Chapter 19
Claire
“What do you do for work, Claire?” Sam asked.
“I was the financial manager for my mother’s insurance company in Connecticut. After I decided to move here, I sold my shares.”
“She didn’t leave the company to you?” Stefan asked.
“She knew I didn’t want to run it. She and Joseph started it shortly after moving to the States. He worked for an insurance company in New York, and they sent him to Paris to get the offices there up and running. After he met my mother, he decided he wanted to start his own company, so they moved to Connecticut and built one from the ground up. Before my mom passed, she appointed Richard, a close family friend who worked for them from the beginning, to take over.”
“So, you’re unemployed?” Sebastian asked.
“For now.” I smiled. “I’m not worried. I’ll find a job here.”
“Where did you go to college?” Sam asked.
“I got my MBA from Columbia.”
“Can you come by our offices tomorrow morning around ten o’clock?” Sam asked.
“Yeah. I can do that.” I smiled.
“We need to get started immediately on the plans for your new home.”
“I can get the blueprints from the city before heading into the office,” Stefan said.
“No need. I already have them,” I said.
“Even better.” Stefan grinned. “I still can’t believe I watched my sister sing on American Idol all those years ago. This is just crazy.”
“You could have sung professionally,” Shaun said. “Why didn’t you ever pursue it?”
“It wasn’t a big dream of mine. My mom and Joseph pushed me to try out for American Idol. It was fun and a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I’m happy I did it but prefer singing and playing music in a more casual setting.”
“You can sing and play here all you want with us.” Sam smiled.
After talking for a while, I hugged my family goodbye, walked over to Shaun’s, and said goodbye to the girls. Nick pulled up and climbed out of his car as I approached my apartment building.
“Hey, you.” Nick smiled, hooking his arm around me.
I needed to tell him about the family, but I was too tired to do so tonight. His face told me he was tired, too.
“You’re just getting home?” he asked.
“Yeah.” I smiled. “I’m exhausted.”
“Me too. My place or yours?”
“Mine, if you don’t mind.”
“Not at all. I’ll be over soon.” He kissed the side of my head.
Nick
My alarm went off, and Claire stirred in my arms.
“I don’t want to get up,” she moaned.
“You don’t have to.” My lips pressed against her head. “I’m going home to shower and get ready for work. Dinner later?”
“Sounds good.” She smiled as she lifted her head from my chest and kissed my lips before rolling on her side.
I climbed out of bed, grabbed my clothes, and went to my apartment. Last night, I didn’t get the chance to talk to Claire about the weekend. We were both tired and crashed after having sex. But tonight, I’d ask her.
I went up to the cardiac unit to check on a patient of mine from last night—a sixteen-year-old girl named Bella, who had a heart attack.
“Good morning.” I smiled, stepping into her room.
“Morning, Dr. Russo.”
“How are you feeling, sweetheart?”
“I’m okay. Dr. Kind was just in here. He’s going to run some more tests.”
“You’re in great hands with him. He’s a genius when it comes to the heart.” I gently squeezed her hand. “You get some rest, and I’ll check in with you later.”
I walked out of the room and saw Christian walking toward me.
“Hey. I can’t believe you didn’t tell me.”
“Tell you what?”
“About Claire.” He smiled.
“What about her?”
“What do you mean?” He chuckled. “That she’s Sam’s, Stefan’s, Sebastian’s, Simon’s, Shaun’s, and Nora’s sister, and also my cousin.”
My brows furrowed. “What?”
“Fuck. She didn’t tell you?”
A sickness formed in my stomach. “No. She didn’t tell me.”
“Did she tell you she bought the Aubert’s house next to Carter’s?”
“No. When did you find all this out?” I asked.
“Last night. Damn it. I shouldn’t have said anything. She’ll tell you.” He patted my back. “She probably hasn’t gotten around to it yet.” His pager went off. “I have to run. I’ll talk to you later.”
I stood there in shock. Was that the reason she moved to California? She knew all this time and didn’t say a word, knowing that I was friends with all of them. And the fact that she bought a house and didn’t say anything really burned me. Was she using me to get to them?
