Page 6 of Anti-Hero (Kensingtons: The Next Generation #2)

F rom the fifty-fifth floor, New York looks tiny.

Well, on the street below—the people walking, the yellow cabs honking, the pigeons flocking— they all appear miniature from this distance.

Nothing else appears small. The skyscraper that houses Kensington Consolidated’s corporate headquarters is surrounded by buildings of similar heights, the backdrop an endless stretch of bright blue, dotted with fluffy blobs of white.

Castles in the clouds, surrounded by sentries.

Morning sunlight reflects off the windows opposite mine, making me squint. My grip tightens on the mug I’m holding, the ceramic burning my palm while my retinas are seared by the brightness.

There’s a soft snick as the door to my office opens.

I turn, expecting Indy. Asher’s assistant has been helping me until I hire my own.

Instead, my sister waltzes in. Her heels click against the hardwood as she lifts her phone in my direction.

I’m positive she’s taking photos.

“You look so grown up!” Lili props a hand on her hip as she surveys me. She’s wearing a colorful sundress that stands out amid the dark, muted shades decorating my office and a smirk that suggests she’s here to make fun of me.

“Lili,” I grind out between gritted teeth, “you can’t just barge in. I could have had a meeting happening in here.”

She waves away the possibility with a flick of her wrist, then walks over to the towering bookcase to run a finger along the leather spines. “You didn’t though. Where’s your assistant? It was either ‘barge in’ or stand out in the hallway.”

I walk over to my desk and set my steaming coffee cup on the coaster next to the keyboard. “ Knocking was a third option.”

Lili flings her Birkin onto one of the armchairs facing my desk, then dramatically sprawls in the other.

Great. She’s staying.

“Why don’t you have an assistant?” Lili asks, twirling the end of her ponytail around one finger.

“I haven’t gotten around to it yet.” My eyes flick toward the stack of résumés piled at the far end of my desk, right next to the earning statements I’m supposed to review in advance of the board’s monthly meeting.

A personal assistant—just like a corner office on the executive floor—is a luxury I inherited.

I might have been born with the pedigree to be a big deal in the business world, but a few months ago, I was attending frat parties and playing pranks on my housemates.

I feel like a fraud. A kid playing at being important.

Plus, I’ve been so busy that I literally haven’t had time to look at the résumés.

I take a sip of my Americano, then glance at my email. The number of unread messages has doubled since I arrived at the office an hour ago, suggesting it’s going to be another long day and late night.

My attention refocuses on my sister. “How was London?”

Lili half smiles. “You mean Dublin?”

“Nope.” I pop the P for dramatic effect. “I meant London .”

She rolls her eyes but is still smiling. And it’s not the snarky one I’m used to seeing. It’s softer. A tiny bit tentative even. “Fine, yeah. It was a good trip.”

“Good? So, I don’t need to show up at his house and kick his ass?”

“House?” Lili laughs. “It’s really more of a castle. And, no, you don’t. I’d be pissed if you did actually.”

“Are you”—I grimace—“dating him?”

I can’t believe she’s making me dig for details like a tabloid reporter.

My sister taps her chin. “You’re such a gossip, Kit.”

“I’m simply curious how you decided he wasn’t too pretentious for you.”

Lili yanks a Post-it Note off my desk, crunches it into a neon ball, and tosses it my way. It lands three feet to my left.

I grin. “You missed. ”

She huffs. “I was wrong about Charlie. And I am dating him, and he’s coming to visit before I leave for Dublin. Grandpa wants to meet him properly, so he’s hosting a dinner. I’ll send you the details.”

The smile promptly slides off my face.

Lili has a warm—loving—relationship with our father’s father. I don’t. Neither does Bash. I don’t know if it’s because Lili’s the oldest or a girl, but Grandfather coddles her and mostly ignores us.

Arthur Kensington has a ruthless reputation.

He’s a hard man to read and an even harder person to please.

I consider any conversation we have that doesn’t include a chastisement of my behavior to be a smashing success.

I haven’t seen him since I started working at the company he used to helm, and it’s a meeting I’d like to put off for as long as possible.

“I could meet you guys for drinks after the dinner,” I suggest.

Lili shakes her head, then sticks out her bottom lip. “ Please , Kit. This is important to me. I need you to be there.”

Lili’s accustomed to getting her way, and acquiescing is always the easiest outcome.

Even if I hold my ground against Lili, it’ll escalate to our parents. Mom will highlight the importance of family time, and Dad will chide me for not supporting my sister.

I fold under the force of Lili’s pleading gaze, rationalizing it’ll save me more of a headache later. At least our grandfather has the same appreciation when it comes to expensive scotch. A few glasses always take the edge off any criticism.

“Fine. I will be there.”

She beams. “Great. Now that that’s settled, we can focus on you.”

“Me?” I say blankly.

“Yeah. How is—oh, this is a better angle.” Lili’s phone appears again. This time, she’s close enough that I can hear the distinctive click that tells me she’s definitely taking photos. She fiddles with the settings for a few seconds, and then a flash goes off, temporarily blinding me.

