All This Time

23 ⦿ in which we talk

Inviting him in is the absolute last thing I want to do, but I wordlessly push the door open and Wolf steps over the threshold. Without waiting for me, he walks straight in. I trail behind him after closing and locking the door, arms folded across my chest.

Levi's smile fades when he sees his brother. In question, his eyes dart to me. "Did you invite him?"

Vehemently, I shake my head. "No." No way. Hell no.

With practiced ease, Wolf chuckles. "I just came to tell you that I have everything sorted."

At once, I know what he's talking about. "You came here," I say through gritted teeth, "to brag?"

I get the urge to smash my fist into his smug face when Wolf gives me an arch look, the van der Waals' equivalent of duh. He hasn't changed at all. The outgoing, almost friendly man I'd met in my office isn't this Wolf at all.

The victorious expression on his face falters. Once you see through Wolf once, it's easy to do it a second time. He knows I've read the situation correctly, because the smugness vanishes in an instant.

I shake my head. "You know what, forget it. I shouldn't have expected anything different."

Levi clears his throat, gesturing to the pan he's pulled off the stove and is currently dangling from his hand. "Um, Char? Little help with this?"

I busy myself with dumping the green beans in a white oval dish. The beans, now a bit overcooked, are limp and the color has faded a little. They land in an inelegant heap, the ends poking over the sides of the dish.

"Are you joining us for dinner?" Levi offers, and I send him my most scathing are-you-kidding look.

"I wouldn't want to impose," Wolf says smoothly, but even as he says so, he leans over and snags a bean, popping it in his mouth. "Not bad," he compliments, but I'm hardly flattered.

"Testing out my housewife abilities?" Irrational anger bubbles through me. I want to pick a fight with him more than I've ever wanted to pick a fight with anyone in my entire life.

Surprised, he swallows. Hard. "No." He looks me straight in the eyes. "It was one of your rules that you wouldn't have to pander to me. I don't expect you to do cooking. Or laundry. Or anything like that. I have people for that."

Diffusing the tense moment, Levi breaks in with, "He's got people for everything."

"I run a company," Wolf replies. "I don't really have the time to cook or clean. Well, let me rephrase that. I do have the time, but it's so menial a task that it's easier to delegate those responsibilities to employees. What free time I have, I prefer to spend doing activities I enjoy."

"Like what?" Almost against my will, I'm curious. What exactly does the great Wolfram van der Waals do to fill his days?

As if to spite me, Wolfram just shrugs his broad shoulders. "Stuff."

"Eloquent as ever," I mumble under my breath. "Levi, could you grab two plates? Just two. Wolf won't be staying."

Without making any fuss, Wolf lets me shepherd him towards the door. "You're manhandling me," he whines as I swing the front door open.

I'm merciless. "Out!" I order.

"Are you dating him?" Instead of leaving, he just leans against the wall outside our apartment, studying me.

"No."

"Are you dating anyone?" he persists.

"No." I clap my hand onto my forehead in exasperation. "Why are you doing this? Coming around here, acting like this is normal, like this isn't the most we've talked in a year?"