“Killing!” Bowie spluttered, choking as he coughed, red cheeks and alarm-stretched eyes made Kari struggle to hold back his amusement.
“Not literally,” he chuckled. “I meant that if you sold them, you’d make a fortune.” He picked up the brownie and nibbled on the corner, holding Bowie’s gaze as he groaned at the taste delight hitting his tastebuds. “You’ve added something else?”
“Frangipani.” Bowie worried his lower lip between his teeth once more, then rushed to ask, “Is it okay?”
With a bigger mouthful and another groan, Kari nodded, letting his eyelids flutter closed as he had a moment with the brownie.
“Ingenious,” he said finally, after he swallowed and looked at Bowie.
Bowie’s slow smile made dimples appear on either side of his full, pouty lips, and the cuteness factor Kari associated with Bowie notched up.
No, it isn’t!
Forcing him to focus on the brownie and not the man hovering and looking for approval, he reminded himself Bowie was off limits. Something he hadn’t had to do in the past because Kari was not Taylin and suffering from unrequited love.
A welcome knock on the door got Kari breathing a little easier as he called out, then wished he hadn’t when Kodi stomped in wearing a scowl that would frighten small children.
Kodi paused when he noticed Bowie, then rolled his eyes as Bowie hopped from foot to foot, something else he did when nervous.
“What’s this?” Kodi reached out and snatched the plate out of Kari’s hand before he could consider his twin’s actions.
“My brownie, now give it back,” Kari demanded, eyes narrowing on his brother, who wasn’t a fan of sweet stuff the way Kari was.
He lifted the plate to his nose as Bowie’s gaze moved between the two of them, his hands twisting together.
“Sucking up to the boss, Bowie?”
Bowie paled and gulped so hard his Adam’s apple bobbed right before he bowed his head, hiding his expression.
Kari rose, his temper fizzing to life at Kodi’s flippant comment and Bowie’s obvious distress. He shoved his balled fists into his slacks to hide the show of temper and resist thumping his brother.
“If you paid attention, you’d know that the PAs take it in turns to bake for each other. And for those of us fortunate enough to have a PA with a generous heart, they bring their overworked boss a slice of brownie when they haven’t eaten since breakfast. This is not something to criticize.” He fired darts of disapproval at his brother. “Now, what is it you need? Bowie and I have a long list of advertisement boards to review before their five pm deadline.”
Kodi looked skyward. Criticism was like water off a duck's back to him; it rolled right off. “We all have a fuck ton to get done. And I’ll point out, Lennon never brings me cake.”
Kari witnessed Bowie wince. “If you stopped flying off the handle all the time, then maybe he would.” Kari doubted Lennon would, Kodi really was a handful. “And if you haven’t forgotten, you aren’t a cake fan. Now what is it you need?”
He held his brother's gaze, issuing a warning look to get him to behave. It was hit and miss, but Kari tried.
The plate got shoved back at him. “Keep your damn hair on, I was just messing with ya.”
It was bullshit, only Kari wasn’t going to call it with Bowie in the room. “Great, if you’ve finished—”
“No need to get snotty. I need the spreadsheet from the last big advertisement campaign we did for the shopping centres. I need to see how effective it was. The outlay doesn’t appear to have seen a shift in sales trends.”
Kari was nodding as he retook his seat. He placed the plate out of the way of his keyboard, shaking the mouse to wake the screen. Several clicks later and he had attached the spreadsheets to an email. “I’ve sent you all the ad campaign figures for the last three years for comparative purposes. Dad might have more information—”
“He’s already sent me what feels like ten thousand emails with high importance attached to all of them.” Kodi sighed heavily, rubbing at the spot between his eyebrows with his thumb.
“Same. You could ask Lennon to help categorize them for you. Bowie has been working with me.”
Kodi muttered something under his breath that Kari didn’t quite catch. “Nah, it’s fine, I’ll manage,” he finally said, a little louder. With that he stalked out, leaving the door open.
Kari didn’t sigh. It was pointless when he knew Kodi wouldn’t have noticed he’d left it open.
“Shall I close the door?” Bowie asked timidly.
“Please.” He eyed the plate sitting on his desk, the pleasure somehow dimmed by his brother's behavior. He shook off the notion and reached for the brownie when Bowie returned.
