Page 60 of Boss Abroad
“That’s not even remotely funny, Noah. Stop looking at her or I’ll gouge your eyeballs out of their fucking sockets.”
“Okay, okay. But if I wasn’t checking her out—” I cut him off with a sharp turn of my head, the promise of a slow death written all over my face. Noah raises his hands in mock surrender. “Bro, relax. If I wasn’t innocently staring at her, I wouldn’t be able to tell you that your girlfriend brought a date.”
I spin around so fast I get whiplash. And my brother giggles like a five-year-old girl.
“It’s not a date,” I say with a bit more anger than I should. “That’s Max’s physiotherapist. They work together.”
My brother carries on messing with my head. “With his hand on her waist like that? Could have fooled me.” They do look too intimate for my liking. Well, if I accidentally break his hand, he can do the physio on himself. What a lucky man.
Max arrives and makes a scene of showing April off. He steals her from the physio, twirls her around, drops both hands to her waist and kisses her cheeks. Hasn’t the motherfucker learned his lesson?
What the fuck is it with these men taking too many liberties with what’s not theirs? Well, she’s not mine either, I remind myself. But come on, she’s not a doorknob. Hands off, people!
“Pace yourself, brother.” Noah grins mischievously at me, nodding with his head at my second empty tumbler.
It’s a rare instance, but my brother is right.
I don’t turn away from her to put it down at the bar. I’m not taking my eyes off April and handsy Max. Not even Noah’s screechy laugh can make me look away right now.
My brother is having way too much fun pissing me off. It is his one true talent, after all.
April laughs uncomfortably and blushes. My knee jerks forward, begging my leg and the rest of my body to follow suit, to go and put an end to this. Instead, I clench my fists and teeth and stay put. Don’t make a scene, I tell myself over and over again.
Can’t he see the unease in her face? The way her eyes went wider and her skin matched her dress? What an imbecile. April pushes Max away with a fake as fuck grin on her face then jokingly slaps his arm.
Put some strength on that slap, woman. Make your point, goddammit.
Max goes to pull her in for another uncalled for hug when the physiotherapist does one thing right in his life and steps in the way, shaking Max’s hand.
My irritation begins to dissipate, but then I wonder why Physio Guy would do that in the first place and I get annoyed all over again. Of course they all want her, I think as I tilt my head back.
My brain needs a rest from this mindfuck, so I turn away, open the shirt button behind my tie and stretch my neck. It’s no use. There’s no comfort to be found tonight. I rest my elbows on the bar and ask for a refill. Running my hands through my hair, I give my neck a rest, letting my head hang its weight on my hands.
Then I stare at the neat row of bottles in front of me. I’d gladly drink them all by the gallon tonight if it would be enough to wash that woman out of my system.
Noah tells the bartender to add some water to my whiskey. He’s got a point, so I won’t argue. This is not the place to get shitfaced, but I couldn’t care less right now. I need something to numb these irrational feelings running rogue in my body. Impatience rises to the surface and my fingers tap away on the counter while I wait for my drink. I find myself again trying to crack my neck.
“Mate, turn around. There’s more competition.” Noah is cackling like a demented chicken. Are those tears coming out of his eyes? Has he lost all sense of self preservation? I’m this close to kicking my little brother’s ass. Conveniently enough for him, there’s a doctor in the house. But hey, joke’s on me, because he wasn’t lying. April is hugging some man I haven’t met, and she seems waaaay too happy to see him.
“Who the fuck is that?” Fuck, I didn’t mean to say that out loud.
He’s tall—not as tall as me—broad and not too bad looking. He’s much older than her, maybe even older than me, with a full head of gray hair to prove it.
Noah is right by my ear, planting horrible thoughts in my mind. “Hmmm, maybe she has a daddy kink. Would explain her dating you and that guy.”
That’s it. I’m taking him down. I turn to Noah and he’s giggling again, hands up in the air and walking backward, wisely removing himself from my reach.
I turn back in time to see the older man is now hugging April from behind and resting his head on top of hers as they chat to Max and the physio.
Is he more suicidal than my brother?
And why am I planning a fucking carnage?
My breathing is faster, hotter, and I can feel my nostrils double in size. Fuck it. If she’s going to rub herself on another man, I’m going to get someone else to fuck her out of my mind.
I grab my phone to text the escort service, but my eyes glance back to April before I hit the green button. She sees me for the first time tonight and her immediate reaction is to let go of the gray haired man.
That’s my girl. I put my phone back in my pocket and smile approvingly at her reaction. I get a champagne flute from a passing waiter and make my way to them.