The CEO's Kryptonite ⚣ ✓

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Before he could thank me again, my hand shot up to stop him. "No more thank you's. We don't have the time. Go get changed."

He shot me one of those grins that made me want to pull him back into bed with me, then disappeared behind the bathroom door.

-

I won't lie, I zipped through that morning traffic like a goddamn maniac. When I arrived to the entrance of Ivanov Corp, Alex looked fucking terrified.

"Was your objective death? Because we came awfully fucking close to dying a few times there, Christian."

I shot him a grin then reached over to unlock and open his passenger door. Before he could protest again, my fingers gripped his shirt collar and I pulled his lips to mine. It was a chastened kiss. Alex barely had time to react before I pulled away slightly. That kiss had left me wanting more.

But we didn't have time for more.

"Have a great day at work, love." I whispered against his lips before finally letting go. His anger vanished almost instantly.

"T-than-"

"No thank you's, get moving." I interjected. He chuckled before making his way out of my car. I gave him a small wave which he returned, then waited patiently until he made it safely inside, before I sped off

-

When I did finally pull into the long stretch of the driveway, I noticed Brad's car was parked in the front entrance of the estate. He must have already arrived.

"Morning Christian." Brad greeted me as soon as I walked into one of mothers living rooms. He was seated there with a cup of tea in hand.

There was no remnants of the mess he was the day before. That tragedy of a hairstyle was now slicked back perfectly. His suit was firmly pressed without a single wrinkle in sight. He looked like the Brad I was used to seeing.

"Morning bro." I gave him a nod as I took a seat next to him.

"Tea?" He offered. I shook my head no. Coffee was my crack cocaine, I never got into this tea business.

"Have you told her yet?" I asked.

"No, I haven't seen her yet actually. One of the house keepers let me in this morning. I'd say that's strange, but let's be honest, mother would arrive fashionably late to her own funeral."

I gave Brad a nod.

The one thing I did notice when I got a good look at him, was that he had slight bags underneath his eyes. It didn't look like sleep had found him either last night.

"What's on your mind?" I asked.

Brad let out a small sigh. "I'm just wondering what all this could possibly mean. What if the person that accessed the server didn't even know what that birth certificate meant? Do we really need to inform mum?"

I gave him a look.

"Come on Brad, you know that's ridiculous. Regardless of whether they did or didn't understand those documents, the information has been compromised. Mum deserves to know." I replied.

"I know. It's just... I don't want her to get upset." He mumbled that last part out under his breath.

"Upset? Brad, look at me." I snapped at him. His eyes caught mine. "Us getting hacked has nothing to do with you. Literally nothing. You're our damn attorney, and you're one damn good attorney. Stop adding extra stress to your plate. If anything, the woman is probably going to fire our entire security department."

Brad offered me a small smile, but I could tell my words hadn't done much to change his mind. Mother had shaped Brad into a micromanaging perfectionist. There were decades of detrimental self criticism there that we needed to unpack, but we just didn't have that time right now.

Before I could say anything else, the all too distinct clicking of my mothers heels against the marble stone, echoed through the halls. With every step she took, the clicking grew louder. When she entered through the corridor entrance, the first thing I recognized was that she was still in her night gown. It was odd because she never greeted us in her sleepwear. The last time Brad and I had seen her in a gown, was when she arrived on college campus because of that little hedge incident.

What was even more odd, was the fact that she was also wearing high heels.

Brad moved to stand and greet her, but he stopped dead in his tracks when another man appeared behind her. This man was taller. His peppered hair that was once no longer than Brad's, was now slicked back into a neat man bun. The beard I used to beg him to grow out as a child, had since reached the length of his chest.

I blinked.

Then blinked again.

Was I hallucinating?

Regardless of the changes in his appearance, those all too familiar eyes never changed.

"Well good morning, looks like the boys are back in town." The man joked. His Ukrainian accent, all these years later, still managed to seep through his English.

Brad and I glanced between each other, then back up at the man.

"Dad?" We called out in unison.

••

XOXO