Page 28 of The Spare
Hopefully long enough for whatever it was that I felt for her to finally go away.
CHAPTER14
Sloan
The knock at my door on a late Saturday afternoon was odd. I wasn’t expecting anyone.
I stood in the kitchen and ran down the list of people it could be. Usually, if my parents or grandfather wanted to see me, I was summoned. Xander had a key and never knocked.
“Sloan? It's Henry,” I heard after another knock.
Henry?My heart raced. Something must be wrong. I dropped the wooden spoon in my hand, turned off the stove, and ran to the door.
Henry never visited these days. Not unless something happened.
“Is everything okay?” I almost screamed in anxiety as I swung the door open. My frantic eyes were met by my brother’s. He was calm and collected and held a bottle of wine. His smile was one of a psychotic fool who yelled fire in a movie theater.
“Yeah, I wanted to come say hi.” Brushing past me, he invited himself into my townhouse.
Shell-shocked, I stood on the threshold for a moment.
My mind raced, and I tried to make sense of his sudden intrusion. “Are you high?”
I closed the door and followed him intomyhouse.
He laughed, walking from the foyer to the kitchen overlooking the living space. He put the wine down on the countertop and sat at the island. “Smells good. What are you cooking Saan—”
“Nothing.” I cut him off before he used my middle name. He only used it when he tried to be nostalgic.
“How are you?” He got up and busied himself by opening every cabinet in search of a corkscrew and wine glasses. “Are you seeing anyone?”
He found two glasses, and I got the corkscrew from the drawer. If we were going to do this, I needed wine.
“No. Are you?” The room fell quiet. I sat on the seat next to him, crossing my arms. He gave a resigned sigh and finally yielded.
He ran a hand through his short black hair. “I was talking to Marcus.”
I sat up straighter at the sound of his name. I found myself wanting to see Marcus more. Henry had a chance to cultivate a better relationship with Xander in his absence. I wanted the same with Marcus.
Okay, I probably wanted more, but I knew better than to fill my head with silly fantasies about Marcus. The man had more commitment issues than Xander. And that was a high bar.
“I haven’t been a good brother these last few years, have I?” Marcus got Henry to understand that? It was obvious, but months of Xander screaming it at him hadn’t done anything.
“Not really.” I poured two glasses and went to the stove to get the food I made. Dhal and rice; I was in the mood for comfort food. “I haven’t been great either,” I admitted.
In the last three years, Henry had changed from being a pretty decent guy to someone I hardly recognized. Utterly consumed by living up to our father’s expectations, he began to alienate those closest to him. Marcus’s absence probably made it all worse.
I didn’t exactly help matters. I was angry for years that he was the presumed heir, even though there was never a discussion as to whether someone was better suited.
When I accepted it, I tried to move on and make my own way. I knew my last name helped open doors, but I was still proud of myself for everything I had accomplished. I never minded when it was met with apathy from some members of the family. When Henry discounted it, it filled me with a rage I often saved and summoned in the worst ways.
“Tell me about London.” His expression was sincere. He was trying to make amends, and I had to undertake the enormous task of swallowing my anger and letting him.
I talked to Henry. For the first time in a long time, it was like talking to my big brother again, not the douchebag in a suit cosplaying a CEO. Seeing genuine pride in his eyes when I told him about my chance at partner gave me a feeling of acceptance I thought I would never have. His opinion of me mattered more than I liked to admit.
He confided his concerns about his eventual ascension and some of the trouble he was running into as he started taking on more responsibility at Amari Global. In the past, that was something he and Marcus would talk about. It made sense, given they had essentially the same position at different companies. While it never bothered Xander, who was decidedly uninterested in anything to do with the industry, I always felt a little cheated.
“I think he’s going to pass it to me directly,” Henry said after a few moments of silence, anxiety hanging on his words.
