Captivated

Three

Parker

I sighed.

After I read all the documents and signed all the needed papers for today, I finished everything during lunch time. My afternoon schedule is free, so I decided to pay my brother Clarke a visit and invite him to play golf. He’s an engineer and owns am architectural firm not far from the company.

 “You know what, golf sounds like a good idea,” Clarke says while reading the papers that he was holding. “However, I still have a client meeting to attend to in 15 minutes. Can you wait for an hour?” he said

“I don’t think so. No worries, I’ll just go alone,” I said.

“Alright,” he said. But before he could get out of the office, he stopped beside me. “By the way, how is Ellie?” he said.

I raised a brow. “You know her?” I asked.

He smirked. “Yeah I do. I see her a lot. She’s close to Grandma, right?” he said.

“What do you mean you see her?” I asked, getting more curious.

“Bro, I don’t mean like the “seeing” that you are thinking,” he said. “I see her a lot nowadays in the company. I also see her a lot before since she’s close to Grandma, right?” he said, laughing a little.

I gave him a glare. He laughed loudly.

“Why are you looking at me like that? Is she taken?” he asked jokingly.

“You know me Clarke. I don’t tolerate office affairs,” I said.

“Exactly the point. It’s your rules, not mine,” he said. “Unless… she’s off limits because you like her?”

“Clarke, I just told you my rule. Where in the ‘I don’t tolerate office affairs’ do you not understand?” I said.

“Well, if you do like her, you should make a move asap bro. A lot of guys at work are interested in her. They might make a move on Ellie first before you can,” he warned me.

I narrowed my eyes at him. “Why? Are you one of them?”

He grinned. “Probably… I mean, why not? She’s fine as f**k. Plus, she’s single,” he said.

I laughed. “I know you Clarke. You don’t even like serious relationships. Hence, getting serious with women,” I said.

He walked past me. “Well, people change. And Ellie… she might be worth the risk. She could be an exception,” he said.

“Why are we even talking about my secretary? I went here to invite you to unwind with me, not to discuss how interesting my secretary is,” I said.

He walked to his swivel chair and laid back to sit. “it’s because I like seeing you acting all jealous and possessive with Ellie. And it’s so not you, bro,” he said.

“What do you mean it’s not me?” I asked.

“Look. You don’t give a damn about any of your employees in the company. But when it comes to Ellie, even if you just hear her name, the old Parker shows up. The Parker I used to know when I was little,” he said.

“What do you mean by the ‘old’ Parker?” I asked.

“The Parker that actually gives a damn about the people who surrounds him. The Parker who genuinely cares,” he said.

I ignored his stare. “I need to go,” I said, ignoring what he said and what he’s about to say more.

He stood up and tapped my shoulder. “Bro, I only have one rule: bros before hoes. That’s why I’m asking you about Ellie. If you like her, I’ll respect that. I’ll be out of the picture,” he said “But if not, then expect me to be in your office all the time looking for her. You know our trait as Colemans, we always get what we want,” he said, tapping my shoulder and went back to his chair.

Knowing Clarke, he does get what he wants and makes his own rules even if it’s in the office, just what a Coleman would do.  

But Ellie is mine.

Maybe not romantically.

But she is mine. And just like a Coleman, I don’t share what’s mine.