The Wrong Brother (a perfect for you novel Book 1) Read online

  While they had a nice reprieve, managing to be cordial for the short coffee break they shared, Mr. Holloway had worked her to death the rest of the day. She couldn’t remember how many times she ran to the file room down the long hallway to grab another file he needed. That room was as disorganized as the filing cabinets in his office.

  As much as she hated this job—knew she wouldn’t be here next week—she couldn’t help herself. She tried to organize what she could in the little time she found for herself. She couldn’t stand the disorganization. She hadn’t lied to him when she said others called her anal at her other job. She was always organizing the files at that place as well. She knew some of those jokers she worked with purposely put things away wrong to see if she would put it back correctly. She did. It was a compulsion she couldn’t control.

  Throwing her purse strap on her shoulder, her eye caught the empty coffee cup in her trash can. She still had a bit of a shock that he asked her to join him. The ride down the elevator had been awkward, to say the least. But once outside, they had meshed into an easy conversation.

  She wasn’t sure how it happened, but one minute they were talking about the fresh air, then the next, they were talking about baseball. She loved baseball, and she loved her home team. Surprisingly, so did he. Not that she was surprised a New Yorker loved their home team, but that he enjoyed baseball. He worked so much, she didn’t think he made the time to enjoy anything.

  That fact alone made her like him just a little bit. Which was a very bad thing. She didn’t need to develop feelings for her friend’s boyfriend. He had tiny moments when he could spark the desire in her. She hated the feeling every single time. Only two days with the man and she found herself daydreaming about what it would be like if he was her boyfriend.

  But that’s where problems started. Nothing could happen between them. Absolutely nothing. Her friendship with Mia was worth more than just a guy. She would never ruin what she had with Mia for anything. Not only would he be considered a cheater and liar, so would she.

  Yet, sometimes it was hard to get his face out of her mind and the soft way he touched her. She almost froze in place when his hand hit her back. His touch scorched right through her shirt straight to her skin. She had wished for her shirt to magically disappear and for his hand to glide up her back and to her front. Of course, she had been glad when he let her go. His touch had made her lose her focus, the ability to function like a simple step forward. It was a very good thing he urged her forward; otherwise, she didn’t think she would have made one step.

  She walked to the double set of doors and knocked. She opened the doors when a loud voice told her she could enter.

  “I’m leaving for the night. You should walk down with me.” She didn’t want to see the tired lines on his face tonight. She didn’t want to leave him alone with his work for his only company. Even with his abruptness and rudeness at times, she didn’t want to see him working so hard by himself.

  “I still have things I need to get done. I’ll see you tomorrow, Ms. Stileano. Thank you for another great day. I do believe you’re the best secretary I’ve ever had.”

  He smiled at her. A full-blown smile that suddenly made her feel guilty.

  She was lying to him. She would be quitting by Friday, thereby leaving him secretary free again. He would have to interview more people for the position. She could already imagine the torture he would go through in doing so. He was a very particular man. Very set in his ways. She wasn’t sure how she managed to mesh with him so well in such a short amount of time. But she did. They made an excellent team. She would be destroying all of that soon.

  Sure, his regular secretary would be back in a few months after her maternity leave was over, but he needed someone else in the meantime. She hated how she’d be letting him down.

  “Don’t work too late tonight. You need downtime sometimes.”

  His face fell into a frown, rubbing his whiskered chin delicately. “What can I say? When you have nothing to go home to, work seems to be the only solace.”

  “What about your girlfriend?”

  What about Mia? Was he saying Mia was nothing? How dare he! Mia was an amazing person, full of life, full of fun and laughter. Which made her realize, these two were complete opposites. Sort of like he and she would be complete opposites.

  “Good night, Ms. Stileano. Close the door…please.”

  Too shocked by his words and his refusal to answer her question, she did as he asked. She closed the door and walked out.

  She changed her opinion, just like that.

