Chapter Seven
Melanie was just pouring the cream into her coffee cup when there was a knock at her door. She nearly jumped out of her skin upon hearing it. It was rare for her to receive guests at her apartment. She didn’t think anybody knew where she lived, even her own mother.
For a fleeting moment, she wondered if it was Aiden Carmichael, showing up unexpectedly to tell her that he no longer wished to work with her. She had had thoughts, the night before, that Aiden might decide to go ahead with the investment and cut her out of the deal completely. She hadn’t exactly signed a finite contract and, even if she had, she was certain that he had a crack team of lawyers that could have found a loophole with ease.
Even worse, though, was the fear that Aiden might actually just buy the entire company himself and turn it into something for pure profit. Though he had seemed genuine in his intentions, she couldn’t be sure that he was exactly who he had said he was. She had only met him a couple of times while he worked under her father and their relationship hadn’t been the closest (though she was almost certain that she knew more about him than her own siblings).
Speaking of the devil…
Looking through the peephole on her door, Melanie was shocked to see her brother, Ian, standing there with a pair of sunglasses perched at the end of his nose, his eyes glued to the screen of his phone in his left hand, while his right hand held a cardboard cup holder with two steaming Styrofoam cups in it. Melanie furrowed her brow as she quickly undid the locks on her door and opened it enough for Ian to see her face.
“Um, hello?” she said, wrapping her robe more tightly around her full-figured body and running a hand through her dark hair, which was the same shade of black as her brother’s.
“Mellie!” Ian exclaimed, painting on a smile so fake that it made Melanie’s stomach turn. He tucked his phone into his pocket and held out the coffee. “I got you a latte!”
“Um, I don’t really drink lattes,” Melanie replied. “But, thank you?” She furrowed her brows again. “Why are you here?”
“What, I can’t drop by to see my baby sister while I’m in town?” Ian asked, pushing past her, to step into her apartment. Melanie’s eyes widened as she watched him gaze around the open floor plan. She suddenly felt self-conscious about the plates and single wine glass that still lay in her sink, which she had yet to wash and put away. Her furniture, which she was still paying off, seemed shabby compared to what she was certain Ian kept in his guesthouse, let alone his personal residence.
Closing the door, Melanie rushed ahead of him, grabbing her coffee cup and placing it on the table as she brushed the crumbs from her morning toast into a napkin and tossed it into her trash can. Then she pulled out a chair for her brother, inviting him to sit. He offered her another stomach-turning smile as he sat primly at the edge of the fabric chair, placing the lattes in front of him.
“You sure you don’t want one?” he asked, removing one of the cups. “They’re incredibly sweet. I get them from this little place uptown called ‘Goldie’s’ and the little old lady that runs the place is such a dear. She makes a foam heart in every single—”
“Ian,” Melanie interrupted, “What are you doing here?”
“I told you,” he started, but Melanie held up one hand to keep his lies at bay.
“I know you’re not just ‘dropping by’,” she said. “You never have before. Not without Dad around to pay you for your visits. Now, what is it that you want?”
Ian was silent for a long moment, before he sighed and rolled his eyes.
“Alright,” he said, “You’ve caught me.” Melanie tried not to feel too triumphant in that. It wasn’t exactly a good thing that her brother wanted something from her, especially when she had so little to give him. She knew that he would take it all without hesitation.
Straightening her back, Melanie picked up her mug and brought the steaming liquid to her lips, leveling her gaze at him as she took her first sip to wake herself up just the tiniest bit before she got into it with him. When she placed the mug back down on the table, her gaze was still on him.
“Tell me,” she said, “Why are you here today?”
“Because,” Ian said, “I wanted to talk a little bit of business with my sister.”
“What about Ann?” Melanie pointed out. “You two have always been closer than you and me.”
“Yeah, but Annie’s got her own thing going,” Ian said, brushing her off as he took a sip of his latte. “But you and I never really spend any time together. As you said, I’m closer with Ann. But I’d like a chance to get closer to you, as well.”
“And how would you like to do that?” Melanie asked, starting to feel a bit uneasy.
