Page 15 of His Arranged Plus-Size Mate

“This all looks lovely,” Hazel said as I pushed her chair in. I took a seat next to her and watched as my mother sat down. My father was already seated, scooping up a chicken breast onto his plate.

“Where is Kyle?” I asked, having expected him. I heard the front door open and shut as I asked, and I knew right away it was him.

“I’m home.”

I looked down the hallway, staring at my brother. He looked exactly like our mother, with blond hair and light blue eyes. He, however, took after our father in every possible way. He was hard-headed and heartless, because our father was respected and higher up on the chain of command, he acted like he was, too.

“Sorry, I’m late. I was just accepting a job offer. You are looking at the new floor manager of the law firm.”

“Oh sweetie, that’s great.” My mother gave him a soft smile. “I’m so proud of you.”

“Comes with a big raise, too.” Kyle froze when he spotted Hazel and me. His eyes quickly scanned her, and I watched a smirk pull at his lips.

“Asher and Hazel were able to join us for dinner tonight.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” Hazel said, offering Kyle a smile. My brother returned it, but it wasn’t sweet.

“Yeah, I’ll get a corner office and quarterly bonuses. And within two years, I will have the chair set on the board.” Kyle said it like he’d been working his ass off his entire life for this. But our father probably called in a favor.

“Proud of you, son.” My father offered him a smile as Kyle sat down and looked at me. He held a smug smile, his eyes waiting for me to say something, but I learned long ago to just let things go. “How is it going for you, Asher? Still holding your same job? No climbing the ladder?”

I knew he was saying it as an insult, trying to tick me off because I hadn’t followed in my father’s footsteps.

“I’m still holding the same job. I don’t need to climb the ladder.”

Kyle looked at Hazel, clearly not getting what he wanted out of me. “And what do you do, Hailey?”

I ground my teeth together, knowing he said her name wrong on purpose. I watched Hazel squirm uncomfortably. “It’s Hazel, and I work part-time at the bar and the healing center.”

Kyle clicked his tongue, turning his attention to his food. “Not everyone is set up to be successful. It happens.”

Hazel looked like she’d been slapped. Her mouth hung open, and her eyes snapped toward me. I offered her a tight smile. I knew it was best to just ignore my brother. He was an asshole. Always had been. There was no changing that.

I turned my attention to my mother. “Mom, did you find a new job? Did you call Ashley at the school?”

She nodded. “I did, but they don’t have any openings at the moment. Which is fine, I don’t mind being here and getting settled.”

“Which I think is utter bullshit.” My father added. “You are more qualified to work there than anyone else is. They should give you a spot. Make one if they need to.”

“That’s not how it works, Dad.”

“It’s fine.” My mother added, trying to calm the moment. “I enjoy being at home.”

I watched as my father’s jaw worked before he took a bite of his chicken. “It’s their loss in the end. They don’t want to hire someone talented, then they don’t deserve your time.”

I looked at Hazel, who was staring at her chicken now. She took a bite of it, slowly chewing before she spoke up. “What do you do…uhmm….”

“Mary. I’m a musician. I was hoping to get a job at the school to teach orchestra.”

“Oh, wow.”

“My mother used to teach all around the world. Did a couple of tours.” I explained. “We all know how to do something musical. She knows how to play pretty much every instrument.”

“It looks good on a resume,” my mother added. “Opens up doors. That was why you guys learned.”

“Having a musician mother and a business owner father made our kids set for life.” My father took a sip of his wine and glanced at Hazel. “What did your parents do?”

Hazel swallowed slowly. “My mother had different jobs. We never meet our father.”