  He was cheating on Mia. Cheating on her with his work. Maybe she wouldn’t have to come back tomorrow. Maybe that would satisfy Mia. She deserved better.

  3

  To Gabby’s great annoyance, Mia found nothing wrong with him ignoring the question or his words that he had nothing to go home to. She said they weren’t living together, so he had nothing to go home to unless he knew she would be there. She had a late show that night and couldn’t make any plans with him.

  Mia worked backstage doing costume and makeup for a small theater. She hoped one day to move up to the big leagues on the big Broadway plays. But for now, she was happy working where she was. She worked with some talented people who made her job worth walking into every day. And Mia loved dressing up. She didn’t care she wasn’t dressing herself up. As long as she had someone to beautify, she was a happy camper.

  Instead of finishing her vacation putzing around her apartment or taking in the sights, it was a beautiful city not to enjoy now and again, she returned to her job, to the man who started penetrating her nightly dreams.

  She tried her hardest to keep her focus on the notepad in front of her instead of his handsome face when he needed her to dictate a few things. But it was a hard thing to do. His eyes lit up with excitement as he talked, his hands making motions in every direction. It’s as if he needed to talk with his hands, impossible to keep them by his sides.

  Every day, he inquired whether she wanted to join him for a cup of coffee. It took her by surprise as it had the first time. But unlike the first time, the elevator ride wasn’t awkward or stilted. She found herself laughing with him. Laughing. She had no idea he had such a boisterous laugh, he barely smiled.

  They didn’t talk about anything personal. They talked about baseball, the crazy things going on in the news, a book she recently read—which in turn made him mention a book he also read. She didn’t know when he had time to read. She knew he always stayed late at the office. Sometimes she wondered if he stayed until the next morning. But she knew that wasn’t possible as he always had a new suit and tie on the next day.

  A suit and tie that fit every delicious inch of him.

  Talking about reading had her thinking about Mia’s dislike for reading before sex. Which had her thinking about sex. Which had her thinking about sex with him. She couldn’t dispel how many times she pictured him taking her across his desk and having his wild way with her. There were a few times she had to back up from his desk to stop the urge to fling herself across the desk.

  She couldn’t be any more excited that it was officially Friday. Her last day of work. Even with all the times they shared talking, although never getting too personal, she still had no concrete evidence that he was cheating on Mia. Her gut, though she didn’t like what he said a few days ago, still didn’t think he was a cheater. And that’s exactly what she would tell Mia. She would also tell her that she should move on from him. For two reasons.

  Reason one—he worked way too much. She had no solid proof because she always left before him. But she had a strong feeling he stayed at the office way late into the night. Mia shouldn’t date a man who had no time for her. She deserved better than that.

  Reason two—a very selfish reason. A reason she would never utter to Mia even under duress. She liked him too much herself. She wasn’t sure how she would be able to stand it if they progressed into a serious relationship, like marriage. Plus, she was dying to k
now how Mia would explain her working for him when, or if, they met. That would be one awkward conversation she didn’t want to be a part of.

  Sort of like the conversation she needed to have with him about quitting. She had a real job to return to on Monday. A job she loved. She would miss his handsome face, but she wouldn’t miss the secretarial work.

  She figured she owed him the whole day, though. Instead of heading to his office to tell him the bad news, she took the long, long walk down the hallway to the filing room. To organize.

  “What are you doing?” a soft voice asked behind her.

  She had been in here for almost twenty minutes. She should have known she couldn’t be gone that long without him needing her for something. And she knew for a fact that she didn’t imagine anything this time. He definitely spoke in a soft voice.

  With the drawer left open, she turned around to face him. “Organizing. I wanted this place to look better before I—” She stopped speaking when she realized she didn’t want to tell him yet.

  He crinkled his face with confusion, yet a slight tilt of his lip emerged. “Before you what?”

  “Before I went for lunch. It’s almost lunchtime, isn’t it?” she asked with a beaming smile.

