Chapter Twenty-One #2
“You needed to help your brother. I get it. I’d do anything for my family, and they’ve pointed out that I’m not always rational when I think I’m protecting them. But you took too big a risk, sweetheart. Promise me you’re not going to do something like that again.”
“Get a job with Winters, Inc.?” I asked, trying to keep up with his shift in mood. His hands slid down my arms and pulled me closer. Almost close enough to kiss. The woodsy Aiden scent of him was distracting.
“No, promise me you won’t do something that leaves you open to criminal charges.”
Dazed by his nearness, I met his dark eyes and promised, “I won’t. That was a one-time thing. I swear.”
“Then your brother better keep his ass out of trouble, because I won’t have you throwing yourself in front of him every time he fucks up.”
“Hey,” I protested, trying to pull back. His fingers tightened around my arms, not letting me move. “Chase is not a fuck up. Chase is brilliant and he works his ass off. He made one mistake—”
“Fine,” Aiden said, cutting me off. “I don’t want to fight about your brother. Considering you said he was pissed when he found out what you were up to, I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt. For now. But I’m not going to let you put yourself in danger. For anyone.”
“First of all, I’m not your problem—”
“You are absolutely my problem, Violet,” Aiden said. “Everything about you is my problem. My problem and my business. You can’t brush me off with some lame resignation email.”
“You can’t—”
“Do you want to come back to work?” Aiden asked, interrupting me.
“At Winters, Inc.? No. No way,” I said, scrambling to keep up.
“Good. Because you’re fired. Have dinner with me tonight.”
“What?” I stared up at him, finding myself leaning into him exactly the way I’d wanted to, my breasts brushing his chest, his hands sliding back up my arms to cup my chin.
“Have dinner with me, Vi,” he said, lowering his head slowly, closing the distance between his mouth and mine. His breath whispered across my lips. “I woke up without you this morning and I didn’t like it. Have dinner with me. And then we’ll see.”
I parted my lips to say okay, but I didn’t get the chance. His mouth was on mine, his fingers cradling the back of my head, angling my face up to his. My arms wrapped around him, and I held on, falling into the kiss, tasting him, opening for him.
I was lost, and he felt so good I couldn’t think, couldn’t get my head together, when Chase’s voice cut through the room.
“What the fuck is going on? Get your goddamn hands off my sister.”
Oops. In the shock of seeing Aiden, I’d completely forgotten that Chase would be home any second.
Aiden stepped back just enough to angle his body in front of me. “I’d say that’s up to your sister.”
Great, just what this situation needed. Two overprotective males trying to establish dominance over the female.
Like I couldn’t take care of myself. I rolled my eyes, though neither of them noticed.
Before he could stop me, I slid out from behind Aiden and stepped between them, evading Chase when he reached out to grab my hand.
Taking a deep breath, I said, “Aiden, this is my brother Chase. Chase, this is Aiden. I think you two have a lot to talk about. And none of it has to do with me.” Catching my brother’s eye, I said, “Chase, I think you should hear him out. It didn’t happen the way we thought it did.”
“And you believe this guy?” Chase asked, sending Aiden a withering look.
“I believe him,” I said to my brother. Turning to look at Aiden, I found him staring at Chase like he’d seen a ghost.
Before I could ask him what was wrong, Chase said, “Vivi, no. I know you want to believe him but—” He sent Aiden a sidelong look filled with mistrust.
Aiden, for his part, didn’t seem to notice. He was studying Chase like he was a bug under a microscope. His attention made me uneasy. Chase took my hand and tugged me closer, away from Aiden. I vaguely heard Aiden murmur, “Excuse me”, before Chase started in on me again.
“You’re gorgeous, Vivi, and you’re smart.
So smart. But you don’t have a lot of experience with men.
And none with men like this. I’m not surprised he’s interested in you.
He’d be crazy not to be. But that doesn’t mean you can trust him.
Or isn’t he the reason you cried yourself to sleep last night? ”
Like I really wanted Aiden to know about that. I looked over my shoulder, prepared to be embarrassed, but Aiden wasn’t there.
