle herself. She’ll get over it. Everyone does. You can’t be her own personal superhero forever.”
“Oh, shut up,” Tobias said.
I laughed.
“Anyway,” he continued, “I’m telling you because she’s coming here.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Here? To my office?”
“Here to work for us.”
I tilted my head to the side. “What’s she got a background in again?”
“She’s a financial planner. You know how smart she is. She’ll make a great asset. We need someone to help us keep track of these numbers. I get a headache just thinking about it.”
Numbers gave me a headache too, but I wasn’t sure I was willing to put up with Joanna and her Miss-Know-It-All attitude; that was likely to give me even more of a headache. I fought hard to keep the sneer off my face at the thought of her being in our workplace, breathing down our backs and trying to tell us how to do our job. “I’m not sure I’m following. What does breaking up with her boyfriend have to do with her needing to work here?”
“She was living with Zander and now that she’s leaving him, she needs to relocate and find work elsewhere. They were in Miami and she doesn’t want to stay out there by herself. She needs to get away from him. So I told her to come stay with me and to work for us until she gets herself back on her feet. I offered to just give her whatever she needed, but she wouldn’t go for that. You know how she can be.”
“Oh yeah, I definitely know how she can be,” I muttered.
“Well, I just wanted to give you a heads up since she’ll be around soon. You’re okay with this, right?”
I gave a tight-lipped grin while images of the snotty little girl I knew drifted through my mind. The girl that used to turn her nose up at me and complain about me being too loud while she was studying. The girl who used to turn every differing opinion into a debate of some sort. If I was not mistaken, she had once called me a chauvinist pig. Yet she insisted on staying around me, likely just to spite me.
“Yeah, I’m cool with it,” I lied, because I knew there was nothing else I could say. After all, Tobias was like my brother, which made Joanna my sister by default even if I didn’t like it. “Gotta look out for family, right?”
Tobias smiled. “Thanks, man. I knew you would understand.”
“Of course,” I said, although my throat felt a little tight. I reached for the bottle of water at the corner of my desk and took a long sip. “Just out of curiosity, how long do you anticipate her working with us?”
Tobias stood and shrugged his shoulders. “Who knows? Probably not long though. Joanna has always been independent, so I’m sure she’ll be moving along as soon as she can. This is just a temporary fix. Anyway, I’ll talk to you later.”
“All right,” I said as Tobias left my office.
I knew he had a point though. Joanna wouldn’t be around long. The more I thought about it, the more insignificant the situation felt. Not before long, I got back to work, no longer caring about what was going on with Joanna one way or another.
CHAPTER 3
Joanna
It was funny how a week could feel so slow and long at the same time, but that was precisely how I felt after staying with my brother. Tobias was accommodating as usual, but there was still a lot of adjustment. First, the simple transition of moving back to Chicago after living in Miami was a lot to adapt to on its own. When I added in the fact that I’d left a good job and a beautiful apartment—sometimes it felt too much to bear. Yet I kept reminding myself that it was for the best; no job, apartment, or beautiful climate was worth me being unhappy, terrorized, and battered.
I hadn’t seen my brother in a while, but I should have known his taste was as extravagant as always, especially now that he had such abundant funds to back it up. After leaving the airport, I took an Uber to his place even though he had offered to have someone get me.
“Tobias, I’m grown. I don’t need you sending me chaperones,” I had tol
d him.
“Your age has nothing to do with it. You’re just stubborn. Fine, suit yourself.”
“Is this where you’re going, miss?” the Uber driver asked as he pulled up in front of my brother’s mansion with its perfect lawn.
I looked down at the address Tobias had texted to my phone. “Yep.”
The driver let out a low and impressed whistle. “Wow. Must be nice being you,” he said.
I huffed. “Looks aren’t always what they seem,” I muttered, readjusting the sunglasses on my face and then letting myself out of the car. “Thanks for the ride.”
“No problem. Need any help with your luggage?”
“No, I got it. Thanks.”
