Oran
“Carlyle . . . ” Holding my phone to my ear, I shouldered my jacket as I strolled down the sidewalk, and my brother was infuriatingly quiet on the other end. “Carlyle, did you hear anything I just said?”
“Yes. I’m just distracted. You can tell her if you want, Oran. You don’t need permission from me.” Carlyle hung up on me, and I frowned as I glared at my phone for a long second. Guilt clawed at the back of my throat, and my cheek twitched when I looked up at the place I was supposed to meet May smack between our offices. She deserved to know, to make a decision on her own, and I slid my phone into my jacket pocket quietly.
I hadn’t had time to reply to her texts, but I did get them. Something happened at her office, but I didn’t know if it was good or bad. Either way, I couldn’t just put it off anymore.
“Oran! Hey!” She came jogging to me after zooming around the corner, and I couldn’t help my strained smile at her pink face and puffs of breath. Swiping back her hair, she smoothed her shirt and adjusted her purse on her shoulder, and surprise swept through me when she grabbed my arm. “You’llneverguess what happened to me earlier. Right after I got in, I got called down to HR, and I blew up on Jackie, but that’s not the great thing. Mark and the supervisors had a meeting this morning about a potentially company-saving contract we won, and they wantmeto lead a team on it!”
The first thing to hit me was confusion, and I barked a humorless laugh as May practically dragged me into the little Korean place. This hole in a wall was pretty packed, but we were seated almost immediately since it was just the two of us. Sliding into the chair across from me, May practically beamed, her smile bright and happy and excited, and I arched my brows suggestively.
“And? What did you say?” She wiggled her shoulders and set her purse on the table, and I propped my elbow to hold my chin on my fist.
“I politely told them to fuck off.” Snorting a laugh at howproudMay sounded, I watched her gingerly reposition herself to place both her hands flat on the table. “No, I did. I told them that if they could findoneperson that could stand taking orders from me, I’d do it. They won’t, of course. I know they won’t be able to. They ended up giving the project to Jerry’s team anyway, probably because I’m on it. But Jerry already gave me the whole spiel about how I wasn’t allowed to do anything at all so I don’t ruin it. So, oh well, not my problem. Maybe they should’ve nipped this hostility in the bud, and I wouldn’t have laughed in their faces when they asked me.”
“I’m glad you were able to give them a piece of your mind, May. Do you want to come over tonight to celebrate?” May started to nod before pursing her lips, and my eyebrows lowered as she puffed out her lips.
“I have to go to the hotel and be with Sarah for a couple hours. I promised her we’d spend some time together and look for some volunteering or something she can do.” Physically deflating at her own confession, May frowned fully as she tried not to slouch back in her chair. A tickle of pride wormed through my chest, but now was definitely not the time to gloat. “I can’t take her to South Carolina, and I don’t know how to tell her. There’s just no way I can go.”
“You shouldn’t sacrifice your relationship with your sister for a man.” Relief slumped her shoulders, and May nodded firmly as I tilted my head. “So, I was wondering, May, would it surprise you at all that I do business with some . . . unsavory . . . characters?”
“Uh, not particularly. Why?” Indecision warred in my chest. Did I want to bring down her mood right now?I’ll tell her another time.
“I ask because if you’re going to be heading your own company, we’re gonna have to talk about the kids of people who would buy this kind of thing. Inevitably, boats attract the bad kind of people.” Of course, I did want to have this conversation with May because it was true, customers were still customers. She arched a brow quizzically, and I lowered my arm to drum my fingers on the tabletop. “Especially with shallow, coastal vessels. The Coast Guard does not regulate them if they never leave our waters. If, say, someone commissions you for a ship, and uses it to transport drugs or something . . . ”
Trailing off, my eyes narrowed on her expression as a crease rumpled between her slender eyebrows, and May puffed out her lips slightly in thought. The waitress arrived beside us, giving her some time to think on it, but I had been here enough to know what I wanted. Scanning the menu, May eventually ordered the same thing, and the waitress bounced off with the promise to bring us our drinks curtly.
