Brother’s Best Friend

by Kaylee, Katy

  Amber shook her head. “No, he was a dirty old man who liked to look at my butt.”

  Taylor shrugged. “That too. Oh, shit. I got to get to wardrobe. I love you for coming to see me.”

  Amber smiled. “You are doing amazing. I’m going to take him back to see his Pawpaw and then we’ll probably head out. It’s almost naptime, and we both know what happens when he misses a nap.”

  Taylor grimaced, turning toward Bradley. “Give me kisses, I gotta go to work.”

  Bradley ran over and hugged Taylor tightly before taking Amber’s hand. Taylor blew kisses to them both and walked out toward wardrobe. Amber sighed and cleaned up their plates before picking him up, Teddy in his arms, and carrying him to the back. “Gotta go see Pawpaw, right?”

  Bradley put his arm up in the air. “Yeah!”

  They turned the corner into her dad’s office and Matt stood up, excitedly leaning over as Amber put Bradley down and watched him run full force into her dad’s arms. “Hey buddy. I missed you!”

  Bradley smiled. “I missed you too, Pawpaw. Look, I brought my Teddy with me. You gave him to me.”

  Matt nodded. “That’s right, I did, when you were teeny tiny in mommy’s belly. What have you guys been up to?”

  “Watching Auntie Taylor. Then they talked. Mommy has a job interview,” he blurted out.

  Amber laughed and Matt looked up at her, excited. “You do?”

  She nodded. “Yep, with a new tech company in the area, or at least a new branch of it. I sent my resume in the day before yesterday and got a response this morning.”

  Matt was shocked. “On a Saturday? They must really want you.”

  Amber sighed. “I sure as hell hope so.”

  28

  Logan

  “You look so good. So grown up, but so good,” Lisa said, straightening Logan’s blue button up shirt.

  He smiled. “Thank you. You look fantastic as always. And this… you didn’t have to throw me a party.”

  Matt was walking by with a plate of meat. “It’s a barbecue, not a party. That sounds a lot more relaxed, right?”

  Logan chuckled, raising his beer. “Much more casual. Though this is the first barbecue I think I’ve seen table linens at that weren’t made of plastic on top.”

  Lisa shrugged. “I never get to use the linens anymore. You gave me an excuse to do so.”

  Jordan walked up with Melissa beside him. “Look at this party…”

  “Barbecue!” Matt yelled from behind them.

  Jordan shook his head. “Whatever. They don’t throw me barbecues when I come over to visit.”

  Lisa patted him on the shoulder jokingly. “Because you aren’t our favorite child.”

  They all laughed. Jordan snarled. “Thanks a lot.”

  Logan took a sip of his beer. “It’s actually because they try to get rid of you, and they think if they tempt you with beer and steak, you’ll move back in.”

  Melissa smirked. “He wishes. Then he wouldn’t have to pick up his own socks off the floor all the time.”

  Logan gaffed. “How is the house building coming?”

  Melissa sighed, exhausted. “Half the time it’s exciting, the other half I’m arguing with the contractor because he put the wrong tile in the bathroom.”

  Logan grimaced. “Was it bad?”

  Jordan let out a loud bellow. “Dude, she was so excited, and she ran upstairs and just screamed. I came rolling up thinking there was a dead body or something, but it was worse.”

  Melissa nodded. “Way worse.”

  Jordan shook his head, still laughing. “The whole thing, top to bottom, was tiled and finished in hot pink shiny tile. It was the most horrible thing I’ve ever seen. I don’t even know how they screwed things up that badly. But, thanks to my future wife’s balls, everything is as it should be.”

  She poked him in the side and he kissed her on the nose. Logan looked down at his beer, trying to keep the smile on his face. Watching them together brought back all kinds of confusing feelings, and he couldn’t help but glance over at the door every time someone walked through. He was hoping so badly that Amber would show up, even though he had no idea what he would say to her. He figured if she at least came, that meant she was willing to speak to him again.

