Chapter 21 Biggest Risk
BIGGEST RISK
“To what do I owe this call from my big brother?” Phoebe asked when she answered on Sunday morning.
Anya had left over an hour ago to go home and change for a showing.
“I wanted to share some news with you,” he said.
“Did you win a big case?” Phoebe asked. “And you’re not going to make me wait to get the email blast like everyone else?”
Wins were shared with the firm, even Phoebe’s satellite office two hours away in Southern Pines. His sister was killing it on her own.
There was a little bubble of envy that she was strong enough to take that stand and go. A risk that he wasn’t always so willing to take in life.
Not like his sister had.
But hadn’t he taken one months ago when he interrupted Anya’s dance at Ben’s wedding? Some might say that was the biggest risk he’d taken in his life. Didn’t mean it had to be work related.
“It’s a win but not monetarily,” he admitted.
“Oh,” Phoebe said. “Let me get comfortable. This sounds like a confusing conversation.”
“Am I bothering you and Elias right now?”
“Nope. I’m home doing some work and Elias is at the brewery.”
“How does that work with you both being so busy?”
“Matt! Don’t play games. You called for a reason and now you want to talk about my relationship?”
“Maybe they go hand in hand,” he said.
There was a five-second period of silence. “Are you dating someone and need advice from your baby sister?”
The humor in Phoebe’s voice didn’t amuse him.
“I’ve got a handle on it now.”
He could have used her help months ago, but there was no way he was letting on. What if Phoebe didn’t want him to pursue things?
Now it was too late. He didn’t care if she didn’t want him to date Anya.
It was a done deal in his eyes. This wasn’t dating.
This was a relationship.
“Then you only want to tell me who it is? Does anyone know?”
“You’re the first.”
“I feel so honored.” His sister was laughing. The giddy little schoolgirl laugh that was indulging him that she’d had when he wanted to tell her a knock-knock joke when they were younger.
“You should.”
“I’ll be serious. Who is it?”
“Anya,” he said.
She laughed harder than Anya did when his girlfriend saw his bidet.
“Stop being a jerk,” Phoebe said.
“Anya has said that to me enough too.”
“That’s right. So you be serious and tell me who it is.”
“It’s Anya,” he said again. “It really is.” There was silence on the other end. “Phoebe?”
“I’m processing. I know you mean it. You’re not laughing. You’re dating Anya. She can’t stand you.”
“It didn’t sound that way last night.”
“Ewww. Don’t share those things. My brother and my old best friend. No. I don’t want to think it.”
Talk about an insult.
“First off, I’m not talking about that and I wouldn’t.”
“You have in the past,” Phoebe argued. “I’ve overheard you talking about women you’ve dated and sex. It’s demoralizing to women to do that.”
He didn’t need the reminder.
“I think most men do it at some point in their life, even if it’s only with their siblings or best friends. I outgrew it in college.”
“Did you?” Phoebe asked. “Because I’m pretty sure I’ve heard it after that.”
His eyebrows came together as he thought. “Not from me. Or not me talking about a woman.”
“Could be you were just part of someone else’s conversation.”
“That’s right,” he said. “I can’t control what other people say to me, but I don’t do that and I’m not now. I’m saying that we have a good time together, but it was a rocky start.”
“I do need to hear this. I can’t figure out how you went from where you were to dating.”
“Boyfriend and girlfriend,” he said. “Partners.”
“Huh?”
“It’s more than dating,” he said. At least it was to him. “I apologized. A lot.”
“I’m sure you did. You hurt her. You were mean and a jerk. It’s as simple as that.”
“I don’t need it all shoved down my throat again. I owned up to it. I was honest and told her I had a crush on her and I went overboard in trying to get her attention. I was stupid and said I was trying to earn her trust. She’s changed a lot.”
“I noticed that too when I talked to her at Ben’s wedding. We’ve texted a few times but nothing major and she never said a word about you two.”
“Don’t be hurt. We haven’t had it be a secret in that we stay hidden behind closed doors, but you’re the first person I’m telling.”