By evening, I was sitting at the dining room table with my brother, in front of a meal that was way too extravagant for just the two of us. In his eagerness to give me a warm welcome, he’d had all my favorite foods catered in for dinner. I couldn’t deny that everything looked and smelled delicious, rotisserie chicken, baked macaroni and cheese, green beans, buttermilk biscuits, apple pie, and iced tea. Unfortunately, I didn’t have much of an appetite.
“Tobias, honestly, you shouldn’t have,” I said.
“Don’t tell me what I should or shouldn’t do in my own house,” he said. “If I want to treat my little sister to a nice dinner, then I’ll do it.”
“Whatever,” I said.
“Take off those sunglasses, Jo. You look ridiculous.”
I pressed my lips together and stared down into my plate. Although I knew I couldn’t walk around wearing sunglasses indefinitely, it made my stomach squirm to let him see what Zander had done to me.
“It looks worse than it feels,” I said, and then reluctantly removed them. I remained staring down at my plate for a long time. When I finally got the nerve to look at Tobias, he wore a deep frown.
“Are you going to tell me precisely what happened or not?” he asked. “How long has he been treating you like this, Joanna?”
I didn’t want to engage the conversation, but with the way Tobias stared at me from across the table, demanding an answer, I knew it couldn’t be avoided. Besides, considering the major favor he was doing for me in allowing me to stay with him for a while, he had the right to know.
I sighed. “He didn’t start out that way, I swear. He was perfect in the beginning. But maybe that was the problem all along. He was too perfect. I should have known something was off… The first time he hit me, it was because I hadn’t cooked dinner for him. It was stupid, but so was every other time we argued. Our arguments never had any real substance. He was just always nitpicking, and I was always making excuses for him. I just kept telling myself not to worry about it. That he was just stressed and it was no big deal. But the arguing kept getting more and more frequent. And we kept getting more and more agitated with each other and…”
“And he started hitting you more often,” Tobias said. His eyes trailed the bruises on my face, and I could practically feel the silent fury emanating from him. “You know you should have said something sooner, right?”
I lowered my gaze, staring at the tablecloth. “I know, but I thought I loved him. And I thought he loved me.”
“Love doesn’t leave bruises.”
“I know that now.”
Tobias sighed. “Does he know you came here?”
I shook my head. “I left while he was sleeping. He was drunk. He probably won’t know I’m gone for another few days.”
“Do you think he’s going to come looking for you?”
I swallowed. “I hope not. I mean, he shouldn’t know where to find me, so…”
The frown remaining on Tobias’s face clearly indicated that he didn’t find my words reassuring. “Listen, if he ever comes near you again—”
“Yeah, I know,” I said, cutting off his threat, I already knew how he would end it. He’d hire some big fancy lawyer and take every Zander owned. But that wasn’t what I wanted. I just needed it all to be behind me. For it to be over. “But I don’t need you fighting all my battles for me. I can take care of myself. That’s why I left him.”
“It took you too long to leave. You should have left after the first time, Joanna.”
I reached for a sip of tea. “I’m tired,” I said, feeling drained all of a sudden.
Tobias nodded. “I have plenty of rooms. Just pick whichever one you want.” He rose from the table and stretched. “Let me know if you need anything.”
“You’ve done more than enough already. Anything else I need, I plan to earn it.”
“When do you want to start working?” he asked.
“Can I have a week to get settled in first?”
“Of course. You can have all the time you need.”
“I just need a few days, and then I’ll be ready to do whatever you need me to do. I really am grateful for you letting me come work at your firm at such short notice and all.”
Tobias waved his hand dismissively. “Don’t mention it, sis,” he said before turning around and leaving me to familiarize myself with his mansion.
* * *
Two days later, I was already growing restless hanging around Tobias’ mansion.
“I thought you said you needed a week to adapt before starting work?” he asked me after I told him that I was ready to start training for my new job position.
“Yeah, well, there’s no need to prolong things,” I said. “The sooner I start working, the sooner I can be out of your hair.”
