“Before they get back, let’s talk shop.How’s the expansion going?Did you decide on the new location?Have you started hiring?”he asks as he pops the lid off a new bottle of booze.
I blink at his unexpected interest.Usually he avoids business talk unless he has something to brag about, then he steals the spotlight without much discussion on my life.
Maybe running into Penelope was the catalyst I needed to see how one-sided my relationship with her brother has become.
If a few targeted questions from him are enough to shock me, then what was I holding on for?Why did I meet with him every month?
Clarity slams into me like a freight train.
Penelope.
I met with him in hopes of catching a glimpse into her life.
I shrug the uncomfortable realization aside and answer him while giving away the least bit of information.
“Renovations on the new location are underway, but we’re still looking for a few key personnel.Speaking of, I heard your sister graduated from Columbia University.”
“What?No way, man.The scrawny runt went to some community college where she could do all of her classes online.”
“Your parents were okay with that?Her grades were—”
“Amazing, yeah, I know.A true pariah, that one.Apparently she went all goth and got a shit ton of piercings and was too embarrassed to show her face in public anymore.”
His description of Penelope lifts my hackles.Sure, she has a lot of piercings, but the jewelry and placement accentuate her natural, delicate beauty to perfection, and her wardrobe fit the casual weekend vibe.There was nothing goth about her jeans and T-shirt.
“Are you sure she didn’t go to Columbia?”I ask.
He scoffs.
“Like we wouldn’t have noticed her little midget body walking around campus?”
Exactly my thoughts, though I don’t like his choice of words.At all.
“When’s the last time you saw her?”I ask.
He shrugs and pours himself a glass.
“You’re not worried about her?”I ask.
He rolls his eyes.
“My parents see her all the time.They say she’s fine, so what’s there to worry about?”
Frustration and disgust war within me.
“What’s with the sudden interest anyway?”he asks.
“I need to hire a computer programmer,” I say.
His expression softens, and he leans back.
“Ah.Yeah, she was always a computer nerd.Not sure she’s what you’re looking for, though.According to my parents, she’s happy with her work—and making enough money to spoil them with gifts all the time.Every time I go home it’s ‘look what Penelope got us’ and ‘Penelope is so thoughtful’ and ‘our daughter is so sweet’ and never—”
A squeal splits through my eardrums.
“Oh my god, it’s Sebastian!”
I cap my drink and brace as Cathy launches herself across the space toward me.Even though I refuse to stand and offer her a hug, she drops onto the couch beside me and wraps her talons around my arm.I lean away from her and pat the back of her hand, but she wiggles closer and plants a kiss on my cheek.
