Chapter 15
He leaned back against the fridge and eyed the email Desmond had sent him.
The subject line was state laws re: adoption.
It was just one of the many ideas Desmond had floated to “improve their image as a couple,” most of which were sent before the marriage announcement interview came out and the public’s opinion started to reluctantly improve.
Noah hadn’t checked online. But Desmond had assured him that the consensus was that Benji was an innocent sweetheart who was living out a movie plot. Desmond also read out a post that called Benji “a shaky chihuahua learning how to be loved,” which Noah would never tell Benji.
He tucked his phone away as he heard footsteps coming down the hall.
“Hey,” he said as Max slouched into the kitchen. “You’re up early.”
Max mumbled wordlessly and gestured at the fridge.
Noah moved out of the way. Max groped for the fridge door, his eyes still half-closed.
“You’re up very early,” Noah clarified. “Did you get too excited about the potato clock to sleep?”
Max groaned, foregoing the fridge entirely to turn around and glare sleepily at him.
“It’s so pedestrian,” he complained. “Like, she’s seen what I can do in her class! And she assigns us all potato clocks? At least give me a different assignment so I’m not falling asleep during class!”
Noah grinned, opening the fridge so Max could get to the orange juice. “Maybe you’ll get lucky and develop Matilda powers from your lack of brain use.”
“Here’s hoping,” Max yawned. He dragged the orange juice out, setting it on the counter. “Can’t believe you never read Roald Dahl. Never thought I’d have to explain Matilda to an adult.”
“My parents weren’t ones for books,” Noah said as he fetched him a glass.
Max grunted his thanks and started pouring, only splashing a little onto the counter.
Noah wiped it up with a paper towel. He’d installed the rack sometime after Benji started spending serious time here and Noah started using the kitchen more, like he’d always wanted. It was easier to cook when he was doing it for someone else.
“So,” he said as he threw the paper towel in the robotic trash can Max had gleefully picked out last month when they were moving in. “Why the—?”
The robotic trash can interrupted, blue eyes appearing in its LED screen. “Thank you for the food.”
“You’re welcome,” said Noah and Max as one.
Noah turned back to Max and continued, “Why the early start, if it wasn’t potato clock excitement? You only get up this early when your head is busy.”
Max shrugged, wiping his orange juice mustache off. “Don’t know. Woke up, couldn’t stop thinking.”
“About?”
Max shrugged again. “Everything. It’s been a weird year.”
“Sorry about that.”
Max laughed. “Sorry? Dude. This has been awesome. Super weird, but awesome. I have a robot trash can! Benji doesn’t have to work all those shitty jobs, so he’s around all the time to watch movies with me!
You showed me that awesome stuff at your job, and that lady said she would think about giving me an internship when I get older! ”
“She doesn’t have to think about it,” Noah said. “Anytime you want an internship, you’ve got it. After you turn sixteen.”
Max rolled his eyes, but he was grinning. “And people at school have stopped being so weird about you and Benji.”
Noah frowned. “Weird?”
Max waved a dismissive hand as he finished off the juice.
“It’s gotten way better since that interview came out.
And the people who only wanna come over just because they want to see a rich guy’s place have finally given up.
And Dad’s finally stopped calling, I guess the restraining order really helped. ”
“Glad to hear it,” Noah said slowly, still stuck on the middle schoolers being “weird.” He hadn’t considered that classmates would want to come over “to see a rich guy’s place,” or that they’d have much to say about him and Benji. It wasn’t like they were hugely popular on social media.
Had Max mentioned this before? He might have brought it up to Benji, but Benji usually told Noah what was going on with his little brother.
Max snorted. “Dude, quit it with the face! Life is good. Even with all the weirdness, this is, like, the best year of my life.”
He rolled the empty juice glass between his hands. He looked uncharacteristically nervous, avoiding Noah’s eyes as he squirmed.
“Anyway, so. Thanks, or whatever. You’re… you know.” Max waved awkwardly in his direction, all stiff and uncomfortable but determined to get it out, and for a moment, he looked so much like Benji Noah’s heart squeezed.
“You’re a good guy,” Max continued in a rush. “I’m really glad you’re marrying my brother.”
Noah watched him pad back down the hall, his heart full. He got his phone out of his pocket and sent a one-line email back to Desmond:
I’ll consider it.
He walked into the meeting room to a sea of bright smiles.
