“So, does that mean you quit because you’re going to see me at work every day. Yes, if I were you, Josh, I’d quit. Make it easy on mom and dad and me and yourself. There isn’t any room for Joshua Reid Hewitt at the company.” I scoffed, rolling my eyes at his new name.
I was twenty-four when that happened. He was twenty-two. And even that ass-whipping didn’t change him.
Well, I shouldn’t say that. It made him hate me even more. But, even though my parents never kicked him to the curb like they should have, I respected their wishes to look out for him and keep him employed with the company. But, to show me he wasn’t leaving he collected his more than ample paycheck every two weeks plus his full insurance, paid vacations and all that jazz and was almost never in the office. At least, it was like that for a while. Then, I think he woke up the realization he may need to plan for his future.
He had the wool pulled over most of the employee’s eyes, hence Mrs. Ogawa getting Natasha placed as quickly as she did. He had lunches and Friday afternoon cocktails sent to the departments a couple times of the year. He never mingled with them but free beer got a guy a long way among the staff.
Joshua did manage to weave his way in with a good number of shareholders who would never vote him out. They had escorts sent to their hotel rooms whenever they were in town, drunk driving citations swept under the rug. My brother loved to have people owe him for something and now he had Natasha. What did she owe him I had to wonder?
I remember thinking of all these things in a matter of seconds when Natasha told me how she and my brother had met and what he had done for her.
“I wouldn’t be working at all. I wouldn’t have met you. I’m so confused, Marty. But please believe me when I tell you the last thing I ever wanted to do was cause a problem in your family.” She wiped her eyes with the paper napkin. “Oh my gosh, your mother would think I was a big slut. She’d never allow me in your house. I’m so embarrassed.”
I took a deep breath. Sure my heart was broken. But I couldn’t help but feel that Natasha was telling me this not because she had to but because she wanted to.
“You’re right, Natasha. You aren’t married to me or my brother or anyone else. You do have every right to go out with whoever you want whenever you want.
But…”
“But what, Marty?” she looked up at me with those beautiful blue eyes, pushing her long blonde hair away from her face. Her mascara had run just a little bit in the corner of her eyes and I thought she had probably never been this vulnerable in her whole life. The next words I chose to say could save her from herself or blow her apart like the dry leaves out on the parking lot surface outside the window we were sitting next to.
“But I hope you come to a decision soon. And if you believe it is what is best for you then I’ll be happy. Whatever you choose.”
Snapping out of my daydream I looked at Ray who was scratching his head.
“Marty, I gotta tell you that that is the dumbest thing you could have said. I’ve had the pleasure of talking with Miss Natasha Morgan more than once and she is waiting for you…not Joshua...you to tell her you love her. You want her and only her. You can see it in her eyes? Have you been working so hard for so long you don’t know that look in a woman’s eyes anymore? Because if that is the case, my friend, you need a lot more than a pep talk from me.”
I shook my head. Ray was right.
“You know if she chooses your brother that isn’t going to end well either. He had Molly in his life for a good long while. I don’t think I was the only one who thought that maybe, just maybe she was going to be the one to settle him down.”
“Yeah, I thought that, too. She seemed nice enough and was very comfortable with the cameras and tabloids and all that nonsense that feeds my brother’s engine.”
“Yeah, but what does he do? He intentionally has a fling with some woman in front of the cameras and Molly says see you sucker and heads back to Canada. Now, he’s back to being our problem.”
“Yeah, curse that Holly.” I said sarcastically as if any of it was really her fault. She didn’t know who she was dealing with.
“But, if he did that to a woman who fit in with his weird and attention hungry lifestyle, what will he do to Natasha? She’s just as happy to go with you to Betty-Jean’s diner as she is to any $3000 plate fundraiser. Sitting in your office to talk after hours? And has she ever once said ‘Marty, take me out somewhere!’ No. She hasn’t.”
Ray reached into the cooler and pulled out another beer for himself.
“What kind of sandwiches we got?” he asked, kicking the other
cooler my chef had prepared for us.
“Well, I knew it was just going to be me and you, Ray, so I requested your favorite.”
“No. Liverwurst on rye. A slice of raw onion? Yes.” His eyes rolled in the back of his head. “You really pulled out all the stops.” He said, unwrapping the thick sandwich from the paper wrapping.
“You do realize, Ray, if I confront my brother on this it may get ugly. He doesn’t like being told what to do.”
Ray wiped his mouth with the sleeve of his flannel shirt and swallowed the monstrous bite of food he had been chewing.
“All you do is say the word, boss. I’ve been wanting to kick his ass for over a decade. The way he treated your parents who were nothing but decent to him was a sin against humanity. They should have taken a strap to him years ago. But better late than never I always say.”
“I mean it, Ray. My brother is unhinged. Anything contrary to what he expects and the whole door may just come flying off. Are you ready for that?”
“You sound like you are getting ready for a war, Marty.”