Before he could come back, I hissed under my breath, “He was, but it was a mistake. A mix-up. I thought he knew things about what happened with the company. I thought he was just playing with me, but I was wrong. He wasn’t working with Harrison, Chase.
Harrison must have misrepresented the ownership of CD4, he was trying to get you to sell at the same time he was after Winters, Inc.
to buy. That’s how it happened so fast. But they didn’t know, and they were pissed you didn’t come along with the company.
The guy in Winters, Inc. who brought the deal to the table ended up getting fired over it. ”
Chase dropped my hand and took a step back. “You believe him,” he said, considering the possibility that he’d been wrong about Harrison and Aiden Winters.
“I do. I do believe him. I looked, and I never found anything on Aiden. On any of them. They may not be saints but they’re fair. Aiden’s been more than fair with me.”
“Yeah, I’m sure,” Chase scoffed. “Like he doesn’t have an ulterior motive for that.”
“Don’t be an asshole,” I said, poking him in the arm. “He asked me out to dinner.”
Chase rolled his eyes to the ceiling as if imploring the heavens for patience. “Vivi. Can’t you find another guy? Maybe you’ll meet someone when you go back to school.”
“I didn’t say I was going back to school,” I protested. “I’m looking for a job. I just need to build my savings back up a little bit and then I’ll go.”
“You are going back to school,” Chase said, implacable.
“Your savings would be fine if I hadn’t fucked up and gotten you screwed out of your shares of CD4 Analytics along with my own.
If the sale had gone through the way it was supposed to, you would have had more than enough money to go back to school.
This is my fault, and I’m paying your tuition. ”
“Chase, stop blaming yourself. It happened. It’s over.
You’ve looked out for me since Mom and Dad kicked me out.
You gave me a place to live. You gave me a job.
It’s not like I didn’t get paid every day I worked for CD4, and the company before that.
I’m not mooching off you for school, too. I can work.”
“This isn’t a discussion,” Chase said. “I already sent for information from the University of Georgia, Georgia Tech, and Emory. I set up appointments at all three for next week so you can talk to someone in admissions about transferring your credits.”
Hands on my hips, I didn’t bother to hide the aggravation in my voice when I said, “Chase, stop organizing my life. I can do this on my own.”
“I know you can, Vivi. But you’re taking too long, so I did it for you.
” My annoyance didn’t ruffle Chase. He just gave me a cool stare, and before I could respond, a hand closed over my shoulder.
From behind me, Aiden said, “Not UGA. The commute to Athens is too far. I’ll talk to someone at Emory.
She won’t have any trouble transferring her credits. ”
“Because a Winters can take care of this with a phone call,” Chase said, with a sneer.
“Both of you, shut up,” I said. I’d had enough of bossy men for one day.
“I don’t need either of you fixing everything for me.
Just back off.” Looking at Chase, I went on, “Talk to Aiden about the company. I’m going to go brush my hair and then we can get lunch.
” To Aiden, I said, in a softer voice, “I don’t need your help with school.
I can do this on my own. What time are you picking me up for dinner? ”
Aiden’s eyes softened, and he raised one hand to stroke my cheek. “How’s seven-thirty? Nothing fancy unless you want to get dressed up.”
I shook my head. “Casual is good for me.”
“Then I’ll see you at seven-thirty.” He dropped his head and pressed a light kiss to my lips. I tried not to feel disappointment when he pulled away. Making out in front of my older brother would not smooth the way between the two of them.
I left the room to brush my hair, hoping I wouldn’t return to a fist fight in progress. I was only gone a few minutes, but when I came back, Chase was alone.
Before I could ask, he said, “We have a meeting tomorrow afternoon. Aiden, his cousin Gage, and me. He said we’d work things out.” Chase shrugged. “We’ll see. I don’t like you going out with him.”
“I know you don’t,” I said, giving him a quick hug on the way to the front door. “Good thing I’m not asking for permission.”
I ignored his big brother glare and slipped out the front door on the way to the car. Considering the way the day had started, things were looking up.