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“Even with your savings?”
“Yes…” I bow my head, ashamed. Mom and Dad spent their entire lives making sure Brandon and I were taken care of with financial security, setting up two savings accounts when we were born that I got access to when I started college. I paid my tuition fees with it, and got my first car with their help, but after Italy, the account has been empty.
Everything my parents worked so hard for is gone.
Brandon’s scrutiny is too much to bear. He knows me too well; he knows something is wrong. I’m just lucky that we’re in a fight; otherwise, I’m certain he’d have already brought it up.
“Well, that’s okay. They got you through college — and much further, too.” Much to my surprise, Mom plants a kiss on my forehead, holding me close. I nestle into her chest, closing my eyes as her vanilla perfume wraps around me like a safety blanket. I’ve missed this. Having nobody to turn to when everything went wrong was the loneliest experience of my life, and maybe part of me hadn’t crawled out of that shell yet.
But I can breathe just for a minute with her hair tickling my face and my tears spilling onto her blouse.
“Have I mentioned how proud I am of you?”
I don’t deserve her kind words, but I soak them in anyway. “Thanks, Mom. I’m sorry I’m a bit of a mess right now. I promise I’m going to get a job and start contributing again soon.”
“Please. I’m just happy to have you home.”
“We all are,” Brandon adds. “Are you sure that there’s nothing else bothering you, Mads? I mean… aside from what happened today? I know you’re mad at me, but I’m still your big brother. You can talk to us. Always. We want to help you.”
It’s hard to be mad at him at all when he’s so willing to sweep the argument away to take care of me. That’s how I know I can’t tell them the truth. They’d worry too much, and they shouldn’t have to.
“There’s nothing else.” The lie tastes bitter in my mouth, but they believe it all the same.
CHAPTER5
Roman
o o o
“Working through lunch again? You need a life, bud.”
I snap my eyes from my laptop screen to find Brandon standing in the doorway of my office. The sight of him makes me shift uncomfortably in my chair, though he looks cheery as ever. Madison clearly never told him about the kiss last weekend and, hopefully, she never will.
Still, the guilt is like sinking sand, and every time I cross paths with him — a common occurrence, being as we work in the same building — I fall a little deeper. I must be in up to my waist by now.
“You don’t get rich by having a life.” I shut my laptop to give him my full attention.
He’s holding two bags: lunch. He comes to make sure I’m eating at least twice a week, usually with sushi from the Japanese restaurant around the corner, but today, the smell of toasted pine nuts and basil floats out of the containers. Pesto chicken salad, I’d bet.
Plonking down in front of me, Brandon smirks. “What’s the point in having money if you’re boring as hell?”
Rolling my eyes, I take the bag he offers and dig in to find I’m right. Roasted chicken coated in pesto on a bed of lettuce, tomato, avocado, and spinach greets me, and my stomach rumbles hello right back. “I’ve been called a lot of things in my life. ‘Boring’ isn’t one of them.”
“But I’d bet ‘asshat’ is.” He tucks into his own food, a steak sandwich dripping with caramelized onions, probably the least healthy thing on the menu. “How’s Leo?”
I slow my chewing, rolling a tomato around my bowl as I consider my response. Brandon’s the only person outside of my family who knows about my son. I prefer to keep my personal life private. Being a billionaire comes with attention, something I learned from an early age thanks to my dad’s own wealth. I don’t want Leo to live the life I did: I don’t want him to be treated as an accessory at flashy events, nor do I want my rocky past with his mother to be uncovered.
“He’s good, but I’m still having trouble finding a full-time nanny. My Mom loves watching him, but I can’t keep asking her to put her own life on pause for me.”
“Well, it’s funny you should mention it.” Brandon’s eyes brighten.
“You brought it up…” I lift my brows, leaning back in my seat.
He bats that information away quickly. “I happen to have a perfect fit for you and Leo.”
“You do?” It’s music to my ears.
Leo is well-behaved for the most part, but he seems to be going through a tricky spot at the minute. My long work hours might have something to do with it, which is why I need to have someone constant in his life. Someone who won’t be in and out of the house at all hours. My last nanny was run into the ground by Leo’s energy and sensitivity after only a few months, and it’s starting to get difficult. I can’t afford to put the company on hold now; we’re too close to a new multi-million deal with a pharmaceutical company, and I need to put in the work to make it happen, as well as prove to investors that we’re the right place to put their money.
