by Karen Deen
“What the hell?” I yelled as I spun around to see Luke standing there smirking to himself.
“So, who is the woman, man?”
I almost choked.
“What do you mean, you idiot? That frickin hurt, you know.” I was still trying to read Luke’s face, wondering how the hell he knew about Emily. I hadn’t breathed a word about her to anyone, let alone my nosy family. Mind you, that would change shortly. I needed to be careful how I explained the situation, so they understood she was a friend. Just a friend. That is all she could be.
“Don’t be a baby. Now, the woman. No man is that far off with the pixies, with a dreamy smile, that they don’t hear their brother coming up behind them to not be thinking about a woman. So, who is it? Don’t tell me you have finally met someone after that last bitch pissed off on you?”
“Luke,” I growled. My love life was off limits to everyone and had been for years, they all knew that. Mind you, it never seemed to stop Luke. He was the only one that never gave up trying to work out what happened with Christina and my lack of a love-life since. It was probably because he was the one I was closest to. He saw me in the days after and tried to pick me up. He didn’t know what had happened, but never left me alone until he felt I was standing on my own two feet again.
Growing up, we were the two that always got into mischief. Grant had always been the serious one and never wanted to be stupid. He was always happy to be the one to say, ‘I told you so’ when it went wrong or we got in trouble. Luke and I had each other’s backs, no matter what. The girls always stuck together and were more than happy to dob us in to Mom and Dad when we were young.
Things changed when we all hit the teenage years. The girls worked out that brothers were useful, either for giving them lifts, having hot mates for them to perve on or protect them when they got in over their heads. The normal big brother stuff.
Grant was the ultimate big brother to us all. When you really needed help, you called in Grant. He would grumble the whole time he was helping, but we all knew he loved to be the one protecting us. He was a born control freak and it saved my ass more times than I could remember.
“You have no idea what you are talking about. I was thinking about the Branch Street job and a few of the tenants. I think there will be at least have half a dozen we will need to rehouse. Time will tell.” I looked out the window of the reception area, hoping I had steered the conversation away from Emily.
“I call bullshit, but whatever you say, big bro. You up for dinner and a beer after work? We haven’t caught up in a few weeks. Grant has me working my fingers to the bone and growling if things aren’t done in time for his precious damn schedule. Is he on your case too?”
“Yeah, just the same as normal. Ignore him like I do.” I chuckled as I walked towards the elevator leading upstairs to our personal offices.
The offices were spread across a couple of floors. Downstairs was where all the admin staff and conference rooms were located. Upstairs was for our personal assistants and own offices. If we needed to meet with a client, we met downstairs. There was also a meeting room upstairs, but it was only for family meetings. Let me assure you, it was a good thing that it was away from the staff and public at times! Some of those meetings got very vocal. We made a pact before Dad retired that, no matter what happened in those meetings, we were never to walk out of them not speaking to each other. Being in business with your family, it could be very easy to destroy the family dynamics if you didn’t keep personal and business issues separate. Especially with Grant. Inside that room, he was the CEO. As soon as we walked out, he was just the pain in the ass big brother we all liked to take the piss out of. I loved my family with all my heart and nothing could ever change that.
“Sorry, bro. I can’t do dinner tonight because I have to get home early. I have a couple of things in the pipeline that I need to get ready. Can you take a rain-check and we’ll do it in a couple of days?”
“Yeah, okay. What is happening that you have to get ready for?” Luke studied me, trying to gain glimpse of what the hell was going on. He knew there was something different, but couldn’t work out what.
“Just something I’m working on. I will let you know when it comes together.” I tried to act casual like it was nothing, even though I was bursting to talk to him about it. I needed to get tomorrow sorted first, before my family butt in and scare Emily away.
“Just don’t piss off Grant again. He took ages to get over you buying the farm without asking for his stamp of approval.”
“Hell, it was my damn house! He drives me nuts sometimes,” I mumbled under my breath as we exited the elevator. I waved him off as I headed down the hall to my office and he went to his.
Settling back in my chair, I began planning how to get my sisters to help me tomorrow, without going batshit crazy over Emily and scaring her off. Maybe I would just spring it on them in the morning, otherwise it would be around the family before I even made it home tonight. I had to try and get some work done too. I was behind from being out of the office today and tomorrow would be worse.
Emily
I shouldn’t have bothered to even set the alarm last night.
I was pretty sure I didn’t sleep at all. Either that, or it was for such a short time I couldn’t remember closing my eyes. All I could think about was Zach and his offer to take the job and make the move. But it was more than that. It was the way he was with Sammy and Soph.
Who was I kidding?
It was the way he made me feel. I had never been so consumed with a man before. One who took over my thoughts and made it very hard to function, especially when he was around. I once thought I was in love, with the kids’ father. That bubble burst very quickly when I told him I was pregnant. He threw me to the scrap heap, never wanting to see me again. Looking back now, I realized that wasn’t love. With him, I never felt anything like the electricity that happened whenever Zach touched me or the warmth that filled my body when he looked into my eyes.
