Chapter 6: Sawyer

“Babe, I think you’re focusing too much on the whole uncle thing,” Christine said as we sat on the couch the next morning. “I mean, you guys aren’t actually related. You’ve never even met before. Hell, you’ve only met your stepfather three times. It’s not like you call him ‘daddy,’ or anything.”

“Ha ha, very funny,” I said, petting Aldo’s head as he laid next to me. “But you’re right. It’s not really about the uncle thing. It’s about the mission. Things are already complicated enough because of Mom. And risky enough. We have no idea why he’s here. It’s been over a decade and he chooses now to show up?”

“Okay, but that doesn’t mean he’ll have reason to figure out what you’re up to,” Christina said, cradling her coffee cup. “Even Dimitri isn’t likely to run into at the office.”

I snorted. “Because he’s barely there.”

“Exactly,” she replied. “Sylas is probably just here to visit. Make amends or something.”

“But what if he’s not?” I asked. “What if he’s here for the company? His reputation isn’t good, Chris. He did some bad things before he ran off. If he catches me… it could get dangerous.”

Christina sighed, giving me a sympathetic look with a tilt of her head. “You can always back out,” she said. “Put this whole plan of yours on hold for a while until he’s gone.”

I shook my head. “No, I can’t do that.”

There was a reason I had only met Dimitri so few times. Up until a month ago, I lived in another state with a completely different life. I’d gone away to college when I was eighteen. I worked my butt off in school, getting my undergrad and then a master’s degree. I wanted to do something to help people. To make a difference in the world. Or at least in my little corner of it.

Four years ago, I was accepted into an internship with an amazing company. An investment firm that focused on environmental research and conservation. The owner, Simon, quickly became my personal mentor. I was inspired by his passion for change. He worked with companies researching alternative fuels, sustainable housing and resources, land preservation, and other projects that could revolutionize the way we live today.

Last year, a few months before my graduation, Simon told me was going to start training me to take over the company. He was only a few years away from retirement and he believed it would be in safe hands with me. I was so honored.

But it wasn’t long after that when I started to notice the problems he had been facing. Problems he had tried to hide from me. He insisted that it was nothing to worry about. The he had a plan and it would all go away in a few months. Then he got sick. In a few short days, he was gone. He died from an infection that got into his bones.

I was devastated, to say the least. So many people loved Simon. He was like a father to me. So, losing him was heartbreaking. But was worse—I lost the company. After Simon died, I had to prepare the company to for the change in ownership. That’s when I found out things were much more serious than Simon had let on. Our investments were being bought out and shut down left and right. Projects were stalled by bureaucratic red tape and code violations. Partners were being forced to pull their funds.

We were being targeted. Someone actively wanted to put us out of business. And they succeeded. They did such a good job that Simon was broke when he died. So broke that when he cut himself when out on a field mission, he chose not to go to hospital when the signs of infection got worse.

Needless to say, my heartbreak turned to outrage. Whoever was behind the sabotage was responsible for Simon’s death and I swore to find out who it was. I spent months digging. Imagine my surprise when every link could somehow be traced back to none other than Wyvern Capital Enterprises.

Crazy enough, that’s actually how I found out my mother was a married woman. I was looking into Wyvern Capital to find a way to bring them to justice when I discovered that the CEO had recently welcomed a new wife into his family. I was shocked by the smiling face I’d seen in the photo from the announcement.

When I confronted her about not telling me, she said she knew I had been going through a lot with Simon and the business and she didn’t want to interfere. I wasn’t sure if it was actually a sweet gesture or not, if I was honest. But I still couldn’t say I was happy about the situation. After some arguments and a bit of the cold shoulder, I eventually realized this could be the opportunity I needed.

Now, here we were. I started my new position as a project manager for Wyvern Capital tomorrow morning. The only thing was—my mother and new stepfather didn’t even know. They couldn’t know. That included this entirely new complication that was my incredibly sexy, attractive new uncle.

“How am I going to do this, Chris?” I groaned in frustration. “Why can’t I stop thinking about him?”

“Don’t look at me,” she said with an amused grin. “This is all your crazy family mess.”

Just as she said the words, my phone buzzed to life on the coffee table in front of us. My mother’s contact flashing on the screen. With a heavy sigh, I picked it up.

“Good morning, Mother,” I answered.

“Sawyer, where did you sneak off to last night? You missed the rest of the party,” Mom started. “No matter. You can tell us at dinner.”

“Dinner? No, Mom, I can’t tonight…”

“I know, I know,” she assured me. “Tomorrow. To celebrate your first day at your new job here in the city. I still don’t know why you haven’t told me anything about it. But there will be no more excuses after tomorrow. Be at the penthouse by seven-thirty. Love you, darling.”

The call disconnected before I could say anything else.

“Unbelievable.”