My Best Friends Brother

Chapter 63

JOSH’S P.O.V.

When I get to Xade’s office I may well just fucking kiss him.

Not really obviously, I just mean that I’m so grateful to him for finding Liam this new social worker. The meeting today with her went better than I could have hoped. She didn't buy into Chrissy’s bullshit for one minute, apparently the woman couldn’t even say what Liam’s favourite colour was or what he’s allergic to! It was clear to her that Liam isn’t being cared for in the way that he should be, but she said that they have to try support his placement with his mother before immediately removing him without anything dangerous going on.

Although if I could, I would go to that apartment and take him right now, the truth is that she is his mother and if they can somehow magically transformed her into someone worthy of him than I want that for my brother.

Chrissy has been given a set of goals to meet and will be having weekly inspections for the next few months, she’s also been warned that preventing Liam from seeing his family will not reflect well on her. This obviously didn’t stop her from texting me lashings of abuse every ten minutes for the last eight hours though. The best part of that woman went running down her mother’s fucking leg.

I don’t give a fuck about her, as long as my brother is safe and I know that there are people on my side if the time comes for me to take him from there.

Overall my day was going pretty fucking well; the higher ups finally laid off me and Charlie now that the deal with Xade has been completed and they can see their bank balance rising as we speak, Brie agreed to let the banshee come down to the lake house with us (apparently May was very happy to share a room with Heather after she found out me and Miles would still need to bunk, I need to buy that girl a purse or something) and finally, I fell asleep last night talking to the guy I can’t stop thinking about.

It might have been a perfectly wonderful fucking day if he hadn't let me know that the one time we might actually be able to see each other this week was now off. I get it, he can't just be spacing on his studies to hang with me, he’s got to graduate and get himself down to LSU.

I’m actually trying not to think about that too much, it's months away but even the idea of him being that far makes my stomach fucking knot.

It’s way too early to be thinking that far ahead anyway, God knows where we’ll be by then. I just kind of can’t get over how easily and quickly he's fitted into my whole world.

He’s understanding, he never says anything if I can't answer the phone when I’m in work and doesn’t even try to contact me when he knows I’m with Liam. Even last night when we we're on the phone and I heard Liam wake up, he just sat on the other side of the phone quietly until I had him settled back in his bed. He gets it, he isn’t some selfish teenager, he’s Miles. He’s fucking special.

Yesterday I went for food at Harley’s folks place, it’s a lot easier now that I’m back in Westbrooke, we used to just have Skype calls when I was still on the other side of the country but now I actually get to see them in person again.

Harl’s baby nephew was there, I haven’t seen him since he was born but now he’s crawling and everything. He looks so much like his uncle it’s frightening, same strong jaw line and mop of curly black hair even though he's still covered in his squishy little baby fat. Harley would’ve worshipped him.

As I was cuddling him after food Nicola kept asking me when I’m going to settle down and have one of my own. She’s probably the person who’s encouraged me to move on the most over the years, despite losing her son still being so hard for us both to talk about, but I still didn’t feel like I could tell her about Miles whilst sitting in a house where me and Harley used to watch movies and talk about our own future.

It was impossible not to look at that little boy and not think about how things would have been different right now if we never lost him. We were so fucking young, so many relationships that start in high school never fucking make it, but I just know in my gut that we would have. We would have had it all; travelled the world until we had nowhere left to visit, ended up in whichever country was good enough to grab his attention and settled there. We would’ve built our own house like we always said we would,  then filled it with enough screaming kids that neither of us would ever be bored again.

I accepted a long time ago that I would never get that with him, ten years is too long to hold onto a hope of something you can never have.

Then he came along...

I’m not saying that we are anywhere near talking about building houses or having kids or any of that crap, I just finally feel like maybe there is a future for me somewhere beyond the last date of the calendar on my desk, and that's because of him.

Xade’s office is on the other side of the business district from mine, I haven’t been in the building before but as I pull up outside you can definitely tell how much fucking money this guy actually has.

The valet opens my door and lets me slip out, grabbing my briefcase before he steps inside and takes my car out of sight. I really fucking hate letting anyone else drive my car but I don’t know where the fact park around here anyway.