“Okay, but what does that have to do with me? Whatever they do with the boats, it’s not my problem. I just design and build them. Anything they do after they leave the dry-dock is not my responsibility.” Nodding firmly, satisfied, I sat back to stare at May, and her face gradually tinted red, the same red as her hair. “What?”
“I know things aren’t smooth right now, but I want you to know, May, I really enjoy my time with you.” She blushed ferociously, and I reached across the table to hold her hand, rubbing the top of her palm with my thumb. Averting her eyes, May tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, and a smile crested my cheeks. “I’d like to take you out sometime, whenever you’re available.”
“I’d like that, Oran.” My smile widened, and May turned her palm to tangle our fingers together sweetly. Her sparkling, green eyes met mine, and for just a second, everything else disappeared from my field of comprehension. “I’d like that a lot.”
“Good.” I wanted to grab her face and kiss her. I wanted to take her to some expensive island resort and show her the time of her life. She smiled with a little giggle before I cleared my throat. “So, about—"
“Oran!” Cutting me off, the feminine voice wasn’t May’s. I glanced up as she twisted. Natasha strode over to our table, all smiles, but kept a good few feet between us even as she wiggled her fingers in a wave. “Hi . . . hey. What’s up? I didn’t expect to see you here.”
“Natasha, you look a lot better than the last time I saw you. How’s the meds?” She waved a ‘so-so’ gesture, and I pointed at May as a guy I didn’t recognize came up behind Natasha. “This is May. May, this is Natasha, my brother’s girlfriend’s sister.”
“It’s nice to meet you.” May popped up from her seat, and anxiety gripped my insides until they sort of awkwardly hugged lightly. “I’ve heard a little about you.”
“Well, Oran and I don’t really know each other at all, so I haven’t heard anything aboutyou.” The caution of their first meeting tainted the air, and Natasha nodded almost to herself as May pulled an amused expression. “Do you mind if we sit with you? I read some great reviews online about this place. We’re slowly but surely making our way through every restaurant we can.”
“Um, sure?” Looking to me, determination set May’s face as I tilted my head, and Natasha sat on the other side of her. Pushing myself out of my seat, I held out my hand for her husband, or who I assumed was her husband, because we hadn’t been introduced.
“I’m Oran, Carlyle’s brother.”
“Erik.” The guy was intimidating. Even just shaking his hand made me very aware never to get into a fight with him. I gestured to the seat next to me. The waitress came back around, two glasses in hand, but she didn’t miss a beat before taking more drink orders. “Did you order already?”
“Yeah, the best thing on the menu is the Korean beef sticks. I’d suggest starting with that since it’s your first time here.” It was the strangest thing, knowing Natasha but notknowingher, and I turned to her as she shuffled her chair a little ways away from the table. Her elbow hung off the edge, and I bit back a grimace before opening my mouth. “So, I take it you’re doing a little better? It’s been a few weeks.”
“Yeah. I mean, it’s been almost five months since my heart attack, and I haven’t had another one, so I take that as doing better.” She talked about it like it was no big deal, and May went a little wide-eyed as her gaze snapped to Natasha. “What about you? How have you been since New York?”
“I’m finding my way. Congratulations on getting married, by the way. How was it?” Natasha shrugged half-heartedly, and Erik drew my attention when he chuckled fondly across from her.
“It was a drive-thru place in Vegas. Faster service than McDonalds.” May sat quietly, looking as uncomfortable as I felt, and I nodded as Erik turned to me with narrowed eyes. “I’m glad you’re not an asshole like your brother.”
The frostiness disappeared at that, and I couldn’t help but laugh as May giggled with a furious shake of her head. The atmosphere around our table became a little more relaxed, and I grabbed my lemon water without really replying.
“Carlyle . . . Carlyle’s an acquired taste, for sure. May just met him for a minute and a half the other day, and he already owes her an apology.” The admission turned the attention on her, and May frowned even as her face scrunched in irritation. She launched right into reiteration, in painful detail, how Carlyle ‘almost kidnapped’ her, and I sat back to watch her talk animatedly.
I’ll tell her another time. There’s no reason to ruin this.
