Served (Breaking Free Book 3)

by Maya Hughes

  Luc stood up from his table and waved him over from the hostess station. Here we go. He let out a deep breath.

  “No problem, I see him over there,” he said to the hostess as he walked to the table. He gave his brother a hug and dropped his bag on the floor.

  “So, little brother, how’s the bar business?” It took everything in his being not to roll his eyes. Being the barely older twin, Luc acted like he’d taught Liam how to tie his shoes and ride a bike.

  “You know you’re only six minutes older.”

  “Six minutes is six minutes,” he said, looking over the menu. The waiter came over to the table and read them the breakfast specials. Luc put in his order for pancakes with extra whipped cream like a kid and Liam ordered an omelet. Handing back the menus, he turned back to his brother.

  “So, why the meeting? What’s going on?”

  “We have a buyer,” Luc said, his eyes practically flashing dollar signs.

  “You do?” he said, stunned. He hadn’t thought they’d find someone so soon. Selling had never really been on his radar, but he knew Luc was chomping at the bit to sell. As much as running Doppel didn’t interest him anymore, he didn’t know if he was ready to let it go and have someone else run the place.

  “Yes.” Luc clapped his hands together. “They sent over the paperwork yesterday evening.”

  “It’s really happening.”

  “It is.” Luc’s lips were in a tight line and he shook his head. “Why do you look like someone just shot your dog?”

  “There’s always acquisition talk. For some reason, I thought this would fall through like so many other deals with other projects we’ve heard about over the years.”

  “There’s a difference between all those other deals and our deal,” Luc said, smiling wide.

  “What’s that?” he said, his eyebrows furrowed.

  “We’ve got a kickass project making serious money,” Luc said, sitting back and crossing his arms over his chest.

  “If that’s the case, then why sell at all?”

  “Why do you even care? You don’t even want to be at the company anymore. And the reason we should sell… it’s a shit load of money.”

  “We’re already making good money.”

  “What the fuck, man!” Luc ground out. “I thought you would be happy,” he said, throwing his hands up. “This seems like the perfect solution to your sabbatical. Now, you don’t have to work at Doppel anymore. It won’t even belong to us. No more stress, no more decisions, no more Doppel,” he said, mockingly.

  “That’s kind of the problem. I wanted to step back and not be involved in the day to day. I didn’t just want to give it over completely.” Why couldn’t his twin understand that?

  Luc threw down his napkin. “First, you don’t want anything to do with the company and now you’re moaning because someone wants to spend a ridiculous, and I do mean ridiculous, amount of money to buy it from us.”

  “What about everyone who’s working now?”

  “Most will get to stay on, especially technical positions. Some of the administrative positions will be nixed.” He waved his hand like it was no big deal.

  “That’s no good, man.” Everyone that worked there had put in so much hard work to get the company where it was today. From the receptionist to the tech leads under him, everyone had worked extra hours to give it their all. And to just drop them now? He shook his head and peered up at his brother. What the hell had gotten into him?

  “Are you serious? You don’t want to do this because twenty administrative positions might lose their jobs?” he said through gritted teeth.

  “It’s not ‘administrative positions.’ They're people.” Since when had his brother become so cold-blooded?

  “Liam, you’re being unreasonable. We can give them very generous severance packages.”

  “No deal unless everyone gets to come with us.”

  “What do you care?! You’re not even there anymore,” Luc shouted, leaning over the table.

  “I care, okay? I care,” he shouted back. Luc glanced around and saw the other people in the restaurant staring at them. He plopped back down in his chair.

  “Fine, great. I’ll go back to them and tell them that. What other stipulations would you like to add? Unlimited vacation and free housing for all employees?” he said, mockingly.

  “Stop being a dick, Luc.”

  “Stop being an obstructionist, Liam.”

  The waiter came back with their food and drinks, which they ate in tense silence.

  “How’s Anna?”

  “She’s fine. She’s enjoying work, and refusing to consider leaving so we can travel once the acquisition is finished.”

  “If the acquisition is finished,” he corrected.

  “Yes, if,” Luc said, taking a sharp bite of his food.

  “Be patient. You only have to wait for summer and then you guys can travel until September.”

  “If the acquisition goes through,” he said, giving him a pointed glare. “I’d prefer that she not work.”

  “Do you think she’ll go for it?” Anna would not. She absolutely loved teaching and there wasn’t anything that would get her to give that up, not even for Luc. Luc shrugged.

  “It’s not like you’ll be able to stay out of the business world. I say you’ll be back to work within two months of the acquisition, if it goes through.”

  “I need to take a piss, I’ll be right back,” Liam said, pushing his chair back from the table and stomping his way to the bathroom. What a jackass his brother had become. Not caring about people losing their jobs? He didn’t know what was going on, but he was going to figure it out and be sure to let Anna know.

  He made his way back to the table, his bag laid open on the floor.

  “Look at you, in love with a jailbird,” he said, looking up from the folder spread out on the table.

  “What the hell are you doing going through my stuff, Luc?!” He ripped the folder that he hadn’t even been able to go through out of his brother’s hand.