“Having you here is no problem, I keep telling you that.”
“Yeah, I know. But still, I’m ready.”
The next day, he began training me for the new job, and once we hit the one-week mark of my return to Chicago, I was ready to officially start working at his firm. Against my will, he had given me shopping money to renew my wardrobe, although I only accepted it after he promised to let me pay him back.
The morning of my first day, I woke early, showered, and carefully tied back my hair into a neat ponytail. I dressed in a new gray business suit I’d gotten, consisting of a simple white blouse, pencil skirt that hit me right at the knee, and a blazer. I then slid on a pair of modest heels and eyed my reflection in the mirror. An unusual feeling came over me, which I recognized to be a mixture of grief and excitement. Knowing that I was about to start a new job just made me miss the one I was leaving behind. With my abrupt departure from Miami, things clearly hadn’t ended on the best terms with that particular job. After my first day showing up to my brother’s, I’d had to painstakingly call my boss to explain why I had left so suddenly. To say it had been one of the most awkward conversations of my life was an understatement.
My stomach clenched in knots just thinking back on it.
I turned around when I heard a knock on the door of the guest bedroom I had claimed for myself. Tobias poked his head in. He wore a crisp suit and was carrying a briefcase. “Ready?” he asked.
I nodded. “Yep.”
“All right. Let’s go.”
When we arrived at the office, I was once again reminded of why I so thoroughly hated feeling like the new kid in town. It was just a solid reminder that I hadn’t entirely outgrown the self-consciousness I’d suffered in childhood; it was always there, ready to resurface. My self-consciousness was what had contributed to my need to be an over-achiever. Too often, it felt like the only way I could make myself feel worthy was by proving how adequately I could do my work.
“Are you all right?” Tobias asked, obviously noticing my distress.
“Yeah.”
He raised an eyebrow, clearly not believing me. “How about taking a quick break? I know this all must feel overwhelming.”
I nodded gratefully. “Yeah. That would be nice.”
And with that, I headed to the break area, where I began making myself and Tobias fresh cups of coffee.
Finding peace in the room being empty, I took a long and deep breath.
“Come on, Joanna,” I said to myself. “You’re just working for your broth
er. How hard can it be?”
Filling two cups from a fresh pot, I reflected on the training I’d had thus far, as well as the people I’d met, trying to recall names and faces even though so many of them blurred together.
I sighed in frustration as I added sugar and cream to the coffee.
Holding a cup in each hand, I took another deep breath and got ready to return to the office to let him know that I was ready to resume. But just as I reached the door, a figure unexpectedly appeared before me.
I crashed right into him, sending the hot liquid splashing all over both of us.
I looked up, positively mortified.
A man stood before me with a disgruntled look on his face as he stared down in disbelief at his expensive suit that I had just ruined with coffee.
When our eyes locked, my heart almost stopped entirely.
It had been a long time, but I easily remembered his handsome face, short blond hair, and impressive physique.
Just like I recalled the sneer he currently wore, and the way it had always been reserved specifically for me…
Anderson Lawrence.
I knew he worked with my brother and that I was bound to run into him sooner or later. If I was being perfectly honest with myself, I also knew that he was part of the reason I felt so nervous. Throughout my teenage years, I’d maintained a super-intense crush on him. There were times that my young self wanted him so badly that I didn’t know what to do.
What I hadn’t been prepared for was that over the years, he would manage to become even more handsome.
He was drop dead gorgeous; my memory hadn’t been doing him justice at all.
“Dammit, Joanna,” he said.
I recoiled.
Anderson was even more gorgeous than I remembered, but obviously, one thing hadn’t changed at all.
He still hated me.
CHAPTER 4
Anderson
I stared down at the hot brown liquid staining my new suit. In that moment, I knew Joanna was going to be just as much a nuisance as I always remembered her being. I began having vivid flashbacks of the annoying kid sister Tobias just couldn’t shake off whenever I was around.
February Burning: A Firefighter Secret Baby Romance Page 21