Chapter 15

Harry didn't get to finish his sentence and I didn't get to cut it off for him, because something else beat me to it.

There suddenly came a rapid knocking on the door to his office, a sound which we both turned towards. I saw Harry grit his teeth, but then sigh and sit down on top of his desk.

"Come in."

The maid Giselle, who I had been having some good conversations with back before I had broken the ice with Harry, stuck her head inside. She looked rather fidgety and didn't appear to want to be here. She knew she had clearly interrupted something that didn't require an audience.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Devon, but... I thought you'd like to know that your brother's car is pulling up the driveway," She told with a nervous gulp.

My eyes widened. His what?

"Your brother is here?" I turned to glare at Harry who's jawline had become so prominent I was wondering if he was crushing his teeth keeping them clenched.

"Thank you, Giselle," He replied in a calm voice - the exact opposite of what he looked. For once, he seemed distraught and on edge.

"Did you know he was coming?" I asked, watching Harry stand up and run his hands through his hair.

He ignored my question and instead fixed up his tie, then strode past me to get to the foyer.

I followed him, only because I didn't know what else to do, and watched as Harry pulled the front door open before his brother's car had even parked on the gravel out front. We stood in the doorway, Harry with an impassive, tight mien, and me with a slightly shocked look, waiting as his brother's limo finally came to a halt and a man stepped out to open the car door to the passenger seat in the back. God, to be so rich and pompous one needed a servant to open the fucking door..

The man who had approached me at my old workplace at the coffee shop stepped out, looking every bit as pristine and put together as Harry usually did. The Devon brothers were no slobs when it came to appearances, yet Harry still managed to look casual and human in his brown suits, whereas his brother stood with an overclass look on his face and managed to look too rich for anything less than a three-piece suit.

Both brothers looked at each other as they stood teen feet apart, Harry on the steps of his house and Richard straightening out his suit after the car ride.

Richard looked him over briefly before his eyes fell to me with a raised brow, as if he was almost surprised to see me still here, standing next to his brother. He then turned his chin up and walked towards his brother with a cocky expression.

"Harry, my brother."

"Richard.," Harry almost scoffed out.

Neither brother made an attempt to shake each other's hands, but rather simply stood across from each other, looking at one another with what I felt

was an equal dislike. And I thought running into an ex was uncomfortable.

"Aren't you going to invite me inside?" Richard then suggested with a little, arrogant smile.

"Why are you here?" Harry cut straight to the chase.

I suspected he wanted his brother gone as soon as possible as much as I did. Much less invite him inside for a sip of tea.

"Well, you weren't answering my calls," Richard explained with a purse of his lips, as if he was reprimanding his little brother for the rude behavior.

"So you really left me with no other choice but to come see you. I figure we need to have a little talk."

Oh, I suddenly started to understand why Harry had started this whole backwards scam against his brother. I had spent less than five minutes in the company of the true Richard Devon, and I already wanted to smack him in his face. More so than I wanted to smack Harry.

Which was saying something.

Harry surprised me by chuckling humorlessly.

Obviously he was thinking the same thing I was; Normal people would take getting your calls cut as a sign to stay away, but as ever, the Devon family seemed to think everything meant the opposite.

Richard Devon simply couldn't miss the opportunity to hand his brother a piece of his mind, even if it meant driving three hours to the country side to Harry's remote 'family heirloom' house.

Harry stepped to the side, and to my even further surprise, allowed his brother to come inside. I watched in astonishment as he led him to his study, which in my opinion had to be a strategic move on Harry's side.

A move which's effect was yet to be discovered.

Again, I took my cue to follow them, simply because it seemed like the thing to do, even if I knew these brothers probably didn't need my input. I wasn't mistaken when Richard turned around and looked at me with a surprised look when Harry closed the door after I had stepped in.

"I would think this conversation is best had in privacy, dear brother," Richard mentioned as he looked at me raise a brow.

"Perhaps Ms. Berry would like to wait outside for a moment."

"Ms. Berry stays, since this conversation refers to her as well." Harry stated, giving his brother a firm glare.

"You were the one to hire her, after all. Unless you still deny it."

Richard smiled slowly.

It was the same kind of smile a man with a plan smiled, and the fact that it wasn't even in his intentions to conceal it was what concerned me. He really had come here with a purpose.

"Very well, then," Richard conceded.

"As you wish. But I do think you need to understand the real reasons as to why I chose to... acquire Ms. Berry's assistance."

Assistance.

