Chapter 310
**Tom**
The door swung open, revealing Leo's grinning face. He stood there in his designer suit, coffee cup balanced in one hand like some pretentious fashion ad come to life.
"Took you long enough to answer."
"Had to finish my coffee first." He took a deliberate sip, maintaining eye contact. "Premium beans. Imported from... somewhere expensive, probably."
"Why are you here, Leo?" I crossed my arms, refusing to be baited by his theatrical coffee-drinking performance.
"Can't a guy fly halfway across the world to help his favorite brother?" He stepped back, gesturing grandly with his free hand. "I'm here to assist you in your time of need."
"I'm your only brother, Leo." I stepped inside, dropping my briefcase on a nearby chair. "And so far, your 'help' involved getting your café friend to pretend-arrest me with a menu. Real stellar assistance there."
"Hey, that was just the warm-up act." Leo flopped onto the couch, somehow managing not to spill a drop of his coffee. "I've got bigger plans."
"If any of these plans involve more fake arrests, I'm pushing you off the balcony."
Leo sprawled deeper into the couch, a smirk playing on his lips. "You wouldn't dare. I'm your precious baby brother, remember? Mom's favorite little angel?"
"Angel?" I snorted. "More like hell-spawn. And trust me, I'd have no problem explaining to Mom how you tragically slipped while doing something stupid."
"Empty threats, big bro." He waved his hand dismissively. "We both know you'd miss me too much. Who else would keep your life interesting?"
"I have plenty of interesting things in my life without your shenanigans." I moved toward the bar, desperate for a drink after the day's events.
"Like what? Spreadsheets? Quarterly reports?" Leo made exaggerated snoring sounds. "Face it, I'm the most excitement you get."
Something caught my eye near the bedroom door - a pair of stilettos haphazardly kicked off to the side. Red-soled. Expensive.
I pointed at the heels. "Want to explain those?"
Leo's eyes widened for a split second before he recovered his composure. "Would you believe they're mine? I'm trying out a new look."
"Cut the crap." I crossed my arms. "Are you cheating on Kate?"
Leo's eyes darted to the bathroom door, then back to me. He placed his coffee cup down with exaggerated care and beckoned me closer.
"Come here, it's a secret," he whispered, wiggling his eyebrows like a cartoon villain.
I rolled my eyes but moved closer if only to strangle him more efficiently.
"Okay, so," Leo lowered his voice to barely above a whisper, "I met this absolutely gorgeous woman in the lobby. Like supermodel status. And well..." He gestured toward the bathroom with a guilty grin. "She's kind of in there right now."
My hand shot out, grabbing his collar. "How dare you cheat on Kate? You know what? I'm calling her right now." I pulled out my phone and scrolled through my contacts.
"No, no, no!" Leo jumped up, practically dancing around me in panic. His voice shifted into an off-key sing-song. "Please don't do that! I'm your itty-bitty baby brother! Your favorite person in the whole wide world!" He clasped his hands together, batting his eyelashes. "Spare me just this once?"
"You look ridiculous."
"That's the point!" He continued his theatrical begging, now adding dramatic hand gestures. "Remember when I covered for you after you crashed Dad's Ferrari? Or when I took the blame for the broken chandelier? Your favorite brother is asking for one tiny favor..."
I held up my phone, Kate's number displayed on the screen. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't press 'call' right now."
"Because you love me?" Leo attempted puppy dog eyes, which looked more like he had something stuck in them.
"Try again." I kept my finger hovering over the call button.
"Fine! If you call Kate, she'll break up with me, and I'll be devastated and alone, and you'll have to deal with me crying on your couch every night for months." Leo clutched his chest. "Is that what you want? Your poor brother, heartbroken and eating all your food?"
"Actually, that sounds perfect. Kate deserves better than someone who cheats on her."
Leo dropped to his knees, crawling toward me like a desperate puppy. "Please, please, please don't call her. I'll do anything! I'll be your personal assistant for a month. No, a year! I'll even let you have my Porsche!"
"The same Porsche you crashed last month?"
"Minor detail." He waved dismissively. "But seriously, Tom. Don't do this to me. I'm too young and handsome to die alone."
I rolled my eyes at his dramatics. "You should have thought about that before bringing some random woman to your hotel room."
"I'll tell Father you're dating one of your students!"
"I'm not dating any students, you idiot." The thought of Sara crossed my mind. She wasn't my student anymore, but Leo didn't know she had once been in my class.
"He doesn't know that." Leo's eyes gleamed with desperate mischief. "I can be very convincing when I need to be."
"You deserve whatever's coming to you." I pressed my thumb closer to the call button. "Maybe this will teach you to-"
The bathroom door clicked open.
"Who's cheating here?" A familiar voice asked.
I spun around, phone nearly slipping from my grip.
Kate stood in the doorway, arms crossed and eyebrows raised in that way that always made Leo squirm.
"Who's cheating here?" she asked again, her gaze sweeping between us.
Leo scrambled to his feet so fast he nearly tripped over the coffee table. "Kate! My love, my darling, my everything!" He practically teleported to her side, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "You won't believe what Tom's trying to do. He's making up this crazy story about me cheating on you!"
I opened my mouth to protest, but Leo steamrolled right over me.
"He said he was going to call you and tell you I had some woman in here!" Leo's free hand fluttered dramatically to his chest. "Can you believe it? My own brother trying to break us up! And for what? Pure entertainment, I tell you."
Kate's eyebrow climbed higher.
"I mean, look at us!" Leo squeezed her closer, grinning like a kid who just got away with stealing cookies. "We're the cutest couple ever." Leo beamed at Kate, his arm still wrapped around her shoulders.
I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Leo, I literally watched you try to convince me there was another woman in the bathroom."
"What? No, no, no." Leo wagged his finger at me. "I was trying to convince you that Kate was in the bathroom. Which she was! See?" He gestured at Kate like a game show host, revealing a prize. "Ta-da!"
Kate shrugged off his arm. "What's really going on here?"
"Nothing! Just Tom being Tom, trying to cause trouble. He's just jealous because we're so perfect together."
I couldn't help but laugh at Leo's desperate attempt to salvage the situation. Kate rolled her eyes, but a smile tugged at her lips.
"Tom, you should know better. Leo's too good to cheat." Kate wrapped her arms around Leo's waist. "I trust him completely."
"Alright, my mistake. He's so good, practically a saint."
"The best," Kate agreed, kissing Leo's cheek.
Leo beamed like a kid who just got away with stealing cookies, but his expression shifted as he approached me. He leaned in close, voice dropping to a whisper.
"Remember when you barged into my office? Making threats about breaking us up if I didn't keep quiet about Sara?" His smirk widened. "How's that working out for you now?"
"I said I'd make Kate break up with you if you didn't shut up about the wedding timeline," I muttered back.
"Well, looks like those plans are dead in the water." Leo patted my shoulder. "Maybe focus on your own love life instead? Sara's waiting back home, and that wedding deadline isn't getting any further away."
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
