His Spring Revelation

Chapter 2

To say that life had been hectic would be an understatement. It had been exactly one week since Katie had ascended the throne of interim CEO. Every day since, she never stopped wondering how her brother did it.

How did he manage to come into work every day and face piles upon piles of paperwork? How did he manage to sit through meetings that occurred almost daily? How did he endure the hunger caused by hours of work and barely any food? How did his brain process all the numbers and data all at the same time?

For the past seven days, she'd been walking into a table full of paperwork and walked out with it empty, only to walk back in with it piled with paperwork again. She'd tried to keep her grunts and groans in to herself, telling herself that if her brother could do it, she could do it as well. It was only until the fourth day that she really groaned as soon as she sat down at her desk.

And she'd been groaning and grunting ever since.

She almost went cross eyed from staring at paperwork and her computer screen for more than eight hours a day. She might as well eat only twice per day – breakfast and late dinner – which wasn't nearly enough for her huge appetite. She probably would stop going to meetings if they actually consisted of the same topics without any solution.

She just didn't know how Ethan did it.

Today, however, was Sunday, which meant she didn't have to go into work today. She was determined to make today a good day, free of work and work and work. Last night, when she was in the shower, she found that her joints were all stiff and sore, which was why she'd booked herself a full body massage at the spa for the evening.

She planned to just stay in home today and relax, maybe catch up on some of the TV shows she'd missed over the week because she was just so busy. Her mind was still thinking of what happened to Caroline and Stefan when she stopped short in her tracks, her brain short circuiting at the man joining her parents at the dining table.

He looked good, like really good. Sure, he'd always look good. But for a brief moment, she wondered how she hadn't noticed how attractive he actually was. What with his crew cut hair and the facial hair that just really looked right. His mere presence at the table was enough to dominate the scene.

"Luke, what are you doing here?"

The man in question shifted his gaze to her, joined by her parents. She focused her vision solely on him with curiosity and surprise. His polite smile gradually turned into a warm one as their eyes met each other. He put down his utensils and leaned back with a shrug.

"I can't come and have breakfast with you?"

Sure, he could. Five years ago, he'd always done that. He'd come during the weekends, sometimes with his mother and sometimes alone, and have breakfast. And then he'd go out with Ethan to do boy stuff like clubbing and having sex. And then when both of them finally matured, they went out to golf or just have a little men's day.

Case in point, Ethan was always around. So, "Ethan's not here, though."

His brows rose. "So what?"

She frowned slightly. Something was off. He had something in mind. She could see from his hidden smirk and the mischievous look in his eyes. "Luke," she prompted, in a way like an impatient mother speaking to her child.

He snorted. "Fine." He threw up his hands as a sign of surrender. "I heard from your mother that you have been working non-stop over the past week. And you haven't texted me even though I'm pretty sure you needed a lot of help - not that I'm underestimating your abilities but it is your first week as interim CEO. And judging by the way you're standing right now, you must be pretty beat." She expected him to continue but he just looked at her like she should just know but she didn't know.