Page 22 of By His Rule

I always knew that he’d have to have a kid or two. As the eldest of three brothers, it’s his responsibility to produce the next lot of Callahan heirs to hand all this down to.

It’s one of the few things that makes being the second, and middle, child almost bearable.

I’ve lived in his shadow all of my fucking life, watched as he had everything handed to him without question. But I’ve never forgotten about the responsibilities that come hand in hand with all those benefits.

“What?” he snaps.

Rubbing my jaw, I try to picture my big brother as a dad. The only time I’ve ever seen him hold a baby was when we were kids and Kieran was born. Since then, he’s had zero interest in anyone’s womb goblin.

“You’re gonna be a great dad,” I say, turning the conversation more serious.

I don’t need to hear that he’s been reading up on it all to know that fact.

There isn’t one single thing that Kingston Callahan has ever failed at.

Hell, he even succeeded in making Tatum fall in love with him after she was forced to marry him to get her inheritance.

At this point, I find it hard to believe that there is anything out there that my big brother can’t conquer, take over, or turn into a success. And that includes managing to keep a newborn baby alive and well.

Of course, he’ll have Tatum by his side. Together, they are a force to be reckoned with. In all honesty, I feel a little sorry for my unborn niece or nephew—they have no idea about the kind of parents they’re going to have to contend with.

“I’ve no idea if you’re being serious or not,” Kingston mutters, narrowing his eyes at me.

“Good. You know how I like to keep you on your toes. Anyway, what are you doing here? I thought you had meetings at Warner Group all day?”

“Last one finished early. Thought I’d better show my face, make sure you’re not running this place into the ground in my absence.”

I glare at him.

Sure, I might not be the almighty Kingston Callahan; I’m merely his mostly overlooked younger brother, but I was born just as ready for this as he was.

“Things are going swimmingly,” I state through gritted teeth. “In fact, I’ve got the last quarter figures right here.”

I spin my monitor around to show him—not that he’ll be able to decipher the mass of figures.

Kingston might be a kick-ass CEO, but his skills do not lie within the sheets like mine do. Pun intended.

His eyes scan the figures before he nods confidently and finally spins the conversation to why he’s really here.

“How’d the interviews go earlier? Find the one?”

Martin’s assistant suddenly handing in her notice with immediate effect, after she discovered both her parents had been in a life-threatening car accident back home, wasn’t an ideal situation.

Karla was so much more than his assistant, though. She was his right-hand man. And in turn, she was also mine.

It’s only been a couple of weeks without her, but already, we’re feeling her loss.

Martin is fantastic at his job, but if left alone for too long he can be a bit chaotic. He needs someone to keep him grounded.

And I need…Well, I haven’t had an assistant for quite some time, if I’m being honest.

Since embarking on this job after college, I’ve been through…a lot of them.

None of them stood up to the job expected of them.

In the end, I gave up trying. All of them made more work for me than necessary, and I discovered life was just easier without one.

Melissa, Kingston’s assistant, will help out where necessary, but more often than not, I called on Karla.

---