I spun around and noticed his clenched fists. The guy was ready to fight me. Over Maryellen. My girlfriend.
I laughed. Out loud.
That didn’t go over well.
The veins in his neck seemed as if they were about to explode as he stared me down.
“You are pushing me, Brother,” he said.
There were distant voices from an office down the hall, and we both turned our heads in that direction.
“In my office, now,” Gage ordered. He stormed away, fully expecting me to obey him.
The thing was, this was for Maryellen. The thought of her having to come back to him, and deal with him on her own, made me angrily follow. Once inside his office, I slammed the door before turning to face my big brother.
“Mind explaining yourself, Chase?”
My mind needed time to think. I needed to stall him. I obviously wanted to blurt out the truth, but that went against everything I knew I should be doing for her.
“What makes you think I have to explain myself to you? You’re not my father, or have you forgotten that?”
With his hands on his hips, glaring at me, he looked just like Dad. Standing there, ready to bark out orders for the day.
“I’m neither stupid nor blind. I’ll tell you what it looks like. It looks like you’ve fucked my assistant, and now you’re breaking her heart. How close am I?”
“Fuck you!” My heart pounded in my chest as I tried to restrain myself. Every muscle tensed as I forced my feet not to move, not to launch myself at him. “Don’t you fucking talk about her like that!”
His face morphed, the slightest bit, at my words. A light bulb.
“Chase.”
The tiny voice came from behind. I hadn’t heard her open the door with all the yelling. Seeing her slumped shoulders and downturned eyes created a lump in my throat, making it hard to breathe.
“Mare,” I said.
“Maryellen,” Gage said at the same time.
My instinct was to go to her, to take her hand, to support her in some way. I couldn’t tell by how she looked if she was ready for that.
She took a few tentative steps forward, her gaze bouncing back and forth between Gage and me. Her feet finally took her to my side. Unsure of how we were going to proceed, I waited.
Maryellen needed to take the lead.
“Maryellen,” Gage said again.
That pissed me off.
“Hey, man,” I said. “Would you give her a sec?”
Once I said that, I felt her fingers thread through mine. My eyes drifted to our connected hands as my heart raced in my chest. The squeeze she proceeded to give me as we stood next to each other was further reassurance this was truly happening.
My brother was just as stunned, with his mouth slightly ajar. I’ll give him credit for how well he handled himself. He stood quietly, allowing his longtime assistant, and friend, the time she needed.
“Gage.” Maryellen’s voice was low but strong. “I want to start off with an apology.”
Stunned by her words, I turned to look at her. Her hand went to my chest in an attempt to calm me.
“Let me finish,” she said to me before continuing. “We have been keeping our relationship from you, and for that I’m sorry.”
