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CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT

EASTON

“I really appreciate you coming all the way here,” Mrs. Nelson tittered, hovering around me while I took off my winter coat.

I changed into a stupid suit for this, which was more than a little annoying.

But I had to play the game. And the breast pocket of the suit jacket had a slim recorder in it that Angel gave me so we could record the whole thing.

“It’s fine.”

“I know Brienna said you had dinner plans, but I made a little something in case you’re hungry. I hope you don’t mind. Feeding people is how I show I care.”

I bit my tongue to stop myself from asking why Gary was so thin then.

She obviously didn't love him enough to feed him well. After a few months of being fed by Coach, he was finally putting on weight, and muscle thanks to the workouts we did together. Gary’s parents had no part in getting him healthy.

Mr. Nelson was in the dining room. He was wearing a cheap suit, like he’d just come home from work, and it clung to his rounded belly like the buttons were going to burst. Seriously, how did Gary come from these people? His mom wasn’t any better.

“Mr. Warner. It’s nice to see you.” Mr. Nelson stood and offered me his hand, wincing when I shook it a little too roughly. I was pissed off. Sue me.

“Please, sit. I’ll bring out some drinks,” Mrs. Nelson suggested, smiling.

“We’re just waiting on Brienna. She should be almost done getting ready by now.

” She hurried out of the room, probably to go find her daughter.

I wasn’t staying here past the hour I promised.

Me and the guys were going to get Gary high and take him mini golfing.

The last time we did that as a group, Chuckles nearly pissed himself he was laughing so hard.

Gary was even funnier when he was high. It would be awesome to watch.

Brienna came downstairs and into the room in what was probably supposed to be a dramatic fashion.

She looked ready for a night working the street corner in a tiny dress that was practically see through that ended at her upper thighs and sky high heels.

Was this what some people found attractive?

Because it wasn’t really my thing. Gary didn’t have to dress or act like a whore to get me to want him.

He just had to give me that heated look and bite his lip.

Hell, he just had to be in the room, and I wanted him.

“Easton! You’re here!” Brienna exclaimed, flouncing over to my side.

Manners dictated that I stand, but when discussing the plan with Angel, I warned him I wouldn’t be able to pull that off for long periods.

Pretending to be nice for her for one conversation was one thing.

The wedding wasn’t for months. I couldn’t keep up that charade for that long.

Angel suggested all around aloofness. Gold diggers probably wouldn’t complain, since they wanted the money more than the relationship itself.

Still, I was polite enough to nod at her. “Hello.”

She waited, like she expected a reaction to her outfit, but before I had to force myself to say something nice, my phone rang. I picked it up automatically and put it to my ear.

“Warner.”

“Good evening, Mr. Warner. I’m sorry for the interruption, but your request to meet with the head of Samsung was approved for next week. Did you want me to arrange a flight?”

Angel was such a fucking shit. I should have gotten some kind of acting award for not laughing and sticking to the script.

“That sounds good. Is the jet available?”

“I’ll make sure it’s fueled and ready, sir.

Is there anything else I can get you?” he purred.

He told me he’d call and flirt, to make me look less attached to Gary when he wasn’t around me.

Flirting with a secretary was supposedly expected of execs in billion dollar companies. Which was fucking gross, honestly.

I forced myself to smirk. “I’ll call you if I can think of something. Send me the details for that flight.”

“As you wish.”

Ugh. I wanted to shudder at the thought of Angel flirting with me. I swallowed the urge down and hung up, tucking my phone away again. “Sorry. Business,” I explained to the family, who was watching me avidly.

Brienna sat beside me, putting her talon tipped hand on my forearm. “You’re a busy and important man. We understand that. I hope my brother isn’t demanding too much of your time. I know he can be… needy.”

Only in the ways I enjoyed. Gary was perfectly fine entertaining himself or hanging out with the guys if I was busy. He was probably looking over his class list right now to see if he could get ahead in his reading. Nerd.

Angel said to be aloof. He didn’t say I had to badmouth Gary. I wouldn’t agree to that if I had to. Instead, I pretended not to care. “I dropped him off at his dorm after he met with my parents. He’s busy trying to get ahead of his classes.”

“So he’s ignoring you then?” Brienna mock frowned.

“That’s not very nice. You work hard. He should be taking care of you.

If it was me, I would dedicate all my attention to you and you alone.

” She squeezed my forearm, leaning forward suggestively, trying to draw my attention to her tits.

She did that the last time I spoke to her.

