Page 32 of Assistant to the Billionaire CEO

“Exactly. He’d ‘goof’ up your face with his fist,” I said.

“Well, Damon ain’t here, is he?” Miles grinned, crossing his eyes again, but preemptively ducked when Oliver jokingly raised his fist.

“She’s actually turned into a beautiful woman,” I said almost contemplatively, trying to not conjure up an image of her in my mind.

Miles looked up. “Beautiful?” he asked, as if I had just said something utterly ridiculous.

“I’m just saying she looked well,” I told him. “Nothing more, nothing less. Though, to be honest, the minute I saw her, I understood why Damon’s been hiding her from us. She’s…quite something.”

“Really?” Miles asked incredulously.

“Close your mouth, bro,” Oliver said to his brother. “I saw a pic she uploaded of herself on Insta the other day.” Oliver’s eyes flickered mischievously in the bar’s dim light. “She was wearing a little black dress. I’ve just got to say, Ace isn’t wrong. She’s quite something.”

“Sounds like I need to check that out,” Miles teased, then added, “Just kidding. Married man. Happily so.”

“Exactly. Tell you what, Ace,” Oliver turned to me, “just a word of warning. If you so much as touch her, Damon will knock out every last one of your pretty white teeth. Not that I would blame him.”

“Woah. Hold on, bro—what are you talking about?” Miles asked. “He might be cool with it. He’s with our sister and no stranger to, let’s say, ‘inopportune romantic circumstances.’”

“Heiswith Aria, true,” Oliver argued, “but I’m telling you, once you get into such an ‘inopportune romantic circumstance,’ as a by-standing older brother, you see fucking red.” He faced me. “If you ask me, Damonwillblow your brains out. And I, for my part, will not object.”

“Okay, okay. True, with Damon, you never know. She’s his baby sister, and he’s very protective of her. He’d probably argue that his case is completely different.”

“Chill, for Christ’s sake.” I emptied my beer glass and pushed it to one side of the table. Gracie made eye contact with me from across the room and gave me a nod. “Do you really think I’d go after his sister? No offense intended.”

“Dude, no,” Miles said, emptying his beer glass as well. “If his sister is still the way I remember her, all fidgety, and talkative, and happy, you guys are basically polar opposites. She’s a ray of sunshine, and you’re”—he leaned back in his chair and grinned—“…not.”

“Jeez, thanks. Asshat.”

“Opposites don’t really attract, you know. That’s a myth. Unless you’re a magnet.”

“Jesus Christ.” I gave him a hard stare. “How often do I have to tell you? I’m not looking to get involved with any woman right now. I just got my heart ripped out by one.” Well, that was a bit of an exaggeration, but I was fed up with the Stella talk. Let the boys think I was heartbroken. “Now let’s change the fucking subject.”

“Yeah, bro, we know,” Oliver said. “Now promise yourself that you’d rather cut off your own dick than stick it in Damon’s sister, and we all can stay friends.”

“Ow,” Miles grumbled.

I looked around and noticed that Miles and Oliver had instinctively moved their hands over their junk.

“Well, the only person I would need to give a promise to is Damon. But he isn’t here.”

“Well, in case he brings it up, tell him that Windsor Architects is your wife,” Miles grinned a wide grin, “and architecture is your mistress.”

“I don’t know why you pursued architecture. You should have been a poet.”

Before tensions could continue to rise, Gracie came shuffling over with a tray full of beer and another tumbler full of whiskey for Oliver, then handed us our drinks. “Can I get you anything else? Another round in thirty?”

“Good idea,” I said.

Gracie nodded, scooped up our empty glasses, and left without saying another word.

“You know,” Oliver said, “I really think we have a point here. It wouldn’t be appropriate for you to pursue something with Damon’s little sister.”

“Jesus Christ, are we still on that topic? Let’s fucking drop it.”

“Hear me out.” He patted my shoulder. “Not because she’s Damon’s little sister, but because she would be just a rebound after what happened with your ex. In all seriousness though, it wouldn’t be fair to her. Damon’s little sister seems like a good girl.”

“For fuck’s sake, stop saying it like that. Are you not listening? I said I’m not interested in her. I don’t know what more you want me to say.” I lifted my beer and noticed Emmie approaching.Well, shit. Here we go again.

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