I was trying hard to be objective when thinking about the job, but in the end, decided I was jumping the gun. I needed to go today and remain open to everything, take it all in and then sit back and weigh up the pros and cons. I already knew some of the cons were that he made me feel vulnerable and took away my strength. I couldn’t afford for that to happen, especially with the kids. I also felt that, the longer I spent time with him, the wall I had worked so hard to build around my heart could be at risk of crumbling. Again, I needed that to protect the kids. Nothing in my life was about me anymore. Samuel and Sophia will always, no matter what, be my main priority.
I shook my head to clear my sleepy foggy brain, then jumped up to start getting the kids ready for school. Although Zach wanted to take them to school today, I had insisted that I would take them as usual on the bus and then meet him after that to go out to the farm. The kids were already smitten with him, so I had to be totally sure of what I was doing before I let him spend more time with them. No matter how good he was with them, I was still the Mumma bear with her baby cubs. She had to be satisfied with the surroundings before she let them out of the cave to meet the forest animals.
If today went well, there would be plenty of time for the kids to see Zach and turn him off kids forever! I heard movement coming from the bedroom and realized that they were already awake.
Time to get this show on the road.
6
Zach
I SWUNG INTO the office car park and saw that Alesha’s car was there, but no Lilly yet.
Trust her.
The day I needed her to be on time, she is late. Then again, that was normal for Lilly, so why was I surprised. I decided to call her and find out how far away she was. The phone started ringing, then stopped and went straight to messages. I tried again, and the same thing happened.
What the hell was she doing?
Doesn’t she know I need her this morning?
Heading up to Alesha’s office, I decided to see if she knew where Lil
ly was and how long she would be. If there was a problem, I would just get Alesha to come with me on her own. The more I thought about this scenario, it had merit. Alesha would be much easier to reign in with Emily. She could save the Spanish inquisition until Lilly was around to back her up. Although Alesha was a confident person, she really found her voice when her little sister was poking her from behind to speak up.
“Morning, Alesha. Do you know where Lilly is this morning? Her car wasn’t in the carpark yet.” I tried to act casual, but was doing a really bad job at it.
“Morning. Yeah, she will be here any minute. She called a little while ago to tell me she was on her way. She’s running late.”
“So, more like running on time for her, then. Not sure Lilly knows what ‘on time’ means in the real world.”
“Hey, watch it you. I heard that! I’m here now, so what’s your problem?” Lilly burst into the office. She never arrived without an entrance. When you are the baby of the family, you want to make sure you are loud enough to be heard.
“Morning, big bro. Were you looking for me?” Lilly plonked her bag, scarf and laptop bag down on her desk, gave Alesha a kiss on the cheek and headed towards me.
The girls insisted on sharing an office, I’m sure it was so they could gossip. Us boys, on the other hand, had too much testosterone running through our bodies we would never be able to share a space!
“Well actually, I was looking for both of you. I need you to come with me today. I’d like your help with something. I also need you to keep this to yourself until I have it sorted out and had a chance to tell the family what is going on.”
They looked at me, then each other. That stupid sister-look of acknowledgement started to register on their faces as they turned to look at each other. The look that lets me know this is going to be two things: Firstly, that it is going to be painful for me; and secondly; it is going to cost me.
“If you can just wait until we are in the car, I will explain. We’ll be gone most of the day, so let Ruth know you will be out of the office and grab your bags.”
“So, big brother - where will we tell Ruth we’ll be for the day? I have a feeling it’s not a current job that is on the board, is it, Zach?” Lilly grinned as she picked up her bag and walked towards me wearing a stupid smirk.
“Just humor me for once and do as you’re told. We’re out of the office working, that’s all they need to know. Now move your little butts and let’s go or we’ll be late. ”I tried to keep from grabbing them by the hands and dragging them to my car.
“Ok, ok. No need to get all bossy. It sounds like this is going to be interesting, Alesha. Let’s go see what has Zachy-boy’s knickers twisted!”
I took my phone out of my pocket and headed to the lift, messaging Emily to let her know we were on our way. My heart raced thinking about seeing her soon. I needed to get that under control. Today was important and I had to keep my cool, be calm and show Emily that this was the life for her and the kids. Most importantly, I needed to show her she could trust me. That was the biggest challenge.
Driving out of the carpark, the girls chatted away, still trying to work out what was happening. I was still trying to think of what to say to them and how much to let them know.
“Come on, Zach. You’ve dragged us into the car and we’re off to God knows where. Don’t you think it’s time you let us know what is going on?”
“All right, I’ll tell you. Hold off saying anything until I’ve told you the whole thing, otherwise you will get the wrong idea and go off making up your own stories. Then I’ll have to listen to you sprouting bullshit.”
“Lilly and I have already worked out this is about a girl, we aren’t stupid. It’s just weird the way you are carrying on. She must be something special, otherwise why all this secrecy?” Alesha wanted to know, which was unusual. Normally it was Lilly who was the confident one who had no problem saying what she thought. Alesha just agrees or stands behind her. I must have really thrown them off this morning.
