Strings Attached

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

The next morning, I woke up early and drove to The Goliath. I was in my office, going through some reports with one of the managers when my phone rang. It was a call I expected, so I picked up on the first ring, gesturing toward the door to let the man know he could leave and we would finish up later.

"Helen?"

"Morning brother'," she greeted, some cheesy pop song playing in the background of her car. "Just calling to say it's done and I'm on my way to your wife. By the way, I believe this is the first time you picked up this quickly. I don't know if I should be fascinated or offended."

"So you got it?" I demanded, ignoring her remark.

"Yes, I definitely got it."

"All of it?"

She chuckled. "Yes, Sebastian...all of it. To give you a clear picture, I emptied the entire clothing department at Target, got like a million points on my Red card and made your bank account a few thousands lighter."

"That's peanuts," I retorted. "Besides, you know money is no object. I just want Isabelle to have a new wardrobe. Are you sure it will fit her?"

"Don't worry, we've been shopping together for a few times now," she reassured. "I know her size. And you can hardly go wrong. Your wife looks pretty in just about anything."

"I know," I muttered quietly, my lips twitching into a small smile. "Helen, thank you for doing this."

"It's a pleasure, big brother," she replied softly. "I'm glad you're trying to make Isabelle happy. I could tell the fancy stuff made her miserable."

"Yeah, well...I should have never insisted on it to begin with."

She sighed into the phone. "You shouldn't have, but the important thing is you're realizing your mistake now. I'm sure she'll appreciate it"

Suddenly, I froze and became serious, reasoning it might not be such a good idea for Isabelle to know I'd asked Helen to do this.

"Don't tell her it's from me," I uttered a soft warning as Emily walked into my office with some documents.

"Why not? What else am I supposed to say?" she raised her voice, sounding baffled.

"I don't know. Tell her it's a gift. You wanted to do something to cheer her up...say whatever you want," I instructed, accepting the papers from Emily. "Just make sure she doesn't find out I'm behind this."

"That doesn't make sense, Sebastian," my sister reasoned.

I sighed into the phone and waited until Emily closed the door behind her. "Helen, she might think she owes me something and I don't need her to feel even more pressured around me."

"In other words, you don't want her to be nice to you just cause you bought her clothes," she concluded in a teasing tone.

"Yes...I mean no," I blurted out and expelled an exasperated breath. "Dammit Helen...it's complicated. Can't you just do it and stop asking questions?"

"Don't get all worked up, Sebastian. I think I understand." Her voice softened. "You're trying to be selfless for the sake of your wife's comfort. Honestly, I don't know what she's done to you, but it's quite a sight to behold. I'm lowkey proud of the woman. Lord knows, you're a hard nut to crack. I mean, the way it's going, you might actually turn out to be a decent husband to Isabelle. Who would have thunk it..." she taunted in a joking manner.

I gasped an incredulous smile. "Thanks for the vote of confidence, little sister," I muttered, shaking my head. "Can you let me know what Isabelle thought of the clothes?"