  “You’re always so secretive about everything. I wanted to see what you have going on.”

  “What I have going on is none of your damn business! I thought we sorted all this out at dinner. You promised to ease up on Rox.”

  “So, this is the chick you left Yvonne for? An ex-con who works in a kitchen.”

  “I’m not going to talk to you about this and I didn’t leave Yvonne for her. I broke up with Yvonne before I started anything with Rox because she was a manipulative liar. Rox is not an ex-con.”

  “According to that,” he said, pointing at the folder. “She is.”

  “So, what if she is? She’s doing well for herself now. She’s working at the bar in the kitchen, making spectacular food.” A pang hit him in the chest. Her past wasn’t something they’d gone into, as much as he tried. He’d been patient, but he needed to hear all of this from her. He needed her to tell him everything.

  “And found herself a nice, juicy meal ticket.”

  “She knew nothing about me or the business before I started working there.”

  “Yeah, sure…there is such a thing as Google.”

  “She’s not like that.” She wasn’t. This couldn’t be a set up. He could not have something like this happen again. He shook his head, trying to clear it. She’d never do anything like Yvonne had done to him.

  “Liam, when are you going to learn that you’re a target now?”

  “You think I don’t know that? You think I don’t know that women are only into me now because of the way I look or the money I have? You of all people are talking to me about that? If anything, I’m way more aware of it than you are. You’ve always had no issues attracting women way before this. I know that it’s all only because I lost weight and now because I’m successful and have money. Do you think someone like Yvonne would have been with me if I was Lumpy Liam?”

  “Liam, I didn’t mean it like that.”

  “You may not have, but I know it’s
the truth. Do I think Rox is with me because of how I look or the money I have? No. Do I think she’s trying to play me? Hell no. Don’t think that just because I’m the tech guy, I don’t know what the hell living in the real world means. I have a hell of a lot more experience with that than you do.”

  Grabbing the folder off the table, Liam picked up his bag off the floor and pulled out his wallet.

  “I’ll see you later, Luc. I’ve got to go.” He threw down a couple of twenties on the table and walked away

  “Liam, don’t be like this,” Luc called after him.

  “I’ll see you later. Send me the papers when you get them. I’ll sign whatever you want.” He just needed to get out of there. Needed to figure things out and find out who Rox really was.

  16

  Chapter

  Rox was surprised Liam asked her to ride back to the house on her own. He’d been adamant he always be with her whenever they rode to or from work. They’d ridden their bikes separately, so she hopped on and headed back home. It was crazy how quickly she came to think of his house as home. For the first time, it felt like a place she could relax and be safe. Part of that probably had to do with the front gate and extensive security system, but it was also because of Liam. He made her laugh, left her breathless, and their time in bed, whether they were just watching a movie or doing other naughtier things, made her happier than she’d ever been.

  She parked the bike in the garage, hung up her helmet, and walked into the house. Most of the lights were off. The soft glow of the patio lights shined through the oversized glass doors that ran the length of the kitchen and living room. There were lights on in the kitchen nook.

  “Honey, I’m home,” she called out, laughing. Rox dropped her bag on the kitchen counter. Liam sat at the kitchen table with his back to her. She wrapped her arms around him from behind and moved to kiss him on the cheek freezing when she saw what was laid out in front of him on the table. Her past, her past even before Jon, came slamming into her gut. The wind knocked out of her, she snapped up straight.

  “Where did you get that?” She pointed at the file and whipped around in front of him.

  “You mean, where did I get a file full of information about Juliette Miles?”

  Hearing her old name on his lips sent a wave of disgust rolling through her stomach. To her friends growing up, she’d been Jules. The only person who called her Juliette was Jon and a shiver ran up her spine hearing it. And worse, the life she’d had before Jon wasn’t something she liked to remember. After she’d escaped from Jon, she’d changed it the first chance that she’d gotten and moved as far as she could at the time.

  “Yes, where did you get that?” she said, reaching for the file. He slid it away from her.

  “Give that back.” Why was he doing this? Why did he want to bring up her past now? How had he gotten the folder? Seeing it was a smack in the face to everything she’d built in her life since starting over.

  “If you want it back, then I need you to talk to me.”

  “Talk to you about what? You’ve read that file, so you think you know things about me? You think you know me now?” she said, her voice shrill. Her pulse pounded and her palms were sweaty.

  “I know more about you than I knew before. You never want to talk about your past. You always shut me down whenever I ask questions about your life before.”

  “And you think I owe you that? You think I owe you anything? I don’t. My life means it’s my choice who to tell and what to tell them and I didn’t want to tell you anything about this.” She shouted, jabbing her finger at the folder. How could he do this to her? She’d told him about the scariest time in her life, why did he need her to rip herself open and tell him everything?

  “Were you afraid I would kick you out? That I wouldn’t want a felon in my house?” She stepped back like he’d slapped her. Her hands tingled and she swayed on her feet.

  “Is that what you think?”

  “I don’t know what to think. I just know you won’t tell me everything,” he said.

