Billionaires Meet Millionaire (A Steamy Romance) (13 page)

But it had
only lasted a minute.

“Sweetheart is
he your boyfriend?” Her mother asked with a bright smile on her
face.

“Ma, no! Just
friends, besides I'm not the dating type.” Olta replied with a sour
grin on her face.

"Now
Olta, about.." her mother began cautiously.

"No."
Olta had said harshly, cutting her mother off.

"Olta, I
really think it would do you good." Her mother had
implored.

"Mam, I
don't want to. I'll deal with it myself, in my own time." Olta had
sighed and her mother had shaken her head in defeat.

With
that Olta had retreated to her room, hoping her mother would let it
rest. Unfortunately, she didn't. At regular intervals the subject
about Olta's need to go and talk to someone was brought up and Olta
had simply stopped talking to her mother.

Maggie
had tried to soften strained atmosphere and Olta's bad
mood. Olta appreciated the gesture but not the way she gone about
it.

"You've
got a boyfriend, you've got a boyfriend." Maggie had teased
bouncing up and down the sofa in the reading room on Saturday
afternoon. Looking up from a book she had pretended to be reading
Olta had shot her sister a glare.

"No I
don't."

"Yes you
do. Niall so is your boyfriend. He gives you rides to
school."

"How old
are you, six? How does Niall giving me a ride make him my
boyfriend?"

"Well,
Susan said that is what boyfriends do over here, so I just figured.
Besides I see how look at him. You so totally like him." Maggie had
said with a smug smile.

"Ra, I
don't. He's just a friend." Olta had let out a frustrated sigh.
Cannot kill my sister, cannot kill my sister. Especially not for
telling the truth.

"Do too."

"Do not."

"Do too."

"Do not."

"Enough!" Their mother had yelled from the living, not
looking up from her book. "Maggie, stop harassing your sister.
Niall is just like Dean. Now go do your homework." Olta had glared
at her mother.

Olta
sighed as she changed the music and threw herself on her
bed with a loud wail.

Her
mother was siding with Maggie and had used her own words against
her. Just bloody great.

If she
was that transparent, it was no wonder Niall hadn't said anything.
But then again he had given her that look again and he had
approached her, sort of. Maybe she should have stuck around.She was
such a stupid twit.

All she
had wanted to do was to put him at ease. She understood how painful
her being there must have been for him, really she did. But she had
found it impossible to find the right words. So she had acted
instead. Encouraged by his silent acceptance she had braved to
extend him her invitation. But he hadn't reacted to that, at all,
and Olta had regretted her words instantly. She had avoided his
eyes, not wanting to see the silent disapproval. So she decided to
leave him be, forgetting that the reason of the fear in her body
was still in the house.

But then
she had heard footsteps on the landing. Daniel's footsteps and her
body had again frozen up. She had barely heard what he said, only
heard the amusement in his voice. Then Niall had been standing and
his eyes had been completely filled with that look. But that didn't
do. That wouldn't do at all. She had breathed deeply, both for
oxygen and to regain her faculties. And then she had run out. When
completely at a loss, run. No-one had taught her that but Olta was
starting to swear by it.

Slowly
Olta got up from her bed. Putting Gorillas on she decided some
dancing was in order to lose herself for a moment.

Saturday
hadn't gone like it was supposed to.

On
Saturday morning he had been awoken by his father banging and on
his door. Niall had crawled out of bed, his body aching all over,
but surprisingly enough it hadn't been too bad.

But in his
groggy state he had forgotten he was only wearing his boxer's.

As he had
opened his door his father had looked ready to kill but then he had
stepped back and taken in his son's appearance and his look had
softened for a moment only to have the rage return immediately.

"Daniel,
get your butt over here. Now."The old man had called through the
hallway not taking his eyes of Niall' body.

Niall
had followed his father's gaze and looking down he could
see the number of swellings and bruises grazing his body. He had
wanted to go back into his room to put on some clothing but a
slight shake of his father's head had halted him. Waiting for
Daniel they had looked each other over. His father had looked at
him wearily and questioningly, with a good dose of disappointment.
Niall had shrugged indifferently at this and his father had scowled
ever so slightly. This whole silent exchange of minute gestures was
their equivalent of a conversation.

The rude
awakening meant his father already knew what had happened from
Daniel. Daniel had undoubtedly pointed towards Niall as the
aggressor. His father had then come to Niall for corroboration and
in this silent exchange his father had made his displeasure clear
and Niall had told him that whatever Daniel had said was the truth.
The problem now was that his father had seen the bruising on his
body, which meant that the fight had quite clearly been more than
an exchange of a few blows.

Daniel
had come down the hall sauntering. Upon seeing his brother
in his state of undress his face had darkened for a flick of a
second before facing his father with the same look of indifference.
Niall had smirked ever so slightly at the swollen nose and large
purple bruise on his brother's face.

His father had
looked his oldest son over with a doubtful eye.

"Strip."
Their father had commanded. Daniel had obeyed without
question.

Niall
was glad to see that Daniel was sporting a fair amount of
bruises, even if it didn't come close to Niall's.

Their father
had stepped back for a moment, taken in both his sons'
injuries.

