Page 39 of Strictly Business
“SO, HOW WAS MY sister?” My stomach drops at the question, and I look up expecting to see Josh locked and loaded, but he casually leans back in his chair. His face is neutral, unreadable… Shit, does he know? There’s no way he knows. Michaela wouldn’t tell him, but she might tell Elizabeth. I’m so screwed. Guess I found the reason he wanted me to come over.
“W-what do you mean?”
“On Sheffield House,” he chuckles. “You were practically ready to throw in the towel when Nina told you Mic was taking over.”
“Oh,” a breath of relief. “Yeah, she was fine, I guess. Annoying as ever, but I didn’t expect any less. She did have the idea for Coney Island, so I guess, something good did come out of it.”
“Careful, someone might think you’re starting to like her or something.”
Suddenly it feels a little warmer in here. I wipe my palms on the thighs of my jeans and adjust in my seat. “She was helpful. What else do you want me to say?”
“Relax, man, I’m just making sure she didn’t screw around.”
Is he fucking with me?
“I know how important this is for you.”
“Did you only invite me over to interrogate me about your little sister?”
“Hey, I have the inside scoop at my disposal, why not take advantage of it?” Josh smirks. He has always been an informed big brother. Always kept an eye on his kid sister. Always let her hang around even if the rest of us didn’t want her there. In some ways, I understood, it was better than her getting involved in the wrong crowd, but hell, if it wasn’t a downer when we had this little kid getting in the way of our teenage fun. If Michaela was around, we had to be on our best behavior, or at least pretend to be — there are plenty of times we did things when Josh looked the other way. Eventually, we all got used to her being there. The others saw her as one of our own, adopting her as their little sister, but not me. She and I were always at odds with one another, constantly bickering, picking fights, and talking shit to each other. I know it got on everyone’s nerves, but we couldn’t help ourselves. It kept us entertained.
“You have an inside scoop with Nina, too.”
“Are you kidding? Nina doesn’t tell me shit. Girl code and all that.”
“She’s ratted Michaela out a time or two.”
“Sure, but only when it’s really bad. Besides, Mic usually tells on herself anyway. You know she can’t keep a secret.”
“No shit.” I roll my eyes. If anyone knows that I do — Michaela is why I spent my Junior year of high school at a boarding school in Tennessee. Not that it did any good; if anything, it did the opposite of what my parents hoped. What do you expect when you let teenagers live with very little adult supervision? “That little shit has never been able to keep her mouth shut.”
In more ways than one. The sounds of her moans echo in my mind and my pants feel a little tighter. Shit, not now, Sheffield. Do not think about fucking your best friend’s little sister with him right in front of you.
“The way you guys hate still each other blows my mind,” Josh laughs. “You’d think you were the brother instead of me.”
“Dude, don’t say that.”
“I’m serious!”
God, Josh. Just stop talking.
“Where’s Ellie?” I ask attempting to change the subject. I’ve been here most of the morning and have yet to see Elizabeth once. Normally, she would have been here to greet me with a hot breakfast and coffee. Even if she had a shoot, she’d always stick around to greet you before leaving.
“Oh, I think she had a meeting down in Charleston.”
“What does that mean — you think?”
Josh shrugs but doesn’t meet my curious stare, finding his phone much more interesting. “She’s been down there a lot recently — lots of shoots for some family or something. She should be home any time now.”
“Josh, why in the hell is our— Oh, Finn!” Elizabeth walks into the kitchen from the mudroom looking like a kid caught sneaking in past curfew. “Sorry Josh, I didn’t know you had company. Finn, what are you doing here?”
“It’s Oliver’s birthday,” Josh says flatly. Normally, he would cross the kitchen to scoop his wife in his arms and plant a fat kiss on her lips, but he stays on the other side of the kitchen island. Elizabeth looks around before setting her purse in the empty place next to me, but she doesn’t completely let go. She seems stiff and uncomfortable, a stranger in her own home. “I told you he was coming over this weekend,” Josh says fiddling with the cap of his water bottle.
Elizabeth turns to me, “That’s right, I’m so sorry. My weeks are starting to blur together more than I realized. How is Oliver?”
“Oh, you know… Oliver,” I say.
She huffs a small laugh, but her smile doesn’t quite reach her eyes.