I Chased My Brother’s Friend for a Month, Then Walked Into Work and Found Out He Owns the Company Chapter 02

I Chased My Brother’s Friend for a Month, Then Walked Into Work and Found Out He Owns the Company Chapter 02

After I added him on iMessage, I sent him a “Good morning” every single day.

The first three days, he didn’t reply.

On the fourth day, he replied with a “Mm.”

On the fifth day, I sent a photo of my breakfast. A fried egg I’d totally burned. With the caption. See? I can’t even handle an egg, let alone you.

He replied with a single “Ha.”

Just one word.

But I jumped for joy.

From that day on, I turned up the heat.

Week one, I sent a bouquet of flowers to his office building.

I didn’t know which floor he worked on, so I just had the florist write his name and leave it at the front desk.

That night, he messaged. The flowers arrived.

I said. Do you like them?

He said. They’re okay. Left them at the front desk. Everyone saw.

I said. Perfect. Now everyone knows someone’s after you.

He took a while to reply. You’ve got guts.

Week two, I asked him to dinner.

It took three invitations before he said yes.

He picked the place, a French restaurant.

I showed up half an hour early, flipped through the menu three times, and memorized a few of the pricier dishes.

When he arrived, he was wearing a gray overcoat. He took off his scarf and draped it over the back of his chair, the motion smooth and effortless.

I said. “Gray looks good on you.”

He picked up the menu. “Let’s order.”

He didn’t talk much through the whole meal.

I’d ramble on, and he’d listen, occasionally chiming in.

But every time he spoke, the timing was perfect.

Not enough to make me feel brushed off, not enough to seem overly eager.

He kept me at that perfect distance. Close enough to hope, far enough to chase.

When the check came, I grabbed it.

Twelve hundred bucks.

My monthly allowance was three thousand.

He gave me a look but didn’t stop me.

As we walked out, he said. “Next time, don’t order so much expensive stuff. No need.”

I said. “What, you think I’m afraid to spend money chasing you?”

He stopped under the streetlamp outside the mall and looked at me.

And then he smiled.

That smile was different from the one at the wedding.

That one was just being polite.

This one seemed to have something else in it.

I couldn’t put my finger on it.

Week three, I sent him another gift, a scarf. I’d spent two days picking it out online, and it cost me eight hundred.

When he got it, he sent me a photo of it draped over his desk.

I noticed his desk was spotless. Just a laptop and a coffee mug.

No decorations at all.

I said. Your desk is so bare. I’ll get you a little ornament.

He said. No need. I don’t like clutter on my desk.

Week four, I confessed my feelings.

In front of his office building, at eight at night.

He came out after overtime. I’d been waiting at the entrance for two hours.

I was holding a bouquet of red roses, shivering like a leaf.

When he came out and saw me, he stopped.

“Erin?”

“Declan, I like you.”

“How long have you been standing here?”

“That’s not important. Just give me a straight answer.”

He looked at the flowers in my hands, then at my face.

The wind blew his hair across his eyes, but he didn’t brush it away.

“Okay.”

Just one word.

It took me two seconds to process it. “You said okay?”

“Are your ears broken?”

“Really?”

“I wouldn’t say it if it wasn’t.”

I stood there, my brain going off like fireworks in my skull.

I shoved the flowers at him. He took them, lowered his head, and sniffed them.

Then he looked up at me. “Come on. I’ll take you home.”

Walking beside him, my hands wouldn’t stop shaking.

It wasn’t from the cold.

From that day on, I told everyone.

My roommate asked what I was doing on the weekend, I said I was hanging out with my boyfriend.

My mom called, I said I was dating someone.

My dad yelled in the background. “Bring him home!”

My brother called and asked how I was doing. I said. “I’m with that colleague of yours.”

Three seconds of silence on the other end.

“Which colleague?”

“Declan! The best man from your wedding.”

Another three seconds of silence.

“You’re serious?”

“Of course I’m serious. I spent a whole month chasing him.”

My brother said. “Erin, listen to me for a second.”

“Go ahead.”

“Do you really know him?”

I laughed. “Bro, come on, he’s your colleague. You know him. He’s great, sweet, classy, the whole package.”

My brother didn’t respond.

After a long pause, he said. “Alright. Suit yourself.”

I brushed it off after hanging up.

I figured my brother was just doing that overprotective big-brother thing, vetting anyone I dated.

When I had dinner with my friends, I pulled up Declan’s photo and showed them.

“Damn, Erin, where’d you find this guy?”

“Met him at my brother’s wedding. Took me a month to land him.”

“He’s got serious presence. What does he do?”

“Just a regular office guy. Works with my brother.”

“Girl, you lucked out.”

I put my phone away, feeling like a million bucks.

Senior year didn’t have many classes, so I saw him at least three times a week.

Over the course of a month, between meals, flowers, and gifts, I dropped nearly two thousand dollars.

I’d saved up that money from summer jobs, and it was almost all gone.

But I thought it was worth it.

Because I felt like I’d landed a guy way out of my league.

That feeling made me walk with a swagger.