by Ford, Mia
“Thank you,” I said excitedly. “It was a lot of hard work.”
“You graduated early, right?”
I went to answer, but he cut me off.
“When I was in college, I was part of the rowing team so leaving a year early would have been nearly impossible,” he said, starting to brag. “But things were different at my school, I suppose.”
“Ivy Leaguers definitely do things differently,” I said, trying to hold back the annoyance I felt at his need to show me up with his college education.
I’d had a crush on Nick since I was like eight years old, and from the amazing smile he flashed standing in front of me, he had only grown hotter over the years. He was always a bit of a wild child, running around with his friends, asserting his wealth, and to be honest, being kind of a dick sometimes. But at home, we really got along. It had been a really long time since I had seen Nick, so I was pretty stoked when I walked into the kitchen and he was standing there. He lifted up his phone and shook it at me.
“Come take a pic with me,” he said, smiling.
“Oh, I don’t really like pictures,” I said, blushing.
“Whatever, you’ll look hot,” he said, grabbing me by the wrist and pulling me into him.
I didn’t enjoy having my picture taken, but I sure didn’t mind having his arm around my shoulders and my hand pressed against his chest. I smiled for the picture and stood back while he sent it to whoever he was taking the picture for. I looked down at the list in my hand and realized I needed to get going on this so I could get to my new place and get settled in.
“Wanna help me clean my room?” I smiled big and watched as he scrunched his nose.
“Just have the maids do that,” he said. “That’s why they’re here.”
He was such a spoiled rich boy, and even though I still had the biggest crush on him, I couldn’t help but be slightly turned off by it.
“No, I can do it myself,” I said, turning and walking toward the door.
“Wait,” he said, jogging over. “I’ll supervise.”
It was kind of irritating how superior he thought and acted, but with one glance of his charming smile and amazing eyes, all was forgiven. I wasn’t even sure why Nick was here today, but it had been a long time since I had seen him, and it was definitely not bad to have him hanging around me. I never got much attention from him growing up, even though I was dying for it.
Instead, I’d sit at the kitchen counter, working on my school work, listening to my mother sing and hum, and steal glances of him when he and his friends came trampling through the house. He always ignored me in those situations, which I understood since I was the servant’s daughter, but it didn’t stop me from daydreaming about him. All the other girls had posters of rock stars or TV stars hanging on their walls. They would stare at them and imagine a teenage love affair. I didn’t have any pictures of Nick, but he was definitely the boy I laid in bed and dreamed about. It was a pipe dream, of course. I was the little immigrant from Mexico, and he was the rich heir to a real estate fortune, but that didn’t matter to me.
When we got to my room, I went straight in and started boxing things up. Nick looked around the room, picking up a picture of me and his mom. He smiled, but I knew he was smiling at her not me. It still sent butterflies through my stomach.
As I packed things away, I could tell Nick was getting restless, and it didn’t surprise me at all when he went wandering off. It was weird having him stand there and stare at me anyway. I pulled out my drawers and looked down at an old photo album I had stashed away. I picked it up and sat on the edge of my bed, opening it up and smiling at a picture of my mother and me. She was so beautiful and confident, and my whole life, I wanted to be just like her. As I flipped through the pages, tears tugged at the corners of my eyes and trickled down my cheeks. Hearing footsteps coming down the hall, I assumed it was Nick coming back. I closed the album and looked up forcing a smile. However, instead of Nick, Nathan walked into my room, and I quickly wiped the tears from my cheek.
He looked concerned for a split second before returning his face to that typical-Nathan, serious look. I was slightly embarrassed about getting caught crying over my mother, but I wiped my tears and took the silk handkerchief he handed over to me. I wiped my eyes and smiled, before handing it back to him.
Nathan was always so strange, so stern and serious. I always felt slightly awkward around him. He had been the only one to really pay attention to me as a small child, stepping to help me with my English when I had first moved to San Diego from Mexico. In fact, some of the things that he taught me really helped me move forward to fluently speaking English.
