“That she is,” he agreed and glanced at the clock. “Want to go to lunch after I take care of these emails?”
“Sure,” I agreed as he read the screen and typed something. I knew that he was going to hold back from this even though that little drawl of Jane’s turned me on. She was nothing like the others but that was part of the appeal to me. In about fifteen minutes, he got up and I followed him to the elevator to hit our favorite deli. I crossed the street and looked over to see Jane and her friend walking back to work
The dress hugged her curves well as she walked, laughing at something the other girl said. Jane wasn’t skinny but she was not overweight either. She was only about five foot six and she reminded me of one of the pin up girls you see at places. I didn’t like a woman too skinny anyway, since I liked to have something to grab or smack. The idea of smacking Jane’s ass made me harden a little and I looked away.
“That is not Tracy and Veronica,” Brent said beside me as I nodded. I looked away every time I saw Tracy in the building, knowing too much about her. I didn’t make it obvious after what Veronica told us but I t
ried not to be overly friendly to everyone to begin with. I was still trying to figure out my role here completely and I tended to follow Brent’s lead at the office.
He was polite but not too friendly. He did things for the staff on more of a low-key level, excluding our assistants. I knew that he struggled with that though. We entered the deli, running into some friends that we ate with. They were still living our old lives and we caught up with them before excusing ourselves to get back to work.
I felt some resentment towards everything that happened as we walked back. I missed Dad, my former life, and the relaxation that I used to have even when he was pushing us. Now we were learning how to run his company and trying to take care of our family with the little time that we had during the day. I fucked off more than my brother and knew that, not listening when Dad suggested college to both of us. I think that Brent was considering it before Dad died and he still could, but with what time? Now that we were both working so much, I didn’t see time for too much unless my brother wanted to study online late at night.
I knew that things might calm down after the holidays, but this as one of the most successful shipping companies in the world. We had many regular clients and the office was rarely dead, no matter what time of year it was. I remembered the hours that Dad spent at the office even when it was established, though somehow, he managed to work time in with both his family and his wife. “It’s hard to believe that Trevor and the guys are still doing the same thing, isn’t it?” Brent asked as I glanced at him.
“In some ways. They are just twenty-two as we are.” I shrugged as he took a slow breath. “Do you miss it?”
“Of course, I do. We were living that life up until the night he died and it was a great one. I have to wonder if we’d have done it forever, though,” Brent glanced at me as we walked into the building. “It would have gotten boring eventually, right? We’d settle down like Dad did: get married, have a family, or whatever.”
“That sounds like the future, not now. I am having trouble wrapping my mind around this sometimes,” I muttered in a soft voice as we walked across the lobby to the elevators. Brent smirked at me with a weary gaze in his eyes as we leaned against the back wall of the car and took the ride up.
Jane was sitting at her desk and working at her computer as we walked up and I took in those big eyes of hers. They begged for me to touch her, take her like I had the girls before her. I wanted to fuck the innocence right out of her, making those eyes beg for more as I blinked. She looked up as she sipped from her cup, smiling at us as she set it down.
“You found the good deli,” Brent told her as she glanced at the cup and laughed.
“Yeah, thanks to Bre. I don’t know this side of town too well, but I reckon I will soon enough.” She glanced at the office door and then back at us.
“Did you want me to keep working out here?” Jane asked as Brent looked at me.
“How confident do you feel on the orders?” His question was kind, and Jane blushed a bit.
“I think I’m fine. Maybe leave the door open?” She suggested with a sweet smile as my brother laughed.
“Done.” Brent replied as we walked inside and left it wide open. We took our places and started working, playing a station on Pandora low so we could hear if Jane needed us. I kept from talking about her as we worked, keeping it to general business as I grinned behind my desk. He looked at me a few times, shaking his head as he noticed the look in my eyes. “Stop it,” he spoke softly as I laughed and glanced at the door.
The day ended at five, and we walked out with her, offering Jane a ride to her place as she grinned and waved her hand. “I’ll catch the bus, but thank you. I’m expecting my mama to be there with supper ready.”
We watched her walk to the stop and get on the bus for a moment as Brent narrowed his eyes. “I’ve never met a girl like her before.”
“Mom would want to eat her right up,” I told him as he laughed and nodded. “We should tell them about Christmas since Mom would love to fawn all over them.” We shared a long look.
“The first Christmas, though. Would that be too much? I know that we’ll have a ton of family over already, but would Mom be up for it?” Brent wondered aloud as we walked to the car. I knew that it was insane to consider this idea at all, but something about Jane touched both of us…well, besides her sweet drawl and hot body. She just seemed to need a family for the holidays and that was Mom’s specialty.
Brent walked into the house first and inhaled the scent of roast chicken. “That smells so good.” He said as we looked into the kitchen to see Mom helping with dinner.
“You’re home for dinner!” She came and hugged both of us before telling us to wash up for dinner.
We all sat down as Ashley tried to text before Mom told her to put her phone down. We talked about Christmas Eve dinner and the following day, during which family would be in and out. It was going to be busy and emotional for all of us and I looked at Mom for a long moment. “Mom, are you sure about all of this?”
“I know that I could spend it with just you three, but we never did that before. Dad always wanted the family here and I am not going to change that this year,” she looked at me with a soft smile. “I’ll feel better having people around. It doesn’t mean that I’ll miss him any less, you know.”
“We’re just making sure that you’re okay,” Brent told her as he reached out for her hand.
“I know,” she replied as Ashley looked on with wide eyes. She was having a hard time with Dad’s death and we were all worried about her. Mom told her that she could bring her boyfriend to ease her pain and made us promise to be nice to him. We both grumbled about it but knew that Ashley needed everything that she could have to get through this tough day.
After we finished dinner, Ashely disappeared upstairs and Mom brought us into the living room. “I am going to be in the area doing a little shopping for Friday tomorrow. Can I take you handsome boys to lunch?”
“That would be great, Mom. Come in any time since you’ll end up talking to the entire floor,” Brent teased her as I laughed. “Is Ash coming with you?”