Things Money Can't Buy (Discontinued)

Chapter 17

~*~

It was only a few hours into my workday when Evan let me know that he got on his flight. My heart was pounding. It had been almost a year since I'd last seen my brother, which was crazy. For Christmas last year, I'd taken a flight to California to visit him, but I hadn't seen him since then. Obviously, we talked through text and over the phone a lot, but I was looking forward to finally hugging him.

His flight was scheduled to arrive right after my shift ended. For the entire work day, I was a bit antsy. I had promised Jason not to let any of this interfere with my work. As his assistant, I was really trying to make sure that he didn't regret hiring me temporarily. 

The 55th floor was empty this morning. Human resources had moved back down to the 31st floor today, and everyone was annoyed about it... rightfully so. After all, the entire department had just moved a month ago to the 55th floor, and now they were moved back down again to the floor they were on in the first place. 

Sometimes, I didn't understand Jason. 

From my attached office, I could see him looking at his computer in deep thought. He asked me to keep my office door open if I wasn't busy so we could easily communicate. 

"Is there anything you need me to do?" I asked, partially hoping the answer was yes. The meeting that we were supposed to be having got cancelled, so it was pretty slow right now. I needed something to distract me from my nervous energy about Evan coming. 

His gaze drifted over to me and smirked. "Entertain me while I'm doing this boring work."

I rolled my eyes. "I didn't realize I was a one-woman circus. How am I supposed to entertain you?"

He shrugged. "Surprise me."

Standing up from my chair, I walked over to him. His desk was huge, so I pushed some papers aside and hopped up on his desk, sitting in a criss-cross sitting position.

He looked amused. "What are you doing?"

"Sitting on your desk."

"Really now? I didn't notice." One of his eyebrows raised. "Why?"

"Entertaining you," I explained. Why was I sitting on his desk? No idea, but it seemed to annoy him, which was a win to me. "Tell me about your family. You pried into mine without my consent, so I deserve to know something about yours."

He stiffened. "What do you want to know?"

"Your mom, your dad, any siblings... you know, the normal stuff."

He relaxed. "Well, my dad passed away four years ago, and I have a younger brother."

"Oh?" I had no idea that Jason had a younger brother. "What does your brother do?"

"He's a teacher. He had zero interest in my dad's business."

"What's his name?"

"Sam."

"What about your mom? How's she been doing?"

 I remembered how my dad felt when my mom died. Even though he was in prison at the time, he always tried to keep in contact with me through letters. Her death hit him hard. 

However, once my mom died, I started to become bitter about my parents and stopped responding to my dad's letters. He still sent me birthday cards every year, but I never responded or thanked him. At this point, I hadn't spoken to my dad in ten years. It felt petty, but their behavior had destroyed any semblance of a normal life for me. I did still hold resentment, even if it was immature.