Page 95 of Assistant to the Billionaire CEO

“Can’t a brother visit his sister without having an ulterior motive?” I teased her. I knew she knew that I was onto her.

“Not when that brother is you,” she replied. “I love you, D, but I think you’ve been in my apartment only a handful of times since I moved here.”

“I’ll make a point of visiting more often.” I took another sip of my sickly-sweet tea. Stella’s apartment always smelled like baked goods, vanilla, citrus, and lavender. I wondered if it was a scent she cultivated purposely, or whether it was merely the result of her baking attempts. “However, you’re right. I didn’t just come to have tea with you.”

“See? Iknewit.” She attempted a grin, but I wasn’t wrong, there definitely was a guilty look on her face, now more than before. She was fully aware that I knew she was hiding something. Just like when we were kids and she had stolen an apple from the neighbor’s tree—which she’d felt awful about, and had taken the apple back the next day. “I’ve come to find out whether you’ve learned anything about Ace and Ecclestone.”

“Would you like a chocolate chip cookie?” she asked, reaching forward to scoop one up off the silver tray full of snacks she’d put down on her coffee table.

“No, thank you.” I raised one of my palms to emphasize the sentiment.

“How about a shortbread cookie then?”

“I’m not hungry,” I said. “In fact, I’ve got to run soon. So, if you could tell me what you’ve learned, I’ll get out of your way.”

“Well, you’ve got to try a caramel swirl, whether you’re hungry or not.” She wrapped her fingers around a frosted pastry and pointed it at me. “I made these yesterday evening, and I think they’re my best batch yet.”

“Stella. Just tell me whether you’ve learned anything useful. I’m sure your baking is delicious, but I’m here to hear how your ‘intel-gathering mission’ is going.”

“Why do you always have to be so impatient?” she asked, frowning at me. “I’m trying to be nice to you. I worked really hard on these cookies.” I could see that I’d pissed her off. “First, you show up uninvited, complain about the sweetness of my tea, and then you question me like I’m a suspect and you’re a cop. How is that fair?”

“I don’t appreciate that you’re avoiding the question,” I said, careful to keep my temper under control. “With all the effort you’re putting into it, the question is no longerwhether, butwhatyou’re hiding from me.”

“You want an answer? Fine. Here’s what I think: you’re a terrible friend. An absolutely horrible friend! A supreme donkey.”

“A supreme donkey?”

“Yeah. What kind of person asks their sister to snoop on their best friend?”

“Stella, we’ve been over this. You were onboard with helping the guys and me keep an eye on him.” I paused, watching her. She could barely look at me. “Did something happen between you and Ace?”

She stiffened. “What do you mean?”

“What’s up with the sudden rage? That’s what I mean. Are you sleeping with him?”

“I’ll tell you what’s up,” she said, whipping the snack tray from the table and carrying it back to the kitchen. She returned and took the cup of sickly-sweet tea from my hands. “I’ve learned nothing about Ace other than that he’s a good person—a better person than I am…and you are, you bet! I, at least, feel horrible about even agreeing to help you. And now, you’ve overstayed your welcome.”

I got up off the couch and shook my head. “You’re throwing me out?”

“You’re dang right I am.” She put my teacup down on the coffee table, stomped over to her front door, and swung it open. “Goodbye, Damon.”

I sighed. “I mean well, Chicken Little. Ace isn’t looking for a relationship, trust me, he’s made that point clear to me and the guys many times. I can’t blame him. No man would jump from one serious relationship to the next. I mean, think about it.” Her demeanor didn’t change. Damn, she was stubborn. “Just…just be careful. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“Goodbye, Damon,” she repeated.

“Bye, sis,” I grumbled as I strode through the front door. “I’ll see you at Frosty’s this weekend?” Frosty Sugar Rush at Prospect Park West in Brooklyn was our favorite ice cream place. According to Stella, they had the best strawberry ice cream on the planet, and so we’d made it something of a tradition to meet there once or twice per month.

She slammed the door closed behind me. Jesus Christ. A blonde woman wearing an olive-green yoga outfit shuffled past me in the hallway, grinning at me like I was some cheating high school kid kicked out by his mad girlfriend. My rage level multiplied, and all the feelings of unrest I’d kept reined in while talking to Stella came rearing up, but I knew when to stop.

Pushing her would only lead to her pulling even farther away. Instead, I decided to follow my plan. Time to direct my irritation toward the person who was really the cause of it: Ace.

* * *

Ikicked down. I knew where he lived from having dropped him off several times after a night out, but I’d never been inside his apartment before. It was a fact that I’d never found strange before, knowing he had just moved his sister in with her child.There was just enough time to think about what I’d say to him when I got there. I knew the Upper East Side like the back of my hand and found his place without any problems. The street running past his apartment building was buzzing with life: Pedestrians marched up and down along the sidewalk, and the cars flowed over the asphalt like water. I parallel parked across from the building’s entrance, got off my motorcycle, and waited for the street to quiet down. As soon as there was a lull in the number of cars rushing past, I crossed the street and strode through the apartment building’s stately wooden door.

I didn’t know if he was at home, still, I wasn’t planning on announcing my presence. The security guy remembered my face (thanks to a memorable evening where I’d been dragging Ace to the elevator under his eyes) and let me up without double-checking with Ace. Good. It also meant he was home.

Ace lived in the penthouse. There was only one door leading off to the 12th floor’s round hallway: Ace’s front door. I took another deep breath, trying to calm the frustration that was still unfurling in my stomach like a pissed-off snake, and strode over to it.

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