Give Up On Me (3 page)

“The copay for the doctor we were referred to at the cancer institute is seventy-five dollars, and she’ll have to have more tests. Our part is going to grow, and even a payment plan will be tough. I’m sorry. I don’t want to lay all this on you. All I wanted to know is if I could get extra time.”

“Don’t apologize.” She chewed her thumbnail, thinking. Mentally, she scrambled through the company numbers. She had robbed Peter to pay Paul so many times. More IOUs weren’t going to work. “Didn’t I hear that you had another part-time job?”

He flushed. “I did, but I got fired three months ago when we started on the church renovation.”

“Fired? No one works as hard as you, except my dad.”

“Thank you, but the gas station job was just sitting behind a small counter. I kept falling asleep.”

His sun-weathered face grew redder. Janae could only imagine what it cost him to admit what happened. Maybe he thought coming clean with everything would give him a better chance, but he didn’t get that it wasn’t about them feeling sorry for him. The money didn’t exist. If her dad really impressed Samuel Bennett, who knew. She might be able to get creative.

“It’s best if you talk to my dad about this. I’m sure he’ll be back in the office tonight. He always does paperwork after hours. I’m so sorry I can’t be of more help right now.”

He nodded mutely.

“Does the prognosis look good for recovery with chemo?”

Another nod, but she could tell he had closed in on himself. He was done talking to her. “Thank you for your time, Janae. I’ll call later before I come.”

“That’s fine, and I’ll talk to my dad as well. I don’t know that we can do anything about overtime, but we will definitely try to brainstorm something.”

He rose to leave, and as she heard the click of her door shutting, she dropped her head onto her folded arms across the desk. After a few minutes, she logged into the company bank account to check the balance then cross-referenced it to the report she drew up for next month’s expenses. They had just enough money in the bank to cover bills and employee salaries. The total on the spreadsheet also assumed they would get a check from the owner of the apartment complex. If he didn’t pay up, they were screwed.

Janae scraped back her chair and stood. Time to get out and walk to clear her head. Maybe a miracle would happen, and everything in her life would fall into place. “Yeah, fat chance.”

Still, she wouldn’t give up hope just yet.

M
att lifted
the lid on the pot where Kyler worked and dipped a spoon in. He gave it a taste and grunted in satisfaction. “That’s perfect. You have everything you need?”

His brother glared at him with eyes that looked like his. Sometimes when the light was just right, Matt felt like he stared into a mirror. Then his brother shifted, and he thought differently. They weren’t twins. Kyler was three years older. Neither were they particularly close, although they worked together often.

The single thing he and his brother had in common, aside obviously from working in the family business, was their love of food. The difference lay in the fact that Kyler was a certified chef, and Matt dabbled in food preparation. Neither of their roles in the company originated in the kitchen.

“I think I can handle the food,” Kyler snapped. “Get out of the sauce. You don’t know what you’re doing.”

“I can taste as well as anyone,” Matt joked.

Another glare. Kyler elbowed him aside. “This dinner has to go off without a hitch, or we won’t hear the end of it from Margaret. Besides, my reputation is on the line. I won’t have it smudged by some wannabe chef.”

“I thought it was about celebrating her life now that’s she’s turning seventy. She’ll enjoy it because we’ve sponsored it and invited her friends and acquaintances from all over the world to be here.”

“This is Margaret we’re talking about.” His brother tasted the sauce for himself and frowned. “Not good enough.”

He carried the saucepan over to the sink.

“What are you doing, Kyler? That tastes almost exactly like the spring onion cream sauce at our restaurant in Madrid. Chef Manuel makes it with his sea bass and semidried tomatoes. The customers there are always requesting it, and he’s tried three times to take it off the menu in exchange for something new.”

“Exactly. I don’t fault you for having excellent taste. You recognized I added an extra ingredient to give it a slightly different flavor from the one Manuel serves. That’s my point. I wanted to serve something new, and this isn’t it.”

“So that’s why you’re in here working without any staff?” Matt leaned against the counter and folded his arms over his chest. “Truth is, you’re born to be in the kitchen. It’s a shame.”

“I don’t need your pity. Why are you here?”

Matt hesitated and rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. He’d wanted to talk to his brother and get Kyler used to his intentions before he moved on to Margaret. Matt drew in a breath and blew it out, mentally preparing himself for the firestorm. Then again, Kyler’s jabs were controlled and calculated. Margaret was the one to rain down fire and brimstone.