When my parents died, his face was the first I saw when I walked into the room full of police officers. He grabbed me by the arms and led me to the couch when I collapsed under the weight of the news. I could never tell whether his kindness to me was from his own heart, or because he knew how much his mother loved me and wanted to provide me with the best life that she could. Either way, awkward or not, he had always been there in the background so part of me was happy and comfortable having him come by to say hello, though I wasn’t quite sure how he knew I was here.
Nick had always been the one in the Landers family that I got along with the best. He had a fun personality, and when I got older, he became more playful toward me. It was only natural that I gravitated toward him, even though Nathan had been the more caring one. Part of me felt bad that I didn’t realize that until now. I’d always blown off Nathan and hadn’t even thought about it during family events. He walked in the door and looked around.
“Would you like some help packing and loading your things?”
He was quiet and serious, but I was happy he was there.
“That would be really amazing,” I said, relieved that I didn’t have to be alone during this.
Quietly, we moved around the room pulling everything out and wrapping the breakables. We packed the boxes as full as I could carry, since I would be moving them into my place by myself. I smiled at Nathan as he rolled up his sleeves and awkwardly taped the boxes. I could tell he had never actually moved on his own before, and I wondered who moved his things from college to his house on the water. Being as rich as the Landers meant they could hire someone to do just about anything.
When we were done packing, we carried the boxes, one by one, through the house, pausing momentarily to see Nick in the living room watching television with his feet propped up on the coffee table. Nathan rolled his eyes and shook his head as he pushed past and out of the house. He helped me get everything packed into my car and walked back in with me. As I started grabbing cleaning supplies, he chuckled, realizing there was no way I was leaving my mess for the maids. He grabbed the vacuum and followed me back, and we commenced the cleaning process.
Between the two of us, it took less than an hour to get the place cleaned. When we were done, Nathan helped me put everything away. I leaned in and hugged him tightly, thanking him for helping me. He smiled awkwardly before turning and walking to the kitchen. The house looked so sad and lonely now that Mr. Landers lived there by himself. Most of the shine had faded when Mrs. Landers passed, and she took a piece of my heart with her. I took a deep breath and headed down the hall, knocking quietly on Mr. Landers’s study doors.
“Come in,” he said sternly.
I cracked the door and stepped inside, my hands clasped in front of me.
“What can I do for you, Ronni?” he asked impatiently.
“I am all packed up,” I replied. “I just wanted to come in and thank you. Thank you for taking me in all those years ago and giving me the amazing opportunities that you have. I just wanted to let you know how grateful I am.”
“Mmhm,” he grunted, staring out the window.
I waited for a moment to see if he was going to say anything else, but he never turned to look at me. I took a deep breath and turned from the room, leaving the house without saying goodbye to the boys. I was hurt by Mr. Landers’s reac
tion, but there was nothing I could do but walk away. I looked up at the large mansion before getting in my car, excited about my future but sad to leave the place behind.
Chapter Three
Nathan
I was back in the office Monday morning, surrounded by people who either loved me or hated me. It came with the territory of being the boss. But even though I was at the top, a constant feeling nagged at me that my father was waiting around every corner, watching over my shoulder. The company wouldn’t be fully mine and my brother’s until my father was gone, not that I was looking forward to that day. But after I got out of college, my father wanted to retire, so he made me the head of the company. I knew that chapped my brother’s ass, but my father could see just as well as I could that Nick was not interested in taking over this company. I looked up at my phone as the secretary came over the speaker.
“Mr. Landers, your brother, Nick is here to see you,” she said.
“Thank you, send him in,” I replied, rolling my eyes and sighing, wondering what in the world he wanted now.
Nick strolled through the door, his hand in one pocket, and the other making sure his perfectly coiffed hair hadn’t moved from the same position it was earlier that morning. He looked around my office, picking up different items, scoffing, and putting them back down. I sat at my desk watching him, wondering what the hell he wanted.
