STEPBROTHERS (3 Book Stepbrother Romance Collection) (24 page)

My fingers trembled slightly when they connected with the building’s glass door. I pushed a button to let myself in. Though it was only eight in the morning, a crowd was already forming, queuing for the lifts, as I stepped inside. Shiny leather shoes padded against the polished floor; heels clicked softly as I looked around. Feeling self-conscious, I unbuttoned my coat to reveal a black pencil skirt, a white blouse and a mixed cotton cardy. I couldn’t help but think I was underdressed, surrounded by men in pristine three-piece suits and ladies in dresses I would only think of wearing to an event like a wedding or a ladies’ day at the races.

I was here now, I thought. There’s no going back. They’d have to take me as I was, even if I was dressed simply, the ugly sister at the ball. Instead I concentrated on the day ahead, wondering how Harvey would react at work. Would he treat me differently? Dismiss me as just another one of his minions, or would he continue to nurture our relationship, which I considered almost bizarre. He was becoming my best friend, which puzzled me to no end. The mere thought of working by his side, taking orders and doing what he wanted, sent an odd yet electrifying sensation down my spine. The idea of being at his beck and call made my stomach flutter. I had an interesting day ahead, that was for sure.

I pondered whether Harvey was feeling the same at the prospect of ordering me around, having me within his inner sanctum. Or would it just be another ordinary day for him? Surely not… I wanted to believe the small connection we’d made over the last few weeks, months even, was real. That I wasn’t just his annoying, ugly, helpless, damsel-in-distress stepsister, that maybe he saw me as something more…

I shook my head. The thought was ludicrous. I didn’t even want to form the words in my head, let alone let them develop and grow. There was absolutely no way Harvey could or would feel more about me in that way.
You’ve lost your tiny mind!
Especially when his actions had always made it very clear that he desired and would only settle for the perfect woman. Skinny, flawless, and downright gorgeous. Someone who was the total opposite of me. I was the imperfect Sara Chambers.

Why am I even thinking about this anyway? He’s my stepbrother.
Playing in a loop, though, chanting in the background, was a little voice I barely paid attention to.
Not anymore, he’s not…

A
strong gust
of air conditioning hit my face as I entered the office. It was nearly as bad as the frigid gale outside! I shivered against the cold and pulled my cardigan tighter around my plump body as I dithered after getting out of the lift. Workers behind me bumped into me; I mumbled apologies and quickly hopped to the side as I took in the long row of desks and computers. The inner office walls were a soothing, inoffensive cream while the carpet was a rich shade of burgundy. Apprehensively I made my way over to the reception area and tried to ignore the curious looks I was receiving from the passing employees.

A familiar face came around a corner, startling me, and I stumbled upon my short heels. I stuck a hand out against a nearby desk and balanced myself, cursing under my breath for perpetuating the crappy opinion Sadie must already have of me. God, I could only imagine how many of my unredeeming qualities Harvey might have shared with her during their time together.

“Hi,” I said, sounding a little out of breath.

Standing close to Harvey’s girlfriend, in her shadow, I righted myself and sent a quick, almost apologetic smile at the blonde-haired vision, yanking anxiously at the hem of my cardi.

“Hi,” Sadie answered, though her voice betrayed confusion. She was staring at me as if I’d suddenly grown a pair of horns. “What are you doing here? Are you here to see Harvey?”

“You could say that,” I said with a smile.

“He’s in a meeting at the moment,” she replied, “but maybe I could help?”

“Um, I’m here for the job,” I said.

Sadie frowned. “Here? What job? We aren’t hiring at this point.”

My lips parted and my mouth fell into a small O. Hadn’t Harvey said for me to come on Monday morning and he would settle me in? Did I get something mixed up? But I shook my head. No, I was definitely in the right place and at the right time. I’d made sure to write down the building’s address as well as the date and time he wanted me to start.

“He’s offered me a job as his secretary. He said for me to come on Monday, so here I am.”