  God, she would go to hell for lying to him. She despised the fact she’d have to confess later she was quitting. She knew it would hurt him so much.

  He glanced at his watch, wrapped perfectly on his wrist. “I suppose so. I couldn’t find you. For some strange reason, I thought I would find you here. Why do you like organizing so much?”

  “Do you dislike that I organize as I do? Do I not make your life easier?”

  She leaned against the drawer, the corner of it digging into her back when he stepped closer to her.

  “You do make my life easier. I’m not sure how I functioned before you.”

  “Oh, I’m sure you functioned fine and will continue to do so when I’m not here anymore.”

  He looked confused again. “You’re not leaving me, are you? I can’t have that.” He took another step closer.

  She felt the drawer move a little as she moved back. He was so close she could reach out and claim his lips if she wanted to. She couldn’t do that to Mia. She wouldn’t do that to Mia. “You needed me? What can I do for you, Mr. Holloway?”

  At the sound of his name on her lips, said in a very professional manner, he backed up a step. He cleared his throat nervously. Very nervously. She couldn’t recall a time he ever acted like that. He had been on a few heated calls, too, where she would’ve been nervous the client would bow out of the deal. Not him. He didn’t break a sweat or display an ounce of nerves.

  “I need you to deliver these papers to my brother, two floors up.” He held out his hand with a thick file.

  “Your brother? You have a brother…who works here?” Well, wow. What a surprise. She didn’t know why that surprised her. Maybe because Mia never mentioned a brother.

  “Yes. And I prefer not to deal with him that much when it comes to work.”

  “But you work at the same company. It seems a little impossible to avoid the man.”

  “Perhaps. But not impossible. That’s why I have a secretary. And if I ask her nicely, she’ll take these papers upstairs for me.”

  The smile that caressed his face made her weak in the knees. She could never resist him when he smiled. Except she didn’t remember him asking.

  “I’m waiting.”

  He leaned forward, his mouth getting dangerously close again. “For what?”

  She laughed, the nerves beaming forth with ferocity. Great. Now they were both nervous. For the same reason? She didn’t know how much longer she could resist the temptation standing in front of her. “For you to ask me nicely.”

  “Oh, of course. Will you please take these to my brother? Two floors up, like I said. His office is at the end of the hallway.”

  “Of course, it’s at the end of a hallway.” She sighed, wiggling her feet in her heels that had yet to make her feet feel comfortable.

  “Is there a problem with the hallways?” he asked, amused.

  “Only when my feet hurt to walk. I’ll take them up, then take my lunch break.” She tilted her head, glancing at his watch. “You have that phone meeting in a few minutes. You better get back to your desk.”

  “Yes, Ms. Stileano. Thank you for reminding me.” He turned to leave, then glanced back at her with a morose expression. “You should wear different shoes, so your feet don’t hurt. I didn’t realize it. I’ve made you come back here a lot this week. I apologize.”

  “I’ll survive. I’ve survived a lot worse. Trust me.”

  She watched as his face flushed with a variety of emotions. She thought for a minute he was going to say more. But he didn’t. He gave a slight nod of his head and started to walk away.

  “Mr. Holloway?”

  He turned around, advancing at her with quick footsteps. She thought she saw excitement on his face. “Yes, Ms. Stileano.”

  She glanced at his hands, where he gripped the thick file. “I need the file.”

  He glanced at his hand, lifting the file. “Right. Here you go. Thank you.” He handed her the file and walked out of the room.

  She leaned against the drawer, almost falling in the process when the drawer slammed closed, making her lose her balance.

  Well, he asked nicely. In fact, in the last few days, he had been more polite than when he first hired her. It hadn’t taken him long to get with the program. She didn’t bend over backward for assholes.

  Boy, she’d miss him.

  Best not to think about it.

