My Brother's Best Friend

I posted about dating my brother's best friend on Instagram, and I completely forgot to block my brother. [At first, he was just a brother to me.

But now, he's my lover.] My brother blew up the comment section. [???] [Are you trying to destroy this family?] No, wait. Theo, let me explain!

Chapter 1 I spent three whole years shamelessly chasing my brother's best friend, and I finally got him. I was way too excited.

When I posted our official relationship announcement on Instagram, I completely forgot to block my brother. [At first, he was just a brother to me.

But now, he's my lover.] I didn't even post a picture. It was just me losing my mind over finally winning the man of my dreams. I hit post and hopped in the shower.

By the time I got out, the sky was falling. My phone lit up with missed calls. Half were from my brother. The other half were from my brandnew boyfriend. I stared at the screen.

I opened Instagram. Under my post, my brother Theo was going feral in the comments. [???] [Samantha, are you trying to destroy this family?] Crap. I forgot to block him.

I stood there dripping wet, trying to figure out how to lie my way out of this. My phone rang again.

Theo. "Samantha." "Tell me exactly what that Instagram post means." I could hear the actual murder in his voice. Theo is five years older than me.

When we were little, he was a decent older brother. But the older he got, the more of a menace he became. In high school, I had a massive crush on this cute guy in my class.

We hadn't even held hands yet. Theo picked me up from school once for winter break.

He took one look at us, immediately told our parents, and completely destroyed my high school romance before it even started. The worst part?

That cute guy got scouted by a casting agent freshman year of college. He blew up overnight. When Theo found out, he actually gloated. "Good thing you two never dated.

You would have been his scandalous past." I wanted to disown him. That was exactly why I kept my massive crush on his best friend a total secret.

Right now, my brain was spinning. "Theo, listen to me expl—" He let out a cold laugh. "Go ahead. Let's hear what kind of garbage you're about to spit out." That was harsh.

I didn't dare talk back. I stuttered for a few minutes. I told him I was just obsessed with reading taboo stepbrother romance novels and posted a quote.

He barely bought it. "Your brain is rotting from reading that trash," Theo scoffed. "Delete the post.

If you post anything that ruins the harmony of this family again, say goodbye to your allowance." No.

Anything but the money. "Theo, you are the absolute best!" I wasn't lacking money, but that allowance was extra cash he secretly gave me from his paycheck. It was a lot of money.

I hung up and immediately deleted the Instagram post. Not even a minute later, my phone rang again. This time, it was Xavier. The man I just secured.

My brother's best friend. "Why did you delete the post?" His voice was deep. So smooth. I pressed a hand to my burning cheek. I lowered my voice and told him what just happened.

I made sure to complain about Theo threatening my allowance. He really knew how to hit a material girl where it hurts. Xavier chuckled softly on the other end of the line.

A second later, my phone buzzed against my ear. I pulled it away and looked at the screen. It was a bank transfer notification. From Xavier.

Chapter 2 Xavier's voice came through the phone. "Next time, don't be afraid of him. Your boyfriend has money too." I met Xavier three years ago. It was at Theo's birthday party.

I was just starting my sophomore year of college. He wore all black that night. It didn't hide how ridiculously goodlooking he was.

Xavier was actually a year younger than my brother, but he carried himself like absolute old money. Theo told me later that Xavier wasn't as polite as he looked. He was ruthless.

He sent his own father to prison when he was barely out of his teens. He was not someone to mess with. I had to ask for Xavier's number myself. Theo was sharp. He knew me too well.

If I asked him for it, he would have instantly known what I was up to. His only miscalculation was how fast my type changed. Well, not changed. Diversified.

In high school, I liked the sunny, golden retriever boys. Xavier was the exact opposite. He was calculating. Guarded. And he hit every single one of my sweet spots.

That night, Theo got dragged away for drinks. I followed Xavier out to the hallway. "Brother, can I have your number?" My Instagram caption wasn't a lie.

I actually called him brother in the beginning. And Xavier answered to it. A guy like him had sharper eyes than Theo. He must have known I was just after his body from day one.

Chasing Xavier wasn't smooth. He was polite to me for Theo's sake, but he kept me at arm's length. Plenty of women wanted him. The innocent ones, the mature ones, the bombshells.

He had them all throwing themselves at him. But I wasn't insecure. There were beautiful people everywhere.

If I could lock my eyes on Xavier out of a sea of men, why couldn't he do the same for me? They say a girl chasing a guy is as easy as piercing a veil.

Well, the veil between Xavier and me was made of bulletproof glass. I texted him every single day. I found out what he liked. I even interviewed for an internship at his company.

Without using connections. By then, I had been chasing him for three years. I was just graduating and getting accepted into grad school. I was the freest person in my family.

Theo thought I was just bored of being spoiled. He figured I wanted to work for a couple of months to build character. "You can go to Xavier's company.