“The prodigal son returns,” said Ford Fordson, just as much of an eager kiss ass as ever. “First vacation in five years! How was it?”
A middle-aged woman called Sigourney John ran up to Noah with an energy that he hadn’t seen since she announced her divorce last year. “Forget about the vacation, congratulations on your engagement! Your Benji seems incredibly sweet.”
“Mazel tov,” said Greg Halbert, who was fresh out of college and too bold for his own good. “Plus, great to see the media storm is dying down. That was not great for our investments.”
Ford Fordson gave him a panicked look. Greg looked back at him, amused.
“What?” Greg said. “He never said we can’t talk about it. Or is it not allowed since Noah moved up in the world?”
“You can talk about whatever you’d like,” Noah said, unable to keep an icy current of threat behind his polite smile. “Unless it’s badmouthing my fiancé.”
“We would never,” scoffed Greg, with a glint in his eye that suggested otherwise. Then his smile turned into something more solid. “Seriously, boss. If he makes you happy, he could be a circus freak for all we care.”
Noah laughed and made a mental note to have a meeting with this guy as soon as possible about holding his goddamn tongue around the CEO.
He liked to rib Noah before, which was fine.
But making fun of Benji was another matter entirely.
Noah wouldn’t stand for it, and it was time his employees knew that.
Ford Fordson made a noise like a warning alarm. At first, Noah assumed it was about Greg’s comment. Then he noticed Ford was staring behind him at the glass door.
Noah turned. His new assistant was standing timidly in the doorway, looking awkward. Security stood behind her, looking as severe as always.
“Um,” said Jenny, smiling apologetically. “Sorry to interrupt you, Mr. Stern. Your brother wants to see you.”
“Thank you, Jenny.” Noah kept his smile in place and turned back to the others, who were all avoiding his gaze. “I’ll be back in five minutes.”
Michael looked rough.
Dark circles under his eyes, rumpled suit, stubble overgrown in ways Noah hadn’t seen since their dad died. He was swaying slightly, and Noah couldn’t tell if it was on purpose or not.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you show up at work when you don’t have to,” Noah said as he pulled his office door closed behind him. “Must be pretty important, Mikey.”
He waited for Michael to sneer at him. But Michael just stood there, the swaying coming to an easy stop.
“He calls me that,” Michael said flatly. “Your sugar… guy. Calls me Mikey. You tell him he could call me that?”
“He doesn’t need my permission,” Noah said, feeling deeply fond of Benji as he imagined Benji getting up in Michael’s face, defiant and hissing. The nickname would have been harsh and mocking coming out of his mouth. Noah only wished he’d heard it.
Michael sniffed. He looked… different, Noah noticed. Before, he was wide-eyed and desperate, even when drunk. This version of him was quieter. More still. Like he’d accepted things a little more.
“Am I invited to the wedding?” Michael asked dryly.
He said it with an eyeroll, but Noah could see the genuine question behind it.
He wanted to be invited. And suddenly, Noah even wanted to invite him.
He was his big brother. Despite all their differences, despite what a stupid shit Michael had been, Noah loved him.
But Benji came first. Benji would always come first, now.
“Are you going to stop trying to ruin my fiancé’s life?” Noah replied. “I haven’t even talked to you about Chet yet. You brought his dad into it? Can we expect his mother to appear out of Vegas anytime soon?”
“Thought about it. Couldn’t find her.” Michael smiled, like he was making a joke.
Noah sighed. “Get out of my building, Mikey.”
“Wait, I didn’t mean it.” Michael reached up as if he were going to grab him.
But before Noah could step back, Michael stopped.
Dropped his hands. He even stepped back, bowing his head.
It made Noah remember something about their childhood: their dad taking them to their first game of golf, igniting a lifelong passion in Michael and a lifelong hatred in Noah.
Their dad had been talking to a caddy, who had been avoiding his eyes the whole time.
And after he left, their dad had turned to them and said, Never drop your head when talking to another man. It shows weakness.
Michael never showed weakness willingly. Except now, apparently.
His mouth moved wordlessly. For a shocking second, Noah actually thought he might apologize. As if that could make up for the mess that he’d dragged them all into.
Then Michael stepped back again, rubbing his mouth in embarrassment. “I’m still not getting sued, right? For the…”
He motioned at nothing, encapsulating the millions of dollars he’d embezzled from clients who trusted them.
“Not to my knowledge,” Noah said coldly. “And if someone tries, I’ll handle it.”
