Luke

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Usually, I could barely stand the thought of spending another night in the company of my adoptive parents and their crew of Manhattan elites and would politely give my regrets, but this was our annual family dinner with our business partners and so I had to go. The only thing that made me look forward to the night was enacting my little plan for teaching my cheating brother-in-law Eric a lesson.

Of course, he was there, standing like a peacock in his three-thousand-dollar suit – bought with the Marshall family's money of course – a drink in his hand, my sister at his side looking up at him with a mix of adoration and awe. A beauty, with long brown hair and a face that graced many gossip magazine covers, Dana was better than him. She had one hand on her very pregnant belly, and the other clasped tightly in Eric's hand, listening raptly as he expounded on his latest exploits over in Abu Dhabi.

The bastard…

I used to like Eric. I thought he'd be good for my sister when she started talking about him and then when they started dating. Little did I know…

Now, I was no prude and I had no plans on getting married myself, but I did believe in monogamy. If you made the vows, keep them. That was at a minimum what I expected from any husband of my sister, and any brother-in-law, and especially any top executive in my family's corporation.

My anger at him burned in me as I stood and made small talk, forcing a smile I didn’t feel while I listened to him boast about his latest conquests half way across the globe in our Middle East office. By all rights, he should have been fired as soon as I learned about his cheating but I couldn't.

I couldn't break my sister's heart. She finally had what she thought she could never have – a baby. She had a rare disorder that made her almost incapable of becoming pregnant without extreme measures and a lot of money. Luckily, our family had that, but it took months and months of effort. When she announced that she was pregnant, I was shocked because they had almost given up and were planning to adopt. Now, she'd have her own child and I hoped she'd be happy but then I found out Eric had been fucking cheating on her?

What – couldn’t he use his hand in the last few weeks of Dana's pregnancy for fuck sake?

I seethed while Eric bleated on and missed his question entirely.

"What?" I said, glancing up from my watch, checking to see what time it was, anxious for Lexi to arrive so we could get the show on the road.

"I asked you what you're working on now?"

"Oh, yeah, right. Sorry. I'm expecting my date any minute and was just checking to see what time it was."

"Who?" Dana asked, genuinely curious. "Is it someone I know?"

I hadn't had a date since I ended things with Felicia and so I knew Dana would be insanely curious.

"You'll meet her soon enough," I said and smiled. "She's someone I met at Columbia. You'll love her."

"I'm surprised you invited her," Dana said, raising her eyebrows and tilting her head to the side. "You know, with Mother here and Felicia as well…"

"I'm brave," I said with a laugh, knowing exactly what she meant. "I want to discourage Mother as much as I can. And although Felicia’s a lovely woman, she’s just not my type."

"That's an understatement," Dana said, smiling.

We were twins, Dana and I. We were sympatico on most things, and our dispositions very similar. One thing we agreed on was that our adoptive mother, Dragon Lady as we called her, was far too much of a busybody for either of our tastes. And of course, our adoptive father was a first-class letch…

My adoptive mother was insistent I hook my wagon to Felicia Blake, the daughter of the billionaire financier who was one of my real father's best friends from his Harvard days. I had no plans to do so, despite my adoptive mother's best efforts. Felicia was nice, but just not my type. We dated for a while but it didn't work out.

"Tell us who the lucky girl is," Eric said, wagging his eyebrows at me. "You haven't brought anyone to family events since you and Felicia split. Everyone's starting to gossip about you giving up and going to the other team."

"Eric," Dana said, poking him angrily.

"Well, it's true. When you fall off a horse, you're supposed to get right back up on the saddle or you'll never ride again. Isn't that true?"

He was referring to my failed engagement.

I had, at one time, believed in love, but that was last year. I was no longer into the whole marriage scene or the whole engagement scene, despite my adoptive mother's best intentions.

"I'll get back into the saddle again on my own schedule," I said, through gritted teeth, trying to control my anger.

"You will and you'll be snapped up in no time," Dana said and smiled at me affectionately. "After all, you're a single man with a soon-to-be personal fortune," she said, taking a sip from her soda.

"And not in need of a wife," I replied, knowing the Pride and Prejudice opening line very well, having been through an English lit class with Dana, who was wild about Jane Austen. "At least, not this single man with a soon-to-be personal fortune."

"How is the deal going, anyway?" Eric asked. "Have you closed it yet?"

I shook my head. "Still in negotiations," I replied and checked my watch once more.

My real mother would be proud about my success with Chatter and it wasn't the first time that day I'd thought about her. It was her family's money — my inheritance — along with my own savings, that helped get Chatter its start. I wished she was alive to see the deal finally signed.

"Let's hope it goes through," he replied and swirled his drink. "Then, you'll be your own man."

"I've always been my own man, Eric," I said with a wry smile, although I would have preferred to punch him in the grin. "Now, I'll have my own money."

"When are you guys leaving?" Dana asked, rubbing her belly.

"Soon as the ink's dry and the build is done."

“It sounds wonderful. Maybe someday, I can do that. But not for a few years," Dana said and smiled.

"Not for a few years," I replied. "You're going to be busy parents for the next few years, I expect. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go find my date."

"You go ahead," Dana said and leaned in. "Bring your date over and introduce us."

I gave her a kiss on the cheek. "I plan on it," I said with a smile.

Then, I left the two of them at the bar and went upstairs to the terrace where I would meet Lexi and get her to sign the NDA my lawyer had drawn up. The last thing I wanted was for an escort to start blabbing around town that I, Lucas Marshall, son of the Marshall Family, and soon-to-be former CEO of a billion-dollar tech startup, used an escort service.

I couldn't wait for Lexi to show up so I could rub Eric's smug self-satisfied and cheating face in it.