by Tia Siren
In that fleeting moment, I had forgotten that this was something that couldn’t happen. He was my stepbrother, and soon he’d be my boss. I couldn’t let this continue on, but for now I enjoyed every sensation and let my mind wander.
5.
My phone started ringing, and I jumped from surprise. I checked the caller ID, expecting it to be Adam, but it was from a number I didn’t recognize.
“Hello?” I asked.
“Liz, this is Zach. I was hoping you’d have time this afternoon for an early dinner.”
It had already been a day since I’d been with Adam, and I didn’t know what to say. I’d been hoping Adam would call and ask me to dinner.
“I don’t know. I might have other plans,” I said.
“If you’re waiting for Adam to call, don’t bother. He’s out tonight with friends.”
I wondered how he knew what I was thinking.
“Who said I was waiting for Adam to call?” I asked.
“Just a hunch. Come out to dinner. I’d like to get to know you a little better now that we’re siblings,” he said, and then he clicked off the phone.
That was quite forward of him. It didn’t so much feel like I was being asked, as it did like I was being told. Still, his professional and confident attitude had me curious about what he wanted to discuss.
I didn’t take long getting ready, and just before I could finish there was a knock at the door; a driver was ready to collect me. I grabbed the remainder of my things and trotted off for the ride.
My assumptions had been correct, and we pulled up to a lavish restaurant downtown. I had chosen to wear a slinky black dress, and I knew I looked good in it. I was already getting a few glances from some of the older men escorting their significant others.
The host showed me directly to a table where Zach was already waiting with a bottle of chilling champagne chilling.
“So, what’s the occa—”
“I guess you don’t like to take people’s advice,” he said.
I had a feeling this would be a long night, so I plucked my already full champagne glass from the table and sipped from it.
“What are you accusing me of?” I wondered.
“You slept with him. I can tell,” he said. He hadn’t yet made eye contact with me since I’d sat down. He continued to stare out the window.
“And what of it?” I asked. “I’m not some prize to be claimed.”
He turned to me with the same piercing green eyes I remembered from the other day.
“I understand that, but do you think he does?” he asked. Then he gestured for me to look out the window.
I rolled my eyes at his ridiculous question but turned to humor him. I was shocked by what I saw. Adam was sitting across the street at a nearby café. I couldn’t make out who he was with, but I could tell it was another woman. My heart sank as I realized that I was just another one of his conquests.
“He is a shrewd businessman. Part of the reason the company has expanded so quickly the last few years is because of his confident ability to close deals that favor us. I assume that he took you out for some extreme sport, and while your heart was beating hard he took advantage. That’s the man he is,” Zach said.
I slumped in my chair and finished off the champagne in my glass. As much as I wanted to walk across the street and slap Adam in the face, I knew it would be a futile gesture. It was not as though we were an item.
“You’ve made your point,” I said. “Did you call me here to gloat?”
“Far from it,” he replied.
“Then what are we here for?” I asked.
“I wanted to tell you the truth about what happened almost a year ago to the day,” he said.
I pulled the bottle from the ice and poured another glass.
“From what I’ve heard, he stole your fiancée. Is there really much more to it?”
“A little,” he said.
“Let’s hear it then,” I said.
“Yes, he stole her heart from me, but when she thought he would always be there, he showed his true self. We were so much in love, but I couldn’t reconcile our relationship. She started abusing drugs, and I tried to help her, but she wouldn’t have it.”
“Where is she now?” I asked.
He went silent and finished his drink.
“I think I’ll have more of that champagne,” he said.
I wanted to reach out and take away all his pain. A smirk played at the edges of his mouth—not because he was happy, but because he didn’t want to appear sad.
“I’m not looking for sympathy. I’m just trying to help you understand the man he is,” Zach said.
“Thank you,” I said.
“It’s no problem. I just didn’t want to see another woman go through the same—”
“No. Not for the warning,” I said. “Thank you for trusting me enough to tell me the truth.”
He smiled. It was a genuine smile I knew he had been hiding for quite a long time.
We ate in comfortable silence. I struggled with myself about Zach. He was almost more gorgeous than his brother. He had an aura about him that felt so masculine and stoic. Unlike Adam, Zach seemed like the type of man who would hold you when you were sad, the type of man to be there when you needed him most. I needed that now more than ever. I had given in to my lustful desires, and they had betrayed me.
“I should probably be going home,” I said.
“Of course,” he said. “Take my car. I am close enough to walk home.”
Outside, the black sedan I had arrived in came to stop just in front of me, and the driver opened the door.
“We could always go together,” I said to Zach before getting in the car.
He smiled back at me and stepped into the car. I settled myself into the plush leather seat next to him.
“So did you have any other reason for asking me out tonight?” I asked.
He stayed silent, so I prodded again.
“I don’t suppose that you were also unable to keep your eyes off me,” I joked.
