Gabe

My father has come back into our lives offering money and apologies but very little in the way of explanations. Nothing to explain why he left our mothers pregnant and alone and nothing to explain why he hasn’t contacted us before. For a little while it’s been like a dream come true but I’m too cynical to believe that anything is free.

Maxwell Marshall has his reasons for coming back into our lives now and I plan to find out what they are.

“Do you have time to help me with an engine rebuild later today?”

Zack apparently doesn’t share my need for self-reflection. The sides of his hair have grown in a little and the top is spiked up into a little mini-hawk. He’s wearing a short-sleeved shirt so all his ink is exposed. Our reflection in the mirrored elevator doors is pretty amusing. He looks like he’s on the verge of committing a felony and I look like I’m on the way to a business meeting.

How deceiving appearances can be.

“I don’t have time today. Maybe tomorrow?”

Zack makes a face. “On a Friday night? Aren’t you going to be busy?”

I don’t look up but I can sense his scrutiny. “No.”

“What happened to Gabriella? The two of you were so cute together. Even your names were cute.”

I snort as the elevator opens on the top floor with a tinny ding. Zack never liked Gabriella. Not that it mattered since I wasn't inviting her over for family dinners.

“We parted amicably.”

He shrugs and follows me down the hall. “Which means she begged you to stay and you convinced her the whole breakup was her idea, right?”

Gabriella was a way to pass the time and I suspect I was the same for her. There were no tears when we broke up. She just seemed more annoyed that she would have to find someone else for the occasional night of dinner and uncomplicated sex. I suspect she was more upset about the disruption to her schedule than she was about the possibility of not seeing me again.

Zack knocks on the door of my father’s suite before I have a chance to. I don’t bother giving him an answer and he doesn’t look like he’s expecting one anyway. Probably because he already knows he’s right.

Sometimes I hate that he knows me so well.

There’s movement behind the door, a soft shuffling and then the sound of voices. The door opens and Carol, one of my father’s many assistants, stands in the doorway. She’s a pretty young redhead with soft blue eyes and a perky ass. My father has managed to surround himself with beautiful women even in his retirement. He particularly seems to like redheads.

Carol stands back so we can enter. “Zack. Gabe. Your father is expecting you. Please come in.”

“Last chance to back out,” Zack murmurs.

He glances back at me and I nod. He looks vaguely disappointed but then he turns back and steps across the threshold. Carol smiles at him absently but when her eyes meet mine, she blushes slightly and looks away. I sigh.

The game is on.

*   *   *   *   *

When we enter the room, Max turns toward us. If he’s surprised to see that Zack is with me, he doesn’t let on. Part of our unholy deal with our newly found billionaire pops is that we each have to visit him for an hour each week. Zack has already been to see him at his usual time yesterday. My brother is here today for a different purpose.

Today, he’s the distraction.

“Hey Max. Taken over the world yet?”

It’s a familiar joke by now, spawned by the fact that my father owns so many different businesses. There are few industries that he doesn’t have some interests in and as someone who grew up owning jack shit, the concept is fascinating to me.

“Not yet. There’s always tomorrow.” His familiar reply comes in a voice that sounds raspier than usual. He’s sitting in a chair by the window but his wheelchair is in the corner. I wonder how hard he had to fight to be allowed to sit unaided.

Zack takes a seat on the couch, looking uncomfortable. It’s been a long time since he’s done this and that’s why I only tapped him for an easy role today. Manipulating doesn’t come easily to Zack and he’s only doing this because we both agreed that it’s time for us to find out what our father is up to. Zack never enjoyed these games the way I did. But then I’ve always known that my little brother is a much better person than I am.

“Here you go. A Coke for you and a glass of water.” Carol brings the drinks in on a tray, the same way she always does. Somehow she manages to keep straight all of our usual drink orders, something Zack and I realized during our planning.

He looks up at me and nods slightly. Then he reaches forward and knocks the glass of Coke over, the dark liquid immediately spreading across the coffee table. Carol gasps and jumps back.

That’s my cue.

“Here, use my handkerchief.” I step closer, much closer, into her personal space.

She looks up at me, her pupils dilating slightly. When she realizes how close I am, she sucks in a breath and her cheeks flush red. I’m using the fact that she likes me to my advantage, something I should feel terrible about. Instead, I raise the white handkerchief I brought for this purpose in front of her face.

As soon as her eyes latch onto it, I move a little closer, bumping into her. My right hand simultaneously unclips the security card on her waistband.

“Oh thank you,” she whispers. She takes the small square of fabric and blots at the drops on her sleeve.

“I’ll grab some towels from the bathroom.”