12 Days to Find a Husband

Chapter 11 - Good guy, bad guy

It seemed like Anna-lea hadn't stopped. Once again, she was rushing out the door and wouldn't have time to visit Hettie and the cats. She felt bad for neglecting Hettie in her time of need and made a mental note to spend the afternoon with her. A cup of tea and a talk would be good for them both, she thought to herself. She might even stop in at Matilda's and get one of their famous Bee Sting cakes Hettie loved.

After finding a parking spot close to Greg's office, Anna-lea wound up her windows and quickly brushed her hair back into some semblance of a hairstyle. She was glad the rain had let up and had taken the opportunity to wind down all the windows and crank up the music. She enjoyed travelling with the breeze flowing through her hair on a sunny day. She smiled as she made her way into the building.

"Darling!" A voice greeted her as the lift doors opened-up on the floor where Greg's office was located.

"John!" she exclaimed, surprised to see him.

"I was just thinking of you," he went on.

"You were?" she asked, moving forward to greet him in a quick embrace.

"Yes, I was just this minute going to call you," he lied.

"Really?"

"Yes. I came in to see Greg and take him out to lunch but, apparently, he already has an important lunch date," John stated making air quotes as he spoke about the lunch date. "It must be someone pretty important for him to turn down his only brother. But then again, I am a bastard," he said drily, laughing at his own comment.

Anna-lea was going to tell John that she was the one going to lunch with Greg before he made the bastard comment, then she had second thoughts. She thought it was a strange thing to laugh about.

"What are you doing here?" he asked her.

"Um, I was actually going to see your brother."

"Why, is he your lawyer?" John asked, knowing full well that Gregory was the one who wrote Anna-lea's great aunt's last will and testament.

"In a way, yes."

"Well, do me a favour, will you? John enquired.

Anna-lea wondered what it was with this family and favours.

"What's that?" she asked.

"Don't tell him about my proposal yet. I know my brother. He'll say I'm jumping into a serious relationship way to soon and try to convince you to stay away from me. I don't want him to have any input into our relationship. It's ours, not his and I'd prefer I tell him about it myself, later. That's if you choose to be my wife. Anyway, he doesn't want anyone else to be happy because he can't. Not since Sarah died."

"Sarah?" Anna-lea questioned.

"Yes, his late wife. He hasn't dated since she died and that was five years ago. The man's emotions died with her and it's like he won't let anyone else enjoy themselves and have a full life, if he can't."

"Oh, I didn't know. That must have been hard," Anna-lea said, thinking back to the beautiful woman in the photo that she had knocked off Gregory's desk. No wonder he was so upset with her.

"It was harder on Holly. But what did he do? Sent her off. Like father, like son."

At that moment, Greg came shuffling out of his office.

"Are you still here, John?" he asked, recognizing his brother's voice.

"Yes, I am. I'm just leaving. I was just talking with Anna-lea," John replied.

"Oh, you're here" he exclaimed. "I wondered where you were. So, you've met my half-brother. That's a coincidence," he went on, facing towards where he thought Anna-lea would be in the room.