Ian reached into his jacket and pulled out a small notepad, placing it down on the table so that Melanie could see what was written on the open page. “Investment opportunities,” Ian informed her, even as she read the words at the top of the page. “I’ve been doing some research lately and I figured my little sister—who’s just graduated at the top of her class—might want to make her start with an established investor. Perhaps, we could even work on a few things together, if you’re so inclined.”
Melanie read through the list. Most of the companies were ones that she had done a little research on herself, before she had chosen Vet Robotics (which, weirdly enough was also on the list). She glanced back up at him. “Why do you want my help?” she asked.
“Because,” Ian huffed, “we’re family, Mellie. Family has to stick together. Now that you’ve made you’re way out into the real world, the least I can do is help you get your start in it, don’t you think?” Melanie was silent. “Look, just…think about it, okay? You can keep this list and you know my number, if you ever want to go over other investment opportunities that you might have an interest in pursuing, alright? I really do want to work with you on this, little sister. Don’t shut me out. Dad wouldn’t want that.”
He ripped the page out of the notepad and laid it down in front of her, before tucking the remainder of the pad into his pocket and standing with his latte in his hand. He left the other one behind.
“I hope to hear from you soon, Mellie. Don’t let me down.” He pushed his sunglasses up his nose and started toward the door, turning the knob with the very tips of his fingers and tugging it open, daintily. Before he exited the apartment, he turned back. “You should really try the latte,” he said. “It’s life-changing.”
Then he was gone.
Melanie stared at the door for a long moment, before reaching for the latte left behind by her older brother. It was either a peace offering or a bribe, but either way she wasn’t going to let it go to waste. Before she could bring it to her lips, however, her cell phone rang in the pocket of her robe and she placed the cup back down, reaching for it. Aiden Carmichael’s name flashed on her screen and she felt her face warm as her heart sped up. Clearing her throat, she pressed ‘Accept’ and placed the phone to her ear.
“Brunswick,” she answered and she heard a laugh in response.
“You sounded just like your father there,” she heard Aiden’s smooth voice say.
“I did?” Melanie chuckled. “Well, I guess that I’m my father’s daughter, after all, huh?”
“Most definitely,” Aiden agreed.
“So,” Melanie said, trying to keep her voice light, “to what do I owe the pleasure of your call?” Immediately she wondered, was that too flirty? Did she mean to flirt?
“Sadly,” Aiden retorted, “this call is more for business than pleasure. It seems that we forgot to go over all the paperwork for the investment. Also, we never agreed on your cut of the profits.”
“Profits?” Melanie asked. “I thought V.R. was a non-profit organization.”
“It is,” Aiden assured her, “but the founder will be required to pay back on the investments that he receives into his company. It will be mostly in installments that he will be able to afford, I can assure you. In fact, I’ve gotten a few of my colleagues involved in this opportunity as well. We all get a small percentage of what his company makes off of the prosthetics. We’re also planning a gala to help him raise even more money in donations, and we’re getting a bit of government funding since his corporation would ultimately help our country’s veterans. But gaining a percentage of his profits is typical for a startup. Trust me on this.”
“Okay…” Melanie said, still feeling unsure if she should actually trust this man. She looked down at the list her brother had left behind, and all the opportunities she could be helping him with. She wondered if it was really what her father would have wanted.
Or if her brother was just using him to manipulate her.
She thought about her father’s choice, to take Aiden under his wing, instead of his own flesh and blood son, and wondered if he really valued family as much as she thought he did. Maybe there was a different reason that he decided not to work with Ian, despite his assurance that he was proud of all his children. Perhaps you could be proud of somebody, but not want to work with them. Perhaps you could even be family with somebody without wanting to work with them.
Melanie gazed at the list for a moment longer, before plucking it off the table and shoving it into the pocket of her robe. Then, she reached for the latte, stood up and walked over to the trashcan. As she opened it with the step-release, she spoke:
“What time would you like me to come into the office?”
The latte fell with a hard thunk, all the way to the bottom of the can.
*****