Michael gnawed at his lip. Noah watched him struggle against the words, something Michael was deeply unused to. Usually, he blurted out whatever was on his mind and hoped he had the charisma to make them sound charming.
There was no charisma in his voice as he admitted, “I still think he’s using you.”
“I don’t care what you think,” Noah said. “He’s mine. Do you understand? And you do not come after what’s mine. Not Benji, not Max, not Tia—”
Michael scoffed. “Tia’s fine. She got that fashion job, right? Didn’t she always talk about that? If anything, I did her a favor.”
Noah gritted his teeth and stepped closer, watching as Michael forced himself not to flinch back.
“None of them,” Noah said quietly. “Do you hear me? I’ve protected you this far. But I can start taking away safety nets.”
“Protected me,” Michael repeated with a thin, resentful smile. “You fired me. You ruined my life.”
“You ruined your own life,” Noah told him.
“For fuck’s sake, Mikey. You’re a criminal.
You had everything, and you wrecked it for no fucking reason.
And because I’m too soft for my own good, I let you keep your money.
Your contacts. You can go do something else.
So go do it and leave me and my people alone. ”
Michael’s eyes went hard. His upper lip curled, and Noah braced himself for his older brother’s vitriol.
“Your people,” Michael said. He took a deep breath…
And then wilted. Just a fraction, the movement so small Noah wouldn’t have noticed it unless he was watching closely.
Michael averted his eyes. “Fine.”
Noah waited. That couldn’t be it. But Michael stayed silent, staring at the wall with his jaw flexing from side to side.
“Fine?” Noah asked finally.
“Sure,” Michael said dully. He looked back at him, his lips stretching thinly around a weak smile. “I’ll leave everyone alone. But only because I want to see your face when you realize I was right. They’ll screw you over, baby brother. Then you’ll see I was only trying to help.”
“He turned down your money,” Noah reminded him.
“Yeah. Well.” Michael frowned, and Noah watched the confusion get wiped away by his usual self-assuredness. It looked more flimsy than usual.
“He’ll leave you eventually,” Michael finished. “You just wait and see.”
Noah wanted to laugh. But when he looked at Michael, all he could muster was exhaustion, resolution, and a faint pity. Michael didn’t have any people. He didn’t trust anybody enough.
After a long day of handshakes and congratulations and of people politely not mentioning how fast the engagement was or that, until recently, Benji was part of a tax code none of his coworkers had ever interacted with, Noah headed to Tia’s apartment.
“How was your first day back?” she asked as they sat on the couch facing each other.
Noah considered, chewing the hamburger he’d picked up on the way here. They had the takeout bag ripped open between them as a makeshift plate, covered in fries and the pickles that were already dripping from Tia’s burger.
“Long,” he admitted. “It made me miss Bali.”
“Yeah, maybe don’t take five years between vacations next time.” Tia grinned, covering her mouth to hide her mouthful. “Lucky the honeymoon’s coming up, right? Where are you guys headed?”
“I’m taking him to an island off the coast of Greece,” Noah replied. “But enough about me. How was your first day ever?”
Tia beamed. She had been waiting for him to ask, had been practically vibrating since he came in.
“It was great!” she announced. “I think I’m going to be really good at this. I should’ve gotten a job in fashion ages ago. No offence.”
“None taken,” Noah said, pushing down the wave of regret at not pushing her to consider her career earlier.
His phone vibrated in his pocket. He fished it out to find another email from Desmond.
Let me know if I need to congratulate you on your new kid, it said.
Noah smiled.
“Aw,” Tia said. “What’s happening now? Wedding stuff?”
Noah didn’t respond. He was thinking back to last night, Benji curled up in his arms while Max sat next to them, the brothers trading pieces of Chinese food as they argued over the best video game movie.
It had been comfortingly domestic. Noah hadn’t realized how much he’d been craving it until they moved in.
He thought about the list on the fridge, covered in three types of handwriting. The robot trash can that Noah was getting weirdly attached to. Max’s excited rambling about whatever had happened at school that day, which was never annoying like Benji had warned.
“I think I’m going to adopt Max,” he admitted.
Tia stopped, the burger halfway to her mouth. “Holy shit. Are you sure?”
Noah pictured Max’s shy smile as he told Noah that he was glad Benji was marrying him, traces of the orange juice mustache still clinging to his upper lip.
“I’m sure about all of it,” he said.