Chapter 4
“Daddy dearest summoned us to a family dinner this weekend,” I said to Cillian, without looking up from the finance reports. Even speaking about him left a bitter aftertaste.
“Hmmm—you coming?” I rolled my eyes. I could repaint my walls and watch the paint dry, and that would be more interesting than this family dinner.
“For Mom.”
I stared at my brother, maintaining a straight face. He really thought mentioning Mom changed anything. I had no feelings for either parent whatsoever. That part of me had shut down long ago. But Cillian didn’t know—not all of it, at least. And I wanted to be the last person on Earth to ruin that for him.
My thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door.
“Come in.”
A moment later, a brunette woman, a little over five foot three, walked in.
“Erica. That’s convenient. I was just thinking of you.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Does that mean you finally decided to marry me? Should I get my nails done? I’m expecting a proper sunset proposal.”
I chuckled. Erica and I had been close since high school. More accurately, she’d chosen to stay close. I was never very sociable. Erica felt I’d die of isolation without her.
“You have an awful sense of humor,” Cillian’s words to Erica were brusque, revealing his displeasure.
She shrugged dismissively. “Perspectives.”
“Erica, the annual day.” No matter how entertaining it was to see my brother get worked up over a girl, this was more important at the moment.
She waved a hand dismissively, a smug look on her face. “All arrangements are made. I even sent out the invitations. You won’t find another employee like me.”
I couldn’t disagree. Even though Erica was a pain in the ass, she was the best personal assistant I could ever ask for.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. And in return for my excellent services, I’m asking to leave early today. I have a date.” She grinned. I sometimes wondered if she was truly oblivious to whatever was going on between her and my brother, or if it was her way of getting a rise out of him.
Before I could reply, Cillian’s low voice reverberated,
“A date!”
Erica’s head whipped toward him. “Are you hard of hearing or something?”
I settled comfortably in my seat, watching them interact. It was pure entertainment. Cillian gave her the hard, icy stare, and she met it with her own defiant glare.
Minutes later, they broke eye contact, and Erica looked back at me. “See you…”
“Yeah. Enjoy your date.” Even as I spoke, I felt Cillian’s eyes burning into my side.
“And you think about that marriage proposal,” she said over her shoulder as she left my office. It took everything in me not to laugh.
“Calm down, brother. The whole building can smell your jealousy.”
He stared blankly at me. “Fuck you.”
(The second section needs more context to be properly integrated. It seems to be a separate scene, perhaps a later one in the chapter, or even from a different chapter entirely. It lacks a clear connection to the first section.)
(The final section "FREYA" and "SIND GET" seems to be extraneous and unrelated.)