  She walked to the elevators, eager to get this task over with. She needed her lunch break. Now! She needed to form the perfect words in her head for when she would tell him she was quitting. They had to be perfect. She could already see the devastation that would mark his face.

  She slammed the file to her chest, wrapping her arms around it. She couldn’t believe she wanted to kiss him back in the file room. What was wrong with her? Maybe she was lacking some serious sex. It had been a few good months since she had a nice lovely romp between the sheets. Greg. He had been nice. A little duller than she liked, but overall, nice.

  She should call him again and see if she missed the spark that was there. She just hadn’t been paying attention. There had to have been a spark. Because she was definitely not feeling a spark with Mr. Holloway. No way. No sir-ee she wasn’t.

  She stepped off the elevator, almost tripping on her feet again.

  Nothing like her own clumsiness to tell her the truth. Of course, she felt a spark with him. Every time his eyes glossed her way, a rare smile touched his face, or even the super rare moments when he laid a hand on her. Those tiny, electrifying sparks shot throughout her body like the Fourth of July.

  She needed sex, all right. And she needed it with Mr. Holloway. Which meant she needed to quit as soon as possible. No sex would be had.

  She walked the few small steps from the elevator to the big counter several feet away.

  “I need to bring these files to Mr. Holloway. They’re from…Mr. Holloway, two floors down,” she said awkwardly to the receptionist. That sounded silly coming out of her mouth.

  “He’s in his office. Give them to his secretary. His office is through the set of doors at the end.”

  Gabby thanked the young woman and made her way down yet another long hallway. She was throwing away these heels when she got home tonight. Hell, she might even grab a metal trash can and burn them in a flaming ceremony in the alley behind her apartment building.

  She pulled open the big double doors and stepped into a room that looked like her desk area, but much bigger. Much, much bigger.

  Not that she was jealous. She liked her workspace.

  A desk sat near another set of double doors, several plush couches and end tables next to each couch with various magazines covering them. The walls also had more great works of art. But unlike finding meaning in the ones that hung in her
domain, she found these a bit more plain in comparison. A picture of a bird, not even that pretty. A picture of the moon. That’s it—just the moon. But there was no depth to it. Boring. Like the pictures surrounding her that had wonderful images of buildings, this room held nothing of the sort. She thought it should, especially since that’s what they did here. They were architects. Strange.

  Besides that, the room was empty. No secretary. She saw his door, slightly ajar, and low murmurs of voices coming through. She walked to the door and pushed it open without listening to what was being said. She should have. She really, really should have.

  “Oh, Champ. Yes, Champ, right there,” a blonde woman moaned as she lay half-naked on his desk, his round ass glaring in Gabby’s face.

  “Champ? You’re Champ? So, you are cheating on Mia, you dirty, rotten bastard,” Gabby said with disgust.

  His head whipped around. “Who the hell are you?”

  “Your worst nightmare, pal.” She sneered at him with the best one she could manage without running full speed in his direction to pummel his face into the ground.

  Oh, she wanted to eviscerate him until he was nothing but a pile of ash. Instead, she turned around and slammed the door on her way out.

  Dane paced his office after he walked away from the file room. He almost kissed his secretary. His beautiful, demanding, spunky secretary. He never had sexual relations with another employee, an employee who worked with him day in and day out. He never had the want, the need, the burning desire to have sex with his secretary. Until she walked in.

  “Stupid. Stupid, Dane. Keep your hands to yourself.”

  For a brief moment, he thought she wanted him to kiss her. Of course, not when she retreated, a small cringe tingeing her face as she backed into the file drawer. But when she said, “I’m waiting.” He swore she meant she was waiting for him to make his move. What an idiotic thought because that wasn’t what she meant.

  He had needed to flee the room with a passion, to get his bearings back down. Then she called his name. He rushed to her like a lovesick puppy. And all she wanted was the file dangling from his hand. Not him. Not the man in front of her. And why would she? He was her boss. Her demanding, arrogant boss. That was all.