Chapter 26
DARCY
L eaving Wren naked in bed this morning was the worst kind of temptation, but while I can handle operating on minimal sleep, this is all still new to him, and honestly, I don’t want him developing my bad habits.
And I know they’re bad. I don’t need him to point that out to me, but I’m not in any position to stop.
I’m hopeful that one day, Wren and I can halve the workload, but I don’t even know if staying on is something he’s interested in.
By my calculation, he has three or four weeks before he needs to return to his construction job, and while he’s settling in here, he’s not as enthusiastic about the company as the rest of us.
For me, Junior, and Tobias, MediaCorp is our whole world. Wren has just been dumped on top of the mountain and told to survive. Part of me wants him to walk away and save himself from the pressure, but the other, far more selfish part wants to run an empire with him.
Wren and me, working together every day, expanding across continents and making Father proud.
Well, proud except for all the fucking.
Because in my future fantasies, we’d still be doing exactly that. We’d make excuses of being busy for why we hadn’t settled down, maybe own apartments in the same building for easier access to each other.
The glorious fantasies fade into nothing as I grab my phone, remembering almost too late to give my cleaning team the day off.
A headache is building behind my eyes. You’d think after keeping the world’s largest secret for half of my life that I’d be okay with keeping another one, but it’s more complicated than that.
I don’t want Wren to be a secret. I want the chance to date him and spend time with him without jumping every time someone catches us together and getting worried about their assumptions.
There’s literally no reason anyone would suspect us.
I have to bank on that because it’d be disastrous if they did.
All I know is that I’m currently involved in the worst idea of the century. Fucking him out of my system? Maybe that’ll work for Wren—and I have to hope it does—but it’s not working for me. With every taste, every touch, I’m becoming more and more addicted.
It’s probably a good thing we’ve had so little one-on-one time together because the work I’ve been losing myself in is helping to take the edge off, to remind me that it can’t be anything more than temporary.
What’s a better reminder of illicit relations than being constantly told the man you’re sleeping with is your brother?
Some days, picking Wren makes sense in my head, but then the domino effect of my decision starts playing over, and as the nightmare progresses, I know there’s no way I could ever let it become reality.
In some ways, I’m starting to see Wren’s point about Father.
He’s left us in a horrible mess, though to play devil’s advocate, he probably never expected his sons to grow feelings for each other.
The headache throbs in my temple, and I open my drawer in search of painkillers as voices come from the hall outside. I’m expecting Wren for a quarter of a second before Mom comes into view … with Harvey trailing behind her.
I pop the pills and chase them down with my cooling coffee, then manage a friendly smile right as Mother walks into my office.
“Baby!” she cries, arms wide. “We’ve come to spring you out. Quick, grab your things, and let’s go.”
I pick up my pen, just for something to grip tight to. “I’m afraid that’s not possible. I only got in an hour ago, and I have a video call with accounts in thirty minutes.”
“An hour ago?” She nudges Harvey. “That’s the life, isn’t it?”
It’s painful to keep my pleasant expression intact and not respond with, Actually, the life would be living off my dead husband’s money, but what would I know?
“Is there something I can help you with?”
“We’re having lunch, darling. Harvey made the time today specially to come and see you, so come on now.”
“As I’ve already mentioned, I?—”
“Oh, don’t worry about the meeting,” Mom says, waving a hand. “I had Avery add it to Toby’s schedule.”
I discreetly add a note to my list to talk to Avery about adjusting my plans without consulting me. When Wren did it, it was cute. Mom doing it is downright presumptuous and rude.
“This acquisition is a big deal for me,” I say.
“It’s only the accounting meeting. If you’re anything like your father, you’ve already been over those numbers backward and forward.”
Your father . It’s never occurred to me how often she calls him that. Never Warren. Maybe that’s a normal thing people do, but I’m more sensitive to it now.
“I guess it’s lunchtime, then,” I say dryly, pocketing my phone and pulling on my jacket. “I assume you’re paying.”
She plays it up like it’s a joke, but if she’s pulling me out of work to carry on this farce of a setup, she’s sure as hell going to cover the check.
Mom takes off, and Harvey hesitates.
“If you need to go to your meeting, I can make an excuse,” he whispers.
I shake my head, not wanting him to feel uncomfortable. “It’s done now.”
“Sorry if I shouldn’t mention this, but she said you were asking to catch up, and you don’t look all that happy to see me. It was a lie, wasn’t it?”
