Page 49 of Next Door Billionaire's Surprise Baby

No Going Back

As I wait for Chloe to return, I focus on doing other things on my system. A couple of minutes later, Someone forcefully shuts a door, causing a loud bang that echoes throughout the office, and I shake my head at the carelessness.

As I browse through the records, I hear a knock on my door. Immediately, I know it's not Chloe because she doesn't bother knocking.

"Come in," I announce.

The door opens, and I look up to see Mike peek his head in.

"Hey," he calls out to me, "Guess what?"

My eyes narrow automatically, "What?"

He pushes the door wider open to reveal the tall, proud figure standing behind him. I jump to my feet immediately.

"Tim!"

He's here. My brother ishere. He's not even paying attention to me as he's busy looking out for something. Or someone. His neck is craned to the side in the direction of Chloe's office, and I realize he must have seen her.

That'snotsupposed to happen. He's not supposed to run into her so soon.

Only when I walk up to him does he turn his gaze to me, and when he does, I see the raw emotions in his eyes. Aside from that, he pretty much looks the same as last time.

"She's here," he whispers, and I nod, gulping down the lump forming in my throat.

He looks back in her direction one more time before turning back to me with a completely different expression. This time, he's grinning widely.

"She's here!"

My heart drops to the pit of my stomach at how excited he is. He slips past me to enter my office, and I'm left staring at the side of Mike's face. The look in my assistant's eyes is a questioning one, and I tell him, "Later."

I shut the door as Mike leaves the office before turning around to see my brother frozen in place. He's staring hard at my desk or, rather, staring at the second laptop sitting on it. It's Chloe's, and he is guessing she was working with me in my office.

"It's good to see you," I say. My voice comes out steady even though I'm a mess on the inside.

Tim glances up at me, his face still bright with happiness. "Same. Why didn't you tell me Chloe was here?"

Because I didn’t want you to know Chloe was here.

I thrust my hands into my pockets and shrug, "I didn't think it was necessary."

His eyes widen, and he exclaims, "Well, it was! If I'd known, I would have brought some flowers along."

As he speaks, he runs his fingertips gingerly along the sides of her laptop. The way he speaks about her doesn't sit right with me one bit. It almost sounds like he's obsessed with her.

"How do you like the city?" I ask, changing the topic before I go crazy. He looks out the window as he describes what he sees outside.

"It's so busy," he comments, shaking his head, "I don't think I'll ever get used to it."

He pauses like he's thinking about something before snapping his head back to skewer me a narrow-eyed look. "Why am I just finding out that you own this company?" He continues, pointing at me with his index finger, "You're a billionaire, Kane."

His expression takes on the somber, disapproving one. He uses it when he wants to go off on someone. Personally, I don't mind having him chew me out, but I'd rather not have my staff overhear. Tim's voice is usually low, but when he wants to be loud, he can beat megaphones.

"No wonder you can afford to get me a place of my own in Austin," he continues, connecting the dots, "Now I know why you gave Mom the house by the lake without even blinking!" He shakes his head, "Is this why you stayed away? You thought I would become so entitled to your wealth and be spoiled..."

"Shut up!"

I boom, and Tim promptly clamps his mouth shut. Maybe it's because he's now aware that I'm a lot more powerful.

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