He wouldn’t admit that Ben knew he had his sights on Anya, but he’d given no updates since.
“I’ll reserve judgment. Give me the lowdown.”
He gave his sister the condensed version of their dates. “She’s not afraid to speak her mind.”
“I can’t believe she told you that you were boring. I love it.”
He snorted. “You would. The next date I took her to Carowinds.”
“Did she make you puke? She always wanted to when you said you’d go on rides with her. I couldn’t handle it.”
“Are you kidding me? She really said that?”
Guess she had taken it easy on him. He had been turning slightly green and she said they were done.
“Back then she did. She meant it too.”
“We are both different people now,” he said. “And we get along well.”
“I’m glad. I really am. She’s had a hard life. I wish I’d been around more for her, but I didn’t know what was going on.”
“Tell me what I don’t know,” he said.
“First, I’m not sure what you know. Second, that’s a conversation with her. I don’t want to be spreading shit. She got that enough in school.”
“Then tell me about that. Not what was said but why it was said.”
“Matt...”
“Phoebe, do me a solid. I’m trying here. I like her a lot. I will not say where it came from, but I’ve learned from all the shit I did in the past. I don’t want to hurt her. The more I know, the better prepared I can be.”
His sister exhaled a long gush of air. “Fine. Just a little. She was the butt of a lot of jokes. You know she was na?ve and believed silly things.”
“Like the bear,” he said. He wouldn’t live that down.
“That was one of many. One of the other girls at the party that night said something at school and it made the rounds. Everyone thought it was a riot that Anya believed it was a bear. They yelled ‘watch out, it’s Yogi, run, Anya, run.’ A few called her Yogi for a short period.”
“Fuck.”
“Yep. I put a stop to it.”
He didn’t want to know how his sister did, but she was loyal that way.
“Her brother is a real asshole,” Phoebe said. “He’d say personal shit about her to people in school and get others to pick on her too.”
“You’re joking.”
Who betrayed a family member like that?
Then he remembered what Anya had said about her brother.
“No. I remember once she was sick and threw up or something. The details are foggy now, but EJ was making it out like she had puke in her hair and pooped her pants and didn’t know, then left the house that way. He was a horrible person.”
“Sounds it,” he said. “I don’t remember him.”
The guy was three years older than Anya, so a year ahead of him in school but not someone he ever associated with.
He wished he had because he would have decked the guy, then shoved him headfirst into a locker for saying shit like that.
“I wish I could forget him. He made her home life hard. There were a lot of fights with EJ and his parents.”
“She told me some of that,” he said.
“Then I won’t say more. Listen, Matt. You’re my brother and I love you, and though you were a jackass back then, you matured and grew out of it. You’re family and I’ll support you, but I’ve got a soft spot for Anya and always did.”
“You two had little in common. I remember that.”
“We didn’t. She was silly and liked to have a good time. I didn’t always and she brought it out of me.”
“She’s doing it with me,” he said.
“I’m glad. She got taken advantage of by guys. I know that, because she’s said it. I could see it happening too.”
“She’d mentioned the same, as I’ve said why I was single.”
“Women couldn’t put up with your crap,” Phoebe said.
“Yep. I was honest. I told her I wanted to earn her trust.”
“Is that why she came to you for the lawsuit?”
“She wanted you but wasn’t going a few hours away. She settled for me,” he said, laughing.
“It seems to work from what you’re saying. Don’t hurt her. If you do, I’ll have to have my boyfriend hurt you.”
He laughed. “It’s the last thing I want to do.” He turned when there was a knock at the door. “I’ve got to go. I think Anya is back. She had a showing this morning.”
“Hey, is this a secret from Mom and Dad?”
“I’ll tell them tomorrow.”
“Bye, Matt.”
He hung up the phone and tossed it on the counter, then opened the door. “Hi.” He leaned to kiss her. “Look at you all dressed up for work.”
She rolled her eyes. “This dress was the fastest thing for me to put on. I didn’t want to go home and change again.”