“So,” he said, sitting down in the chair and looking at me. “Why haven’t you taken my advice on the acquisition I brought you?”
“Nick, we talked about this already,” I said, sighing.
“Remind me,” he said, lifting his eyebrows.
I wanted to slap that smug look off of his face.
“The property value is crap,” I replied without sugar coating it. “After estimating the number of repairs that we would have to do, the cost of the people we would have to pay, and the commissions that would come out of it, it wasn’t a smart business venture.”
“I thought profit was a smart venture,” he said angrily.
“Only if the profit is more than the cost of a light bill,” I said, looking down at the paperwork in front of me. “Time is just as valuable as money here, Nick. We could invest that time in a property that gives us five times the return.”
“It doesn’t have anything to do with the return,” Nick said angrily leaning forward. “It’s your irritating need to control every decision in this company.”
“That’s my job, Nick,” I replied, still not looking up at him.
“No, it’s your job to make this company money, and you’ll never do that if you keep turning down proposals based on your own sick need to be right,” he growled.
“Look,” I shouted, shutting him up quickly. “I would be more than happy to buy a property that will make us money. But you’ve got to find something more than these money pits you’ve been putting on my desk. They are a waste of everyone’s time, including yours.”
“Whatever,” Nick growled. “You don’t want to give me a chance. You never have. In reality, I know you’re intimidated by me. I’ve always been the one that people enjoy talking to. I’ve always been the one with creative ideas. You hate the fact that I’ve had the spotlight our entire lives. You hate that when people come to this company, they’d rather deal with anyone but you.”
“Enough,” I yelled, slamming my fists on the table. “While you’re out there daydreaming about bad business ventures, spending the family’s money, and frolicking all over California, I’m here running a business. I am the one putting the blood, sweat, and tears into it, and I would be a fool to let you come in and ruin our father and mother’s legacy. Now, if there isn’t anything else, I have work to do.”
“Fine,” Nick said, standing up and walking toward the door. He stopped in the doorway and looked back at me, a coy smile on his face. I knew whatever this was, it was not going to be good. “By the way, I have a date with Ronni tonight. Enjoy being alone in your office.”
I shook my head and watched Nick walk out of my office laughing. He was such an asshole, and I blamed my father for spoiling him and never putting his foot down. I didn’t know why it was a surprise to me, though. Nick had been a spoiled little jackass since we were kids, always flaunting his money and skirting his responsibilities. I was pretty sure the only reason he got into an Ivy League college was that he had someone else do all his work and had my father send them a very large donation.
Now he was taking Ronni out, the girl our mother had begged us to treat like our sister. I was slightly taken back by just how upset I was over this turn of events, but I knew it had to be because I was concerned for her, especially because of Nick’s playboy ways. I had seen the kind of man he was when it came to women, and it was shameful. Irritated by it all, I sent Nick a text message.
Nick, you cannot take Ronni out on a date. Did you forget everything that Mom asked from us? Ronni is like a sister to both of us.
I sent the message and sat back, waiting for a response. I knew he wasn’t going to have a lightbulb moment and cancel the date, but I hoped that the memory of our mother would be enough for him to leave poor Ronni alone. However, after about fifteen minutes, I realized that he wasn’t going to text me back. I picked up the phone and dialed my assistant’s line.
“Mary, I need you to call Nick’s assistant and butter her up,” I said. “I need to know where he is going to dinner with Ronni.”
“You got it, boss,” she said, hanging up the phone.
Getting more work done for the rest of the day was completely out of the question. The rest of the day, I quarreled with myself, trying to convince myself that Ronni was not my responsibility. In the end, though, I knew my motivations for wanting to interfere with this date were not completely innocent in nature. The truth was, I was attracted to Ronni, but at that moment, it didn’t matter. I didn’t want to see her get hurt.
