The Love of a Stepbrother

Chapter 9

Nobody knocked. Nobody would dare to knock, given that the door was closed – and it only ever was closed when there was an important meeting taking place.

After Simone hurried to rearrange herself, and made sure she looked presentable in the mirror of the en-suite bathroom, she stepped out of the office… Naturally, not before cursing herself for forgetting all about Laura, the leggy blonde who had fun giving her the stink eye just a couple of days ago.

Who was she to him? William had said she was irrelevant, and yet he had brought her to the function… Surely, there had to be some sort of connection between them two, at least physical, if nothing else.

Simone couldn’t help but wonder if they had gone back together, and if he had touched Laura the same way he just touched her – with pure unbridled passion. She didn’t want to think about it, but it was harder said than done to stop her rampant imagination.

She soon felt bile rising in her throat, but inhaled deeply before facing the man who had come, and who had been waiting on one of the chairs.

He was from the finance department. He always wore a deep scowl on his face, and he didn’t even breathe so much as a word to her in greetings, save for telling her succinctly that he had an appointment with the CEO.

Simone nodded curtly at him, refusing to be courteous since respect went both ways in her book. She then went to tell William, almost mechanically about him, and he told her to let him in, a little bit of a smirk touching his lips.

Jerk, she mentally cursed him for making her become so flustered, over no more than a kiss.

Soon, Simone was back at her desk, where she belonged. She contemplated writing a resignation letter, and be done with this whole mess, but she couldn’t. Her dignity wouldn’t allow her. Her finances would suffer greatly too.

It had been only 3 months at this job. And yet, during these 3 months, she had grown so much as an individual, and learnt how to be optimal during work hours. Indeed, as opposed to freelancing, which enabled her to be free to choose her hours, this was a full-time job with great responsibilities… And last and not least, she had the chance to see William at work, to be witness to his ruthless side which he had never shown her. The resolute way he handled pretty much everything, with a precision that came from years of expertise, added to his appeal…

Simone was falling for him, and she knew it. She had grown to appreciate their time together at work, his scarce smiles which seemed reserved for her, and only her, and the tender look in his eyes which made her insides churn deliciously. Naturally, his good looks only added to her turmoil, and she found herself wishing they weren’t related at all, wishing they had met under different, more favorable circumstances.

He didn’t fit the image she had for her Mr right. Nevertheless, he still managed to make her heart flutter on a daily basis.

Simone heaved a sigh, and chased away any thoughts of resigning from her mind. She wasn’t a quitter after all. She only needed to put some boundaries in place, and then everything would be fine again.

She soon busied herself with the documents that needed her attention. She needed to make a report out of a few others, mostly from the marketing department. She knew exactly what to focus on, the numbers that needed to be put, and the long sentences that meant nothing really but utter failure – her training under the one and only Mr Stone had made her an outstanding PA.

The new product had been on the market for a little over 4 months. Sadly, it had yet to generate the profit one could hope for, and it was mostly the marketing department’s fault. They had failed the launch. And then, the strategies that were put in place afterwards didn’t bring satisfactory results.

Simone could feel that the afternoon meeting with the head of the marketing department wouldn’t be a pleasant one… to him at least. William always had nerves of steel. Even when his anger was palpable, he still managed to keep his composure.

The only time she had seen him lose his cool was when he lost his father.

** ** **

Soon, it was nearly time to go home. William called for Simone, and she had to mentally remind herself not to drag her feet. No matter what happened between them, he was still her stepbrother. She knew he cared about her, maybe not the way she cared about him, but still cared about her all the same.

“Yes, William?” She soon stood in front of his desk, ready to do his bidding, even as she feared she might need to stay overtime.

“We have a business dinner at 7:30 pm,” he declared matter-of-factly. “Get ready to leave.”

“What?” She couldn’t help but frown ever so slightly. “I don’t have this on schedule.”

“Well, now you do,” he told her with a cheeky smirk, which she couldn’t help but find infuriating given the circumstances, and sexy at the same time.

“Where to?” She asked. “And with whom? What documents do I need to bring along?”

“Don’t worry. I have everything I need on my laptop,” he assured her, nodding at her as he said so.

“Okay. Sure,” Simone knew not to argue with him.

“We leave in 10 mn,” he then told her in a dismissive manner, and that was her clue to leave his office, so she could tidy up her desk.

Simone didn’t know then what awaited her. She had absolutely no clue that this evening’s business dinner was meant to be the turning point of her life. The butterfly effect was real, and she was bound to learn that the hard way… only it wasn’t so hard when she stood next to the man she loved, or so she kept telling herself.