  Things were busy for her, he knew that. Jordan had given him the rundown of her life when they patched things up. She had graduated from college with her MBA, and she had done it all after having a baby. The kid was probably about four years old, plus or minus a couple of months, by this point. He could still remember the sting he had felt when he found out about that. He had done the math, and had felt the heart wrenching realization that she had almost immediately moved on from him.

  Logan had told himself over and over again after he moved to New York that he wanted her desperately to find happiness. He didn’t want her to linger on him forever. He didn’t want her to be heartbroken like he was, because he cared about her too much. However, knowing she had almost immediately met someone else made him feel like shit. He hadn’t even been able to look at another girl after he left LA, much less jump into a relationship with someone.

  At the same time, though, he knew that she was raising that little boy on her own. The father, whoever he was, had decided not to be a part of Bradley’s life. That hurt Logan, too. He had no idea how anyone could just decide to up and leave their child like that. He knew the pain of losing parents, and it wasn’t even by their choice; they had died. He couldn’t imagine how heartbroken and devastating it was for Amber to go through that and then have to raise a baby on her own. Not to mention the fact that he would never understand why anyone who had the option of having a family with her would turn that down. She was amazing. He had walked away, and he felt like it was one of his biggest regrets.

  Jordan slapped Logan on the back. “You alright, dude? You just got super quiet.”

  Logan cleared his throat. “Oh, yeah. Just thinking about the old times here at the house. I can’t help but do it every time I come back.”

  Lisa sipped her wine. “I do the same thing every time one of you kids comes rolling back into the house. I can’t help but remember you guys as little boys, playing in the back yard and raising hell. Even you, Logan, when your parents would bring you over. We would sit right out here and watch you play, talking about the trials and tribulations of motherhood. They were wonderful days, but man I miss that little boy laughter.”

  Jordan smiled. “You still get that. Bradley is like the cutest kid on the planet.”

  Lisa nodded heavily. “Yes. Yes, he is. He brought youth back into this household, let me tell you. All you kids were running off to start your own lives and I was feeling like it was time to get a walker and join a local bridge club. Then along came Bradley, a surprise, but one of the best kinds. He just lights up this whole house when he is here. A showman, that boy is. He got the Stark genes that’s for sure. There isn’t a doubt in my mind that kid won’t go into the business with Pawpaw when he gets older. He’ll be vying for your slot, Jordan.”

  Jordan lifted his beer. “And I would give that kid the world. But I will put him through rigorous testing, like Dad did to me. He can go into the Stark bootcamp with our kids.”

  Melissa’s eyes grew big. “Oh boy, he’s talking about kids again.”

  Lisa laughed. “You just watch, you’ll have a football team.”

  Logan listened to them talk about Bradley, wishing he had met him. “Is Amber coming today?”

  Lisa sighed. “No, I called this morning and Amber said she didn’t want to bring him out because he had the sniffles. Probably picked up something at the studio, since it was jammed full of people yesterday. They went to see Amber’s best friend on set. She’s on that law show I can’t ever remember the name of.”

  “In the Name of Justice,” Jordan replied.

  Lisa pointed at him. “That’s it. But yeah, she won’t be coming. I feel like you haven’t seen her in years.”

  Jordan nodded. “He h
asn’t. He has never met Bradley, either. Amber is always busy when he’s in town.”

  Lisa glanced up at Logan. “I think you might have scared her away.”

  Everyone laughed, including Logan, who forced it out even though he knew she was right on point. Lisa lifted her hand and waved at an older couple coming through the patio doors. She leaned in and whispered. “The Greys are here. I better go occupy them before she starts gossiping too much. You kids have fun and eat food.”

  Lisa went scurrying off and Logan turned to Jordan and Melissa. “You guys have the wedding plans nailed down yet?”

  Melissa just looked at him. “It’s like the house building; a never ending pile of problems. It was so much fun at first, but now I just want to hand it off.”

  Jordan lifted an eyebrow. “Don’t let her fool you, I offered that. She said she was too invested in it and could never let anyone take over at this point. She likes to torture me with different types of paper and samples of terrible hors-d'oeuvre.”