I sigh because Harvey, with his warm eyes and deep voice, seems perfectly normal. “It’s me. I struggle to leave work behind.”
“Ah, one of those types. Maybe I can help you loosen up a bit?”
Good luck to him. If Wren can’t get me to take a step back, he certainly can’t. “I warn you, you’re only setting yourself up to fail.”
“I’m good with a challenge.”
“Even an impossible one?” I challenge.
“Think a lot of yourself, don’t you?”
“I’m just making it clear that when it comes to me, I’m … unavailable.”
“Because of work or because of someone else?”
Well, I can’t answer that, can’t I? At least not honestly. I could kill Mother for putting me in this position. “Work,” I finally say. “It will always come first.”
“I can work with that.”
Damn it. There had better be alcohol with this lunch.
“Knock, knock.”
I glance over to find Wren leaning casually in my doorway. Like it always does when I see him, my stomach gives a flip, fizzling nerves out through my limbs. “I didn’t think you were in today.”
Wren hums, looking Harvey over.
And of course, Harvey takes a step closer, hand extended. “Harvey Straussman. You must be the other brother.”
“Harvey, huh?” Wren shakes his hand but cocks an eyebrow my way.
“Ohhh.” Harvey glances back at me too. “You have been talking about me.”
If only he knew .
Wren pulls a face behind his back, and I struggle to figure out a way to get this conversation over with and the two of them out of the same room. Mom steps in before I get a chance.
“Oh. Wren.” She sniffs, saying without words how unimpressed she is that he’s here. “Just getting in, are we?”
“Considering Darce and I pulled an all-nighter last night, I’d say I’m entitled to a few hours’ sleep.”
“I don’t know why you bothered going home at all. It would have been easier to work through.”
He crosses his large arms, pulling his suit tight over his bulging muscles. “Sounds toxic, but okay.”
“Toxic.” She raises both eyebrows my way. “I guess work ethic isn’t a skill everyone learns. Are you boys ready?”
Harvey ducks his head and goes to walk out, clearly uncomfortable by this whole exchange. Wren’s seething, ready to either explode on her or punch something, and neither of those things will go far toward proving to her that he deserves to be here as much as the rest of us.
More than me, in fact.
I’m tired, my headache is only growing, and this deep seed of indignation is growing in my gut.
I speak before I’m even aware of the words coming out of my mouth.
“Actually, I’m going to have to take a rain check.
Wren’s incredible work ethic has reminded me that I can’t palm my responsibilities off onto my brother. ”
“Darcy, don’t be?—”
“You’ve just reminded me too,” Harvey all but shouts. “I’ve actually got somewhere I’m supposed to be. I can’t believe I forgot about it.”
“No, Harvey, darling, it’s?—”
“That settles it,” I say, talking over Mom and sending an apologetic smile toward Harvey. “I’m sorry we got in the way of your plans.”
“The weekend, then,” Mom snaps. “There’s a high tea for Charmaine House. You can both come.”
“Aww, I’m not invited?” Wren taunts. “The things I miss out on.”
I almost laugh but manage to keep it together. “It wouldn’t matter anyway. Not when we have …” My mind is ridiculously blank. “That thing.”
“What thing ?” Mom asks.
“We’re away. It was last minute—I haven’t even told Avery about it yet.” Because I’d be willing to bet the first thing Mom will do when she leaves is check my schedule for a free day. “We’ll be back Monday.”
“Where are you going? London?”
I pretend to check my watch. “If I want to get in on that meeting with Tobias, I better head down.”
“ Darcy bloody Ritcherson , answer my damn questions!”
Nope. I’m not her little boy anymore. If she wants me to behave like the heir to MediaCorp, she’s going to get it.
“Excuse me, but I am terribly busy and incredibly short on time. I have been nothing but polite to you barging in here and trying to redirect my workload. If you want me in this position”—I level her with a significant look—“you will get out of my way and let me do my job. And if you dare speak to me with that kind of disrespect in my office again, I’ll inform security this floor is off-limits to you. Do you understand me?”
I don’t like the look that crosses her face, but I’m too exhausted to care. And when I catch Wren’s eye, I see the sheer delight shining back at me, and I wish I could bottle the golden warmth that fills my chest.
With no more to say to any of them, I leave, taking the elevator down to Tobias’s office and making a mental note to book flights to … somewhere this weekend.
Somewhere without work.
Somewhere without family.
Somewhere without Harveys.
Just me and Wren.