Page 67 of The Rebel Billionaire

I had the same style single-cup coffeemaker Charlie did, and I had Aiden's coffee brewed a few minutes after we hit thekitchen.

He took it and said, "You redid thisplace?"

"You don't already know?" I challenged. I was curious to see if Aiden Winters could cut through the bullshit. It turned out, hecould.

"I was going for polite, but if you'd rather do it this way, I'm good withthattoo."

"I don't like to waste time either,"Isaid.

"Fine. I know you redid this place practically from the studs. Nice job, bytheway."

I acknowledged his complement with a nod but didn'tinterrupt.

"You paid for the house, and all the work, in cash. You have zero debt. According to your tax return, you made well over a million dollars last year. It would've been a lot more if you hadn't gotten sidetracked avenging your brother, for which you took no moneyatall.

"You're former Army, and even Cooper couldn't find out what you were doing for them after you transitioned out of the Rangers, but whatever it was, they didn't want to let you go. You're trained in security and protection, but as you've built your business, you've left that behind in favor of hacking jobs that are mostly white hat. What I don't know is why a guy like you is rehabbing a house in theHighlands."

"I thought you were going to ask what a guy like me is doing with your sister,"Isaid.

I wasn't thrown by his recitation of my history. Aiden Winters was tight with the Sinclairs, tightest with Cooper. I knew Cooper Sinclair, knew all of them. Cooper could find out anything. He was almost as good with the keyboard asIwas.

I was surprised that Aiden appeared to be dodging the issue of my fucking Charlie. If she were my sister, I would've started with that. I probably would've started with a punch tothejaw.

"I don't have to ask what you're doing with Charlie," Aiden said, shaking his head. "Charlie is a beautiful woman. She's smart, and funny, and any man would be lucky to have her attention. When I heard about this, I didn't wonder what you were doing with Charlie. I wondered what it was about you that made Charlie stopandlook.

"She has men after her all the time. If she were ugly and dull, she'd still have men after her all the time because she's a Winters, which makes her a target. But she's not ugly and dull. She's Charlie. She can fend off attention from men in her sleep, and most of them, she ignores. So what's she doingwithyou?"

Annoyed at his tone and the question, I shrugged. "Maybe she's just slumming,"Isaid.

Aiden laughed, amusement bringing his austere featurestolife.

"Don't ever make the mistake of underestimating Charlie," he said. "She's notslumming."

"How do you know?" I challenged. "You're not going to tell me I'mhertype."

"I don't know if Charlie has a type. God knows, the men she's dated haven't worked out. I think she's still trying to figure that part out. But I know she's not slumming because no one she'd bother to spend this much time with would be a step down. Do yougetme?"

I wasn't sure I did. Not that I considered myself beneath Charlie. All of that was bullshit. But I knew most people looking at us would see it that way. William Davis certainly had. Charlie didn't, but I'd assumed her brotherwould.

Apparently, I'd beenwrong.

"If you respect her judgment that much," I asked, "then why did you fire her from a job sheloved?"

"Because she was miserable. She was fucking miserable. And she didn't love that job. I know, because Idolove it. I work long hours, but I do it because I love it. I love the company. I love that I'm able to continue my family's legacy, togrowit.

"Charlie never felt that way. It was killing her. She was always stressed, headaches, not sleeping. I stopped hearing her laugh, and then I stopped seeing her smile. I love my sister, and the only reason she started working at Winters Incorporated in the first place was because she thought it would make me happy. Everyone else took off to do their own thing, and she wanted to support me so she decided she was going to take Gage's place and help me run thecompany."

"And you let her?" I asked. His answer wasn't what I'd expected. I thought he'd blow me off againorlie.

"At the time, I didn't really think it through. At first, she just wanted to intern, and she was a teenager. Then, she was there more and more and I was distracted with changes in the company and mymarriage—"

He cut off and shook his head, his eyes tired. He pressed his lips together, digging grooves into the skin of his cheeks and around his mouth. Aiden might love his job, but he looked like he could use adayoff.

"I should have done a better job raising her after our parents died. I left her with Elizabeth too much, and Elizabeth wasn't the maternal type. I didn't do right by Charlie. I let her think the company was where she belonged. I liked having her around, and she was damn good at her job, so I let thingsslide.

"When I finally saw how unhappy she was, I knew I had to do something about it. Believe me, I tried talking to her. I told her she had to slow down, that she needed a life outside of work. But I'm a shit example because I'm even more of a workaholic than she was. She ignored me and kept working herself harder until she was utterly miserable. So I fired her. Yes, I get that she's pissed, and yes, it was a dick move. I know that. I canownit."

Aiden's glare was defiant, but he'd answered my question. He might have gone about it the wrong way, but Aiden Winters adored his sister. More than that, he respected her. Good enoughforme.