  Melissa pouted. “You liked the mousse and the crab balls.”

  Jordan nodded. “Yes, I did. I also liked the whole cake tasting thing the first time, but by the fourth one, I was about to order you pies for the wedding.”

  Melissa furrowed her brow. “I would kill you. We would be married for an hour, and I would murder you at the reception. I would do it dramatically, too, so that my face would be all over the newspapers. Crazy Bridezilla kills husband at reception with a pie plate.”

  Jordan coughed, swallowing his beer. “Lord, could you at least make sure there’s a pie still in it? I want to have a tasty death, if I get to choose. Lick the apple filling off my cold dead hand as I take my last breath. It would be poetic. I would become a cult hero of men all over the world.”

  Melissa chuckled. “Yeah, probably not. Women would understand, though. I would get off. All I would have to say is, ‘he ordered pies for the wedding cake.’ Done, innocent.”

  Logan laughed and emptied his beer. “I’m gonna go grab another beer and use the bathroom. I’ll be back.”

  Jordan nodded. “That’s cool. I’ve gotta introduce this woman to all the old people.”

  Logan wrinkled his nose. “Better you than me, Melissa.”

  Logan walked back up onto the deck and into the house, crossing into the kitchen and tossing his bottle in the trash. He leaned against the counter for a second, flashes of the hot sex he had with Amber right there on the countertop flashing through his head. At the same time, he could also remember looking back at the notes he had left everyone that early morning when he had packed his bags and left. The house just didn’t feel like home anymore. It felt like a tomb of heartbreak and lost love. He was glad he had decided to rent a condo while he was there. He didn’t think he could live every day with Amber’s ghost.

  He grabbed another beer from the fridge and headed down the hall and up the stairs. Partway down the hallway he paused, and glanced over at Amber’s old room, knowing she didn’t live there anymore. Standing in the doorway of the room he had spent so many years in, he smiled at the same bed spread still on the bed. He walked over to the closet and opened up the door, reaching up and pulling out an old box. He set it on the bed and took off the lid. Inside were pictures, token, movie stubs, and everything else he kept from growing up.

  He picked up a stack of the pictures and flipped through. The ones on top were his baby pictures, ones with his mom that made him smile. Below that were pictures of fishing with his dad in upstate New York. It was one of those memories that made him chuckle. He had not been the camping kind of kid, and the whole ordeal had been basically miserable since it rained. From the picture, though, holding a huge fish and smiling hugely, you could never tell.

  He put the picture down and looked at the next one, a tightness flowing through his chest. It was him, Jordan, and Amber as kids, their arms over each other’s shoulders with big smiles on their faces. He missed those days. Things were so much less complicated. At the same time, he did not regret loving Amber, no matter how it had ended. He wished she had come to the barbecue, and every time he figured it was to get away from him, he reminded himself it was a long time ago and she was probably over it.

  At the same time, though, he had broken her heart, so the fact that she was avoiding him didn’t sound that crazy at all. Whatever the reason, the house wasn’t as bright with her not in it.

  29

  Amber

  “Please come in, Amber. Have a seat,” the interviewer said, leading her into a large conference room.

  “Thank you,” she replied, feeling the nerves surging through her.

  “My name is Rachel, and I am the hiring manager for the company. I will be working here out of this office permanently, so if you come to work with us you will see me often. I will also be heading up the HR Department.”

  Amber was surprised. “Wow, that’s quite the undertaking. You are going to be a busy woman.”

  Rachel scoffed. “Going to be? I haven’t stopped running in two weeks.”

  Amber laughed, watching the thirty something woman brush the piece of brown bobbed hair out of her eyes. She was stylish, much more so than Amber, with a tight black pencil skirt, a white blouse, black shiny stilettos, and a fresh short bobbed, long banged haircut. It made Amber think about changing up her look.