Walking inside the building it’s almost completely dead, Xade had asked if I could come in late so he wasn’t having his attention split by the other members of his staff while I’m here doing him a favour.

The security guard at the front desk offers me a smile and points me in the right direction before I step into the elevator and hit the button for the very top floor.

It takes forever to get me there and my mind starts to race with how things are going to be when I see this guy now. We haven’t really spoken since we ended up pinned to a wall together at Rave, looking back on it there was definitely a level of flirting but I’m going to put that down to the fact that he was practically a walking bottle of vodka at the time.

It’ll be fine, Charlie said that after I left he was still a good laugh and apparently bowed to Charlie’s will to get on karaoke. Han got there just as they were finishing so he only caught them singing the last verse of ‘I Will Survive’ on the video, but it was enough to tell me that the guy was definitely fucking wasted.

The doors finally open and I can escape this terrible elevator music, but this office is a far cry from the one that I go to every morning. There’s no bundles of random fucking paper everywhere and there’s no messy desks in sight. Instead it looks like a show office, I can’t believe that people really work like this, it’s so... tidy.

I walked past the rows of empty glass desks until I hear the sound of Xade’s voice talking on the phone from the very last corner office.

Okay, calling this an office was a bit of an understatement, it’s more like an apartment. Xade spots me through the glass walls and waves for me to come in as he stands behind the large black glass desk, hands fixed firmly to the surface as the sunlight from the floor to ceiling windows behind him seem to bask him in their glow.

I’m really not sure where to go as he continues what seems to be a very important conversation, so instead I just stand behind one of the black leather sofas staring up at the second level to this place.

Seriously, whose office has two fucking levels? As I glance up the open iron staircase that leads to the maisonette balcony above, I can see that every wall up there appears to be lined with books. There must be hundreds of the things, Al would be in her fucking element right now.

“You can sit down you know?” Xade chuckles as he approaches me, I was so busy gawking at this place I didn’t even realise he had finished his phone call.

His clothes are definitely back in work mode, nothing like the way he was dressed that day at rave. A fitted blue suit with grey pin stripes and a open collar grey shirt coats his body, although his hair is down and loose again like it was that night.

“Sorry,” I say as I move around to sit down on the couch. “This place is kind of amazing, no wonder you weren't intimidated when you came to mine, don’t ever let Charlie come here, he’d have people forcing a balcony into his by the end of the week.”

Xade laughs whilst removing his suit jacket and hanging it up on a stand by the door. “It was my dads, I haven’t really changed anything other than adding my own collection upstairs instead of the rows of business handbooks that used to be there.” He gestures towards the drinks bar next to him, every kind of drink imaginable looking back at me. “What can I get you?”

“Water is fine.” Alcohol is the last thing I need. What I really want right now is my bed... with Miles in it.

Just as he picks up the bottle, the door to his office swings open, crashing so hard into the wall that the whole room fucking shakes. A woman that can hardly see with the toddler wrapped around her head hurries in carrying a mountain of shopping bags.

“Xade! A little help!”

Xade drops the water and immediately rushes over to the helpless woman, unwrapping the little girl from around her head as she laughs uncontrollably.

“Poppy, what have I told you about blinding your mother when she's trying to walk?” The little girl still seems to find this all hilarious as the woman I now realise is her mother, drops all the shopping bags and falls back against the wall of the office.

“She refused to let me take everything home before coming back to see you. I was going to go straight to your place but I figured your workaholic ass would still be here. I’ve managed to get most of the gifts but I still need to grab something for –”

She cuts herself off as soon as her eyes land on me, her hand reaching up and covering her mouth as it darts between me and Xade, who now carries her chuckling daughter firmly on his hip.

“Oh shit, I’m so sorry! I didn’t think you’d still be having meetings at this time. Quick, Poppy we have to go.”

The feisty little toddler shoves her tongue out at her mother before immediately wrapping her arms around Xade’s neck.

“No mummy! I stay, want piggies!”

Why am I constantly surrounded by such cute fucking kids? She’s really sweet.