“Fuck her,” I mumbled, shaking my head as I went down to the ER.
Claire
“There she is.” Sam smiled when I stepped into his office. He walked over and kissed my cheek. “Stefan will be here in a minute.”
I handed him the blueprints to the house, and he rolled them on the table.
“Morning.” Stefan grinned, walking into Sam’s office with a coffee in his hand.
“Morning, Stefan.” I smiled.
“So, sis.” The corners of Sam’s mouth curved upward as he glanced at me. “What are you thinking for the house?”
“I want to expand it right to the edge of the second property,” I pointed out. “That’s where I want the kitchen. And I want the whole house to be an open concept.”
“Thank God,” Stefan said. “That house.” He shook his head.
“Also, I want to extend the sliding door off the kitchen.”
“Music to my ears.” Sam grinned.
“I also want this entire living room wall to have floor-to-ceiling windows. The house has four bedrooms, but they’re on the smaller side. I want to knock out the rooms and extend the primary bedroom and bathroom.”
“So you want to make it a three-bedroom home, correct?” Stefan asked.
“Yes.” I smiled.
“Thats not a problem,” Sam smiled. “I’ll work on the design today and call you when it’s ready for approval. In the meantime, let me know if you want anything else.”
“We’re going to have to pull a lot of permits, so I’ll get started on that now,” Stefan said.
“Morning.” Shaun walked into the office.
“Morning, bro,” Sam and Stefan both spoke.
“Morning, Shaun.” I smiled.
“How are the plans coming along?” He walked over to the table.
“Our sister is very demanding.” Stefan grinned.
“Aren’t all women when it comes to the home?” Shaun winked at me. “When you’re finished here, come down to my office. I want to talk to you about something.”
“Actually, we’re done now,” Sam said. “She’s all yours.”
Shaun and I took the elevator down to Sterling Capital.
“Selena, I want you to officially meet my sister, Claire.”
“I couldn’t believe it when Shaun told me.” She smiled, shaking my hand. “Coffee?”
“I’d love some. Thank you, Selena.”
“Have a seat.” Shaun gestured. “I want you to come work for me and Sterling Capital.”
“What?” I cocked my head. “Seriously?”
“Yes. A while back, I had an issue with a few employees. They were embezzling from me.”
“Oh gee, Shaun. I’m sorry.”
“Thanks. The thing is, you need a job, and I need a financial manager I can trust. You’ll have a corner office, an excellent salary, and full benefits. Plus, you’ll enjoy working side by side with your brother.” He grinned.
“Shaun, I don’t know what to say.”
Selena walked in and handed me my coffee.
“Say yes.” She smiled. “You’ll love working here. Just don’t let your brother boss you around. He can be a real handful at times.”
“Don’t you have work to do, Selena? Because I need those reports like yesterday.” Shaun cocked his head.
“See what I mean.” She winked and left his office.
“What do you say, sis? Come work for me.”
“Yes, Shaun. I’d love to work here.” I grinned.
“Excellent.” He glanced at his watch. “I have some time before I meet with Carter. Let me show you around and introduce you to the staff who will be reporting to you.”
After Shaun showed me around, I hugged him and left Sterling Capital. I pulled my phone from my purse and called Richard when I climbed into my car.
“Claire, sweetheart. How are you?”
“I’m good, Richard. I told them last night.”
“And? How did they take the news?”
“It was a little tense at first, but everything’s good. I got a job.”
“Excellent. Where at?” he asked.
“My brother, Shaun, offered me a financial manager position at his company, Sterling Capital.”
“That’s wonderful, Claire. I’m happy everything is working out.”
“Me too, Richard. Sam is drawing up the plans for the remodel of the house.”
“Good. I can’t wait to see it when it’s done. Listen, sweetheart. I have a board meeting to get to. I’ll talk to you soon.”
“Okay. Bye, Richard.”
I sent Nick a text.
“Hi. What time are you getting off? I want to make reservations for dinner. I got a job today and can’t wait to tell you.”I attached the smiley emoji.