by René, Dani
Ember
She’s utterly breathtaking. My eyes don’t leave her, not for one minute.
“Just one day, Katerina,” I utter, caressing her name like it is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever heard. It fits her perfectly. Her eyes shimmer as she regards me critically. She shouldn’t trust easily, but I don’t look away because I want her to see the honesty in my eyes.
A small smile dances on her lips before she responds, “I’ll think about it.” Her words are raspy. “I guess it could be part of the job.”
“It is. Trust me, I’m only offering an invite.”
“I learned never to trust people, but . . .”
“But you feel you could trust me?”
She nods.
“And why is that?” I sip my wine, watching her. She’s an enigma. So strong, so beautiful and resilient.
“I don’t know, to be honest.” She lifts her gaze from the glass to meet mine. “I guess I’m trying to see the best in people and hoping that they don’t hurt me.” She shrugs as the waitress sets our mains on the table.
The steaming plates of cheesy risotto smell delicious, but my appetite is not for the food, but rather for more information about the woman sitting across from me. “You’ve got an interesting outlook on people, Katerina. Not everyone is worthy of trust.” I voice my observation. “You seem far too grown-up for those youthful features.”
She blushes. The pink darkening her alabaster skin makes her face glow. A shy smile plays on her lips, and I can see why my brother is so enamored with her. “I had to grow up fast.”
Pain laces her words. They grip my heart, and I have to swallow my wine to keep from telling her I know. Secrets kept are lies not voiced.
“Anyway, tell me about you. If you’d like,” she suggests, gesturing toward me.
“Mm, where to start . . . I’m one of two boys in our family,” I confess. “My brother is the eldest by about . . . two minutes.”
Her eyes widen at my words.
“And he tends to act like an asshole most times, but I put up with it because I love him. However, it’s a secret because I like to keep him on his toes.” I wink at her conspiratorially, causing her to blush again. The hue of pink darkening to a soft red looks stunning on her cheeks.
“Your secret is safe with me.” She smiles. “That is, if I ever meet him.” She sounds intrigued by my snippet of information, which makes me curious to see her reaction when Ash and I confess.
“What are your future plans?” I question, knowing Ash threw something similar to her last night.
Her sigh is a soft sound which captures my attention. “I’d love to go to school, but I need to do a bit of saving before that happens. I’ve given myself a year to ensure I can cover the tuition.”
“You have no one to help you?” I don’t know why I ask when I know the answer. But perhaps I just want to hear it in her words. She has nobody in this world but Ash and me, and I intend on making sure she sees her dreams come true. Even if I can’t be around to witness them. My food is forgotten, my focus on the girl who’s had to become an adult far too soon.
“No,” she tells me sadly before she forks some risotto into her mouth. Kat chews slowly, and a soft moan rumbles in her throat. The sound acts like an aphrodisiac—sensual and erotic.
Her movements are like art—gentle, like a sweeping brushstroke, but alluring like bright color screaming at me from a canvas.
Once she swallows her mouthful, she smiles. Squaring her shoulders confidently, Katerina continues, “But I’ve learned to be independent, and I think my parents would be proud of the person I’ve become. Not for the work, I’ve taken on, but by being responsible. And that I’m alive and healthy.”
Nodding, I wonder what my father would say about Ash and me. Would we please him with how we’ve turned out? Ash running the company, while I’m working at the university tutoring students.
She looks at me, then asks, “Are your parents—”
“They’re both dead,” I interrupt, not wanting to talk about my father, and also not wanting to remember my mother. Missing her has been a pain I have carried for a long time. And whenever I think about her, it’s as if I’m still there, watching her take her last breath
Losing a parent isn’t easy. You think they’ll be there to see you grow up, to watch you turn from child to adult and offer you the love and nurturing you need. Without them, I’ve become accustomed to offering my love to my brother. It’s been enough. And now it seems I want Kat to experience that love as well.
I know Katerina understands. More so than anyone can. She’s not had a family for two long years, and I wish I could give her one. Even just being her friend would offer her some form of comfort.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to—”
“It’s okay,” I tell her, gulping down the Merlot before pouring another generous glassful for us both. “It’s been a long time since I’ve spoken to anyone about them, either of them. I just prefer not to.”
“I get it.” She nods.
We eat in silence, but I can’t stop glancing her way every few seconds. She’s holding all the power in our exchange because I’m intrigued. The innocence she still holds, even though she’s been through so much in her short life, is incredible. I want to tell her about my pain, to admit who I am.
She deserves happiness. And I’m going to make sure she gets it.
I sit back, pushing my plate away, ready to learn more about Katerina. She finishes her dinner and looks at me, offering a sweet smile. Tentatively, she picks up her glass and tips it my way. “Thank you for dinner; it was delicious. To putting the past behind us and moving forward, wherever that may lead.”
“I can agree with that.” I clink my glass against hers. The soft lyrical sound is the only thing I hear because, for a moment, I want a future. But most of all, I hope this beauty gives my brother a fighting chance. Each time I look at her, I pray that she’ll be his beacon within the darkness I know is about to take over his life.