“What did you say?” Sadie asked, her voice a little aghast. Her eyes blazed. She was pissed. “He’s looking for someone to replace
me?
”

Oh, shit.

“I…” I trailed, “I don’t know what to say. Maybe there’s a misunderstanding?” I said with a vague hint of optimism. Sadie did not seem to be the kind of person you’d want as an enemy.

“Maybe,” she repeated, her hands on her hips, “I’m going to kill him. But he isn’t looking for a new secretary, so I think it’s best if you leave now.” She walked towards me and started to steer me towards the elevators, clearly wanting me gone.

I put up a hand and said, “Wait! I’m not leaving till I speak with Harvey.” I stood firm; I wasn’t going to let her railroad me, no matter who she was in Harvey’s life.

She paused and sighed.

“Look, he’s just helping me out. I didn’t mean to cause you or anyone else any trouble. I don’t have a job at the moment, and he offered me one the other day, as his secretary, that is. I honestly didn’t know the position was already filled. But I need this job—any job—to pay off my missed mortgage payments, Sadie.” I hated the fact that my voice sounded whiny or needy, but I didn’t want her thinking I was a terrible person, coming and trying to take her job.

“Shit, this is fucked-up,” she cursed under her breath. A strand of glossy blonde hair draped across her face, blocking her vision; she pushed at it and tucked it roughly by her ear. “I don’t know anything about this arrangement you have with him. But we’ll get it sorted. Come on, follow me,” she said and steered me around.

I followed and said quietly, “Thanks, I appreciate it. And I’m so sorry, I can’t imagine what you must’ve thought of me, just barging in here, trying to take your job.”

We walked down a long corridor edged with ferns. “Oh, honey. It’s not your fault. And I’m not mad at you… but Harvey won’t know what hit him when I get my hands on him.”

Pushing through a pair of glass doors, we arrived at an alcove. A wide desk, covered with all the things you’d expect to find in an office, was positioned directly outside a large corner office farther beyond. The engraved plaque on the door read
Harvey Guyer
.

Sadie waved a hand over to the far wall, pointing to a smaller and less burdened desk.

“For the time being, that can be yours. I wouldn’t mind having an assistant myself until we sort everything out. I’ve got plenty of filing, photocopying and other mind-numbing tasks to keep you busy with,” Sadie announced with a half-smile.

“Really? That would be awesome! Well, you know what I mean.”

She nodded and her smile broadened. Maybe she was warming up to me. And I had to admit she wasn’t all that bad, either. First impressions notwithstanding, the icy exterior seemed to be melting away.

I made myself comfortable at the small industrial desk as Sadie busied herself collecting items I would need. “You’ll have to make do with my old laptop, I’m afraid.” She placed a monstrosity of a machine down with a clunk. “If you stay, and we figure out a more permanent solution, IT will issue you your own.”

Sadie showed me how to log on and gave me some data entry work to get on with. It wasn’t as scary as I thought it was going to be, and as the minutes progressed I found my fingers getting used to the keys, dancing over them accurately.

After a while, Sadie left the room, and my mind started to wander. I wondered if Harvey made a habit of dating his employees, never mind his own secretary. I wondered what she made of all the other women in his life, how she tolerated it. Perhaps, though, they had an open relationship. It was the twenty-first century after all. Not everyone found the need to shackle themselves to another for the rest of their lives. And though I knew was being nosy, I resolved to ask him more about himself. Whenever we spent time together, everything always seemed to be about me and my troubles. I wanted to know more about him, even if it wasn’t something I wanted to hear… but that’s what friends were for—no judging—and it was high time I supported him in how he ran his life.

By the time the clock that sat on Sadie’s desk hit twelve, I stopped typing and wiggled my cramping fingers. The time had flown by, and sometime in the last hour I’d completely zoned out. It’d been nice to get out of my head for a bit; who knew data entry work could be so restorative? It was akin to meditation. This was what I’d been missing out on for the last three years. The experience of working again was freeing, and I knew the task wasn’t glamorous or anyone’s dream job, and it might even be temporary, but I’d take it with both hands in a heartbeat.