“I’ve decided to ask Janae to marry me,” he said.

The spoon Kyler held clattered to the floor. He bent to pick it up and dropped into the sink. Then he proceeded to calmly wash his hands.

“Did you hear—”

“I heard you.”

“I’m also inviting her to Margaret’s dinner party. I’ve asked her, but she’s reluctant to come.”

“So she’s not stupid.” Kyler wiped his hands on a towel and threw it on the counter in disgust. “You’ve just met her.”

“We’ve been together two and a half years.”

Kyler stared at him. “How did you keep that secret? Our information shows—”

“Your information?” Matt chuckled and then narrowed his eyes. “You make it sound like you hired someone to look into her background and our relationship.”

Kyler said nothing, and Matt swore.

“I shouldn’t be surprised, but I did take precautions. I made sure you and Margaret didn’t know about Janae’s existence until I was sure about her. I wanted time for our relationship to develop naturally.”

“Don’t give me that. She’s not right for you, and that’s the end of it.”

“Because she doesn’t have money?”

“It would be the first reason.” His brother wasn’t even going to deny it. “The safest bet is to choose someone who’s on equal financial footing, and she is so far beneath us, it’s laughable.”

Matt clenched his teeth. “Be careful what you say.”

His brother raised his hands as if to ward off an attack. “No disrespect to her, but she’s not the one. You’d see that if you weren’t busy thinking with your dick. I get it. She’s beautiful, nice round ass, big breasts. Sure, but you don’t marry them. You bed them and move on.”

“That may be what you do, but from the first time I met Janae, I knew she was special. Nothing I’ve seen over the last two and a half years makes me think differently. She is the one. What’s more, I don’t give a damn if you agree.”

“Matt.”

“Don’t get me wrong. I want your agreement. My family means a lot to me.”

Kyler seemed to cringe at the open sentiment. Matt continued. “Janae means more, and it would be better for all of us if you and Margaret accept my choice.”

“You mean it would be better for
you
if we all go along with your stupid mistake. No dice, little brother. You don’t even have to go to Margaret with this bullshit. I’ll stop it right here. Did you know her father’s company is in trouble?”

Matt glared at him. “So? I’d bail them out if she let me.”

Kyler laughed. “Let you?”

“Yes, she won’t take money from me.”

“A ploy. Damn, you’re gullible. She looks like the type to stand on her own two feet, all feminine empowerment or some such crap. That is, until she gets the noose around your neck. Then she won’t take her hand out of your pocket.”

“Even if that was true, which is isn’t, what would I care? We have more money than any of us can spend in a lifetime. I
want
to share it with Janae. I don’t ever want to see her suffer or go hungry.”

“Do you hear yourself? You always were a bleeding heart. That kind of attitude pisses me off.”

“Thanks.”

Kyler curled his lip on one side. His eyes were two chips of ice, and Matt couldn’t believe he had thought they resembled each other a moment ago.

“Look, we’re not a close family. Maybe it would be different if Margaret hadn’t raised us. She’s the epitome of cold blood.”

“What’s that have to do with this conversation?”

“I’m getting there.” To his surprise, Kyler reddened. “I car—do have your best interests in mind, all the time. You’re my younger brother. You’re stupid.”

Matt flipped him off.

“If I don’t stop you or Margaret doesn’t, you’ll throw our company down the toilet.”

Matt bristled with offense. “I’m damn good at marketing and acquisitions. I suppose you forgot I was the one that negotiated the take over of the hotel in Spain.”

“No, I didn’t forget, and I’m not knocking your business know how. I’m saying if we didn’t watch you, you would hand it right over to the first person who asked.”

“That’s ridiculous, and you know it! This isn’t about me. It’s about you and Margaret feeling like you have to have control of everything and everyone around you.” Matt studied his brother’s face. “Not just that. You’re jealous.”

“What did you say?” Kyler threw the saucepot and spoon on the counter and stepped into Matt’s face. Matt stood his ground.

“You heard what I said.” Matt usually kept a tight rein on his anger, but his brother drove him to the brink. Not even Margaret could stir up his anger like Kyler could and tended to do as if on purpose. “You can have anyone you want, and the rumors are always flying around about your latest conquest. Some of them are even wealthy women.”

“Exactly.” Kyler gloated and moved back a few steps. “So where’s the jealousy come in?”

“Simple. Not one of them loved you or even came close.”