Did flashing her tits normally get her what she wanted?

I gave her a placid smile. “It’s fine. I’m busy with work a lot. You said you had something you wanted to talk to me about.”

GARY

“Wasn’t it your idea to send him alone?” Angel asked.

My shoulders slumped. I’d been pacing since Easton texted me that he’d arrived. The only time I stopped was when Angel called him and pretended to be his secretary to make him look important. I was still annoyed with him about the flirting, though.

I shot him a dirty look before I started pacing again.

Angel threw his hands into the air and walked away. “I give up. No matter how many times I say the flirting was fake, he’s still pissed at me. The possessiveness goes both ways with you two.”

Maybe. Okay, probably. One reason I was so freaked out right now was because I knew Brienna would take every opportunity to steal Easton. I didn’t want her touching him. He was mine.

“Want a hit?” Smiley offered. “It’ll calm you down.”

I shook my head. “Shouldn’t he be done? He said an hour, right?”

“They’re probably dragging things out to keep him there. He wouldn’t linger. Just relax, Gary,” Angel called from the kitchen.

Easy for him to say. He actually got to talk to Easton. Flirty bastard.

The door to The Hideout swung open, and I spun around, nearly tripping over my own feet.

Easton walked in, suit jacket gone and tie loosened, but he had the biggest grin on his face.

He walked straight up to me and grabbed my face, hauling me to my toes for a filthy kiss.

I was so shocked, my mind couldn’t catch up until after he released me.

“What’s got you in such a good mood?” Chuckles asked.

“We’ve fucking got them,” he crowed. “They asked for the most ridiculous bullshit, right to my face. It’s all recorded. It is going to be so much fun ruining this for them.”

Slowly, my brain came back online, and I blinked rapidly. “Wait. Wait. What happened?”

Grabbing my hands, he dragged me to the couch and tugged me down next to him.

The rest of the group followed, sitting closely so they could hear his explanation.

“Alright, so first of all, Gary, you’re definitely right.

Your sister’s goal is to seduce me. She came downstairs in this dress that I could practically see through.

I’m surprised she’d wear that thing in front of her own parents. It was basically lingerie.”

I winced. I hated being right at that moment. I didn’t think she’d get away with it, not with Easton, but it still hurt.

“But when I didn’t acknowledge her, they asked for something so fucked up, I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.

” He tucked me under his arm supportively.

“I told them I’d think about it, but I think we should make them think I agree.

Playing the recording for people is enough to ruin them, but if we play along, it gives us so many fucking opportunities for revenge. It’ll be awesome.”

“The chaos monster is awake,” Angel pointed out dryly. “Tell us what they wanted.”

I braced myself, holding my breath. It had to be bad. He wouldn’t be so excited if it wasn’t.

“They want Brienna to walk down the aisle first. Before Gary. In a wedding dress.”

Ever try sucking in a breath while you’re already holding your breath? Yeah, it doesn’t really work. I spluttered and coughed, whipping my head around to face Easton. Everyone else looked just as shocked. Only Easton looked giddy.

“What the fuck?” Angel demanded. “I mean seriously… What the fuck?”

Easton nodded with a huge, shit-eating grin. “I know. It took some serious acting to keep from saying that to their faces. Who the fuck asks for that?”

My chest was starting to hurt. Was I breathing?

Smiley’s hand thwacked my back hard, and I sucked in a deep breath. When he offered me the joint, I took it without question. I needed something to get me through this conversation.

Easton was nice enough to wait for me to have a few hits before taking the joint himself. He rubbed my back soothingly, taking a hit while our friends all shouted out questions.

“Are they serious?” Angel demanded.

“Is it some fucking ploy to get her to marry you instead?” Chuckles suggested.

That only seemed to incense Angel more. “Fucking how?”

“Maybe they'd try something insane, like lock Gary in a closet and force P to go through with it to not be embarrassed in front of the guests?” Smiley guessed.

That was kind of a scary thought, and probably would cross Brienna’s mind if it hadn’t already. I’d need to be on guard my whole wedding day. Would I need to hire actual bodyguards just to get down the aisle?

“Did they say why?” Coach was the only calm one, though he looked like he was fighting a scowl, and his fists were clenched so tightly that his knuckles were white.

Easton nodded, letting out a long puff before handing the joint back to me.

“They said because she’s the oldest, it wouldn’t be right to let Gary go down the aisle first. They think the bitch gets first dibs and should go down the aisle first so she can have the experience and attention she deserves as the eldest.”

“What the actual fuck?”