I took a deep breath and started to explain. I told them about doing the eviction notices and meeting Emily. I explained about her getting upset after losing her job and that she had two really great kids. I progressed through the story, mentioning several times that we were just friends and I felt she needed help. The girls had stupid grins on their faces and kept trying not to laugh. Finishing the story, I explained what was happening today and how much I needed their help. I stopped to see what they had to say. Instead, they both sat in silence. Something wasn’t right.
“Okay, did aliens come into this car and steal my sisters? Where the hell are my annoying sisters who have a million questions and want to give me crap about this? I am so confused, and I don’t have time to be confused this morning.” They looked at each other and I could tell they had something they wanted to share but didn’t want to tell me. They were hiding but I had no idea what.
“Look, I don’t know what is going on with you two, but I need you to promise you will help me today. Keep the smart ass-little sister act under wraps. Emily really needs some good people on her team. I have a feeling her life has been pretty tough, and I would like to help her get on her feet. She is super independent, though and doesn’t want to feel like a charity case. I need your help to convince her that I need help looking after the farm and myself. “I lowered my voice so to emphasize the point. Please, Lil and Lesh, it is really important. Promise me?”
They looked at me and Lilly slowly started to laugh. “Okay,” she said. “Say what you want, but you obviously like this girl. Because we are such good sisters, though, we will play along with the friend story to help you out. Wait - we can be your wing women? Yes, Lesh, that is what we will be. This is going to be fun.”
“Lilly,” I growled. “I mean it. Promise on your life, otherwise I am stopping this car right now and you are getting dumped on the sidewalk. Understand?”
Alesha snickered a little. “It’s okay, Zach, I will keep her under control. Let’s go meet this Emily. Now behave, Lilly, otherwise Zach is going to burst a gasket.” Again, they looked at each other and burst out laughing.
“Why do I even bother with this family? Seriously”
We arrived at the school and I parked a little down the street. I wanted the chance to say hello to Emily before I inflicted the chaos that is my sisters on her. I was sure she would like them. Eventually…after they stop the Spanish inquisition. I reached for the door handle. “I’ll be back in a minute. Behave, got it?” I jumped out and I heard them burst out laughing again.
I was doomed.
Emily
Zach was walking down the street in his long strides, looking as handsome as ever.
His brown wavy hair, that was a little longer on top, was a bit messed up and looked like he had been running his hands through it. Maybe he was as nervous about today as I was. The low-cut black jeans he had on fit perfectly in all the right places and looked awesome with the blue shirt he was wearing. With the sleeves rolled up, the shirt stretched across his shoulders and chest. He could have easily been on the cover of a magazine. The aviator glasses set the outfit alight. It was going to be a long day being around him looking like that. It was lucky his sisters were going to be with us. That would surely change the dynamics of the day. I hoped they were nice and not bitches. They might be worried I was playing their brother for money and a place to stay. That couldn’t be any further from the truth, if it was what they were thinking.
It was hard trying to have confidence around Zach, but I always found it was even harder to stand up and fit in with other women. I’d never really had close women friends, so found it hard to socialize with them. I felt my breath quickening as he approached me.
“Hi Zach, how are you?” I managed to get out. He leaned down and took my hand, giving it a squeeze.
“Great, Emily! Looking forward to showing you your new home. Are you ready?”
I smiled at him and realized he was not going to give up easily, no matter what
I decided today.
“My sisters are in the car, but I’ll apologize in advance for them. They’re crazy. No matter how much I’ve warned them today, they’ll be bound to try and embarrass me. Let’s meet them and get this over and done with.” Zach placed his strong hand on my back, which helped to calm my stomach slightly as he steered me around the corner to the car.
I looked down at my feet, nervous and it dawned on me where Sophia got it from.
Use your inner strength, Emily. You can’t show fear.
As I looked up to where Zach’s Audi SUV was parked, there were two women leaning against it, giggling. As we got closer I stopped dead. “Zach…”
“What’s wrong, Em, why did you stop? It’ll be fine, don’t worry. Honestly, if they get too much, just tell me and I’ll take you home.”
“No, Zach. What are your sister’s names?”
He looked at me, puzzled. “Lilly and Alesha.” I only heard half of his reply as I started to hurry towards them and they ran to me.
“OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD!” I shouted as Lilly launched at me, wrapping me in her arms. Alesha joined in behind her with a group hug. “I can’t believe he is your brother, I just can’t! Of all the people in this city, he turns out to be your brother. Far out!”
The girls were still squealing at the top of their voices. All of a sudden it dawned on me that Zach would have no idea what was going on. I tried to push my way out of the hug to turn to him, but Lilly beat me to it.
“Surprise, Zach! This is our friend Emily that we have known for quite a while,” Lilly announced to the man standing there, running his hands through that sexy hair.
“Now I know why both of you were grinning like Cheshire cats when I was telling you about Emily in the car. You knew, didn’t you? You worked out who she was. You pair of trouble makers, why am I not surprised.” he sighed and relaxed against the side of the car, grinning.