I cross my arms and scowl at my sister. “Seriously?”

“I promised Bash I’d send some pics of you ‘working.’”

“I am working,” I state, ignoring the air quotes she used.

“It’s fun, annoying you. Plus, we’re worried.”

I’m shaking my head, focused on the first sentence, so the second one takes an extra second to sink in. “Wait, what? Worried? Why?”

Lili lowers her phone and leans forward. “Do you want to work here?”

“I do work here,” I reply, stating the obvious again.

“I know. But do you want to?”

I sigh, realizing where she’s headed with this.

“It’s a simple question, Kit.”

“It’s a complicated answer, Lili.”

She sinks back in the chair with a matching, knowing sigh. “Yeah, I know.”

We each have plenty of friends who grew up with wealth. But being a Kensington is more than money. It’s expectations and intrigue and legacy.

I never questioned if this job was the right fit because it was always more than a career.

It’s my name. My family. Parts of myself I can’t extricate from the whole.

And I’m determined to not just be here. To succeed here, even if it’s been hard to summon much enthusiasm about the inevitable.

Walking into this building on Monday, pretending not to see the stares or hear the whispers, wasn’t my made it moment.

I still need to earn that. Getting this job might not have been an accomplishment, but I’m going to accomplish while doing it .

“It’s an adjustment period,” I say. “I’ll figure things out.”

“Ah, yes. This”—Lili waves an arm around my large office—“must be a change from your former career, doing whatever the fuck you wanted.”

I roll my eyes. “Speaking of hard work, there must be a shoe store nearby. You only have a million pairs. Better get shopping so you can fill up Charlie’s castle.”

She tries to glare, but her twitching lips ruin the full effect. “Fine. I am late to meet Bridget and Fran. But before I go, I need a favor.”

“No,” I say immediately.

Lili manipulates her mouth into an exaggerated pout. “You haven’t even heard what it is yet.”

“I already did you a favor. I’m going to the damn dinner, okay? Whatever it is, figure it out your?—”

“It has to do with Collins …” she lilts, cutting me off.

I reach for my coffee, buying a few seconds of response time as I swallow a large sip, scalding my tongue. Lili tracks the movement, and I worry I’m acting too nonchalant.

“What does?” I ask.

“Well, you remember Collins. She was my?—”

My eyes narrow. She’s messing with me.

“I remember,” I clip.

“I had dinner with her last night.”

My knee bounces beneath my desk.

“She moved to New York a few weeks ago. And she’s looking for a job, so I said I’d check here. But now that I know you need an assistant … hire her!”

I stiffen with shock, but Lili doesn’t appear to notice. She’s busy spouting more information I already know—Collins is smart and talented, and I’d be lucky to have her.

Monty said she left her job in Chicago, I recall, but I was too distracted by the high of having her in my hotel room to think through what that meant. To ask if she’d found a new job.

Collins is proud. If she admitted to Lili she’s unemployed, she must be struggling to find a job. Must need money.

And I handed her a check for having a drink with me like a total dick. Also bragged about my high credit card limit, if I’m recalling correctly.

“Kit!”

I refocus on Lili. “What? I’m listening.”

“No, you’re not. Plan out where you’re partying this weekend after I leave.

I thought Collins would keep your attention.

You used to have the biggest crush on her.

Although, if she’s working for you, you’d have to treat her like any employee.

” She wags a finger at me like I’m one of Dad and Mom’s misbehaving beagles. “ No flirting. Keep it professional.”

I don’t ask my sister how professional me fucking Collins in a hotel room was. I just gulp down more coffee, barely feeling the burn as the hot liquid scorches my throat.

“So? You’ll hire her?” Lili presses.

I’ve never appreciated her persistence, but I’m especially resentful of it right now.

Monty didn’t tell Lili we’d slept together last weekend. I’m certain, and I’m not surprised.

When I woke up in the Seashore Suite on Sunday morning, the other side of the bed was empty, the robe was hanging on the back of the door, and the dress was gone.

The only evidence that the entire evening wasn’t a vivid dream was the second used glass and the ripped remnants of a check mixed with the condom wrappers on the floor.

It happened, but I doubt it will happen again. Collins was using me as a distraction from the mess she’d left behind in Chicago. And, I’m realizing, from the stress of job-searching.

“She won’t want to work here, Lili,” I state.

Wouldn’t have wanted to before Saturday night, and I’m positive my ability to make her orgasm in less than a minute isn’t going to esteem me as an employer in Collins’s opinion.

“That’s not what she told me.”

My eyebrows rise, betraying my surprise. There’s an accompanying pang of concern. Collins must be near desperate, then, and she didn’t say a damn word to me. I could have gotten her a job— not here —anywhere in this city in a matter of minutes.

“You won’t find a better assistant in there.” Lili gives the stack of résumés on my desk a dismissive glance.

“I wasn’t questioning her qualifications.”

My sister perks up, sensing victory. “Meaning the job is hers?”

“If she wants it.”

She won’t .