Chapter 4
Chapter
Four
ASHER
The morning after Anabelle Boudreaux’s visit, I finish up my swim and join my brothers in the dining room for breakfast as usual. Nero and Kol are already there, but Sid is absent.
“How was your swim?” Nero asks, pouring himself a coffee.
“Fine.” I sit beside him and slide my cup his way for him to fill it. I take a sip and set it down to put some eggs and toast on my plate, along with berries.
“You swam longer than usual. You’re usually the first one here in the morning,” Kol says.
“What is this, an interrogation?” I stab my eggs with my fork.
The truth is that I did swim longer than normal. I’ve been agitated and filled with restless energy since yesterday and wanted to burn it off with the hopes of a more productive day.
Kol chuckles as if he’s in on some inside joke, but I ignore his childish antics.
“Anyone know where Sid is? I need to ask him about that EPA bullshit going on over in Delaware.”
Voss Enterprises purchased some land to develop into a high-end oceanside resort, and the EPA’s been on our ass about displacing some fucking birds that nest there every year.
“Don’t know where he’s at,” Nero says.
We eat in silence before I decide to give them the heads-up they need regarding our new employee who will be starting today. I’ve been somewhat dreading it, knowing they’ll likely read something into the arrangement I made, but they shouldn’t.
“You two should know that I’ve hired Anabelle Boudreaux from Oak Haven Estate to work for me. She’ll be living here for the next year.”
Kol’s fork slips from his grip, clanking against the plate. “Why the fuck would you do that?” He glares.
“For my own amusement.” I reach for my cup of coffee.
“Maybe if you ever left this fucking place, you wouldn’t have to drag in strays to keep yourself amused.” Kol pushes his chair back and leaves the room, sliding past Sid as he finally graces us with his presence.
“What’s his problem this morning?” Sid asks as he sits beside the chair Kol just exited, reaching for one of Mrs. Potter’s freshly made scones.
“He’s pissed that our big brother hired the Boudreaux girl to work for him and live here for a year,” Nero says before popping a grape into his mouth.
Sid pauses from ripping apart his scone and eyes me across the table with an arched brow.
“Her father owed me money and defaulted on the loan, and I was set to take their estate. She begged me, said she’d do anything to keep it.
Making her life miserable for the next twelve months felt like it would be entertaining.
” I shrug, playing off my own confusion as to why I decided on this avenue for her to repay the debt instead of a more customary agreement with a higher interest rate.
I’m still not sure what possessed me to make the offer.
Yesterday when she was in my office, sitting in the same chair as her father had two years before, begging and sniveling like the piece of shit he was for me to grant him a loan, all I noted was the difference between them.
Whereas he’d disgusted me with his display of weakness, Anabelle had put on a strong and tough front.
Oh, she’d been pissed, there was no doubt about it, but she was equal parts afraid.
Still, she put on a good show, and it sparked something in me—the need to keep pushing her to see how much she’d take before she broke.
Sid rips the scone the rest of the way apart and pulls the fresh cream and jam toward him. “What are you going to do about—”
“I’ll handle it.” My voice is sharp.
The idea that he thinks I’d let an outsider discover anything they could use against us is insulting.
He nods. “What’s she like?” Nero asks.
I turn to my left and look at my youngest brother. The one we all tried to protect from the horrors that were inflicted in this place. “I have no idea what she’s like, Nero. Nor do I care.”
“Is she hot?” Sid asks.
My head whips in his direction. “Don’t even think about it. She’s not here to serve anyone but me. I don’t need her riding any Voss dick that comes her way, thinking that gives her a free pass to skirt her duty to me.”
“Interesting…”
I scowl at Sid. “What?”
He shoves a large bite of his scone into his mouth and gives me an innocent look. Well about as innocent as he can manage.
“She’s practically a child compared to me. You’d do well to remember that too.”
“Speaking of women, I started dating one I think might have promise,” Nero says, changing the subject before Sid and I get into it.
At thirty, it wouldn’t be unheard of for Nero to want to settle down with someone, maybe start a family, but my protective instincts flare to life. Even before our father left this earth eighteen years ago, it always felt like my duty to protect my brothers. Nero especially.
“Who is it? What do you know about her?” I ask, spreading honey on my toast.
“Uh-oh, you’ve switched on Ash’s overbearing big brother mode,” Sid says and shoves another chunk of scone into his mouth when I glare at him.
“Her name is Maude Johnson, and she lives a few counties away. Before you say anything, we met unexpectedly when her tire blew out on one of the county roads, and I stopped to see if I could help.”
“Such a Prince Charming,” Sid says with no small amount of sarcasm.
“How do you know she didn’t target you?” I ask before taking a bite of my toast.
Nero rolls his eyes, always thinking the best of people.
I’m right to ask though. When you grow up a billionaire’s son, you spend your entire life vetting whether women want you for your money and power or just for your dick. Which is part of the reason I stick to fucking women now, not dating them.
“She didn’t target me. Did you hear what I said? She had a flat tire.”
When he says shit like that, I wonder if maybe the three of us sheltered Nero too much.
“Just be careful,” I say, knowing I’ll be ordering a background check on this woman at some point today.
The sound of a throat clearing has me looking across the room. Marcel stands straight as a ruler, hands behind his back. “Miss Boudreaux is here for you, sir.”
“Put her in my office. I’ll be there shortly.” My fingers tingle with anticipation. It’s been a long, long time since there’s been anyone new in Midnight Manor.
I take my time finishing my honey toast and getting the latest update from Sid with regard to the EPA situation. He’s the lawyer in the family and assures me that the team of lawyers at Voss Enterprises are on it.
“Let me know if and when Kol needs to get involved.” I glance at Sid from under my brows, and he nods.
Suffice to say, those cocksuckers at the EPA don’t want Kol involved.
I push away from the table, discarding my napkin beside my plate.
“Have fun with your new pet.” Sid chuckles. It would probably sound good-natured to anyone else, but I hear the cutting edge under the surface.
I grin at my brothers. “Oh, I plan to.”
Poor Anabelle Boudreaux isn’t prepared for the likes of me. Gone is the cushy life provided to her by her father with borrowed money. She’s about to wish she could give me the estate and call off our deal, but once she’s signed on the dotted line… she’s mine.