Page 8 of You're Mine

This was a job.

She had to remember that.

Even though she was completely in love with him, and if she was honest, she wanted to be with him in every way.

Chapter Four

The following day, George hadn’t been expecting Malcolm to visit. His friend had called earlier and asked to meet at a restaurant. George refused and insisted on his friend coming to his home. Anna-Beth wasn’t aware her brother was here, and if she was, she’d made herself scarce.

She had avoided him since last night in the weight room, and he didn’t quite know why. He’d wanted to break this impasse between them, and Malcolm suddenly turning up out of the blue didn’t help. His friend needed to leave.

Malcolm had never asked him to not touch his little sister. There was no agreement between them, to be … he didn’t even know what the fuck it was.

“What couldn’t wait?” George asked.

“First, how is my sister doing?” Malcolm asked.

“You’ve come to check up on your sister?”

“No, no, no, of course not. I figured if she wasn’t doing the job properly, you’d have already gotten rid of her. How is she doing, though? You know, in your professional opinion.”

George took a deep breath and he wanted to remove Malcolm from his home. “She’s amazing.”

“What?” Malcolm asked.

“Yes, your sister is an incredible housekeeper. I’ve got no complaints and if you’re here to take her from me, then I’m going to say no.”

Malcolm smiled. “That is awesome news. I knew she worked hard. I never had any complaints from the HR department. She just kind of irritated Dad, and my uncle, and a few other people.”

George wasn’t interested in hearing what she did, unless Anna-Beth wanted to tell him. He knew how the business world worked, and what irritated her parents he had a feeling was justified in their minds. He also didn’t want to get in the way of family.

He needed Malcolm to leave, so that he could come up with his own plan of seducing Anna-Beth. That’s what he had decided to do. He couldn’t get her out of his mind, and being near her was making him want things he didn’t even realize he wanted, but he did—with her.

“I love catching up and stuff, but if you want to see your sister, then I need to get back to work.”

“Actually, this has to do with Anna-Beth, but I want your advice,” Malcolm said.

This did make George stop. He and Malcolm were close, but they’d never talked about how to deal with his sister. This was completely new to him.

“I’m listening.”

“Dad is pissed. There’s no point in denying it. He’s not happy with how Anna-Beth has been, and he thinks the best way to keep her out of trouble is to find a man for her.”

“What?” George asked.

“Yeah, Dad intends to find a suitable husband for her to marry. I was hoping you could help us out and start talking to Anna-Beth about settling down.”

“You’re not going to ask for her input?” George asked.

“It’s not important. For her own safety, and you know, to keep her out of trouble.”

George sat back and couldn’t believe he was sitting opposite his friend. “You do realize what you’re saying to me?”

“I care about my sister and I want what’s best for her,” Malcolm said.

“No, you’re not saying that at all. What you’re really saying is that you want Anna-Beth to be kept busy. Marrying her off keeps her from being your problem.” George got to his feet. He’d heard enough and now, he felt like he might have even heard too much.

“Dad is not going to let this go, George. You know what he’s like.”

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