AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"Yes, you can." I nodded, doing my best not to raise my voice with the next statement. "But then, don't come to me crying about your pussycat being in every young man's computer in this fucking country."
I turned my back on her, fisting my palm. I was tempted to take her over my knee and spank that attitude out of her, but I quickly discarded that idea. It was neither the time nor the place to remind her of her good behavior.
"It’s always fun to watch you argue." The mocking voice of my brother, Andreas, resonated through the room. "Why aren’t you married?"
I flashed him a quick glance, and he chuckled, entering the room with two blue files in his hand. He should be joining me on the way to Thorn Enterprises, but given his outfit—black pants and a white t-shirt with white sneakers—he obviously changed his mind.
"You’re not coming?" I asked, taking papers from him. I didn’t need or want him in the office on my first day, yet he was overly determined to keep me company. I wasn’t sure why. He was my lawyer, but besides the work for me, he had his own practice. He didn’t have time to have a good, long night's sleep, so his interest in my new position was weird.
"Father wants me to take care of the situation with our stepbrother," he replied, his crystal-blue eyes, the same color as mine, glowing with anger.
"Seriously?" Rose whined from behind me, walking in my line of sight. "Don’t tell me that he wants to acknowledge him."
Andreas only nodded, confirming her words. I wasn’t surprised by that development. After our mother died, nothing was stopping our dad from admitting that he had an out-of-wedlock child. He had been keeping it a secret only because of her. It was a nasty stain on our family’s reputation and made my blood boil with anger, yet I couldn’t stop him from doing it. The child shouldn’t be punished for his parent’s sins.
"You will allow it?" Rose asked in clear disbelief, and I met her confused glare.
"It’s not my decision to make," I answered, sitting in the black leather armchair.
"But this is!" Andreas rumbled, yanking the file from me and handing it to Rosalind. "He's going to pay the Russians three million dollars just to save the bastard's life."
She didn't have time to look at the papers because I abruptly rose to my feet, took the files from her hands, and turned to face my brother.
"If I don’t do it, they will kill him!" Our sibling was a serious pain in the ass, and despite my feeling sorry for him, this was the last thing I was willing to do for him. I found out about him when I was a teenager, and throughout the years, I helped him so many times that I was tired of making a fool of myself. He was only abusing my generosity. I had a soft spot for all my brothers, and it was hard to reach my limit, but this time, he crossed the line.
"He is the reason our mother is dead, and you’re saving him!" Andreas’s words cut deep into my soul. I loved our mom with all my heart, but cancer and our father’s infidelities were more responsible for her demise than our reckless stepbrother.
"It’s not his fault Sarah used him to hurt our family," I objected, thinking about how I could get myself out of this argument. I didn’t want to pick a side. I hated my father’s adventures. I would never forgive him for the pain he caused my mom. But I didn’t share Andreas’s fury toward our half-brother. Mine was directed toward one of dad’s mistresses, Miss Sarah Pearson, a manager in our family company.
"If he didn't exist, mom would have been alive." Andreas was dangerously close to me and almost out of control. It was like looking into the mirror at my furious self. I actually expected him to attack at any second. Every man in our family was a hot-headed lunatic, yet the last thing I wanted to do was end up in a fight with him.
"Andy," Rose addressed him gently, stepping between us. She was much shorter than us, and I was genuinely surprised by her courage to face his anger. Given her past experiences with enraged men, it was tremendous progress for her. "Your mom was sick; she would have died anyway."
"They broke her heart," he hissed through gritted teeth. His face was twisted with a mix of anger and agony.
"Yes, they did." She placed her small palm on his chest while I watched them with wide eyes. Rosalind was a first-class brat; however, she was a very empathetic, kind person if she wanted to be. "But hating him won’t make the pain you feel disappear."
"Just because you know what you’re talking about, I won’t argue with you." He raised his eyes from her face, glaring at me. I didn’t like the glint in his orbs. He was dead set on destroying our brother. "You and our father can do whatever the fuck you want, but I won’t ever consider that piece of shit part of my family. This…"—he pointed to the files he brought—"is the last thing I’ll do in this matter. If he does anything stupid again, find him another lawyer."
With that said, he turned around and left my apartment. I inhaled a sharp breath, clenching my jaw. I had hoped one day, he would be able to overcome his hatred toward our brother and father, but after this conversation, I knew it was unrealistic.
"I always loved a good family drama," Rose said, stirring me from my thoughts. "And this just became my favorite."
I almost rolled my eyes, glaring down at her as she flashed me an arrogant smirk. She'd had enough of acting like an adult and was back to being her bratty self.
"You can watch it from the front line if you sign the contract," I pointed out, pushing the worries about my brothers to the side. I was an hour away from starting another chapter of my life.
"You certainly know how to persuade me." She grinned, handing me the files Andreas had left behind.
"I expect you to bring me the agreement in the next few days." I winked at her, and she gave me a small smile and nodded. I knew, eventually, she would flinch because she was well aware that I wasn’t one for giving up. Sooner or later, she would put her signature on that piece of paper.
"Good luck today, Bastian." She wrapped her arms around my neck, hugging me tightly. "I believe everything will go as you planned."
"Thank you." I kissed her cheek, my mind already at Thorn Enterprises. I was saying goodbye not only to my closest friend but also to my old life, too. I had a feeling that the new journey I'd chosen for myself would be an unforgettable ride.
3
Meeting the new boss