"Niall,
what happened?" He'd been cross referencing their story. Niall
shrugged again.

"We had
a minor disagreement about what to watch. So instead of letting
Daniel watch Fight Club, I decided to give him a preview and Daniel
decided he liked the preview better than the actual movie." Niall
explained calmly, knowing that his story should comply with
Daniel's.

Niall
had been rewarded with a look of utter skepticism. Okay,
their father was not buying their cover. He looked at Niall and
then turned to Daniel.

"Let me
see if I get this straight. Niall disagreed with your choice of
entertainment and decided to throw a punch?" Daniel had nodded,
seemingly unfazed by his father's sarcasm.

"And
then you thought it only right to beat the crap out of your
brother?" He spat the last part of that sentence. Their father had
been angry but it seemed to more directed at Daniel. Niall had been
pleased by that.

Daniel
had opened his mouth to retort. One pointed look, however,
and Daniel had closed his mouth.

"The two of
you are sticking to this story?" Both sons nodded.

"Just
like last time when the two of you claimed you couldn't seem to
agree on which instalment of the Godfather trilogy you wanted to
watch?" They both shrugged.

"Right.
I'm taking you both to the hospital. Be ready in half an hour."
Giving them one more pointed look their father had left them alone.
Daniel had given Niall a very vicious glare and Niall had given a
slight smirk. Daniel wasn't going to believe that Niall state of
undress had been accidental, so why bother with it. Daniel had
picked up his cloths and had briskly walked back to his
room.

Back in
his room Olta had popped into Niall' head. His memories of after
the dance were a bit vague and muddled. But he still felt like a
moron for the way he had chased her away.

When he
had come down into the kitchen Matilda had been standing behind the
counter and his father had been reading the morning paper. Matilda
had looked at him worriedly and wearily.

"Tell me
young Niall, why couldn't either of you simply watch a movie in
your own room?" She asked. Niall frowned. His father not inquiring
after his well being, okay. But Matilda not showing any sympathy,
that was just wrong. And was with the two of them acting all
parental unit like?

Niall
had stayed silent as he devoured the sandwich in front of
him.

"Do you
honestly believe that your father and I are actually buying your
lousy cover up?" Matilda had said accusatory.

"Apparently not but you should." Niall had shrugged,
glancing over at his father. The man had his eyes fixed on the
paper. Matilda had given him a final disbelieving look before
returning her attention to her duties.

Their
father had had no trouble to get their family physician to come in
on his free Saturday. This meant that their visit didn't last for
longer than an hour. As Niall had expected by his surprising
mobility the damage wasn't that bad. He didn't have anything broken
and his ribs weren't hurt too badly. The doctor had advised him to
take it very easy, even take a few days off.

"Doctor
Washington, would it be too much if I went to school?" Niall had
asked. The way he felt now, he surely would be up to it and he
wanted to go to school on Monday. He couldn't appear weaker than
Daniel.

"You
mean to tell me that you want to go school?" The doctor had asked
the unbelief clear in his voice. Niall had nodded.

"A teenager
who doesn't seize the opportunity to lounge about the house,
wonders will never cease." The doctor had mused and as an
afterthought he had added.

"No wonder you
make your father proud."

Niall
felt his eyebrow arch. His father was actually proud of
him, was that what the good doctor was saying? Who would have
thought? It wasn't as if he and his father had a poor relationship
or anything. Niall loved his father and he was pretty sure his
father loved him but being proud was a very different matter. Niall
had felt a stupid grin form on his lips.

As the
doctor had handed over a prescription he had noticed Niall changed
look and he had smiled.

"I
should advise you against attending school but if you take enough
rest this weekend, you should be able to do a half day. But try not
to push it though. It will take you longer to recuperate fully."
Niall had nodded, unable to stop grinning and leaving the doctor to
return to his game of golf.

"What's
with the face, bro?" Daniel had asked on the ride back. Niall had
looked at his brother, completely undisturbed by the foul glare he
was giving him.

"Nothing, must be painkillers kicking in." Niall lied
lightheartedly. He had looked at his father in the rearview mirror
and hadn't missed the minute smile and smallest of nods he had
given him.

Back at the
house, however, their father made it clear that things weren't over
just yet.

After
they had had lunch in utter silence both Niall and Daniel had been
summoned to the study.

"Good,
I'll ask you two one more time. You're sticking to your story?"
Their father had asked calmly, after taking a seat behind the
antique mahogany desk. Niall and Daniel had nodded.

"Fine," He had
still been calm but then the bottled up rage had exploded.

"Have you both
absolutely lost your minds?!" He had bellowed. "If you can't get
along, fine but you'll keep your feelings to yourself. I will not
tolerate you beating each other to an inch of the hospital." The
tirade had paused for a moment as their father had look from one
son to the other. Shaking his head in despair he had continued.

"I will not
tolerate any violence between you two again. I thought I had made
that clear last time. The next time I get as much as a whiff of you
two going at each other again the consequences will be very
serious. For now I'll consider your pain punishment enough. Am I
making myself understood?"

"Yes
sir." Niall and Daniel had answered in unison.

Their father
had waved his hand dismissively while turning towards some papers
on his desk.

"Well off you
go then. The pair of you need your rest."