“My brother is…” He sighed. “My brother.”
And my stepsisterwas my stepsister, that was to say she was a manipulative, spoiled sociopath who only existed to make the lives of everyone around her miserable.
She was at the Sparrow and Thyme when Beck and I returned. She was sipping a latte and talking to Beck’s little sisters.
Oh hell no.
I marched over to them, Beck trailing me in confusion.
“You need to leave,” I told her, furious.
Shannyn looked down her nose at me.
“I have as much right to be here as you do. Besides—” She smiled down at the girls. “These two entrepreneurs were telling me all about that app that they’re making.”
“We wanted Holly’s opinion since she runs a restaurant,” Enola said excitedly.
“It’s a nice app,” Holly said, scrolling through her phone.
“And is this your nice-looking older brother?” my stepsister asked Enola, all but licking her lips as her eyes slowly crawled down Beck’s body.
“Beck, don’t forget you have a meeting,” I said more sharply than I had intended.
“Right,” he said. “I need my tea.”
“I’ll bring it up.”
“Possessive much?” my stepsister said when he’d left and the girls were back to grilling Holly about her opinions on the app. “It’s pathetic, really. You and I both know he doesn’t want Humpty-Dumpty’s ex-girlfriend. He’s just using you for sex.”
“And it’s amazing,” I replied.
She glared at me. “You don’t deserve him.”
“And you do?” I scoffed. “Your little bestie Cressida is next in line, and I can’t wait to see the fallout when you two go toe-to-toe over him.”
“Ha!” Shannyn tossed her hair. “As if Cressida’s any real competition. I don’t even like her. We just went to summer camp together. She’s some dumb HR director. I have a job at a high-end gallery, dealing with other rich men just like Beck. Trust me, he’s going to get tired of you. Because everyone gets tired of you.”
I clenched my phone so hard I was afraid I was going to crack the screen. “Beck cares about me,” I insisted.
But even as I said it, I wondered, was that really true, or was that what I wanted to believe?
Shannyn gave me a mean smile. “You’ll see,” she said. “You’re a loser, and you’ll always be a loser. You might as well just pack your bags and quit now.”
Beck was in his office on the phone when I went back upstairs.
Holly had packed me an emergency container of mac ‘n’ cheese. I set it on my desk. I didn’t dare put it in the fridge since apparently Cressida was out there throwing all my food away.
I chanced a glance over my shoulder.
Beck caught my eye and smiled at me.
Maybe he did like me after all?
I couldn’t talk to him because he was on calls all afternoon and into the evening.
Between the stress eating, watching the girls, and my usual assistant tasks, I was behind on the presentation for AstraDrone. We needed to send over the submission soon. Along with my super-special surprise that I was still working with Holly to develop, I was also making a full-on book about blockchain and how the company could help Mark’s business. It was some of my best work.
I looked up when the door to Beck’s office opened. It was dark outside. Walker had taken the girls back to the condo so Beck and I could finish working. No one else was around.