I feel better knowing he's keeping an eye on you," Theo said. I had no idea why he felt so safe. After I got the job, Theo must have asked Xavier to look out for me.

That was the only reason Xavier tolerated me so much. He was impossible to catch. I dressed up beautifully every day. I did all my work perfectly.

When I texted him, I only got one reply. [Do not harass the boss during work hours.] I threw all my charm at him.

Xavier didn't bite, but I ended up attracting a bunch of creeps at the office. Sometimes I wondered if I was just a creep to Xavier. But I quickly got over it.

One night, I was working late on a proposal. I didn't even notice my coworkers leaving one by one. Footsteps echoed down the hall. I looked up from my screen.

Xavier was standing there. He was supposed to be at a networking dinner. "Why are you still here?" His voice was perfectly flat. Chapter 3 "Mr.

Vance, why are you back?" I was at the office. I had to use his professional title. "Forgot something," Xavier said. He smelled like alcohol. I didn't know how much he had to drink.

I followed him into his office. He didn't stop me, so I stayed right on his heels. He grabbed a flash drive off his desk. He turned to me. "Let's go.

I'll take you home." I hesitated. "I'm not done with my work." "Is it urgent?" His eyes swept over me. "How long have you even been here?

What kind of emergency work could they possibly give an intern?" It wasn't urgent. But even the best companies had scumbags.

My manager recently hinted that a young, pretty girl like me should just focus on catching a rich husband. He thought I was just a naive fresh grad. Easy to manipulate.

I ignored him. Starting the very next day, a mountain of useless, tedious paperwork landed on my desk. I told Xavier exactly what I was working on.

The office went dead quiet. "That's not a oneperson job," he said. "And it's not a rush job. Who is your manager?" I gave him the name. Then it hit me.

Was I giving someone a hard time by snitching to the CEO? "Let's go," Xavier said. The boss spoke twice. I didn't touch the paperwork again. His driver was waiting downstairs.

We sat in the back seat. "Samantha." His voice cut through the dark car. "Yeah?" "Quit this job tomorrow. Stop messing around." I turned to look at him. "Why?

I do my job." Sure, I was absolutely using proximity to my advantage. But I worked hard.

I was never even late. "You don't need this internship," he said. "A real job isn't playing house. Why don't you just go enjoy your vacation?" I leaned closer to him.

Close enough to catch the faint scent of his cologne. "I'm not quitting." He didn't back down. "If Theo finds out you're only here to—" "If Theo finds out I took this job just to chase you, he would drag me home himself." I cut him off.

I paused. The air between us thickened. "So why haven't you told him?" It would have been the easiest way to get rid of me. But he never did.

He let me relentlessly chase him for three whole years. Xavier went completely silent. I stared straight into his dark, heavy eyes.

I curved my lips into a smile. "Brother, can I assume you actually like me obsessing over you?" "No." I didn't have much dating experience. But I knew people lied.

You don't look at what a man says. You look at what he does. I didn't quit. And Xavier didn't fire me.

A few days later, my creep of a manager was suddenly forced to resign over a major operational error. Someone else took his place. My workload went right back to normal.

My pursuit of Xavier did not stop. I texted him even more. On top of the daily checkins, I started throwing out cheesy lines I found online. Me: [Where are you?

Send me your location.] Him: [What's wrong?] Me: [I just need to know where my heart is.] Me: [Puppy dog eyes.] Xavier replied with a string of ellipses.

If you want to catch a man, you have to be shameless. Chapter 4 That was how I managed to snag a dinner date with Xavier after work. My excuse?

Theo cutting off my allowance. "I asked your brother," Xavier said. "He transferred money to your account last night." My lie popped like a soap bubble.

I didn't even flinch. "Brother, I figured you knew it was just an excuse to see you." "Smooth talker." Looking at his gorgeous face across the table definitely made the food taste better.

I threw out my usual confession. "Please. Just date me." I added a quick followup. "I'm really good at dating." This time, he didn't pretend he didn't hear me. He looked up.

His dark eyes locked onto mine. "Really good at dating? Does that mean you have a lot of experience?" Well, I was an expert in theory, at least.

I tapped his shoe with mine under the table. I gave him my most sincere advice. "Why don't you date me and find out?" "Okay." His answer came out of nowhere.

For three years, no matter how nicely I dressed up or how much I fawned over him, his heart was made of stone. When he actually said yes, my mind went completely blank.

But one thing was absolutely certain. I had a boyfriend. That Instagram post went up exactly a week after we made it official. It took a whole week for it to actually feel real.

Even though we were together, our relationship was completely in the dark at work. Sneaking into his office during my lunch break felt illegal.

Even though the hallway was totally empty. Xavier watched me slip through the door. His stare was so heavy it made my skin prickle.

