5: OBSERVATION

COLE

I watched Delilah arrive on the cameras, running over some of her facial features Seth had likely missed. Wondering just how much I had pissed him off considering he was acting so docile toward her. Only half listening when Seth had drunkenly been trying to explain one of her articles to me. I had brought Delilah to us for another match-making attempt to try and smooth things over with Seth once and for all.

I expected her to fail and fail hard, to finally have him see reason.

Delilah had meager experience in the match-making department at best. Without any college to speak of, she had popped up into a radio show one day clapping back to a male counterpart. A radio show that admittedly even I was pretty impressed with considering how she had handled the pig. It was no wonder she had landed a job that was unique to her character.

She wrote love articles, had people paying for sessions with her to work on their relationships, and even had her own miniature talk show on the radio. Her face had just been popping up on billboards when Seth had grown interested—only to have her disappear when I decided to dig into her further. My interest was piqued by one particular article she had written Seth had forced me to read in another one of his depressed states.

Her history was an interesting one considering the type of advice she gave was sometimes on multi-partnered couples. She herself had mainly been with one man from what I could tell, a five-year relationship that ended a few months ago. No license until six months ago. A good background for her family though nothing overly substantial as lower middle class. Two sisters, a dad, and a dog growing up.

So where did this couples and sex advice come from?

She looked so normal, even now coming in a professional environment with the way her clothing covered every bit of her figure. Handling both Jewel and Seth with squared shoulders, though not always meeting their eyes. Making me all the more curious about what made her tick.

I hated that I was showing an interest, but it was a fatal flaw Seth and I tended to share—one that got us into this predicament in the first place. We were polar opposites, but when one of us had an interest in something hard enough, it was hard not to have the other one match pace. Something that worked out well in business for us since Seth did everything I didn’t want to and vice versa—but not as well with women.

The real reason I brought her was because I hoped with the way she was able to match up people she could find someone for Seth, though I wasn’t oblivious to the idea he might just want to hook up with her and destroy the entire plan. Either way, I was hoping it would get the last girl out of his system and keep him from darkening Jewel’s door before she had the sense to try and get knocked up by him. While also making him realize I always had good intentions.

I leaned forward, wishing I had audio as Seth invited her into the shop making me raise my eyebrows in surprise. Admittedly, considering the way she talked about sex and desires in that article? Part of me wanted to fuck her senseless, but the more she interacted with my distressed brother the more I realized I might have to clamp down on that impulse.

~Having a few hours of her screaming my name is not worth destroying him again.~ The mental reminder firm in the forefront of my mind.

Our relationship as brothers had never fully recovered since Jewel. Something I should have stopped immediately, or discouraged considering it had started with a lie. How it had escalated was no surprise but the pain it had caused Seth was. Not realizing the depth of his feelings.

“Are you headed out for the day yet, Cole?”

I waved off Arthur at the door, trying to focus on what they were doing as I switched to the cameras inside the shop. He, of course, ignored me, sighing as he dropped a bag of food at my desk with a thud. “Stop stalking your brother. You sent her and the damage is done. I think you wreaked enough havoc today.”

“Go fuck yourself,” I replied cheerfully, opening the bag to find a grilled prime rib sandwich. “I’m just trying to make sure I didn’t piss him off.”

“Right, sure. Because you can’t just wait for a pissed-off phone call like a normal person,” he said, folding his arms and sitting at the chair across from my desk and putting his feet up. “And what the hell with telling Jewel I had the flu? I had coworkers throwing on masks and giving me dirty looks this morning.”

The imagery made me snort, swallowing a fry as I grinned at him. “Collateral damage. Jewel was annoying me.”

“No, you didn’t.” The horror that fell over Arthur’s face made me grin wider as he ran over to my screen. The mortification made me silently laugh, my stomach shaking as his hands went to his hair. “You’re such a fucking masochist, dude. What the fuck. Why the hell would you send her!”

“Entertainment?” I replied with a grin, opening up the drawer beside me for my flask of whisky, and throwing it in the capped Coca-Cola. “Pure chaos? You tell me, Arthur.”

“Just a regular asshole,” Arthur replied with a smirk of his own.

One I rapidly understood as I made a face and coughed profusely at the nasty flavor in my mouth. “Oh fuck, nasty. You asshole.”

“I told you to stop drinking at work. Payback for the masks and dirty looks.”

I gave him the finger, taking a bite of my sandwich. Then pissed off all over again as I realized I wasn’t about to drink whisky and root beer to chase the bite. “You’re such an asshole.”

“And yet I’m not fired.”

“You’re fired.”

“Go fuck yourself. Now are you going home or not?”

“Not.”

“Are you going to work at all or keep stalking your brother?”

“Probably the second one. Why don’t you put the do not disturb on my door on the way out.”

Arthur sighed, running a hand through his sandy blond hair. The gray in his hair likely manifesting in this very moment by my latest antics. Arthur was always worried that if Seth and I had a bigger falling out it would affect the company. Something I assured him was impossible.

Seth was my brother, and even though we had an interesting dynamic sometimes. Nothing would come between us. Even someone like Jewel.

Delilah might be the one to fix it, and I sorely hoped to see the progress of Seth’s forgiveness towards me as soon as possible. By any means necessary. If that meant having to spend a shitload of money to track down and find a woman he admired for love advice.

So be it.