My stomach growled, and I wondered if I should wait for Sadie to return, but after it emitted another loud roar, I thought it best to go calm the beast.

I stretched my spine as I got up; I pushed at the heavy doors and stepped out into the main area of the office. It was a lot nosier out there, what with the lunch crowd anxiously waiting for the lifts to arrive. I took my place in the queue, off to one side, away from the little clusters of people. I was just about to step forward towards the waiting lift when a deep, sensual and familiar voice called out to me.

“Sara!”

I turned around and saw Harvey make his way through the crowd towards me, his employees immediately parting to let him pass. He was dressed, as always, in a fine grey suit, his tall and muscular build hidden but still detectable under the fabric. A bolt of electricity shot down my back as he came closer, his crystal-blue eyes staring at me.

“Oh, there you are,” I said with a raised eyebrow. “You’re in so much trouble!”

“Really? What have I done now?”

“Maybe I should let Sadie—you know, your
secretary
—have the honours of ripping you a new one?”

He closed the window on his sultry blue eyes and let out a breath. “Ah, yeah. I forgot to tell her… God, she is going to kill me, isn’t she?”

“I would. Can’t blame her, really. She thought I was here to take her job!”

“Fuck.”

“You’re going to have to do something really nice to make it up to her. A nice, fancy date at a very expensive restaurant wouldn’t go amiss.”

He frowned. “I’m sorry, Sara.” He moved closer and touched my arm. A buzz of warmth radiated through me, but before I could accept his apology—maybe I’d make him squirm a little longer—he dropped his hand as he saw a raging blonde come towards him.

“Harvey!”

“You better apologise, quick,” I said under my breath.

Harvey smirked. He seemed utterly unfazed by Sadie’s vicious look. “Ah, don’t be angry. You still love me, right?” he said to her. I stepped to the side, feeling awkward in their presence, and I hoped to god he wouldn’t demonstrate any more of his feelings for her…
My heart would crack just a little if he kissed her right now in front of me.

“I could’ve done with some warning!” she said, “It’s not like I’m your secretary or anything.” Her hands were firmly placed on her hips.

“Fine, yes. I’m sorry. I’m a schmuck, you’re a goddess. Can we move on—?”

He didn’t have chance to finish because Sadie cut him off with a wave of her hand. “You’d better find some way of making it up to me,” she said and started to glide away, but for all her bluster, it was just a show. She winked playfully and smirked at me from behind Harvey’s back, then carried on walking.

S
ara darted
into one of the departing lifts. “Hey, wait!” I called, but her back was to me.

I slammed a hand between the closing doors and stood by her side as we rode down in silence. Not only did I have to contend with Sadie’s fury—though I was sure she’d forgive me eventually, she always did—but I’d also managed to piss off the last person in the world I wanted to hurt.

“Oh, hello, stranger,” a female voice said from behind me, and a woman moved into the sliver of space between Sara and me.
Fuck, this wasn’t the time.
Cassie, a tall brunette I’d met in this very lift, smoothed a hand over my forearm, running it suggestively up and down. “I wondered when I’d see you next… You never called me back.”

I grabbed her wrist and jerked it aside as gently but as forcefully as I could without hurting her.

“Not now, Cassie,” I hissed.

“Casey. It’s Casey,” she repeated, her lips forming into a pout.

“Right…”

It felt like the walls were closing in on me; I could feel Sara’s miffed gaze from the side-lines, watching me with an old flame, a one-night stand that I barely even remembered and certainly had no interest in now. Come to think of it, there was one thing that stuck in my mind about that night: a bloody great big tramp stamp in the shape of a pink butterfly, that Casey had decorated herself with at the base of her spine, which I’d regretfully failed to notice until it was too late. A reflection of her back in a hotel mirror mocked me as I was hilt-deep inside her.

“How about you make it up to me, Harvey? And take me for a drink later on?”