I looked down at my clothes. "Why are you looking at me like that? Is there something on my face?" "No," Xavier said. "I was just thinking about how you snuck in here like a thief.

What, are you here to have an affair with me?" I marched right over and straddled his lap. The day he accepted my confession, a wild realization hit me. He was my boyfriend now.

That meant I could do whatever I wanted to him. So I cautiously asked if I could kiss him. He didn't object. I clumsily pressed my lips against his. Just a brief touch.

The rest of the room faded away. He let out a low chuckle. It sounded like teasing, but maybe something else, too. Either way, I was so wired I didn't sleep a wink that night.

I showed up to work the next morning with massive dark circles. Xavier obviously noticed.

He just looked at me and said, "You'll get used to it the more we kiss." Back in the present, Xavier naturally wrapped his arms around my waist.

He looked up at me. "How was work this morning?" "It was good." I wrapped my arms around his neck and rested my chin on his shoulder. "I just really missed you." It took me three years to catch this man.

Being a little obsessed was totally justified. "Is that right?" Xavier's voice dropped. "You weren't too busy discussing which male celebrity looked the hottest with your coworkers?" How did he know that?

Did he have spies planted around my desk? "You were all just so invested in the conversation you didn't even notice me walk by," Xavier said.

I scrambled for an excuse. "You know I was just judging them objectively based on looks. I'm not a fangirl." "It's fine if you are. I'm not that petty," Xavier said.

I opened my mouth to argue. Then I caught the shift in his face. He wasn't looking at me anymore. His gaze dropped, his long lashes casting shadows on his cheeks. I froze.

Xavier didn't say another word. He didn't move an inch. His breathing was impossibly light. It was pure seduction. Chapter 5 I was so weak.

He laid the trap, and I walked right into it. I leaned in and kissed him. I started at his jaw.

We had kissed a few times already, but the second my lips brushed against Xavier's, my pulse still spiked. He didn't pull away.

He let my lips trace his, just waiting to see what I would do next. I pulled back a fraction of an inch.

Before I could even drag in a breath, his hand clamped down on the back of my neck. He pulled me flush against him. The kiss crashed back down.

I completely lost control. "Still don't know how to do this?" Xavier murmured against my mouth. A low laugh rumbled in his chest. I wanted to prove him wrong.

Xavier pushed me back gently. "Lunch first," he said. I let out a massive yawn after we ate. Existing in an office or a classroom was exhausting.

I was tired in the morning, tired at noon, and tired in the afternoon.

Xavier nodded toward the private lounge attached to his office. "Want to take a nap?" I shook my head. "I can't do that. This is the CEO's office.

What if someone sees me?" Napping in the boss's private room was crossing a line. He let out a dry laugh. "Why not?

You're already kissing the boss in here." That was entirely different. But I stayed anyway. It was his fault. His voice was so heavy with implication.

I actually thought he was going to join me. I was completely intoxicated by him. I laid down on the bed. He immediately stood up and said he had work to do.

How could he tease a desperate girl like that? His scent was buried into the sheets. It was a faint, clean mix of expensive laundry detergent and his cologne.

I breathed it in and drifted off. My eyes snapped open. I checked the time and my stomach dropped. My lunch break ended ten minutes ago. Xavier didn't even wake me up.

I quickly smoothed out my clothes. I reached for the door handle.

A familiar voice echoed from the main office. "Xavier, why is it so damn hard to get a hold of you?" Theo sounded seriously annoyed. "Which little vixen is stealing your soul lately?

If I don't come to your office, I never even see your face." My fingers instantly dropped off the door handle. A cold spike of panic hit my chest. Theo's words made me pause.

Whenever my brother didn't have plans for me after work this week, I was dragging Xavier out on dates.

Xavier's voice drifted through the door. "I've been busy." Theo was a clingy friend. Long before I ever met Xavier, I heard all about him. Theo used to say he pitied him.

Xavier's mother was gone, his father didn't care about him, and he had a bunch of halfsiblings fighting for the family fortune.

When Xavier finally sent his own father to prison, Theo just sighed. He said Xavier completely burned every bridge he had to his own bloodline.

Theo didn't say it was right, and he didn't say it was wrong. My brother was deeply loyal.

He made a point to regularly check in on his friends. "What could you possibly be busy with?" Theo obviously didn't buy it. But he didn't push it either.

The topic shifted. "Let's grab dinner tonight.

We need to talk about next quarter's partnership." "We can talk about it here during the week," Xavier said. "I'm leaving on a business trip in a few days," Theo fired back. "I'll be gone for half a month.

I need to nail this down now." Xavier had no excuse to say no to that. "Oh, and bring Samantha along," Theo added. "Isn't she interning on your floor?

I didn't see her when I walked in." Xavier didn't sound guilty at all. "She probably just stepped away." "I'll call her," Theo said. Chapter 6