Billionaire Stepbrother - Secret Lives

by Du Bois, Madeline

  “Well, that should make the job even easier for you then. When can you start?”

  “Well, five hundred up front and you’ve got me starting now and for the next two weeks.” The guy started picking his teeth, and he looked like a heavy smoker.

  Dante slapped the money down on the table. “It’s a deal. If you could report back to me weekly with what you find, I’d appreciate it. Give me a call if you need me to send a cab for you or anything.” Dante shook his hand and was sure he’d regret that offer as the guy walked out like he had some kind of swagger. Really he just looked like he needed a cane and a belt for his sagging jeans. He could hear the guy trying to flirt with some of the staff on the way out.

  He waited until he heard the swoosh of the elevator going down before picking up his phone. It was time to call Cynthia to come in and discuss the job. He didn't feel he needed to wait for any more information. He had made up his mind in the interview and was just going through the motions. She was going to be his personal assistant. The investigator was just a formality he had decided on before he even met her and was now already regretting. Still, it never hurt to be too safe.

  The phone rang about five times, and he was worried he wouldn’t be able to reach her. He was really eager to get the ball rolling because he had some important plans with Devil’s Pirates MC later that night and might be busy with them for the rest of the week. But she finally answered just before he was ready to hang up.

  “Hello,” her voice came through the receiver. He heard the sound of running water in the background, and she sounded out of breath. He’d probably got her in the shower. No wonder it took her so long to pick up the phone.

  “Hello, Cynthia?” He knew it was her. He wasn't about to forget that voice.

  “Yes? Dante?”

  He couldn’t help but feel good that she recognized his as well. “Yes.”

  “Sorry, I just recognized your voice. I shouldn’t be so informal. I should probably call you Mr. Cross, right?”

  “No, it’s okay, Dante is fine. I’m just calling to ask if you had some time to come up to the office later today. I would like to discuss some things with you if you don’t mind.”

  There was a silent pause on the line, but her breathing told him she was still there. “Yeah, I could probably be there within an hour if that’s okay. Do I need to bring anything with me?”

  “Nope, just your smiling face.” He wanted to hit himself after he said it. He needed to sound more like a boss and less like a smitten teenager. She was his fucking stepsister, as well as his employee. She couldn't be more hands off if she was on fire.

  “Umm, okay. I will be there soon.”

  “See you then, Cynthia. Looking forward to it. Goodbye.” He hung up before he said anything else stupid and chased her away. He really needed her help. The business had really taken off in the last year as they expanded their catalog of engines. It was just too much for him and his team to keep up with at times.

  * * *

  “Please, have a seat.” Dante motioned to the seat across from him, and Cynthia sat down. She looked more curious this time than nervous, but he felt a little more comfortable as well. He had opted for some nice black jeans and a button down; no suit jacket. It was just too much for him. “I’m glad you came. How have you been?” In his head he added ‘since I saw you yesterday,’ realizing how dumb he sounded.

  “I’m alright. I’ve just been continuing my search for a job and all. Not that I don’t want this one. I just wanted to keep my options open.”

  “That makes sense, but I’m hoping to be your only option. I was actually really impressed with your interview and experience. I also got a shining reference from that attorney you worked for. She apparently loved working with you and wishes she could have you back.” A genuine smile spread across her face. She must have been expecting something bad from her last boss. How many jobs had she lost because of that asshole?

  “So, I guess you’re wondering why I wanted you here instead of making you an offer on the phone. I’d like to get to the point, if you don’t mind.” He saw her nod him on, so he continued. “I find myself in a unique position here, and I feel I need to share with you some information. I'm pretty sure I can trust you?"

  He waited until she nodded before he went on. "If you're going to work here, you'll need to know that I’m actually the owner of Essential Steel. My CEO is only a front man so that I don’t have to put my face on the company. The rest of the company knows I am a top level executive, but that’s it. It’s very important that it stays that way because of my personal ventures, which you already know about.”

  “You mean the motorcycle club,” she said, it wasn't a question.

  “Yes, you understand then. I have to maintain my anonymity here, but I also don’t want the club finding out what I do. The clashing of the two worlds could be devastating to my career and the company itself, really. I work here during the day, and run with them at night. As my personal assistant, knowing my secret puts a lot of weight on your shoulders. I can’t have someone who could leak my secret even to someone she thinks she can trust with the information. In my world, there’s not many people I can trust.” He realized he was starting to sound ominous and accusatory, so he backed off a little.

  “Look, Cynthia, I'm sure I can trust you, and not just because..." he didn't want to even mention their relationship again. He wanted to forget it existed, and just imagine her as the girl he had first been attracted to at the bar. "I can just tell that you're the type of person that can keep a secret. I just need to know that you can keep the two separate, but the job is yours if you want it. Just, stay away from The Blue Pig, please. It’s where my club hangs out most of the time, and it would just raise too many questions about how we know each other.”