  Rachel pulled out Amber’s resume and ran over it quickly. “You did online school, but through UCLA. That’s very impressive. I love their online program. Small classes, expert instructors, and it fits some people perfectly.”

  Amber nodded. “Yeah, I was apprehensive at first, but once I got into it I was very impressed. It was definitely challenging, but I was ready for it.”

  Rachel nodded. “I can see that. You graduated number two in the whole graduating class, including the on campus students. Very impressive. So, tell me, what do you hope to accomplish here with us?”

  Amber took in a deep breath and folded her hands on the table in front of her. “Well, I grew up with one of the most brilliant businessmen I’ve ever met; my father. I always knew one day that would be me. Production and the movies aren’t my thing, but I wanted a strong company, with good goals, and somewhere I could grow and learn. Like so many others, my dream is to own my own business one day, though I know I probably shouldn’t tell you that.”

  She laughed. “Actually, the owner of this company built this place from the ground up and he got his foot down through working for other companies. We don’t discourage it. Obviously, if you are good at what you do, we want to keep you as long as we can, but we encourage personal and professional growth here.”

  Amber smiled. “That is fantastic. I mean, really refreshing.”

  Rachel pulled out another sheet. “I called all your references and I have to say, Amber, you have quite the fan club. People love you, your ethics, your determination, and how you overcome obstacles. I’ll be honest, I had already almost completely decided to hire you just based on this information, but meeting you absolutely cements that for me.”

  Amber’s mouth dropped open slightly. “Really?”

  Rachel nodded sticking out her hand. “Yep. I would like to make you an offer, if you feel comfortable here.”

  Amber shook her head. “Yes, absolutely.”

  Rachel clapped her hands. “This is great. I’ll have my girl finish up the contracts while I show you around and have you meet the CEO. He likes to meet every person we hire, down to the mail clerk. He is very hands on with the employees, and will be here until we are ready and settled.”

  Amber was excited, but also nervous as hell, as she followed Rachel out of the room and down the hall. Everything she had ever imagined about CEO’s of huge companies usually revolved around a business suit, an attitude, and someone who barely listened. What if he didn’t like her and decided not to hire her? She really wanted this job, with this company, it just seemed like a perfect fit for what she was looking to get into.

  They headed through halls that smelled l
ike fresh paint and new carpet. All of the offices were super modern, but comfortable at the same time. A huge wall art of lettering showcased the front page spreads of their online magazine. Beautiful and brave faces staring back at her as she slunk by. Rachel stopped outside of a set of double doors and put her finger up. “Hold on right here for just a second. I want to give the boss the run down, so he knows about you before you walk in.”

  Amber nodded and clutched her hands in front of her. Rachel went inside and closed the door behind her. Amber had no idea what to expect from the man. The only CEO of a company she had ever met was her father, and he wasn’t the typical stereotype of a boss. He cared about his people, never looked uppity, and remembered every single employee’s name after meeting them only once. He made everyone feel like family, which garnered a lot of respect from his employees. Amber actually found it quite brilliant; people worked harder for him because they cared for him.

  When she was growing up, she always pictured herself being the same kind of boss that her father was. Caring, kind, family oriented, and the kind of person with an open door policy at all times. She never wanted people to feel as uncomfortable around her as she was feeling in that exact moment, standing in the hallway of the new office. To her right, a monitor was playing, going through all the apps that the company had. Amber didn’t really pay much attention; her nerves were way to high at that moment.

  Suddenly, Rachel poked her head out. “You ready?”

  Amber nodded, her teeth clamped together, not wanting to open. She followed Rachel inside and through a receptionist area, though there was no one at the desk. She looked around as she entered the big office, noticing that it also had a sitting area and three large screen televisions.

  Rachel put her hand out. “This is Amber, our new Business Analyst.”

  Amber looked up and froze in her shoes, her mouth dropping wide open. It’s freaking Logan! Her lips parted, but not a single sound came out. She could not believe that she had just been interviewed by Logan’s company and hired. From the look on Logan’s face and how quickly he opened her file, she could tell he was just as shocked as she was.