Chapter 14 Dinner, Secrets, and Sibling Wars
POV Noah:
I prep the meat, eager to test my new secret seasoning, and I can’t wait to taste its tenderness and flavor. Wearing my sexy chef’s apron, I finish arranging it in the roasting pan and slide it into the oven. It’s like putting a baby to sleep. I laugh at the thought. I don’t see myself ever putting a baby to sleep—where did that come from? Better not to know. I go back to stirring my risotto, tasting a little on the palm of my hand.
Delicious. Just like me.
With music playing, I prepare a meal fit for a king—well, the king is me. I hope Liam likes the dinner I’m making especially for him as a thank-you. I heard from Deise, who heard from Mila, who heard from Amanda, that Liam was interviewing a new secretary. Which means that delicious woman will be hired. Unless she already was.
Scarlett. Beautiful.
Hot.
Not a fan of Damian. And I want to taste her.
I just need to figure out how to do that away from Liam’s eyes, and most importantly away from Damian’s. Company policy forbids relationships between colleagues, but I know that rule applies to everyone else more than it does to me. Fucking Amanda on Ethan’s desk wasn’t my best moment, especially after Damian caught us and lectured me in my head for three days.
“Don’t sleep with employees, you idiot—want to be sued for harassment?”
For a few days I felt like a kid being scolded by Dad, but that only lasted until I caught Damian buried in Amanda up to his balls. That’s when I realized my brothers are hypocrites. But that’s water under the bridge. I don’t fuck Amanda anymore, nor do any of my brothers. From what Damian said, Ethan and Liam had been sleeping with her. We made a pact never to fuck the same woman again, so we don’t step on hostile territory.
I hear cars outside—I know my brothers have arrived. Showtime. I’m hoping Damian doesn’t kill me when he finds out I asked Liam to hire that delectable woman. I finish seasoning the salad and wait for them to come in; I want to see what they think of my new secret dressing.
Being millionaires, our house should be full of staff catering to our every whim—but that’s not how we are. My brothers and I like privacy and simplicity. Our house is our refuge. I cook, Liam washes and irons, Ethan cleans, and Damian grumbles.
The first to appear in my sight is Ethan, his half-smile a prelude to something. Of the four of us, Ethan is the most like me; Liam is much more like Damian—his serious, proper manners give me the creeps. Maybe because they’re the oldest, it explains why I get along best with Ethan.
Those two uptight ones complete each other.
“Little brother, you’ve outdone yourself this time,” he says, attacking the pots like a starving man.
“What are you talking about?” I ask, slapping his hand away from the food.
Ethan broadens his smile and says nothing more; he sits on the stool on the other side of the island, watching me. Did he catch on to something? I’m sure he didn’t—Ethan knows nothing about Scarlett and her interview… or does he? I didn’t tell him, and I know Liam wouldn’t have told.
“Ethan, spit it out,” I demand, tired of his looks.
“It’s nothing—just sitting here, waiting for the show to start.” He laughs, which annoys me even more.
“What sho—”
“Noah, so it was you who encouraged that lunatic to tag—my car?” Damian bursts into the kitchen enraged, Liam right behind him.
I put on my best innocent face. Damian’s accusing stare fits perfectly with the disapproving shake of Liam’s head. I dry my hands on the towel, and calmly take off my apron, keeping an expression of confusion on my face.
“What?” I use my indignant voice. “Why would I do that? I don’t even know what you’re accusing me of, to be honest.”
I can’t stand another lecture from Damian about his beloved car—not after yesterday. Two hours of him complaining, cursing, threatening, and damning poor Scarlett who was within her rights to get revenge. Is she to blame for parking in my brother’s spot? Fuck, of course not. I’ve said it a thousand times: his name isn’t written there, so anyone has the RIGHT to park if they want.
“Noah, for your own good I hope she’s lying.”
I frown.
She ratted me out?
“Or else what? Fuck, Damian, it’s just a car and it’s already been cleaned.” His smile turns grim.
“Is that a confession?” he asks in a tone that puts me on alert. “Because if it is, nothing stops me from taking your signed cookware collection—you know, that one autographed by that chef you admire—and doing the same thing to it.”
“You wouldn’t dare,” I snap, straightening up.
“No—you would. You helped that lunatic degrade my car!” he shouted furiously. “And that woman had the nerve to tell my face she’d do it again.” A low laugh made Damian look at Ethan. “What’s so funny?”
“Nothing, just surprised how some strange woman got you so worked up so fast. I need to meet her,” Ethan smiled.
“She will,” I said, looking straight at Damian. “Liam hired her as his new secretary.” Damian snorted and rolled up his sleeves.
“No—he didn’t hire her,” Damian said with a sinister smile. “I forbade it, and I put a notice on that woman. She’ll never set foot in my company again.” I’m not one to pick fights with my brothers, but Damian’s behavior is starting to annoy me.
“I’ll hire her, then,” I said decisively. “The company’s mine too.”
“You—no…”
“I will hire her, and that’s the end of it. Enjoy your dinner.”
I didn’t wait for any of them to say more. I grabbed my car keys and went out for some air. I don’t understand why Damian is so angry at this woman—just because she called him an asshole? Hell! With his recent actions he only proves she was right. I admit I wanted to hire her because I intended to get into her panties, but that’s the least of my reasons right now.