Xade begins to laugh, unlocking her arms enough that he can take a full breath in again before returning his attention to the very distraught looking woman.

“Chill Olive, it’s not a meeting or anything. This is Josh, shit, I mean Joshua Jones. Remember? The guy I told you about that helped put through the merger, he’s just coming to find all the things I’m doing wrong before I had this place off to you.”

Xade gives a knowing look to the woman who suddenly seems to get recognition in her eyes before she cocks her eyebrow at him.

“oh... Josh...” She turns to face me and extends her hand for a shake, which I rise and do happily. Fuck, that’s a business handshake if I’ve ever felt one.

“My brother has told me all about you, I’m a Olivia, Olivia hunter. That little devil over there masquerading as an angel is Poppy... So, you’re the guy that managed to get my dipshit brother to actually leave the office for once? Must have been a good night, haven’t seen him hungover like that in years.”

Now all the pieces make sense. Xade explained before how he had a sister and a niece, the woman that was always supposed to take over this business. Now that I’m looking at them properly you can see the family resemblance, both of them have very striking features but Olivia’s hair is dark whilst her daughter seems to have inherited her uncles sunshine graced locks. However the most notable difference is that for some reason Xade’s sister doesn’t share his accent, she’s as American as apple pie.

“I’m not taking any responsibility for that, I got him out there but Charlie was the one that very much filled his veins to eighty percent alcohol. I left before the fun started, I didn’t even get to see the karaoke show.”

Olivia’s jaw falls open as she spins to face her brother.

“You did karaoke! Even at my bachelorette party you refused to get up on karaoke! Damn, I don’t even know who you are anymore.”

Xade rolls his eyes, entertaining himself with Poppy as he perches them on the arm of the couch across from me and she makes herself comfortable sitting on his knee.

Olivia looks down at all the bags that now coat the floor.

“Well, since it’s not actually a real business meeting, fancy doing me a favour?” She directs at her brother.

Xade glances from his sister to his niece. “How long do you need me to have her?”

Olivia’s face lights up with a smile that  is uncannily similar to the one I saw on Xade that night at Rave. “Two hours, three max. Just let me get all this stuff back and sorted before the toy drop off next week. I’ve still got two more foster kids to buy for but I think we’ll have everybody sorted by then.” Xade nods in agreement whilst Olivia begins to pick up all the bags that she’s dropped.

I jump up and start picking them up with her and she looks incredibly grateful as we pack her back up like a underfed mule.

“Has he dragged you into this as well yet? Most people are happy to just send a cheque, leave it up to my brother to insist that we get the names, ages and toy wishes of every single kid in the system in this county. I don’t know why I agreed to help him again this year, the guy is too persuasive for his own good.”

I glance into the bags to see they contain an array of toys and gifts, are these people Saints or something? They seriously buy presents for every single kid in the foster system here?

“If I write a cheque those kids will just end up with whatever the social worker decides,” Xade says as he bounces Poppy up and down until she begins to giggle with excitement. “It doesn’t take more money to get them what they really want, just a bit more effort. You’re welcome to takeover the business tomorrow and I’ll happily take over the shopping duties?”

Olivia rolls her eyes as I loop the final bag onto her pinkie finger.

“Are you sure you’re okay with all of that? I can help you.”

She shakes her head, bracing her arms for the trip ahead. “Oh aren't you a sweetheart! I’m fine darling, I was maxing out my dad’s credit cards on fifth avenue by the time I was fourteen, I’ve practically trained for this my entire life.”

Xade laughs, lifting Poppy and walking her to her mum so she can kiss her goodbye. Olivia leans forward and kisses Xade on the cheek too before nodding at me and shuffling her way back through the office doors.

She pauses on the other side glancing between the two of us and smiling.

“You were right those Xade, he really is seriously cute.” She howls with laughter as she runs away like a walking toys’r’us aisle.

When I turn back I can see that Xade’s face is a good five shades reder than it was before she left, although he’s trying to hide it by burying himself into Poppy’s stomach and blowing raspberries on the surface.

He seriously told his sister I was cute?

Please remember to vote and comment beauts 🥰❤📖