Take It (Sinclair 1)

Chapter 4

N ick looked up from the report he was working on and discovered that it was time for lunch. The rest of the morning was business as usual except for the fact that he still hadn’t opened his blinds or left his office. He was in a slightly better mood, but felt it was best to avoid the public. Thankfully, it was a quiet morning, and no one needed him for anything yet. Nick jumped slightly when his cellphone rang.

“Yup.” He answered without looking at the display.

“I called you this morning,” Deidra “DD” Sinclair said by way of greeting.

Nick sighed and leaned back in his chair. “I was in a mood. Besides, we all spoke this morning.”

DD scoffed, “When are you not in a mood? And, last I checked, you were about to confront a possible stalker. God forbid I care enough to actually check on my big brother! I take it this stalker is the reason behind your sour disposition? Spill.”

Nick smiled for the first time in hours. “Well if you would shut up I could probably tell you. It was a woman….”

DD gasped, “Shut up! Was she building up the courage to ask you out?”

“No.” Nick rolled his eyes. “First, she tried to deny watching me, then she tried to sound interested in me, but ultimately she ended up questioning me about Dad.”

“I’m sorry Nick, the right woman is out there for you. Did you tell her off or did you clam up like you usually do?” Leave it to DD to not beat around the bush.

Nick nodded. “I did tell her off.” He was suddenly sad. “It just sucks because I had the nerve to hope that she cared.”

Nick could hear DD drumming her fingers on her desk. “I know big brother…WAIT! Please don’t tell me that the stalker was THE Co-worker.”

Nick groaned. DD knew he liked someone at work, but when he refused to share any details, she nicknamed her “THE Co-worker” always putting extra emphasis on ‘the’.

“Yes.” he grudgingly admitted. “I told her to use someone else.”

“Why do I have the feeling that you are paraphrasing?” DD pointed out. “Can you PLEASE tell me who it is now that you knocked her off her pedestal?” DD begged. “I can tell you if I heard anything about her being a gold-digger or the sort.”

“Kalilah,” Nick admitted.

“Who?”

“Ka-lee-luh. Do you need me to spell it?”

“No. I know exactly who that is. What exactly did she ask you about Dad?”

&nb

sp; DD’s change in demeanor and questioning alarmed Nick. “Why?”

“I just need to know.” DD sounded slightly impatient.

Nick leaned forward and placed his elbows on his desk. “She asked me what it was like being his oldest son.”

“Are you sure she wasn’t just wondering? Did the question sound loaded?” DD inquired.

Nick was starting to feel nervous and impatient. “DD what is this about? What’s with the questions?”

DD sighed, “I’ll tell you in a second just please answer my next question. What exactly did you tell her?”

Nick relayed the whole encounter word for word. DD sighed like she felt sorry for him, “Nick. Do you know Kalilah’s last name?”

“No. Why? Just tell me, you’re starting to freak me out.”

Nick could hear DD shifting in her chair. She sighed again. “Nick. I’m sorry, but it’s possible that you just blew it with someone who was interested in getting to know you. She doesn’t need anything from you.”

Nick felt his stomach drop to his toes. He stood up and started pacing. “What do you mean? How would you know that?”