  Dante took a deep breath and stopped, nervous as to how she was taking all the information. As hard as it would be to trust a stranger, he should at least be able to trust his own stepsister - even if they barely knew each other. Of course, if she turned him down after hearing everything, that would mean she wouldn’t even be under his watchful eye and would still know his secret.

  He looked to her for a response, but she was unreadable.

  Chapter 7

  Cynthia sat and listened to Dante talk about his double secret life intently. She knew he was going to make her a job offer, but she could see where his fears were coming from. It was shocking to find out that he was actually the owner of the company, the one who called all the shots for such a large corporation. She never would have guessed that the charming yet rough man she met in the bar that night would turn out to be her next possible boss. What an awfully small world it really was.

  As he finally let out the offer and explained all that it would entail, she felt an anxious feeling in her stomach. Even in his jeans and button down shirt he looked good, just the tip of a tattoo peeking out of the top of his shirt. He hadn’t buttoned the top button.

  It frustrated her that she was still attracted to him. Not only because he was her stepbrother, but because of everything else. He was her potential boss, he was part of a motorcycle gang. In that context, their familial relationship actually almost seemed like the least important barrier.

  Dante was definitely a bad boy in every sense of the word. He was lying to pretty much everyone in his life, he rode a motorcycle, and he was the leader of a gang that she had actually heard of a few times on the street when she was a teenager. Obviously, the leader at the time wasn’t Dante, but they were into things like drug deals and black market gun sales then. What was Dante having them do now?

  She remembered the tall, still handsome teenager he had been, and the constant battles he would have with her stepfather. Grant had called him a little punk, and wanted nothing to do with him. It seemed like he washed his hands of the young man and given up on him, something that Cynthia thought was crazy at the time. Now she wondered if he had already been into some of these activities.

  She had no ide
a whether or not to accept the job. There were so many reasons not to and hardly any reasons to do it. Other than money, and the fact that hers was just about to run out. But would Dante really put her in harms way? He didn't seem like a violent criminal, and from what she could tell from her online searches, Essential Steel was a very legitimate and successful business. Why would he risk it to run around with his gang? How close would the job bring her to his possible shady dealings?

  How close would it bring her to him and his muscular and tattooed body?

  Cynthia blinked a few times to clear those thoughts from her head. He was her stepbrother. They may not have grown up together, but it was still wrong, wasn't it? Besides, Dante had stopped talking and was waiting on her to answer. “I know that you don’t really know much about me, and I’m not quite sure what kind of impression I’ve given you. On a professional level, I would of course be loyal to whoever I was working for, family or not. I wouldn’t share anything I learned whether it was a company or personal secret. It wouldn’t be the first time I had to do such a thing."

  She paused as she watched him looking at her, waiting for her answer. He seemed tense, as if he feared what she would say. "But even on a personal level, I want you to understand that I am not that type of person at all. I am not some kind of gossip or attention seeker. I wouldn't give out personal information anymore than company secrets. I would never do that to anyone. I can tell that the club and your company mean a lot to you, and it would hurt you if you lost either. I would never want to be the cause of something like that.”

  She looked at him as he stood up and moved around the room a little. He ended up sitting on the edge of his desk. He still seemed a little jittery. Was he in need of her services that bad or was he that upset at the possibility of someone having the power to ruin his life? If she thought hard about it, she’d be pretty worried as well.

  “I appreciate that, Cynthia. I know it seems like a lot to take in, but does this mean you’ll come work with me?”

  Cynthia hesitated. She still didn’t know what the right answer was, but she liked the fact that he said with instead of for. She wondered if he phrased it that way on purpose. Still, she didn't want to make any rash decisions. “Can I have a couple days to think about it? I understand if you need to hire someone else and not wait. I don’t want to waste your time, but I really would like to process all of this before I give a sure answer.”

  She watched as he hopped down from his desk, and she could see his muscles flex under his white shirt. She tried her best not to react, but it was quite difficult. “Of course you can. I’ll give you until Monday, alright? Here is the employment contract to sign if and when you make that decision. Your salary is discussed on the third page. I really do hope you choose to work with me, though. I think we would make a good team.” After a moment he added "But either way, I really would like to get to know you again."

  She caught herself smiling at the mention of them being a team as she took the packet from him and nodded. “I’ll get back to you with an answer as soon as I can. But yes, I agree. I'm glad we've reconnected, regardless.”

  As she drove back to her apartment, she considered her situation. Dante might be rough around the edges, but he was also CEO of a huge company. Maybe the MC thing wasn't really that big of an issue? Besides, he was her stepbrother. He certainly wouldn't drag her into anything dangerous, would he?