For a moment, Matt thought his brother would punch him in the mouth. Kyler seemed to struggle with his emotions, his face a mask of anger. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“So you’re saying there was one? Which one? Name her.”

“Fuck you.”

“You’re cold and arrogant, Kyler. You’re hard to love and even more difficult to understand. I’ve figured out that you’re not motivated by money, but you still do all you can to protect what we have.”

“Then you’ve learned nothing. The only thing I’m interested in is growing the empire. Giving half my income to a stupid, selfish woman isn’t in my plan.”

“So no heir?”

“I might adopt and get a nanny eventually.”

Matt winced. Regret washed over him as it always did when he talked to Kyler. He remembered the time when they were kids, running around their granddad’s mansion. Back then, their granddad was alive, and he gave them the freedom to run wild. Kyler usually led their expeditions into treasure hunting, peeping on maids, and playing pranks, normal boy stuff.

Back then, Kyler laughed easily and often. He joked with Matt and always threw an arm about his shoulders while they plotted their next adventure. After their granddad passed, and Margaret took a sharper interest in them, Kyler began to change. Matt thought some of it had to do with Margaret crushing the brother he knew and forming him into what she wanted. He liked to think somewhere inside the big brother he knew as a kid still existed, but in all these years, he hadn’t seen evidence—just the man in front of him. Nonetheless, Matt hoped.

“Kyler, I want you to give Janae a chance. You’ve never talked to her. There was only that one time when we ran into each other at the restaurant. You hardly said two words, and then you walked off. Let’s do dinner together, just us. The party’s not until next week, so there’s time.”

“Not interested.”

“So you won’t do this for me?”

Kyler sighed. “There’s no point, Matt. What do you think is going to happen? She’ll charm me like she did you? That you’ll win me to your side, and I’ll go with you to stand up to Margaret?”

“First, I don’t need you to ‘stand up’ to Margaret. As I said, whether I get married or not and to whom is my decision. I simply want you to make an attempt to get to know my fiancée since she will be coming to every event we attend after we’re married. All of us will feel much more comfortable if we make an effort.”

“You keep pitching that excuse.”

“It’s not an excuse!”

Kyler bent his head as he focused on chopping four roma tomatoes. The sharp knife sliced and diced under the precision of his brother’s movements. For a few mesmerized moments, Matt watched. With precise flicks of his wrists, Kyler chopped green onions and then added butter to a pan to heat. He scraped in the onions from the cutting board, followed by mushrooms and a garlic clove, which he had crushed to a paste with his knife. With white wine in the mixture, delicious scents rose into the air, sparking Matt’s appetite.

Matt blinked and brought himself to attention. He removed his phone from his pocket and brought up the calendar. “Thursday after seven looks good for me. If that doesn’t work Saturday at four is fine. I’ll have to check with Janae to see if she’s free either of those nights. What does your schedule look like?”

Kyler eyed him briefly and then returned his attention to the sauce. “You’re determined to shove her down my throat.”

“I’m determined to get you to give her a chance.”

“And if I get there and I’m an ass to her all night because I resent you forcing this?”

“Then you and I are going to have a problem.”

Matt met him stare for stare. He didn’t blink or look away. Kyler straightened. “Tell me something, and I’m sure it goes without asking. Did she already say yes?”

Matt felt his face warm. “She’s thinking about it.”

Kyler laughed. “Well, she’s smart. I’ll give her that. Unfortunately for you, I don’t have time before the dinner party.”

“I don’t believe you.”

His brother wiped his hands on a towel. He pulled his phone out and handed it to Matt. When the locked screen appeared, Matt handed it back. Kyler swore and cleared it. Sure enough, Kyler didn’t have a free night for the next three weeks.”

“Damn it! Can’t you move anything around?”

“I have the conference in Madrid starting the day after tomorrow. You already knew about that. It goes on for four days. The meeting at the hotel in New Zealand is after that. You might recall Margaret thinks the manager there is skimming the books, and she doesn’t trust anyone to go except for me. Maybe you feel I should postpone that meeting to eat with your girlfriend?”

“I get it, all right? It’s a bad time.”

“Yeah, it is. So, you’re just going to have to man up and talk to Margaret on your own. My guess is you’ll get it—
hard
.”

“What’s she going to do? Fire me?”

“Funny. Whatever the case, leave me alone so I can concentrate. My food is going to be a sensation at this party. I can guarantee it.”