“Well, you are a beautiful woman,” he said.
I laughed. Until now he’d been incredibly stoic and standoffish.
“So, you’re a little jealous of Adam,” I said.
“More than a little,” he replied.
I sighed.
“I don’t know if I can do this,” I said.
“What do you mean?” he asked.
“I slept with your brother,” I started. “I don’t want to be another person to come between the two of you.”
He stopped himself from speaking and thought for a while. I stared out the window at the passing streets. It was a quiet night, with nary a single person about. It was getting late, and tomorrow was a work day— one that might be rather important for me, as I had a job offer I wanted to accept.
Zach took me by the arm and held me close, looking longingly into my eyes. I could feel the heat of his gaze boring into me.
“I’m not my brother,” he said.
“I never said you were,” I replied meekly.
He released me and returned to his seat, staring instead out the window with a grimace that had taken the place of his smile.
“I’ve been searching for something I can hold on to,” he said.
His vulnerability was palpable. I wanted to reach out and hold him, and in turn be held by him. Before I realized what I was doing, I had reached my arms out to him.
He turned as I wrapped myself around him. At first he tried to pull away, but he had nowhere to go. He let out a deep sigh, letting go of his apprehension and stress. Then his arms wrapped around me.
“Let me stay with you tonight,” I said.
Before long we were standing in an elevator, as we had a few days prior. This time, we were much less awkward. As the elevator climbed higher, we continued to hold each other.
It was an odd feeling that I was overcome by, the feeling of satisfaction. I didn’t want to kiss him, nor did he want to be kissed by me. But
holding him felt so natural and easy that I didn’t want it to end.
The elevator opened right into his apartment. It was the penthouse of another building downtown. I looked out at the twinkling city lights that made up the view. I pulled myself away for a while to take in the sight.
When he returned, he had a bottle of wine in one hand and two glasses in the other. He handed me a glass and filled it and his own before setting the bottle back on the table.
“To new siblings,” he said.
I toasted my glass with his and took a sip. I wondered what was on his mind. He joined me, leaning over the balcony railing and staring out at the expanse of concrete that was our city.
“Millions of people going about their busy lives. It’s a breathtaking display of life,” he said.
I reached my arm around his waist and pulled him close. He put his arm around my shoulder, and his warmth was welcome. I finished the remainder of my wine and returned to his apartment.
I rested comfortably on the couch, and he joined me. I leaned against the armrest, and he rested his head in my lap. I sat there, stroking his hair for a time.
He fell asleep, and I didn’t mind. I could feel his satisfaction with each breath he took. Then, in the darkness, I found myself edging closer to sleep until I couldn’t fight it off any longer.
6.
A knock woke the two of us the next morning. Sunlight blinded me as I looked around the quiet apartment. Zach stretched himself out over the length of the couch before easing off me. My arm was still tingly with sleep, but I stood up to stretch myself.
“What is it, Adam?” Zach said, tiredly answering the door.
Adam stepped in and caught my attention. For a second he looked incredibly frustrated, clenching his fists and ready to throw a tantrum.
“I see she really did spend the night here,” Adam said.
“What of it?” Zach asked. “She’s a grown woman.”
“We have to get to work. Dad said he has some final paperwork to finish before going off for his honeymoon,” Adam said.
“I’ll be right there,” Zach said.
“Bring her too,” Adam added. “She has business with him as well.”
I knew I did, and I was looking forward to the possibility.
“So how did you get her to come over? Did you tell her about your poor ex-fiancée?” Adam teased.
“That’s none of your business,” Zach replied.
“Well did you tell her the real truth of it all?” Adam asked.
Zach sighed and didn’t have much to say.
“What truth? I thought I heard everything that needed to be said,” I said.
Adam laughed.
“There’s a reason I never tell the story. It’s still a bit of a bitter pill to swallow. But I’ll tell you how things really went down.”
Adam walked in and started sifting through Zach’s kitchen, preparing a couple of things to eat while talking.
“We both fought over the same woman, but really there wasn’t much of a fight. She was my high school sweetheart. I was about to propose to her before this gentleman here decided to woo her away from me. It’s a funny thing, isn’t it? He has that soulful and vulnerable attitude when it suits him.
“So, when I finally fight for her and win her back from Zach, he starts pushing me out of the company. When I finally start pushing back, I get a note from her saying that she regrets leaving Zach in the first place. I was devastated for a second time.
“I was glad when Zach turned her down. It just let her see herself for what she truly was. Isn’t that right, Zach?”
Zach stood there, silent. I was so ambivalent.
“Adam, you are the worst person I know. You found yourself attracted to your own stepsister, and only a day later you were sleeping with her. Don’t turn this one on me because it didn’t go in your favor,” Zach said.
“Yeah, well, don’t think I’ll let you get away with ruining another girl’s life with your emotional shortsightedness,” Adam rebutted.