  “Maybe I didn’t want to tell you because I didn’t want you to know. I didn’t know if you deserved to know that part of me,” she ground out. “And it looks like I made the right choice. It takes a hell of a lot for me to trust anyone. That list is pretty short and right now, you’ve just moved yourself off the fucking list.” Disgusted and on the verge of angry tears, Rox stormed over to the counter to grab her bag. She might not have many places to go, but she sure as hell wasn’t going to stay here with someone who thought of her as a felon.

  “You’re not going, Rox. We need to talk.”

  “No, we don’t,” she said, slinging the bag onto her shoulder. “It seems you already have everything all figured out, so you can take that folder and shove it up your ass for all I care.”

  “Rox, we’re not through here,” he shouted, as she stalked to the garage. She could feel him behind her and her heart raced.

  “Come back here,” he shouted, taking the bag off her shoulder and pulling on her elbow to turn her around. “I want to talk to you about this.”

  He raised his voice and those old fears came rushing back. She threw her arms up to block her face. Old habits die hard. She'd never thought that he would hit her, but she couldn’t take any chances. She’d been wrong before. Nothing happened and she worked up the nerve to glance up at him.

  “Rox…Rox, I would never,” he said, gently backing away from her. “I would never in my life lay my hands on you in anger.”

  Liam stared down at his hands in disgust. He had only wanted to get her attention, get her to look at him. The fact that she could be afraid of him, worried he might hit her, turned his stomach.

  “I’m sorry Rox. I’m so sorry I scared you.” He backed away farther, holding his hands out. Her chest heaved with heavy breaths and his stomach turned. She thought he would hurt her. After everything he’d tried to do to keep her safe, he ended up being the one she feared. He never should have yelled at her. The back of his legs hit the table and he sat back in his chair.

  “I…I didn’t think you’d hit me, it was a reflex,” she said, biting her lip. But he knew. He saw the fear in her eyes and the way she brought up her arms. He’d done that to her. “It’s something I thought had gone away, but apparently it hasn’t.” She stood in front of him, wringing her hands. IIt turned his stomach.

  “I didn’t want you to leave thinking that I didn’t care about you or that I thought any less of you than I did this morning. I want you to talk to me, Rox. I need you to talk to me. To open up to me.” He held his breath. Had he completely screwed everything up? Was she going to leave him now? Suddenly, the need to know took a backseat to his need for her to stay with him.

  “I could say the same about you,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest. She was gloriously beautiful when she was angry and she was seriously pissed off right now. He had a choice to make. He could understand not wanting to talk about your past. Hell, he avoided it whenever he had the chance, so he couldn’t exactly hold her to a different standard, now could he? Walking into the living room, she followed behind him at a distance, probably trying to figure out what the hell he was doing.

  What the hell was he doing? Was he ready to spill all of this out there for her? To lay it all out? If he wanted her to trust him and share her own past, then he’d have to.

  “I grew up a fat kid. I told you that before.” She nodded and sat next to him. “And Luc wasn’t. Luc was the popular twin. He was the one people wanted to hang around. I was just me.” She squeezed his hand.

  “Hey, I happen to like ‘just you’,” she said, smiling at him. This woman’s smile did things to him that no other woman’s could.

  “And I can’t tell you how much that means to me. Growing up, that’s how it was: Luc was popular and if I was lucky other people would invite me to tag along, but I always knew I didn’t belong. Then I started boxing, started to get healthier and lose the weight. By the time we made it to college
, people could actually tell Luc and I were twins. That whole time though, I worked on programming. I loved it and learned tons building small programs and websites. But I was still the shy guy from before. We hung out with Mark and chilled in our dorm and that was that. Luc, of course, found his time to go out and be crazy, but Mark and I played video games and had big ideas about what would happen when we graduated. Mark’s dream was to take over the bar and mine was to start a company with Luc to set our mom up for life and have fun while doing it. So, I put together Doppel.

  “Using Doppel means companies can send out messages to their customers through their phones when they get close enough and entice them into the stores. Simple enough, but it blew up in a way I never could have imagined. With the company's popularity came ours. And I’d never really had that attention before. It was—” He didn’t even know how to describe the rabbit hole of insanity it turned into, but she needed to know it all. “Attention like I’d never had before and it was obvious to people. The wrong kind of people could tell that.” He thought back to all the rounds of drinks he bought, parties he’d been invited to, women who’d thrown themselves at him. He’d been so damn stupid to not see it all for what it was. He shook his head and Rox squeezed his hand.

  “I met a girl. Thought she was great. But she was a liar and I fell into her trap. If I hadn’t stumbled onto her lie, who knows what would have happened.” He would have been married to a viper without a pre-nup, that’s what would have happened.

  “What was the lie?” Rox asked softly, encouraging him.

  “My ex pretended to be pregnant and was going to tell me she had a miscarriage to get me to marry her.” Rox gasped beside him and rubbed his hand. Having her there centered him. He couldn’t believe what he’d almost fallen for with Yvonne, but in a way, he had to thank her. He might not have left the company and started working at the bar, had it not been for her. And he wouldn’t have hashed things out with Rox and been with her right now.