reaching over to steal a deep fried chicken ball from her container. “I’m telling you, he’s an artist. It’s no wonder he has a waiting list longer than my arm.”
She pushed the container of chicken balls and fried rice toward her brother. She’d suddenly lost her appetite. “I’m glad it’s working out for you,” she said, shifting her chair and firing up her computer.
“Al, he could have any intern he wanted, but he chose me. Any idea why that might be?” Justin asked, forking rice into his mouth.
“Not a clue,” Alana said. She knew Justin would eventually figure out the connection between his sister and new boss, but she hoped he would let it pass without putting her on the spot about it. Apparently that was too much to hope for.
“Liar,” he said, smiling. “Ryan told me you two…”
Alana felt the color rising in her cheeks. Would he have actually had the nerve to tell her kid brother that they had a one-night stand? “What did he tell you about us?” she asked, trying to appear nonchalant as she stared at the numbers on her computer.
“He told me he was crazy about you,” Justin said quietly.
Alana sat back in her chair, staring blankly at the computer screen as she fought back tears. She hated Ryan more now than the night she found out about his sexual escapades because now she knew what living with the memory of their love-making every day and night felt like. “I don’t want to talk about this,” she said, gripping her armrests. “He means nothing to me.”
“You certainly mean something to him,” Justin said, reaching for an unopened bottle of water on the desk. “We went out for beers after work last night and this smokin’ hot chick came on to him. When he blew her off, I thought maybe he was gay because I’d never seen him with a woman. I’d never even heard anything about him dating recently…”
Narrowing her eyes, Alana looked at him. “Why are you telling me this?”
“Because I think he’s in love with you, sis.”
Her brother telling her his boss was getting married to someone else would have hurt less. At least then she could go on with her life, confident in the knowledge that he was a fraud. “No, he’s not. Just because he turned down one girl doesn’t mean he hasn’t been with a dozen others over the past few months.”
“I thought so too,” Justin said. “So I asked around the office, you know, tried to find out if he was seeing someone, but rumor is he’s got it bad for some chick and he hasn’t dated at all since she dumped him. Apparently, this is some kind of record for him.”
Alana tried not to react. His employees may be part of the ploy to make their boss look good. She couldn’t take anything they said at face value. “It really doesn’t matter. I don’t have time for a relationship, and even if I did, it wouldn’t be with a guy like him.”
“A guy like him? You mean someone who’s funny, smart, successful…” Justin began ticking his attributes off on his fingers.
“Why are you trying to sell me on him?” she asked, suspecting Ryan may be behind this impromptu visit. “Did he ask you to talk to me?”
“No, in fact I offered, but he told me he didn’t want to put any pressure on you.”
“I don’t get it,” she said, shaking her head.
“A few beers in, he started to open up a bit more. He finally told me what happened between you two. He said if he could do it all over again…”
She held her hand up. “I don’t want to hear about it. None of us get a do-over, Justin. He has to sleep in the big, old, messy bed he made with all those cheap sluts who...”
Justin tried to hide his grin behind his water bottle when she fired a pencil at him.
“What the hell is so funny?”
“You’re jealous of women he slept with before he met you. That’s crazy, Al.”
“I am not jealous. I’m just glad I got to know what kind of man he was before I got in too deep.”
Propping a boot on his knee, Justin asked,
She pushed the container of chicken balls and fried rice toward her brother. She’d suddenly lost her appetite. “I’m glad it’s working out for you,” she said, shifting her chair and firing up her computer.
“Al, he could have any intern he wanted, but he chose me. Any idea why that might be?” Justin asked, forking rice into his mouth.
“Not a clue,” Alana said. She knew Justin would eventually figure out the connection between his sister and new boss, but she hoped he would let it pass without putting her on the spot about it. Apparently that was too much to hope for.
“Liar,” he said, smiling. “Ryan told me you two…”
Alana felt the color rising in her cheeks. Would he have actually had the nerve to tell her kid brother that they had a one-night stand? “What did he tell you about us?” she asked, trying to appear nonchalant as she stared at the numbers on her computer.
“He told me he was crazy about you,” Justin said quietly.
Alana sat back in her chair, staring blankly at the computer screen as she fought back tears. She hated Ryan more now than the night she found out about his sexual escapades because now she knew what living with the memory of their love-making every day and night felt like. “I don’t want to talk about this,” she said, gripping her armrests. “He means nothing to me.”
“You certainly mean something to him,” Justin said, reaching for an unopened bottle of water on the desk. “We went out for beers after work last night and this smokin’ hot chick came on to him. When he blew her off, I thought maybe he was gay because I’d never seen him with a woman. I’d never even heard anything about him dating recently…”
Narrowing her eyes, Alana looked at him. “Why are you telling me this?”
“Because I think he’s in love with you, sis.”
Her brother telling her his boss was getting married to someone else would have hurt less. At least then she could go on with her life, confident in the knowledge that he was a fraud. “No, he’s not. Just because he turned down one girl doesn’t mean he hasn’t been with a dozen others over the past few months.”
“I thought so too,” Justin said. “So I asked around the office, you know, tried to find out if he was seeing someone, but rumor is he’s got it bad for some chick and he hasn’t dated at all since she dumped him. Apparently, this is some kind of record for him.”
Alana tried not to react. His employees may be part of the ploy to make their boss look good. She couldn’t take anything they said at face value. “It really doesn’t matter. I don’t have time for a relationship, and even if I did, it wouldn’t be with a guy like him.”
“A guy like him? You mean someone who’s funny, smart, successful…” Justin began ticking his attributes off on his fingers.
“Why are you trying to sell me on him?” she asked, suspecting Ryan may be behind this impromptu visit. “Did he ask you to talk to me?”
“No, in fact I offered, but he told me he didn’t want to put any pressure on you.”
“I don’t get it,” she said, shaking her head.
“A few beers in, he started to open up a bit more. He finally told me what happened between you two. He said if he could do it all over again…”
She held her hand up. “I don’t want to hear about it. None of us get a do-over, Justin. He has to sleep in the big, old, messy bed he made with all those cheap sluts who...”
Justin tried to hide his grin behind his water bottle when she fired a pencil at him.
“What the hell is so funny?”
“You’re jealous of women he slept with before he met you. That’s crazy, Al.”
“I am not jealous. I’m just glad I got to know what kind of man he was before I got in too deep.”
Propping a boot on his knee, Justin asked,
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