Jealousy and Heartstrings

Carson's Point of View.

"You're the boss, if you don't want her among your crew you could always tell her to go. It's not like she's going to strike you or anything." Abel said, his voice booming from the iPad. Morris chuckled softly, pouring himself a drink. He knew his brother too well.

"Shhh. Don't draw attention to this office. You're loud. I'm still trying to get a hang of this boss thing."

"You have been on this thing for a few years, you should know the drill by now."

"Oh, yeah? What, if I may ask little brother, is the drill?" Morris asked, carefully sitting to avoid spilling his drink.

"Be so strict with them that the mention of your name scares them to death."

"This is why I don't come to you for advice." I turned to Morris, who looked like he was too deep in his thoughts to argue with his brother like they usually did. "Morris, how on earth did you deal with him for years?"

"He's my brother. I have my ways."

I sighed. "I hope the agency's doing well? I don't want you getting choked up since Morris and I have been here for a while. It's not going to be that long before we can get this thing over with and come home."

"Take all the time you want, I'm doing great."

"Doesn't change the fact that I'm tired of acting ruthless. I miss being me."

"So you're saying that you're not going to miss being a bad guy?" Abel asked, his eyebrows bouncing.

"If I'm being honest? No. No, I won't."

"Not even the certain luxuries you get."

"What luxuries?"

"You know what I speak of." He said in a dry tone. I chuckled.

"I suppose I'd miss it just a little bit. I would miss the people I work with. The people I might work with before the mission gets called off." 

"Oh, speaking of the people you're going to work with, I hear you might have a little crush on the housekeeper. I hear she has red hair and the most beautiful pair of emerald eyes. Now what I'm dying to know is if she has a sister." Abel smiled his playboy smile.

"I'm your bro. That thing doesn't work for me. Secondly, I do not have a crush on the girl, who told you that?" Abel's eyes fell on Morris, who shook his head threateningly.

"Don't bring me into this, seriously bro."

I turned back to Abel, then Morris. "Who says I have a crush on her? She's just someone I work with."

"Bro, you're the only person I have met who could learn a car's plate number under three seconds. You have a super retentive memory and you keep 'forgetting' this girl's last name, seriously Carson, you don't fool me."

"I've had a lot on my mind lately."

"Like what?" Abel asked, obviously unconvinced.

"Like when I might be able to go back to being blonde? Like going to see my mother without fearing I might put her in danger. Like going to a normal cafe and having breakfast. I'm not cut out for this rich lifestyle."

"That last statement wasn't quite necessary, I already know. I mean who on earth gives off half of his annual salary to charity?" Abel asked, peeling the skin of the fourth banana he'd had since we began Facetiming.

"This guy." Morris pointed.

I rolled my eyes. "The point is that I'm tired of it all. And now that I'm closer to catching these people, I don't think I need anyone making me foolish and all gooey."

"Or maybe you're just nervous that the girl might break your heart like Melissa did."

"I broke up with Melissa."

"Yeah, only because she was going to continue dating you out of pity. You had to do it for her own good and your own ego."

"I hear she's married now. She also has a kid. Got another one on the way." Morris threw in, stirring his drink. When both Abel and I stared at him in disbelief, he added, "I did some digging."

"Why?"

"I was bored one day and curious. I had to know."

"So you used the agency's tool for your own personal gain? What happened to ground rules?"

Morris thought this for a while. "Technically, it's your personal life."

"Just stop, please. How did we even start talking about Melissa?"

"You were running from the truth, we were trying to ask you to give love a chance again," Abel said, actually explaining. His brother chuckled.

"Don't persuade him too much," Morris said, finally throwing the remains of his drink into his mouth. "If you are not interested, I might try my luck."

I tried to remain as calm as I had a few seconds ago before he said that. Even though I wasn't. For crying out loud, I didn't even like the girl like that. Right? I turned to him.

"What? She's pretty and she's sweet. And I think she's a Christian. What more could I want in a girl?" He shrugged and moved to the table again for another pour. For the first time that night, something dawned on me. He was going through something and he was trying to cover it up. I should have seen it sooner but Abel had a gift of distraction written over him.

"Seriously guys, does she have a sister?" Abel queried again, stuffing his face with more bananas.

"Are you okay?

"Of course I am. Why would you think otherwise?" From the way he dropped the bottle off the table, I could tell that he was angry too.

"You've been drinking all night. And you've been letting Abel get away ever since we came in."

We had Abel's attention and he leaned forward, squinting into the screen.

"Okay, what's wrong bro?"

"Nothing. I'm fine." He put out. 

"You sound anything but fine." Abel pushed. Morris carried his drink to the seat beside me and sat down, his legs crossed. One word. That was all it took.

"Adelaide."

"The cook? Did her onion soup give you another indigestion?"

"No. And I told you that in confidence." Morris reprimanded his brother. He set the drink down and sighed.

"Then what is the problem?" I asked again, suddenly feeling the urge to run around the property. I wasn't too good with romance. My ex made that clear. When I wasn't being boring, I was being too clingy. And when I wasn't being a snub, I was being a workaholic. Her words, not mine.

"You. You're the problem. She's so invested in you that she won't even see anyone other than you. She's so into you and no matter how hard I try to be sweet with her or offer her help in the kitchen, she always turns me down. She can't even play simple cards without getting distracted by the mention of you. It's driving me nuts." He confessed, stabbing his hair with his fingers quite roughly. Abel smiled a bit.

"You know it's not his fault he is handsome, right? The young girl is merely a young girl with working eyes." Abel defended, making Morris more furious.

"But it's his fault that he's been being too nice to her. Too soft that she's beginning to think you might be returning her feelings."

I frowned. "You told me to be kind to her, didn't you?"

"I didn't tell you to flirt with her." I could tell from the way he clenched and unclenched his hands, that he was trying not to lose his temper. He had always been the quiet one. This was taking a toll on him. He was like an older brother to me and I hated seeing him like this. All these years, he had been so convinced that romance was not for him. And now that he wanted to give it a chance, his girl couldn't take her eyes off someone else. Off me! This was bad.

"I'm sorry. I had no idea that... You told me to take it slow, to take it easy with her. I had no idea that she was going to take it the wrong way."

He sighed. "It's not your fault. I'm sorry I flipped, I just... She seems so into you that I don't even know how I can begin wooing her. She looks..."

"She looks what?" Abel pressed.

"In love. She looks in love with you, cuz." Morris said passing me a sad smile.

"Dangit."

Silence. As usual, Abel was the first to break it. "So what do we do? This is an emergency, we need to do something."

"What if... What if I used Josie to make her jealous?" I suggested. My cousins paused, suddenly interested in what I had to say.

"What if I make her so jealous and heartbroken that she finally turns to you for comfort? And then when she does, she falls in love with you."

"You say it like falling in love is a piece of pie." Morris protested, but I could still hear the hope in his voice.

"Well, it's not but at the same time as love is not cliche, it is too."

Abel chuckled at the silly quip. "You've been watching Hallmark again, haven't you?"

I shrugged. "Maybe. I think I have a plan."