Justin leaned back in the chair, scrubbed his hands over his face, then said quietly, “You need to sit down.”
Chapter 17
Jordan’s amazed expression told Justin exactly how he must look.
“This is un-frickin’-believable. Nate Wade is our half-brother.” With a sudden sharp look at Justin, he asked, “What about Marley?”
Justin didn’t even want to think about that. It made him sick to his stomach. Then he recalled Nate’s warning not to hurt her. Surely, if there were any chance he and Marley were related, Nate would’ve said something—right?
Right. He’d make sure Justin never went near her again instead of giving his blessing in that roundabout way. Relief filled him, and with confidence, he said, “No.”
“How do you know?”
“I know.”
“Just because you don’t want her to be your sister doesn’t make it so,” Jordan accused.
Glaring at him, Justin bit out, “I know because Nate interrupted us last night, and he came by to apologize this morning. If she were related to us, if I had been kissing my own damn sister, he would’ve said something.”
Jordan made a sound of annoyance. “I thought we agreed you weren’t going to pursue her.”
“I didn’t agree to anything. Besides, it hardly matters now that she quit.”
“Because of you—you’re thinking with the wrong head, man.”
“Get off my back already.” Justin surged to his feet and started for the door.
“You’re jeopardizing the company, Justin!”
He swung around. “How the hell do you figure? You’ve got the damn design and the Jenkins job. You said it’s what the company needed and I helped you get it.”
Jordan started to reply, recognized the truth in Justin’s words, and sighed instead. Justin felt some of his own tension ease as his brother’s expression registered remorse.
“I’m sorry,” Jordan said, turning back to his desk.
Justin ran a hand through his hair before dropping into a chair. “It’s a hell of a lot to deal with in one day.”
“You can say that again.” Jordan looked at his computer screen again. “I can’t believe Dad stayed with Mom all these years because Granddad paid him. Harder still to believe he kept our half-brother a secret.”
“Protect the family name and its connections at all costs,” Justin said with bitter sarcasm.
Jordan didn’t respond. Typical, Justin thought.
“Wonder what Cassie will say,” Jordan said.
“As long as it doesn’t affect her money, do you really think she’ll care?” Justin thought of their sister, who’d left for Europe without a goodbye and hadn’t called since. Well, she hadn’t called him. Maybe because he could never completely hide his cynicism toward her—she was just like the rest of them.
Elevating the family name, and maintaining their social status and high bank balance to ensure elite standing in the community was top priority. To hell with what a person might want or hope or dream of for them.
It scared him that Jordan became more like them every day. Too worried about what their parents might say, or how people in general would view him or his actions. Justin didn’t want to lose his twin—his best friend—to relentless demands and impossible expectations.
“You think Mom knows?” Jordan asked.
Their gazes met across the desk, and they both thought back over the years of their childhood. In public, Mom and Dad had portrayed the picture-perfect long-married happy couple, but at home you could’ve skated on the ice in the house on the Fourth of July.
As if he’d read Justin’s mind, Jordan gave a self-deprecating half-laugh. “Yeah, okay, stupid question. So now what?”
Justin tapped out a beat on the arms of his chair. A sudden thought stilled his hands and he locked his gaze with Jordan’s once more. “This puts Dad front and center. Obviously he didn’t know Granddad was going to leave the company to us. That’s why he was so mad at the reading of the will.”