Page 22 of Decoded
“Fine with me,” Lincoln puts down the paint roller and turns to leave, but Camden stops him.
“We’re here to support you, brother. When does your new roommate move in?”
I roll on the last bit of paint before putting the roller down and taking a seat beside him. “Tomorrow night. Janine said shewill move in and then start first thing on Monday. I told her she could have a couple of days to adjust if she needed it, but Janine said she insisted on starting right away.”
“That sounds promising,” Camden says while pulling a beer from the freshly stocked refrigerator. “She sounds like a go-getter, and with your schedule, you’re gonna need that.”
“You think she’ll make it longer than a week?” Lincoln’s smirk has me clenching my fists and fighting back, punching him in his pretty face.
“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” I growl.
Camden interrupts before Lincoln can smart off again, “It’s just that you’ve been a bit prickly these past few weeks. All the temps that Janine has found to fill in before your new assistant got here haven’t made it very long.”
I think back to the temporary assistants Janine has hired. Usually, the woman is spectacular at her job, but these past hires have been complete let downs. The first girl to replace my last assistant was supposed to be back from lunch at one, but she was ten minutes late, claiming traffic held her up. I don’t care how bad the traffic is, punctuality is important and if she couldn’t be on time her first fucking day on the job, then this wasn’t the job for her. The next one was some guy who couldn’t tie his necktie correctly. If he can’t figure that out, how am I supposed to trust him to keep my schedule updated among the millions of other things my executive assistant has to do daily.
“They all deserved it. None of them were good enough.”
“What about Linda?” Lincoln asks.
“Who?” The name doesn’t ring a bell.
“Your last assistant. She didn’t even make it to lunch before you had her crying and packing up her things. Heard it was because you told her, and I quote, ‘You smell so bad I can’t even be near you without wanting to gag.’ Does that sound familiar?”
“She wore those fucking essential oils. You know I can’t stand those. How am I supposed to work with someone all day, every day if I can’t even get past the way they smell?”
I stare at my brothers and shake my head. “Fine, maybe I’ve been a bit of an ass. I just miss Anna so damn much.”
“You knew her less than twenty-four hours,” Lincoln deadpans.
A rumble from my chest moves up, spilling out of my lips in the direction of my brother. I feel my fists tightening again. It doesn’t matter if I had known Anna less than twenty-four minutes, there was no doubt she’s the woman I was meant to be with. Admittedly it sounds crazy, especially for a guy who has not been in a real relationship in over two decades. It doesn’t negate the fact that Anna is it for me and I would do anything to get her back.
“How about that pizza you promised us?” Camden suggests before Lincoln and I break out into a brawl.
“Fine, but then we’re going to Kalli’s after. I need a beer.”
“Yeah,” Lincoln agrees, “because drinking led you to some pretty great choices a month ago.”
I didn’t plan on landing the blow that had my brother losing his breath and doubling over, but for the first time in a month, I felt a smile tug at the corners of my mouth as I headed out to my truck.
Chapter seventeen
Anna
A
fter today’s events at the office, I’m kicking myself for asking my parents to have family dinner. It’s my last night before I move to the small town of Cheatham, population of 1300 and while it doesn’t have a supermarket, they do proudly boast two dollar stores.
I’ve never lived more than twenty minutes away from my parents, so I had asked them if we could get together, but I never expected to be assaulted only hours ago. The way Daniel touched me has me wanting to hide from the world, but I know I’ll regret not spending time with the people who have given me so much in this life.
My mom pulls my favorite chicken casserole out of the oven as I finish up the salad when we hear the front door open. “Hey, Craig! Thanks for inviting me.” I dropped the tongs to the counter at the sound of Daniel’s voice.
“Everything okay, honey?” My mother asks.
“Dad invited Daniel?” She cocks her head at me and gives me a confused look. This isn’t the first time he’s been at family dinners, being as how he and my dad have been practicallyinseparable since college. “I just figured with it being my last night here, we would be having dinner as a family.”
“Don’t be rude, Anna Laura,” my father chastises from behind me. “Daniel is family.”
I turn to see the two men standing beside each other and Daniel puts a hand to my dad’s shoulder. “Oh, she isn’t being rude,” he says with a grin, “she probably just thought we said our goodbyes at the office today. Told you I wouldn’t just let you go, sweet girl.” He winks at me, and it takes everything in me not to toss my cookies into the tossed salad ready to be served for dinner.