It was a sleeveless dress in light blue with a thick, white belt. It had some flow to it when she walked.
Once she slipped her heeled sandals off and removed the belt, it went from professional to summer fun.
“Damn. I can’t believe how quickly you transformed.”
“I do that with a lot of my clothing.”
“How did it go?”
She moved over and sat on the couch. “Well, I did something I’ve never done before and it felt incredible. I know why people do it, but I won’t allow myself to fall into that trap.”
“Color me intrigued. Are you going to share?”
“Color you intrigued? Is that lawyer speak?”
He grabbed her hand and yanked her over his body on the couch. “It made you question me.”
“I don’t think so. I think you’re being snobby.”
“Hardly that. A poor joke. Tell me what you did that you don’t want to do again but felt so wonderful.”
“I lied,” she said. “I never ever lie on the job. I just can’t do it. This is people’s hard-earned money and dreams. Lying serves no purpose. If telling the truth makes me lose a sale, then it does.”
He didn’t expect she’d be someone to lie to get a commission. Unless it had more to do with her father’s property than anything.
But people who lie about those things don’t own up to it and it was the first thing out of her mouth.
“What did you lie about?”
“First off, Calvin is their agent. He’s the imbecile that mansplains real estate to me.”
“The one that wanted you to give him your father’s listing?”
“That’s him,” she said. “He showed up ten minutes late blaming it on ghost clients like he always does. I was there early and his clients were too. They walked in. A lovely couple. Sally and Paula. They are artists and I could see their vision for the studio and gallery as they talked. My father had dreams like that once. He’d want the building to feel that presence again. ”
“That’s a nice thought.”
“Nice thoughts don’t pay the bills, but it’s what I’ve got. That’s me being soft again.”
He ran his thumb over her knuckles. “There isn’t anything wrong with being soft. You can’t change everything about yourself and you shouldn’t.”
“I know. I won’t.” She told him about the conversation before Calvin arrived. “He lied to them I wasn’t around yesterday. He does that. Puts the blame on others. He lied right to their face about having other people interested.”
“Are you sure he didn’t and he hadn’t told you yet?”
“I’m positive. He also told them I hadn’t gotten back to him on their questions, which he’d never sent. By the time the visit was done, Sally and Paula were talking to me and ignoring him in the room.”
“He would have hated that.”
“He did. He talked down to me some more. Told me I had so much to learn from him. This is where I lied. I acted as if I completely forgot and told him I had a call tomorrow with a big retail chain. A direct sale. Someone reached out to me on the building and wanted to talk.”
“No one did?”
“No. I didn’t do it because I want him to rush Sally and Paula.”
“You did it so he didn’t dick them around,” he said. “I get it.”
“Exactly. It felt so good. I didn’t lie to the clients and never would.
It was only to Calvin. I want them to have it if they can afford it.
They said their funding was in place. My father will not negotiate.
We listed a price and if we get a reasonable offer, we’ll sell.
Calvin would get them to offer higher and faster against imaginary clients he had.
But he doesn’t know mine doesn’t exist, so now he’s got to play it differently. ”
“That’s a little devious of you.”
“I know,” she said, smirking. “If it was anyone else, I’d feel horrible, but it’s him. I want those two women to have it and I hope he gives them the attention they deserve.”
“I hope for you too,” he said. “How about me? What kind of attention do I deserve?”
“What kind do you want?” she asked, straddling his lap.
She hiked her dress up to her hips to spread her legs around his thighs.
Her mouth moved close to his, her hands on his cheeks.
“I want everything, all of you,” he whispered.
She sat back before she kissed him, her eyes looking into his. “I’m not sure I’ve got it in me to give anyone everything, Matt. You should know that.”
Those words sliced into his skin like a machete through a tomato. He refused to let her see.
“I’m talking about sex.” He forced a laugh out. She smiled back.
“Well then, you should have said that.”
“I just did.” He stood up, her legs wrapped around him, then he walked to his room where he could shut her words out of his brain.