I sat there for the rest of the day, fiddling with paperwork and jumping every time my phone went off. I also tried to decide whether I should go to the restaurant where Nick and Ronni would be. My secretary had gotten all the details, and I even knew exactly where they would be sitting. But what if I went and Ronni got angry at me? Nick could be a really convincing guy, even though I figured Ronni was too smart to fall for his bullshit. The only thing was, I knew she’d had a crush on Nick since she moved in with us all those years ago. He was her first real crush, and that was hard to walk away from.
I went back and forth with myself for hours. On one hand, Ronni was a grown woman now, but on the other hand, she was still young, just getting started in the real world, and there was a very high likelihood that Nick would break her heart into a million pieces. Just the thought of Ronni upset irritated me to the point that I made a firm decision. I would go there and see what I could do to diffuse the situation and keep my dumb ass brother from hurting Ronni. She didn’t need anymore pain in her life after what she had been through.
I stacked my papers on my desk and started to pack up. I was going to use the excuse of a meeting, but I wanted to go and change my clothes. Nick would never believe I had a Tuesday meeting in a polo and khakis at one of the hottest restaurants in San Diego. I went down to the garage and threw my stuff in the passenger seat, jumped in, put the top down, and made my way to my house on the beach. I lived in Coronado just outside the city so it only took me a few minutes to get there.
I jumped in the shower, did my hair, and put on one of my best suits, figuring if I was going to save the day, I might as well look good doing it. I decided to take a cab back to the city since it would be easier than finding a place to park. When the cab pulled in front of the restaurant, I paid him and walked in to claim the table that my secretary had reserved for me at the last second. I glanced over to where they were sitting and saw Ronni, looking bored as hell as my brother rambled on about something, probably talking about himself. As I walked, I kept my head down but coughed loudly, hoping to get her attention. Luckily for me, it worked, and I quickly
heard her voice.
“Nathan?” She sounded happy and confused at the same time.
“Oh, hey guys,” I said, walking over to the table. “Crazy seeing you here. I had a meeting, but it was canceled, and I figured why not get some food anyway.”
“That’s interesting,” Nick said in a monotone voice. “I thought Tuesdays were your no meeting days.”
“Well, Nick, when you run a company, sometimes you don’t get to pick your meetings,” I said in a confident tone that I knew would strike to the heart of him.
Nick was the kind of guy that could dish it out but not take it. Knowing he was here to put the moves on Ronni, with no intention of sticking around afterward, I didn’t feel bad at all in embarrassing him. He thought our parents’ money and hard work gave him the right to be a complete asshole, to ride on their shoulders and claim everyone else’s hard work as his own. As long as I had the ability to change that, I would never let him get away with it in front of me.
I was the person that actually worked hard. I was the person that was there for Ronni when she was learning English, when she was orphaned, and when she would come back every year to give thanks for what she had been given. I was the one that helped her pack up her things and get them to her car. He knew all of this, but he took the way my mother and I acted toward Ronni and rode on those coat tails. I never even gave a shit about his audacity until he decided to use it to hurt someone that was close to us.
“Well, why don’t I just join you guys,” I said, smiling at Ronni. “No reason to waste a table.”
They both answered at the same time, Nick said “no,” and Ronni smiled, saying “of course.” She looked over at Nick and wrinkled her brow, irritated by his asshole response. She looked back at me and pulled out the chair next to her. She patted the seat and nodded her head.
“Of course, you can join us,” she said, smiling. “Have a seat. We’ll have the waitress come take your order.”
I smiled kindly at Ronni and turned to Nick, trying to stifle a chuckle at the look of anger on his face. I was cock blocking him, and I was making no attempts to hide the fact. There were millions of women in this city, and there was no reason that he should be sinking his claws in someone as innocent and sweet as Ronni, especially knowing how our mother felt about her. As far as I was concerned, Nick had brought this on himself, and I was going to make sure he was miserable.
