I board the elevator and press P for penthouse. It’s a little after four and I just clocked out from my first day as Zeke’s assistant. All day long, since Zeke left, I’ve had a smile frozen just beneath the surface of my face. I have a class at five-thirty but I have to see him before then.

I try not to take what Logan said too seriously. He was a concerned friend, and he had every right to be. But I’m an adult and I’m pretty sure I can handle Zeke Belmont.

As I step off the elevator and enter the foyer, I hear shouting coming from the penthouse. Two male voices. One of them is Zeke. And the other I immediately recognize as Mason Belmont.

The door sits open ajar. I creep up to it, being careful not to cause any disturbance as I press my ear against the sound.

“I told you repeatedly how important that call was! Do you have any idea how bad you made me look today?!”

My heart sinks in my chest. The phone rang this morning while Zeke and I were…

“I’m sorry I missed it, Dad. But I had other business going on then. They can reschedule.” Zeke sounds as nonchalant as ever. Mason always hated that about him. This isn’t the first of their arguments I’ve eavesdropped on. Back then, the topic usually revolved around Zeke’s laziness or inability to follow through on his responsibilities. I guess some things never change.

“I can’t just reschedule every time you fuck up, Zeke. It’s about time you learned that. And what happened to that assistant of yours? I thought she was supposed to be in today.”

“She had a class. She doesn’t work normal hours every day,” Zeke says, covering for me.

A sudden smile creeps to my lips.

“Well, get rid of her. She’s useless.”

And just like that, in classic Mason Belmont style, the smile is gone.

“She has a name, you know.”

“I don’t care what stupid nickname she calls herself by, if she can’t work business hours like a normal person then she has no reason to be here.”

“The unbreakable bond of the Belmont family sure is strong tonight.” This is a horrible time for Zeke to make a joke, but that’s never stopped him before.

“You’re damn right it is, Zeke!” Mason’s decibel level jumps so high, it nearly knocks me off my feet. “In fact, I should have booted you out years ago, but I didn’t. Because you’re my son. Because you’re a Belmont. And dammit, you will start acting like one! Right now! Whether you like it or not!”

“Sir. Yes, sir,” Zeke mutters.

“Cut the crap, kid. You don’t want to push me on this.”

The stomping of feet hurls so quickly at the front door, I don’t have time to react. The door swooshes open to reveal a red-faced Mason Belmont towering above me. I step out of the way and trip on my ankles in the process. My back slams into the wall as he pushes past me without a second glance.

Zeke appears in the doorway. He opens his mouth to say something at Mason but stops when he sees me hunched over in the corner.

“The London partners will be calling again tomorrow morning,” Mason barks from the elevator. “Make sure you answer this time.”

His eyes fall on me as the elevator doors close. He looks at me like an insect. An unwanted annoyance buzzing about his head that needed to be squashed.

“Rocky,” Zeke says. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” I say as I push myself off the wall.

“Come on in,” he says.

“No…” I take a step back. “I don’t think I should.”

“How long have you been out here?” he asks.

“Long enough.” I cough through the bile building in my throat. “This is really bad, Zeke.”

“Just… come in. Have a drink. We’ll talk—”

“No,” I say again. “Nothing you just said will lead to any significant level of conversation.”

“Rocky, come on…”

“Tell me I’m wrong,” I challenge him. “Tell me that we are capable of being alone in a room together without things getting more complicated. I’ve screwed up too much already.”

“You have not.”

He takes a step toward me, but I quickly counter with a back step.

“What happened with Madison?”

He pauses. “Madison? What about her?”

“She called the office today.”

“What did she say?”

“She said you weren’t answering your phone and that she needed to talk to you. She sounded really upset.” I watch him sigh and already know the answer to my next question. “What happened, Zeke?”

“We broke up.”

“She broke up with you? Or you broke up with her?”

“I broke up with her.”

“Why?”

He throws his hands up. “Because that’s what people do. It wasn’t serious in the first place, Rocky.”

“Logan made it seem like—”

“I don’t give two shits what Logan made it seem like,” he says. “I wasn’t happy with her. No one can make me happy… except you.”

“Zeke…” I take a step forward. “That’s not true.”

“Yes, it is, Rocky.” He leans against the open doorway. “I’ve tried. I’ve been with dozens of women since you left and there’s always something missing. I can’t be happy unless I’m with you.”

“It can’t be that simple.”

“It is…” Zeke steps off the wall and reaches out to take my hands. “I haven’t felt this good in years. And it all started the moment you called me and came back into my life.”

“Zeke, I can’t be yours,” I say, even though it hurts so badly. “I’m your stepsister.”

“I don’t care.”

“I do.” I pull my hands away and back up toward the elevator again. “It’s only been a few days and I’ve already destroyed your life.”

Zeke chuckles. “You give yourself too much credit.”

“I screwed things up with Madison. Now, Mason is pissed—”

“He’s always pissed.”

“But if we weren’t… together this morning, you would have taken that call, right?” I want him to agree. I need for him to see the logic behind all of this. “Right?”

“Yes, fine. Probably.” He spits the words like a bad taste.

“Zeke…” My chest burns, but I have to say it. “I can’t do this anymore. Logan’s right. Mason’s right… I don’t belong here.”

“Come on, Rocky. Please don’t do this.” His eyes search my face, trying so hard to find a thread of chance that’s just not there. “We can work this out.”

I turn around and step to the elevator. I keep my mouth shut, knowing that if I wanted to get out of here before bursting into tears, I was going to have to keep quiet.

“Rocky, wait…”

I hear him step toward me but I stick out a hand to halt him.

“No, Zeke. Don’t follow me.”

It’s all I can muster. I step onto the elevator and keep my watering eyes on my feet until the doors slide closed in front of me.