Page 110 of The Grumpy Billionaire

“No, Stella, you were the star in that family,” I say. “You had the spotlight in that family. You livened things up.”

“Are you sure you didn’t have the spotlight? Because I think it was you.”

“Are you kidding? When you weren’t around, do you know what the dinner table conversation was?”

“The circumference of tetra-rhomboids?”

That’s not a thing, but I don’t say that. “We barely talked at all.”

“Like, at all?”

“There’d be a bit of it, but mostly we had our phones out, and we’d eat fast, and it would be over. It wasn’t dinnertime the way it was when you were around.”

“You wouldn’t even talk about math?”

“If you haven’t noticed, math is a pretty solitary endeavor.”

“What about Dad’s math jokes I never understood? I’m sure he at least told those.”

“Your father’s math jokes were only funny when you were there. Remember that chair dance you’d do when he’d tell those jokes? You’d flail around. Or you’d blurt out the weirdest answer you could come up with and then you’d flail around.”

“I can’t believe you remember that. You know that was my strategy when I didn’t know an answer or hated the conversation—I’d do that weird Muppet chair dance.”

“Well, it was hilarious. You created fun. Remember game night?”

“Yeah. They only did it because I badgered them so much. But nobody wanted to—including you.”

“What? We all wanted to. We all did.”

“Then why did they stop doing games as soon as I started going out with my friends?”

“Because it wasn’t fun when you weren’t there. You’d overreact to everything and get people laughing. We played without you a few times, but it seemed pointless. Sometimes we’d bring you into it, anyway. Your mom or dad would say things like, ‘if Stella were here, she’d be so pissed that you played that,’ or, ‘remember when Stella got three of those in a row?’”

It takes her a while to comprehend this. “I thought everyone was relieved when I lost interest in game night.”

“How could you think that?”

She frowns. “Charlie acted like it was this huge millstone off the neck of the family.”

I straighten. “That is completely false and outrageous. Your parents outright wished you were there. Your mom seemed devastated.”

“My parents wished I was there?”

“I can’t believe you don’t know that. Or that Charlie would let you think the opposite. It’s not cool. Or this shit where I supposedly didn’t want to talk to you at work?” I nudge her off of me and sit up, angry on Stella’s behalf.

“Peoplelikedgame night?” She’s still on that.

“I say we call him. We can tell him we’re dating now, and we can ask him to explain this bullshit. What time is it in Japan?” I grab my phone.

“Hugo, no!”

“I’m calling him.”

“This is my fight.”

“Then you call.”

“I’m not going to call him up out of the blue to tell him we’re a couple and yell at him about being a mean yet weirdly overprotective brother.”

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