  Plus he was so fucking handsome. She couldn't ignore that, even though that shouldn't have any bearing on her decision whatsoever. But since when had she been able to ignore that? She was lonely now, and if nothing else she needed the job, the money, and the friend that she assumed Dante would be - if nothing else. God knows those seemed in short supply lately. Sure, the whole thing was a bit of a risk, but as Winslow always use to say before making a big acquisition - no risk, no reward.

  Cynthia contemplated it all the way back to her apartment, but by the time she got in the door she had made up her mind. What other option did she have but to take the job? The rest she would have to worry about later. She went ahead and dialed the number Dante had given to her to call. He didn’t answer, so she just left a message.

  “I made my decision. I’ll take the job. Let me know when you’d like me to start.” She made it short and simple.

  Chapter 8

  Dante pulled up to a small shop with the sign reading Pirate Repair and Customization. The sign had just been repainted to say Pirate. It was a business the MC had just acquired a few months ago, and they changed the name to reflect that. It was one of the legitimate ventures he was trying to get the MC into. Some of them were taking well to it, including a young member named Billy. He had become a member shortly after Dante took over, and he was now working at the shop part time. Dante himself even helped out on the weekends.

  The shop had just opened for the day, and he was dropping in to check things out before he had to get ready for work. He could see that there were already two bikes waiting to be serviced, and Billy was working on one of them, already all greased up. It looked like a pretty old bike.

  “Hey Billy, how’s it going?” They slapped each other’s’ hands and went into a bro hug.

  “Not bad, Diesel. What brings you to this side of town?”

  “Just wanted to see how business was going. What’s this piece of shit you’re working on?”

  “Oh, some old fart dropped it off yesterday and said he wanted it fixed up to pass down to his grandson or some shit. I told him It would cost a good pile of green, but he didn’t seem to flinch. He said he just wants it in working order. So, it’s whatever. I think I can handle it. You here to scrub in?”

  “Fuck no, Billy. I’ve got important shit to do today.” He hated lying to his club, but his position was so unsure and shaky still. “Just wanted to make sure everything was running smoothly. Looks pretty good compared to the shithole it was before, though.” He slapped Billy on the back like a proud father and went inside to take a look at the books to make sure they were at least breaking even. He already had to invest some of his money into it to keep it afloat. He was hoping his boys could turn it around.

  He was pleasantly surprised as he saw that they were beginning to dig out of the debt the previous owner had racked up. If it kept going at that rate it might actually start making a profit soon. “Looks good, man, but I gotta run.” He waved and walked out, hopping on his own bike. It was not a Harley but a Honda with a flaming skull painted on the side. He didn’t like being typical.

  He rode off back home, to his ridiculous high rise that he got just because he could. It made it easier to keep his business separate from his MC life because it was in a neighborhood that none of the gang would ever be in, and he never invited them over. But he felt so silly sometimes having a concierge and 2,000 square feet to himself. There was even an indoor Olympic size pool in the building. It was a bit extravagant, but if he ever did find a nice woman to bring home, then he was sure she’d love the place.

  He pulled on his slacks and a navy button down, splashing on a little Old Spice for good measure. It was going to be Cynthia’s first day, and he didn’t want to run her off with his B.O.

  * * *

  Cynthia sat stiff in the chair across from Dante taking notes as he spouted off everything from daily tasks to rules about keeping his secret and dealing with others in the company. She could feel an uncomfortable tension building between them. He had become the stern but paranoid boss overnight, and she had become so standoffish as to avoid having feelings for him again. It wasn’t that hard at the moment sitting there listening to all the details he was giving her about how to keep his secret and lie to everyone. It certainly wasn’t an endearing feature to know the lengths he went through to maintain his double life. He wasn't the stepbrother she remembered, but then, she had hardly known him back then.

  “Did you get all of that?” Dante questioned when he was finished talking. One of the things he had made sure to ingrain in her was that he was Dante at the
office, but Diesel with the club. No one from either side even knew his other name.

  Cynthia glanced down at her notes and saw three pages worth of rules and directions. It was a bit overwhelming. When she looked back up she saw that he had suddenly stood up and come around like he had before. He had a bad habit of that, as it made her feel uncomfortable as it put him a bit closer than seemed appropriate for either a boss or a brother.

  “Yes, sir,” she replied, trying to keep her answers concise. Despite their personal relationship she wanted to be strictly professional at the office. They both agreed that no one in either sides of his life needed to know about their family situation.

  “There should be a desk and a laptop coming for you any moment. I ordered them yesterday after I got your message. I’m glad that you were able to start so soon. I really am swamped.” He smiled at her, but she just looked straight ahead. He probably thought she was just plain rude, but it was better than thinking she was attracted.

  “Are you ready to meet the rest of the staff?” She nodded, and he picked up his phone to dial for someone. When she heard him call one of the secretaries in, she let out a sigh of relief that it wouldn't be Dante showing her around. She needed a break from him to catch her breath and get away from his penetrating gaze.