Nate would never embarrass either of them like that. So he’d opted to keep quiet, try and forget, and pretend like the whole ordeal hadn’t happened.
It was going really well for him so far.
Not.
“Fine, a favor then. He won’t get you the job outright, I would never allow that. But he can get you a foot in the door, so to speak. The rest will still depend on you,” Nuri said.
“I don’t want to be in debt to anyone,” he stood firm, grateful for the distraction from his thoughts, even if it was a mild argument. “Besides, you were against this initially as well. What happened to believing I could do this on my own?” That wasn’t fair, and he knew it, knew he was being a brat, but sometimes, when he spoke to his older brother, it just came out in him.
When the three of them had separated, it’d been Nate as the second oldest who’d had to take the reins and help raise their sister. They’d been on a foreign planet for the first time, not knowing a single person, and Nate had felt just as lost and confused as she had, yet he’d had to step up. He’d never regretted it, had always acknowledged that Nuri had been forced to do the same after the sudden death of their parents, but taking on that role at such a young age had definitely had an effect on him and his overall personality.
It wasn’t so much that Nate had an overabundance of pride. No, what he had was guilt. If Nuri could do so much on his own, surely Nate could as well. That was the mantra he’d told himself all throughout his teen years, and even now that they were all technically adults, it still stuck with him.
Nate refused to be a burden on anyone, especially his brother. Nuri thought Nate was clueless when it came to hisrelationship with the Emperor of Ignite, but he wasn’t. It was a little bit fucked up, with abuses of authority and power all throughout. But Nuri also saw it for what it was and still chose to remain in the relationship, so who was Nate to tell him to end things?
If his brother was happy, that was all that mattered, and he wasn’t about to judge someone for the things they were into.
But that didn’t mean he’d also aid in exasperating the situation.
If he took Emperor Silver Rien up on his offer to get him an interview at a new job, there was absolutely no doubt in Nate’s mind that something would be required of Nuri in return. Be it some weird twisted sex thing or something as simple as working even more overtime, Nate didn’t want to be a part of it. His brother had done enough for him already.
“Of course I still believe that,” Nuri reassured. “There’s nothing wrong with accepting—”
“Gotta go,” Nate really didn’t want to have this conversation again. “At a work thing.”
Nuri sighed. “All right. Call me later?”
“Sure.” He wouldn’t. He’d make an excuse the next time that he’d forgotten or gotten too busy when they both knew the reality was, he was avoiding things.
Avoiding the fact that their sister’s newfound happiness meant there was less of a need for him hovering about.
And less of a reason for him to call to update Nuri.
Avoiding that he actually didn’t like living alone half as much as he’d teased them both he was going to when Neve had sat them down and explained she was planning on moving in with her boyfriend.
Avoid.
Avoid.
Avoid.
Except for his responsibilities. Those he couldn’t afford to overlook or sweep under the rug. That was most likely why, even though Nuri knew exactly what he was doing, his brother didn’t press the issue and instead made a humming sound in the back of his throat and said goodbye as though everything was fine.
In a sense, everything was.
And yet…
Nate shoved the earbud back into the device and then swung open the bathroom door, squaring his shoulders on his way down the narrow hall back toward his current hell.
Dinner.
“What took you?” Port, one of the few coworkers Nate didn’t find annoying for one reason or another, asked as soon as Nate slid back down onto the end of the packed booth their boss had chosen for this outing.
That was another thing. Sier always squeezed them into the tightest of spaces whenever she insisted on taking them out for a company meal. He’d yet to decide if it was because she wanted to save money on having to pay for a second table, or if she secretly got off on being squished.
“My brother called,” Nate said as he took a sip of the beer he’d left half-finished before he’d gone to the bathroom. It was lukewarm and tasted like it belonged in the urinal he’d just used, but whatever.
“You have a brother?” Mit Parker, who was slightly drunk by this point, called from the other side of the table, lifting his glass when Nate glanced over at him. “Is he half as good-looking as you are? I’d like to meet him.”