“So, Katerina. I hope you don’t mind me calling you that?”
She shakes her head. “Not at all.”
“Tell me more about your love of art and music?” I ask.
“I learned piano when I was much younger. My mother taught me to play.” She regards me. “Painting was always something I could get lost in at night when I wasn’t allowed at the instrument. My parents would be in bed by nine, and I would spend another hour creating colorful canvasses.”
Even though I knew what she’d say, I savor having something in common with her. “I’d like to see your work sometime?”
“Perhaps.”
I turn the conversation toward her favorite artists and revel in the ease with which we spend the evening in each other’s company. The night turns late, and when I glance at the time, I notice it’s almost eleven. “I’d better drive you home.” I rise from my seat after making sure the bill is paid, and the waitress has been tipped.
“Oh, you don’t have to.”
Shaking my head, I insist, “I want to.”
I’ve already made up my mind about her, about offering her the agreement. The moment we step foot outside the restaurant, I know I’m going to head home and tell Ashton we need to tell her, help her. Anything to make her life better than the shit show it is now. And I have a feeling he’ll agree.
When the car pulls up to the sidewalk outside her house, she turns to look over at me. “Thank you, this was . . . It was a lovely evening.”
“I should be thanking you for keeping me company,” I respond easily because it’s true. I usually only spend time with my brother over dinner. Katerina has been a breath of fresh air and how much I enjoyed tonight was rather unexpected. “Perhaps we’ll see each other soon.”
“I hope so.”
I want so badly to offer her a fairy-tale kiss goodnight, but I don’t. I’m not here for that. I’m here to ensure that she’ll fit with Ashton. I’m not the one who needs her most; my brother is. And as much a
s I think she’s stunning, beautiful, I know I can’t do anything about it.
“Sweet dreams, princess,” I utter as I watch her enter the house. I turn to my driver. “Take me home.”
And in silence, we head back to the Addington mansion which has become a semblance of salvation for me.
For months I’ve been wondering how to confess to Ash about what’s troubling me, but I know with Katerina by his side, it will ease the blow of the decision I’ve made. He might hate me for a time, but he’ll realize it was for his own good.
I’ve only ever wanted the best for him, and this is going to be my ultimate gift.
Ash
“And this is why you’re not running the company, and I am,” I tell the old man. My anxiety has skyrocketed today, and this board meeting has been the cause of it. Ember sits at the opposite end of the table, watching me silently. My brother has always been the quiet one, whereas, as a child, I would be running around the house, screaming bloody murder.
“Mr. Addington,” Frederik Larson says in an icy tone as he pins me with a heated glare. “With all due respect—”
“Yes, respect,” I interrupt him. “That’s something I’d be grateful for in this meeting. My decision is final. We’ll refuse the expansion of this hotel chain into Miami for now. We don’t need to be worried about that when the L.A. and Chicago sites are teetering on edge. My father wanted the business to profit, and I’m not putting the Addington name on the line if shit goes south.”
Dad bought the chain with his brother over ten years ago, before they had a falling out and my uncle decided he didn’t need family. They turned the broken-down shitholes that were about to shut their doors and turned them into four-star hotels that were doing well until my father listened to Larson five years ago. Since my father’s death, this asshole has been trying to drive the business into the ground.
Not on my watch.
“Our investment in the chain will remain as is. Shut down Miami, put our focus into the hotels we have now, and when we have them turning a profit, we’ll talk about expansion. Am I understood?”
There’s a murmur along the table. On each side sit five men old enough to be mine and Ember’s fathers. But none of them would ever fill his shoes. At times, I doubt I can.
“Mr. Addington,” Frederik utters, “I’m sorry if I overstepped,” he says, offering a solemn nod. “We’ll make sure to focus on the L.A. and Chicago sites. I’ll fly out in the morning, and when I return, I’ll give you a report.”
“Perfect. Is there anything else I need to look at?”
“Will you be meeting with the Dean this afternoon?” Heinrich Lincoln, the Chief Operations Officer, questions.
“Yes,” I tell him. “Ember and I will be working with Dean Reginald to set up the interviews for our scholarship applicants for the upcoming year.”
Each year, my father gifted two scholarships to promising students. He’d meet with them, interview them to find out their goals and dreams, and he’d decide if he was willing to back them. Once they completed their studies, they were free to work for us, or they would be sent to work at my uncle’s law firm. Even though the brothers hardly spoke, they ensured the staff, students, and business associates weren’t left out in the cold.
This year, I’ll be meeting with the prospective candidates, and I look forward to it. Taking over from my father wasn’t easy. Even though Ember is here to assist me, I’m the one who was named CEO, with my brother as my partner. But I know deep down this isn’t what he loves. He prefers tutoring at the university.
“Is there anything else?” I ask again, glancing around the room at the men I now lead.
A murmur of “no” rounds the room, and I dismiss the board. Once Ember and I are alone, I settle in my chair at the head of the table and watch him. We’ve been close all our lives. We don’t bicker like other siblings do instead gravitate around each other. We offer advice when needed and solace when there was none after losing our parents.