He really knew how to make fucking my brother and getting knocked up with his kid sound fancy. I was starting to see what Harry meant when he said he had a silver tongue. He could probably make sex trafficking sound appealing and like a smart business move if he wanted to.

If he wanted to.

"Don't make me hold my breath," Harry replied with heavy sarcasm.

I couldn't help but grin shortly. Richard rearranged his cufflinks and then sighed heavily. Almost dramatically.

"I won't pretend to be surprise if you already know

everything.

"I won't waste my breath then," Harry again facetiously replied.

"Then you surely also know that my last... functionality..."

He glanced towards me and I tried to bite my lip to stop myself from smiling, but it really didn't work.

"..has run its course. Time's a cruel friend, and I was saddened to hear my time was up. But I wasn't thinking about myself in this case."

Harry narrowed his eyes. Actually narrowed them. I saw the first sign of actual emotion in his eyes, a flash of pure hatred flashing through them.

"No."

"Yes."

"No. You can't deceive me," Harry said, slowly walking up to his brother.

"You and I know damn well this was never about her. You needed a legitimate heir, and you were out of options. You became desperate."

I was trying to keep up in the conversation.

At the mention of a her, my whole train of thought was stilled for a moment.

There was a 'her'?

Richard squinted his eyes back at his brother, but realigned his mien quicker than Harry this time. He straightened out, but then let his eyes fall to me. He smiled back.

"Do you know what desperation likes?" He then replied, watching me as he spoke. I glared back and crossed my arms, waiting for him to continue his sentence.

"Desperation. I won't deny I hit a point of desperation when I received the news of my infertility. But, as I'm sure you know, brother."

He slowly glanced around his study and smirked slowly.

"Every problem pertains a solution."

"And she was yours," Harry gave a brief head tilt towards me.

I wish I could say I was surprised, but this was all old news to me. Richard had needed me as much as I had needed Harry. It was the perfect setup.

"She was a desperate solution to a desperate problem," He stated, finally turning his eyes away from me.

I pretended not to feel the stab in my chest.

"And had it not been for my PI's sloppy work-" or Harry's attention to detail, "the plan would've worked because she was more desperate than I was. What I failed to realize was how petty you are."

Harry stared flatly at his brother as Richard looked at him with disappointment. Again, I had a feeling there was more to this story that Harry had kept from me.

Then, Harry smirked slowly.

He turned and walked over to his desk and took a relaxed lean up against it as his brother watched him with discontent.

"As the saying goes, dear brother," Harry mimicked him, "A punishment that fits the crime."

At that, Richard laughed. Shaking his head, he walked closer up to his brother, almost so close that their noses touched.

"You still haven't gotten over your jealousy, I see."

"And you still haven't gotten over your arrogance."

I didn't understand what the hell they were talking about, but the brothers seemed to be deep into a subject that had haunted the both of them for ages.

"You never could get over the fact that our parents chose me over you," Richard declared.

"I won't apologize for their choices."

"And you still haven't realized that unlike you, my whole life's dependency doesn't rely on my parents' approval.," Harry fired back with a crooked smile.

"I won't apologize for my intellect."

"Oh, please," Richard said, taking a step back. He smiled back, then briefly glanced around at Harry's study again, looking at all of his work.

"Hasn't it?"

Harry's eyes narrowed. Then, standing up, he glared down at his brother. They were almost the same height, but I realized Harry had just about an inch or two on him.

Probably in more ways than one.

"I believe this conversation is over"

"Yes. I do believe it is," Richard agreed, taking another step back.

Then, straightening out his back with a firm movement, he turned around but then laid eyes on me. He halted in his steps and then smiled slowly.

"You know, I knew when I picked you that you were desperate," he said, tallying up my size.

I clenched my teeth and resisted the urge to lunge at him. "But I guess I underestimated just how desperate."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I growled out, taking a step forward. I was actually holding myself back from punching him. I never knew a person could be this naturally condescending without even trying.

"Well... you're still here," He replied, simply, with that arrogant little smirk.

"I suppose my brother had more to offer you than I did."

Oh, that was fucking it.

"Yeah, he did," I snarled and stepped right up into his face.

I glared up at him, but then lowered my gaze and looked condescendingly at his crotch.

"A dick that fucking works."

And with that, I stormed out of the office, slamming the door open and marching up the stairs. I was so done after today, and that was all I had left to say.

I didn't hear Harry bid his brother goodbye, but I heard from my room the crunch of car tires driving off from a distance. I faintly heard the front door close, but I honestly couldn't care anymore.

These brothers were a fucking piece of work.

And I was so done here.