Stepbrother's Allure: At His Mercy

Is this for real?

Was that a f*****g dream? It didn't happen, right?

“What were you dreaming about?” Maria asked, plopping down on the chair. She crossed her legs. “You have been out of it since we returned here after meeting the new CEO. What's wrong? Floored by his handsomeness that you actually dream about him?”

I rolled my eyes. “As if.” I had to hide the blush that almost broke out from how accurate her accusations were. Of course, I'd dreamt of my damned stepbrother.

Exhaling, I sat up on the couch and wiped my face with my palm, just to make sure there was no drool on it. “What happened after we got back?”

Apparently, everything else that happened was a dream, right? I didn't meet Kieran in the office like I thought I did.

Wait, I remembered telling her I wanted to check on my messages, then lying on the couch and... and falling asleep?

“Oh, you told me you wished to check your messages, and the next thing I knew, you were already dozing off.” She smiled sadly. “You have been taking in more extra work than you're used to. I knew it would affect you, but I was hoping it wouldn't be too strong.”

She took my hand in hers. “After we get out of here, you need to regain your strength by taking at least a week off, while I search for new gigs for you, okay?”

“But —”

“It's not up for debate.” She shook her head. “You're my livelihood, April, and I can't have you collapse while doing your work. You need your rest, while I need to get more jobs for you, this time with better pay. I promise.”

I nodded, despite knowing how difficult it would be for her to get a good gig for me. Being a freelancer works for some people, but hardly for those who were let off by their original company.

Even if we get it, it might be worse than the ones I had been taking for the past week.

“Okay.”

“Now, that's more like it.” She got up, grinning. “I've packed our belongings…all that remains is the letter from HR.”

“Oh.” I got up from the couch and stretched, looking at the wall clock. I'd been asleep for three hours, and everything in my dream happened within that time frame. “Are you certain they will bring it over here? Why don't we check with the front desk? They might have delivered it there … What about your email? Did you check that?”

She nodded. “I did. They haven't sent it. As for the front desk lady, I called her before I woke you up. They sent nothing to her. I asked her to call me if they do.”

I frowned, staring at the door, while thinking back to my dream. What if what happened in it happens in real life? What will I do? Faced with the offer from Kieran, I almost gave in before Maria woke me. If he presents it to me in reality, what will I do? Jump in and accept the offer?

Just as I was trying to convince myself that I wouldn't take any offer from Kieran, a knock came on the door. Maria rushed over before I could, grumbling about the letter coming so late.

She opened the door while I sat back on the couch, waiting for her to get the letter. We have packed everything. All that remained was the letter. With that, we wouldn't have anything to do with the company anymore. I wouldn't be an employee anymore.

“What??”

I looked towards the door at that semi scream, rising to my feet as Maria turned towards me.

“What's going on?” I closed the distance between us, heart thumping in my chest and my anxiety almost prominent.

“We… We're not… We…” She gulped, passing a contract to me. “The new CEO wishes to renew our contract. We're not getting sacked!”

The surge of emotions was strong, roughly sweeping me off my feet like an unexpected rush of wind in summer. “WHAT?!” My eyes locked onto Maria's beaming face. My heart skipped a beat, then launched into a frenzied rhythm, like it was about to burst out of my chest. I felt like I was floating, my feet moving on autopilot as I stared at her, trying to make sense of the word she just spoke, while convincing myself that I didn't hear wrong.

“We're… we're not…?” I stuttered, my voice barely above a whisper. My hands felt numb, but somehow, I took the contract from her outstretched hand.

As I scanned the pages, the words blurred together in a haze. The numbers, the terms, the signatures. None of it made sense. All I could see was the heading: “CONTRACT RENEWAL.”

It wasn't what I expected to see. We were supposed to get a contract termination, not a renewal. Yet, the words were there, written in bold, as if to convince me I didn't see wrong.

Maria's words spilt out in a joyful torrent. “The new CEO wants to solidify our employment. We're looking at a long-term deal, with substantial pay.”

I couldn't believe my ears and eyes. We're not getting sacked. We're not getting sacked! The phrase echoed in my head, a triumphant chant that drowned out every doubt and fear.

I felt like screaming, laughing, and crying. My face hurt from smiling, but I couldn't help it. The rush of relief and excitement was intoxicating, and for a moment, nothing else mattered.

We weren't getting fired??? It was just like in my dream, albeit better. At least I wasn't faced with the decision to let him into my life for a chance to keep my position in the company.

I looked at the bearer of the good news. It wasn't Mrs Smith, but Mr David, the assistant director.

He smiled at me. “The new CEO expects a response from you before the end of the day. If you wish to renew it, it's stated there, there will be rewards and an increase in your salary. If not, you can choose to get a termination. The decision is yours.”

“Who said anything about a termination?” Maria rolled her eyes. “We're taking this, Mr David. Just give us a minute so we can sign it.”

“Yes.” I nodded when she looked at me, waiting for me to say a word so it wouldn't seem like she was forcing me to do this. “We will take this. Thank you so much.”

I couldn't help the happiness in my voice. Finally, I can have a good night's sleep without being worried about my pay cheque and the debts I would soon drown in if I didn't bring in a good gig.