My brother’s an empath. But I’m a coldhearted bastard. We couldn’t be more different if we tried. The problem about my brother’s affliction is that whether he’s around me or not, he knows how I feel; the agony in my chest is his. That’s why I go out and fuck random women. I take whores to a hotel room and get lost in their bodies because it’s the only way I can deal with my pain.
My brother is good. He’s beautiful and pure down to his core, and sometimes I wonder if I weren’t around if he’d be different. Perhaps my iciness makes him warm. At least, that’s what I’d like to believe. Who knows?
“You handled it well.” He smiles, causing his dimples to peek through.
Shrugging, I close the folder on the table before me. “It’s what Dad would’ve wanted. He was the only one I could trust to know what to do, but now—”
“You have to trust yourself, Ash.” Ember always finishes my sentences, my thoughts. He’s a part of me; my other half. He’s in my soul.
“Why are you so down? I can feel you’re—”
“I want her, Ember.”
He’s as surprised by my confession as I am. When I meet his gaze, I see it—the confusion swirling around in those green depths.
“You may want her, but she might not want you,” he warns me. “Father would roll over in his grave.” His words are gritted out, and it’s the first time in a long time that I’ve seen the rage inside him. Under the calm exterior, I know my brother has darkness. It runs in our family. We have more money than God and more power than Satan himself. And we’ve always used it to our advantage, but when my father bought the hotel chain and built Addington & Associates, he gave back. Like the scholarships. It was his way of thanking the universe for what we have.
I think over time, when my father realized how fucked up our family truly was, he renounced the rules my grandfather laid down and created his own life. And I respect that, but I know there’s simmering violence that still trickles through my veins. I’m an Addington, and I always will be.
“I want her, and there’s nothing you can do to stop me,” I tell Ember, rising from the chair. I pin him with a glare. He knows if I want to do something, I’ll do it. I’m stubborn, and my brother has had to put up with it all my life.
“I’m not going to stop you, Ash,” he tells me easily. “But I want to be there tonight when you show her the offer. I want to see her agree to this because forgive me, brother, I care for her as much as you do.”
“Are you sure?” I question Ember, shocked at his revelation. Unease settles in my gut, but my need for the girl is far too fierce. “This girl is our salvation. This is what we need to do to make sure the past is finally laid bare, and then we can hopefully get some form of forgiveness for not being there for her sooner. Our game is over once she signs the agreement. We’ll have to find a way to tell her the truth.”
Ember shakes his head before responding, “Not yet. We can’t risk her telling us to go to hell. If she knows the secret we hold, she might run.”
He’s right. Katerina can’t know until she’s in too deep.
“She’ll enjoy the perks but walk away unscathed from the blaze. We can offer her a place to stay, get her studies underway, and allow her to see what she could have.”
My brother’s mind is obviously calculating all the ways this could and couldn’t work. I observe him as his expression morphs from that of the serene and calm brother, I know to a tense and nervous man out of his element.
“Ember, I think I should—”
“Ashton, offer her something she can’t refuse, but be careful of emotions getting in the way. She needs to focus on her career, her future.”
“What if I can be her future?” I counter.
“Maybe you can.” His olive-green eyes meet mine with confidence shining in them. “I believe you could make her happy, but she needs to decide.”
As much as I want to deny him, my brother is right. I can do this. If the pretty little kitten wants to play, we can offer her all the dreams she cur
rently sees as out of reach. And if I can find it inside myself to let Katerina in, maybe I can offer her something more.
Katerina
I stare at the phone screen in shock.
The fluttering in my stomach awakens with a vengeance, and I realize I’m smiling like a fool at the words I read and re-read.
“Tonight. Ivory Hotel at eight. I look forward to seeing you, Kitten.”
My response is tapped out quickly. “And where pray tell did you get my number from?”
“Your boss likes money. Let’s just say I persuaded her.”
I need to talk to Maria. Even though I don’t mind Ash having my details, she shouldn’t be giving them out. Although my frustration at her burns hot, I’m excited at the prospect of seeing him again. The words he sent are ingrained in my mind. And soon, nothing else I try to read even registers. Forcing my mind back to the website in front of me, I read through the minimum requirements for entry to Silverwood University with a half-paid scholarship.
Once I’ve gotten all the information I need scrawled in my notebook, I log off the computer and wave at the lady behind the counter. I could use my phone, but I like being out amongst people. This morning, I woke up and decided on a latte and an hour doing research.
I’m hoping I’ll be able to buy a laptop soon. As I walk down the main road toward home and also the hotel, I think about last night’s date. I enjoyed my short time with Ember. He’s handsome, charismatic, and I wonder if he’ll ask to see me again.
He doesn’t make me feel the way Ash does, but the way Ember listened, acted as if he were genuinely interested in what I had to say, was refreshing.
I’ve never had a boyfriend, and in the past week, I’ve met two men who’ve captured my attention. I know I shouldn’t grow attached because people always leave. And they’re clients paying for my time. I need to remember with Ember it’s not real friendship, and it’s certainly not a real relationship.