The lift thudded to a stop, and before I could answer or get rid of Casey, Sara was making a beeline for the exit. Casey slithered in front of me, her eyes batting, giving me her best come-on face as she planted her palm upon my chest, blocking my way.

“Oh come on, we had fun the last time, didn’t we?”

“How can I put this nicely, Casey? You don’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of riding my dick ever again. Got that? Now move out of my way.”

Casey fumed, but she finally saw sense, saw the “I ain’t fucking kidding” look I was giving her, and she stepped aside. I looked up, trying to find Sara, but she was gone. Fuck, I thought again. I needed to find her; the urge to explain was completely overwhelming. It was as if she’d caught me cheating
and
that I’d suddenly become a man who gave two shits about being a cheater or monogamous. But I wasn’t that guy, was I? It seemed all my lines were blurring the more time I spent with Sara, and I had no idea who I was turning into… but I did know one thing: the change in me, or whatever the fuck it was, was down to her.

“Finally! There you are!” I said as I turned a corner and saw Sara sitting alone on a concrete boulder eating an anaemic looking sandwich. “I looked everywhere for you.”

A flash of snarling teeth met me as she growled a seething, “Do you want a medal or something? What do you want?”

I fought the urge to smile. Was she jealous?

“Calm down, what’s got your knickers in a twist?” I asked, trying for a sober face.

She stuffed the remains of what looked to be a tuna-mayo concoction back into a deli paper bag and glared at me. Her small hands by her sides clenched into fists. “How about I calm down when you apologise for being an inconsiderate, womanising prick who takes all the women around you for granted?” Yeah, the anger coming off her like heat waves was not just about me forgetting about this morning… she was definitely jealous.

“I already apologised for that.”

“Oh—”

“But I’ll say sorry again, till the cows come home if you want, as long as you’ll forgive me. I’m really sorry, OK? I should have warned Sadie. I should've told you, too. But I was trying to help. I did it to make you happy.”

“Kinda backfired then,” she said, the inclination to smile coming close to the surface.

“You could say that,” I chuckled.

Sara was not normally so forward, and she surprised me when she asked, “Who was that woman?”

“What woman?” I replied, Casey or Cassie or whatever her name already forgotten.

“The woman who was all over you in the lift?”

“No one.”

“Don’t lie to me, Harvey. She practically had her tongue down your throat. Is she your fuck-buddy, too? I feel sorry for Sadie.”

“For fuck’s sake, what on earth does Sadie have to do with this?” I muttered. Just when I thought we were back on an even keel, the boat started rocking again. It was like her hormones were out of whack or something, but god forbid I say such a thing; my life wouldn’t be worth living after that. “I told you, she’s no one.”

She sat in silence and looked away. “I was just asking. Forget I even asked.”

“What’s it got to do with you, anyway?” I said, practically shouting, wanting to finish the sentence with
you’re not my girlfriend.
“It’s not like you’re offering up your secrets to me!”

Her mouth dropped open.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You know fine well what I mean, Sara. The thing you’ve been holding back, clinging onto. Why won’t you admit to it? Why do you insist on keeping it bottled up, instead of telling me? Stop letting him control you from his grave!”

I hadn’t meant to say it like that. But I was so fucking angry, not at her, at myself, at the world, at my predicament. The one single person in the whole bloody universe that I actually cared for, and wanted, was off limits. And I was pushing her away. Life could be so cruel. But here I was being a jerk, most likely making her feel even worse than her shitty husband ever did when he was alive.

I should’ve known better than to upset her, to try to force her to come to terms with what she’d gone through. I had an inkling of what the son of a bitch did to her. She didn’t deserve my outburst, though. She’d just been making conversation, but it’d touched a very exposed nerve, and I lashed back.

Her voice wobbled. “If I’d known you were such dick, I would have never agreed to come to work for you, let alone have you in my life!”

I reached out to her, ready to get on my hands and knees and beg her forgiveness, to tell her that she was right, that I was a dick, but that I also needed her. But she pulled her hand back.

“Don’t,” she warned and shook her head. “You know what? Just leave me the fuck alone.”