Page 8 of Dating His Brother

My morning was interrupted by another urgent call from Jada, begging me to come to her office right away. Reluctantly, I agreed and told her I would be there right away. Once again, I was off to the dreaded Heartstring headquarters.

I was surprised to see Jack when I walked into her office. “Oh, hello you. I didn’t expect to see you here. You haven’t been returning my calls.”

He greeted me with a big smile nonetheless, leaning down to peck a quick kiss to my cheek. “Baby sister. Sorry, sorry. I’ve been busy as hell lately. But Jada has kept me up to date on everything you’ve been up to.”

“She doesn’t know anything about what I’ve been up to beyond this campaign,” I groaned.

“Oh? Is there anything new in your life to report?”

“Well, no…”

“Then it’s a good thing you have the campaign,” he winked. “It keeps you busy. Gives you something to do besides partying with your rich snooty friends.”

“I guess it’s fine when you live that way as long as you get paid while you’re doing it,” I rolled my eyes.

“And you wonder why I don’t return your calls,” he teased.

“Jack! Be nice to your sister!” Jada scolded.

“What’s this all about?” I asked.

Jada lit up the moment I asked, obviously bubbling over with excitement. “The campaign!Yourfeature! We made it bigger, as agreed, and the reaction has beenhuge! We’ve received far more interest than we ever anticipated!”

“I’m glad I could be of assistance to the company’s growth,” I smiled tightly, feigning interest.

“It’s even better than we projected,” she squealed, continuing on into a long boring rant about the numbers and how they surpassed anything that was predicted.

“Doesn’t that make you feel good?” Jack grinned.

“Sure,” I lied for their sake. “Is that all you called me down here for? It was good to see you, Jack. But really, Jada…You could have told me all of this over the phone.”

“There’s more,” she beamed, practically bursting at the seams. “Due to the enormous amount of interest, we want to make this thing even bigger!”

“I saw my face plastered on one of your ads in Time Square yesterday,” I sighed. “How much bigger could it possibly be?”

“Think Heartstring’s own version of The Bachelorette!”

“A reality TV show?” I cringed.

“No, not quite. But you will have the best available users…the most coveted bachelors in the country…all lining up to take you out! And we’ll document your dating life every step of the way until you land on the right guy!” Jada explained. “Isn’t that exciting!?”

“Umm…I’m not so sure…”

“Wait! It gets even better!” she squeaked.

I looked over to Jack, who obviously adored everything about his wife, even in that moment. I humored him and kept listening, even though it was the last place I wanted to be…and the last topic I wanted to be discussing.

“We want to throw a big ball in your honor!” she proclaimed. “Think of it as a debutante style ball, presenting you as Heartstring’s first prized bachelorette! And of course all of New York’s most eligible bachelors will be in attendance. We anticipate a lot of guests flying in from all over the country, and maybe even the world! What do you think!?”

“Jada, I’m sorry,” I said slowly. “I hate to disappoint. But this is where I have to draw the line. This is all too much. Going on some dates and posing for some pictures is one thing. But I don’t want to be waltzed around in a big ballroom like some parade float. I’m a private person, Jada. And I’ve given in to accommodate your vision on this as much as I can, but this…This is where I have to put my foot down.”

“Oh come on, Izzy,” Jack groaned, standing up to take his wife’s side at the head of the table so that now they were both looking down on me in my seat. “I thought you’d be excited. Jada did too. This is all of your favorite things! Think about it! Getting all done up in some big expensive gown, having all eyes on you. A red carpet entrance with photographers snapping away, shouting out your name. Then a whole ballroom filled with men who want you, who came just to see you and have a chance to talk to you. You’d be the envy of every woman there. And you can even invite some of your friends.”

“All of my favorite things,” I scoffed. “Maybe you don’t know me as well as you think you do, Jack.”

“Oh I don’t?” he huffed. “Let’s hear it then. What part of that doesn’t sound like a dream come true to you?”

I bit my tongue back from saying, “All of it.”

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