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“How is the wife search going?” I ask.
Iris grins as she sets up Declan’s breakfast in front of him. Despite my brother’s best efforts to remain professional, his eyes slide from me to Iris’s skirt.
Iris doesn’t even notice. “I can tell you that I’ve been on more dates with women in the last month than your brother has been on for the entirety of me working for him.”
Declan’s eyes remain focused on his secretary as she places his plastic-wrapped utensils in front of him.And here I was feeling bad about kissing Zahra.
I cough, and Declan snaps out of whatever trance he was caught up in. “Iris is pre-vetting the women before I meet with them.”
“And people say romance is dead.”
“What do you expect me to do? Fall in love the old-fashioned way?” Declan sneers.
The idea is laughable. After everything we’ve been through with our father after our mother’s death, none of us have any intention of falling in love. Because if we have learned anything, it’s that the useless emotion makes people weak and powerless. It clouds judgment and has the opportunity to ruin everything.
My father in love was the best kind of man. But my father nursing a broken heart? Disgusting. Pathetic. So lost in his misery that he ruined his own children because he couldn’t stand seeing them happier than him.
No thanks. I’ll take my chances staying married to my job. The divorce rate is far more forgiving.
Iris drops into the chair next to me. “Mr. Kane doesn’t have time to waste, so I’m the next best thing.”
“You do know him best after all these years.” I shrug.
Declan grabs the paper bag from the middle of the desk and removes Iris’s takeout box. He places it in front of her.
Out of all the weird things I’ve seen today, that has to be the strangest thing yet.
“So cut the shit and tell me what’s really going on at Dreamland,” Declan snaps.
I turn my focus from Iris back to my brother, finding his shoulders tense beneath his suit. What about Dreamland unsettles him this much?
Probably the same thing as you.
I go off, sharing my actual report from last week, minus my growing attraction toward my employee.
16
Rowan
My phone vibrates at the corner of my desk. I grab it and open the message without checking who it’s from. There’s only one person who messages me during working hours and it’s sure as hell not my brothers.
I’m surprised Zahra’s able to get her work done with so many interruptions. I’d question her work ethic but based on some of the timestamps of her messages, she’s up past the time when I go to bed.
Zahra:Mayday!!!
Zahra:I have another meeting this Friday and my sketches look like something from a kindergarten showcase.
Me:Give the kindergarteners a little more credit. Their drawings aren’t that bad.
I lean back in my chair and wait, fighting a smug smile.
Zahra: Remember when you said you’ve never been called funny in your life?
Me: Yes.
Zahra:Turns out everyone is right. You’re awful.
Me:Is this how you proposition those you want favors from?
