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She is, but I don’t know why.
Margaret and I shoot the shit for a few minutes before she leaves for the day, and then I retire to my study. Alone in the beautiful room, I stare at my computer screen. I’ve already run a background check on Alex, of course. Well, the HR department did that. It came back clean: no record, no crimes. Still, I want to know more about who she really is, and so, I Google her.
It feels invasive, creepy, and weird, but I do it, anyway. Strangely though, there’s not a lot of information on this mysterious woman who now works for me. I grab my phone and call my brother. He answers on the first ring.
“I need something.” I speak before he can say a word.
“Of course, you do. It’s nine on a Tuesday. Why wouldn’t you?”
Only, there’s no hint of anger there. He’s willing to help me because he’s my brother. It’s what we do. We help each other.
“I have a new employee.”
“That Alex girl? Damien’s replacement?”
“Yes.”
“How’s she handling everything?”
I don’t say anything at first, and there’s the hint of a chuckle in my Oscar’s voice when he speaks again.
“Or are you handling her?”
“It’s not like that.” It totally is.
“What do you need?”
Oscar Shadowvale, hacker. He’s not supposed to be, and if our dad ever knew what Oscar did in his free time, he’d roll over in his grave. Hell, he’d come back to life if it meant monetizing Oscar’s secret talent.
“I need to find out where she came from, who she is.” I need to know what the twist is because I don’t trust her. Not yet. I can’t trust anyone except for my brothers, and I hate this reality.
I lay in bed for a long time, and when I finally fall asleep, I have dreams of her.
THE NEXT MORNING, I get up early and drive to work, park, and then skip heading inside. Instead, I strut a few blocks over to Mocha Madness: a coffee shop my mother and stepmom are obsessed with. Juniper and Helena are already seated at a back corner booth when I arrive. There are three cups of coffee in front of them.
“You shouldn’t have,” I say, smiling.
Juniper, my mom, shakes her head.
“Oh, these are actually all for me and Helena.” She winks, and I chuckle as I lean down and kiss her forehead.
“Mom.” I reach for Helena and do the same “Stepmom.”
“You can call me Helena,” she says. “It’s been three years, Ryan.”
Three years of my mom being the happiest she’s ever been. Helena came along and saved my mother’s life. My brothers and I all know this, and we all appreciate what she’s done.
“I know,” I tell her. “And trust me when II say that I mentally think of you as my bonus mom.” I just haven’t managed to come up with a cool enough nickname to recognize the fact that Helena means so much to our family now.
She’s everything to my mother.
“Ryan, how was your week? Oscar tells me you have a new assistant.”
“Ah.” Of course, Oscar would have told her that. “Yes, Damien is out unexpectedly.”
“Interesting.” Helena reaches for her coffee and brings it to her lips. “And how is she doing?”
“She’s qualified.” She’s good at what I’m asking her to do, but I bet she’s good at other things, too. I bet she’s good at sinking to her knees and sliding my dick between her mouth. I bet she’ll be great at that.