I’d had enough of listening to their fighting.
“Both of you, shut it,” I said.
The stopped shouting at each other and turned toward me. I felt like an idiot. I felt used, and most of all I felt drained, both emotionally and physically.
I grabbed my heels from the floor and straightened my black dress from the other night.
“You two deserve each other,” I started. “And would you like to know why? You’re both terrible people. You feed off the emotions of others and sow discord. That’s always been my problem with people that have too much money and not enough brains.
“This girl you guys fought over made her own decisions. She loved both of you and couldn’t make a choice. I should know how that feels, because I just spent the last two days in the exact same situation.
“Two incredibly gorgeous men were entertaining a girl, whom until this point hadn’t really felt like much. I’m the result of enough failed relationships ending poorly, and for once I thought something might work out. Then I realized that you’re both my new brothers and that there’s absolutely no way this could work out in the slightest.
“I love you both, but I can’t deal with your bickering and attempts to one-up each other. Your old girlfriend and fiancée made her choice, and in the end she found it best to just leave both of you for good. You’re both poison. And if either of you could see that, then maybe you’d realize that she made the right choice.”
I stormed off toward the elevator. Neither of them made any attempt to stop me, even when I stood there for a moment, awkwardly waiting for the elevator to arrive.
I had business with their father, and he had to know what was going on with his sons. I felt it was only right that he should hear it from his new daughter.
7.
I rushed to the office after taking a moment to straighten myself up at my apartment. I knew Tom wouldn’t want to wait long for me to speak my piece.
I caught up with him in the lobby of his head office, surrounded by more than one assistant trying to shuffle papers into his face for him to sign.
“Liz!” he shouted, pushing past his group.
He reached out and pulled me into a fatherly hug.
“How was your weekend? I heard you spent some time with your brothers,” he said.
I let out a laugh of embarrassment. If only he knew.
“You said you had some paperwork for me to look over,” I said, changing the subject.
“Of course.” Without looking, an assistant shoved a stack of papers into his hand, which he handed straight to me.
I took them and looked over the contract. From my initial investigation, he appeared ready to pay me a rather sizeable sum to do the job. I wanted to sign right there and start right away, but something nagged at the back of my mind.
I thrust the papers back at him.
“Can we talk in private for a little while?” I asked.
Tom held a hand up, and the crowd around him dispersed.
“Let’s talk in my office,” he said.
He led me down the banks of elevators to the private one in the back. It thrust us straight to the top of the building and his personal office.
“Tell me, what’s on your mind,” he started.
“I really want this job,” I said, “but I can’t work with Adam and Zach.”
He raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms.
“Why is that, if I may ask?”
“I got to know them this weekend,” I said.
“So knowing them makes you not want to work with them?” he asked.
“It’s not that,” I replied. “They’re great guys, but with their heads in the wrong places. I’ve found myself wrapped up in their personal drama over a girl that left them some time back. They act like children and fight constantly. So, I have to decline your offer.”
He sat in his chair behind the desk and sighed.
“They’re a handful. I’ll give you that,” he said.
I took a seat in the chair opposite him and tried to avoid looking too nervous.
“So you’re sure that you want to turn down an offer like this?” he asked.
I picked up the pages again, looking at the absurd amount of money he wanted to offer me for the job. But I knew what would come with it.
“Think about it. You could be there to guide them. You could make sure they don’t fall apart and bicker like they do,” he added.
I shoved the paper away and stood back up.
“Sir,” I started, “there’s no amount of money in the world you could pay me to be a babysitter to those two.”
I turned around to leave and then stopped in place. Adam and Zach had snuck in without me being aware. There was a pit in my stomach and I just wanted to be anywhere but here.
“Babysitter,” Adam said.
“I thought you were just going to be our accountant,” Zach added.
I started walking toward the elevator as confidently as I could.
“As I told you earlier, I can’t be that close to you two. I thought I had found a couple of men, but instead I met a couple of boys. Maybe if you two grew up, I would find my way back. For now, I have something better in mind.”
I clicked the elevator button, leaving them once again in silence. I hated feeling like the bad guy, but that was the only way they would take me seriously.
They had both played me over the last couple days, and even though I was absurdly physically attracted to both of them, I couldn’t see past their faults. Adam was a wonderful lover, while Zach was a truly compassionate and caring man. But I couldn’t handle the two of them together.
I needed to find my own path.
8.
I didn’t talk to them much over the following six months. My mother and Tom continued to stay in touch while on their honeymoon. In fact, they took an extended vacation and were gone for almost three months. If only I were so lucky as to take a vacation longer than a week.
After a month of soul searching, I finally figured out what I liked to do. I was good with numbers, and I wanted to share that gift with everyone who needed it, so I started my own free accounting service. The money wasn’t the best, but I always had to stay afloat, mostly due to my mother.