His Naughty Lessons

** Eli **

Eli cursed inwardly as Harper disappeared behind a marble column all too fast. Damn it, he wasn’t supposed to let her out of his sight! It’d probably take him quite a while to find her again in a venue as large as this one.

"I think she left so that we can talk alone. She’s so thoughtful." The black-dressed brunette behind him commented with a casual sip of her red wine. "We probably shouldn’t let her down."

Eli turned back, not bothering to hide a scowl.

He hadn’t taken a good look at this half-sister till now, and when he did, the young woman standing at the high table didn’t seem to fit at all into his vague recollection of the girl at the arcade. That girl had felt spirited and good-natured, whereas the one in front of him right now came across as ... calculating, and even a bit wicked, partially thanks to the obviously gothic attire she had chosen for the night.

How did Harper end up getting along so well with someone like this?

"I’m not sure what there is to talk about." Eli took a step back to the table he had left from. It was a lost cause to go after Harper at this point, so he might as well finish dealing with this side of the situation once and for all. "Contrary to what many people might think, we have very little in common, Emory."

He had no idea how this girl could’ve actually called him "brother" with such a serious face. Perhaps her father had trained her to do it for show — in their business circle, the public version of the tale was that Ronald Sterling had simply remarried after his first wife passed away, making the family history much less scandalous and uncomfortable for the half-siblings. Eli didn’t know which version it was that Emory had learned, though he did know for himself that he’d never be able to consider her a "sister" in any sort of way.

And he definitely wasn’t going to have a chat with her about that.

Emory tapped her brightly painted fingernails on the wine glass. "Really? You don’t think that your girlfriend being my boss is a lot to share in common already?" She smiled. "I was there when you sent those flowers to the office, you know. Got to admit, it was quite a romantic gesture. She was so over the moon about it."

"... Is that somehow your business?" Eli stared at the girl a bit suspiciously. She was actually here to talk about Harper, out of all people? "Also, has it never occurred to you that it might be a bit too insensitive to start a conversation with a stranger by going straight into their personal relationship?"