FAMILY DINNER
1320 Words
The invitation came from Vanessa.
Sunday dinner. 6 PM. Derek, please come. Adrian's new assistant will be there — something about a work thing. Don't be late.
Derek read the text three times. Adrian's new assistant. He'd heard about her — young, smart, pretty. Vanessa had mentioned her with a sneer. "Adrian spends more time with her than with me." Derek had felt a flicker of something then. Jealousy? Relief? He wasn't sure.
He typed back: I'll be there.
---
Sunday arrived too fast.
Derek stood in front of his closet, staring at rows of shirts he didn't care about. He chose a dark grey button-down — formal enough for dinner, casual enough to seem effortless. He wanted to look good. He didn't want to look like he was trying.
The drive to Adrian's house took twenty minutes. He parked on the street, sat in the car for a moment, and rehearsed his face. Neutral. Friendly. Brotherly.
He walked to the front door and rang the bell.
Vanessa opened it.
She was wearing a deep green dress, her hair loose, her lips painted the color of wine. She looked beautiful. She always looked beautiful. But tonight, there was something else in her eyes — a warning.
"Derek," she said, her voice cool. "Right on time."
"Vanessa." He nodded, stepping inside. "You look nice."
"I always look nice."
She turned and walked toward the kitchen. He followed, his eyes tracing the curve of her spine, the sway of her hips. He looked away.
Adrian was in the living room, talking to a woman Derek didn't recognize.
She was younger than Vanessa. Dark hair pulled back. Glasses. A simple black dress that hugged her figure without trying too hard. She was listening to Adrian with an expression of quiet attention — not fawning, just present.
"Ah, Derek," Adrian said, looking up. "Come in. This is Nina Vance, my new executive assistant. Nina, my brother, Derek."
Nina extended her hand. "Nice to meet you."
Derek shook it. Her grip was firm. Her eyes were sharp — assessing. He felt like she was cataloguing him, filing him away for later.
"You too," he said. "Adrian's told me a lot about you."
"Has he?"
"All good things."
She smiled — a small, careful smile. "That's kind of him."
Adrian cleared his throat. "Dinner's almost ready. Vanessa's in the kitchen pretending to cook."
"I heard that," Vanessa called from the other room.
Adrian's mouth twitched — almost a smile. Derek watched the exchange, the easy rhythm between them. It looked like marriage. It sounded like marriage. But he knew better.
---
Dinner was tense.
They sat at the long dining table — Adrian at the head, Vanessa to his right, Nina to his left, Derek across from Nina. Candles flickered between them. The food was catered, despite Vanessa's protests that she'd made it herself.
Conversation was polite. Surface level. Work, the weather, a mutual friend's new baby.
But underneath, the currents were dangerous.
Derek watched Nina. She was careful — too careful. She didn't look at Adrian when Vanessa was watching. She didn't touch her wine glass more than twice. She answered questions with precision, revealing nothing.
Vanessa watched Nina too. Her eyes were cool, appraising. She didn't like her. Derek could feel it.
And Adrian — Adrian was trying so hard to be normal. He passed dishes. He refilled glasses. He laughed at Derek's jokes. But his eyes kept drifting to Nina. Just for a second. Just a flicker.
Derek saw it.
He wondered if Vanessa saw it too.
---
"So, Nina," Vanessa said, setting down her fork. "How are you finding Cross Capital?"
Nina looked up. "It's a good company. Smart people. Challenging work."
"Adrian says you're very talented."
"Adrian is generous."
"He's not usually generous with praise." Vanessa's smile didn't reach her eyes. "You must be special."
The air thickened.
Nina held Vanessa's gaze. "I just do my job."
Adrian shifted in his seat. "Nina caught an error in the Calloway file that three analysts missed. She's earned the praise."
Vanessa turned to him. Her smile softened — but her eyes stayed hard. "I'm sure she has."
Derek reached for his wine and drank.
---
After dinner, Vanessa suggested coffee in the living room.
Derek helped clear the plates. In the kitchen, alone for a moment, Vanessa cornered him.
"What do you think of her?" she asked, her voice low.
"Who?"
"Don't play dumb. The assistant."
Derek stacked plates in the dishwasher. "She seems competent."
"She seems like a problem."
"Vanessa —"
"I'm not jealous." She stepped closer. Her perfume filled his lungs. "I'm observant. And I've seen the way he looks at her."
Derek turned to face her. "Maybe you're seeing things."
"Maybe I'm not."
They stood there, inches apart. He could see the pulse in her throat. He could feel the heat of her body.
"Not here," he whispered.
"Then when?"
He shook his head and walked back to the living room.
---
Nina was standing by the window, looking out at the garden.
Derek approached her. "Nice view."
She glanced at him. "It's a nice house."
"Adrian bought it for her. Vanessa. When they got married."
"I know."
"Did he tell you that?"
"No." She turned back to the window. "I have my sources."
Derek studied her profile. The sharp line of her jaw. The way her fingers pressed against her wine glass.
"You don't like her," he said.
"Vanessa?"
"Yes."
Nina was quiet for a moment. "Does it matter?"
"Probably not."
She looked at him then — really looked. Her eyes were dark, unreadable. "And you? Do you like her?"
Derek's heart stuttered. "She's my sister-in-law."
"That's not what I asked."
He held her gaze. For a second, he felt like she could see right through him — past the polite smiles, the brotherly affection, straight to the truth he'd been hiding for two years.
"She's complicated," he said.
"Aren't we all."
She walked away, back toward the living room.
Derek stood by the window, his hands shaking.
---
At 9 PM, Nina made her excuses. Early meeting tomorrow. Thank you for dinner.
Adrian walked her to the door. Derek watched from across the room. Watched the way Adrian's hand brushed Nina's lower back — a gesture so quick, so subtle, that Vanessa might have missed it.
Derek didn't.
Vanessa was standing by the fireplace, her arms crossed. She hadn't missed it either.
The door closed. Adrian returned.
"She's nice," Vanessa said.
"She's good at her job."
"I'm sure she is."
The silence stretched.
Derek stood up. "I should go too. Early morning."
Adrian nodded. "Thanks for coming."
"Always."
Derek walked to the door. Vanessa followed.
"Drive safe," she said, her voice neutral.
He nodded. Didn't look back.
---
In the car, he sat for a long time, his hands on the steering wheel.
His phone buzzed.
Vanessa: He's having an affair with her. I know it.
He stared at the message.
Derek: You don't know that.
Vanessa: I know. And I don't even care. Let him. Then we're even.
He typed back: You're not even. Neither am I.
She didn't reply.
He drove home in the dark, the city lights blurring past his windows. He thought about Nina's eyes — those sharp, assessing eyes. She knew something. She was hiding something.
So was he.
So were all of them.
---
That night, Adrian lay awake, staring at the ceiling.
Vanessa was beside him, turned away, her breathing slow and even. Asleep, or pretending to be.
He replayed the dinner. Vanessa's coldness. Derek's silence. Nina's careful composure.
And the moment at the door — his hand on her back. Her slight intake of breath. The way she'd looked at him, just for a second, like she was asking a question.
He didn't know the answer.
He closed his eyes.
He dreamed of a woman who wasn't his wife.
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