4. Kairo

4Kairo

“Nice of you to join us,”Hassan said.

I lowered my shades and looked at my oldest brother over them. “Morning, Hassan. How are you doing? That’s how normal people greet each other, you know.”

My brother simply arched a brow that managed to convey all his disappointment.

“Am I going to get a lecture?” I asked.

“Would it make a difference?” Hassan replied, brow raised.

I shrugged, “well, you never know, the millionth time might be the charm,” I said and tried not to smile at the tick that appeared in my brother’s brow.

“You could do with being more responsible, Kairo, we have a job…” he drew in a breath, and with gravity I knew was meant to get me in line, he added, “a duty we can’t forsake.”

I groaned, “Yeah. Yeah. I know how this goes. Save the speech. I’m here, ain’t I.”

Hassan shared a look with Malik, who until then had been very quiet. My other older brother had just been giving me his patented as-expected look.

I shot him a nonchalant smile even as something in my chest constricted. I really did not like disappointing my brothers, but I couldn’t seem to stop for some reason.

I drew in a breath and shook that off. I wasn’t going to change that today anyway.

“So, what’s up? I’m here….” I looked between them.

“You don’t even know?” Hassan sighed and pushed the tablet my way. “You have to pick your new project. You know your job. The job you seem to forget about when it suits you.”

I groaned and rubbed the back of my neck. I actually did remember that email. “You know, bro, you could just say what I need to do and skip the whole berating.”

“Do you think I enjoy treating you like a petulant toddler? I’ll stop when you prove you can act more mature than one.”

“Can we get things moving? That is why we’re here after all….” I said instead of an answer.

Malik snorted, “I wasn’t sure you knew why we were here in the first place.” His tone was trying, but there was censure there.

I didn’t look his way; instead, I grabbed the tablet that had been pushed in my direction and finally took a seat in one of the chairs facing Hassan’s large glass table.

I flipped through the applications scanning them briefly. Even though my brothers thought I was a waste as a djinn, my instincts still guided me. It may look to most people like I wasn’t paying attention to the applications, but I was, but none of them spoke to me.

My brothers and I have our own channel on YouTube for our family’s construction company. We take applications from viewers who need a home remodel, but a lack of funds may not allow it to happen for them. My brothers and I take turns selecting from the applications for our project. The current project happens to be mine. We film the whole thing while making their wishes come true, then upload it to our channel.

As much as I acted like none of this mattered, I knew it did. I may not believe much in my family gifts—as they’d been called as long as I could remember— and I used to think that until the accident happened.

Don’t think about it. That door is closed.

I repeated that multiple times while flipping through applications until, for some reason, one caught my attention. As I read, I found myself trying not to get sucked in. Not that it ever worked. Not that I ever showed it.

It wasn’t the homeowner that had submitted the request, but that didn’t matter. Whenever that happened, and we showed up, we were never turned away.

I studied the picture that had been attached. It was one with him and two kids, they were both leaning against him, and he wasn’t looking directly at the camera. His eyes were on the little girl, and his lips were curved even in profile.

I continued to study the image before me. What was it about him that drew my eyes to him… Maybe it was his looks. From what I could see, he was attractive. But I wasn’t sure that was it. It could be the sadness in his eyes which I recognized as a loss that you could never get over no matter how much you tried. It was always with you.

There was something about the picture, I knew from what I’d read they weren’t his kids, but there was no doubt for a second that he loved them.

I tried to imagine something happening to one of my brothers, and I flinched. I didn’t even want to think about it.

I shook off the thought. I didn’t need that in my head because it would surely drive me to drink. I had enough reason to hate myself already, and I certainly didn’t need to add to it. But yea, this was definitely the one. If there was anyone that needed the help, he clearly did. Not only did he lose his sister, but he was now raising her two kids on his own. He definitely needed a break.

I put the tablet on the desk and pushed it towards Hassan. My brother leaned forward and picked it up, quickly skimming the application. For some reason, I found myself holding my breath, hoping he was bored. Not that he needed to be, I usually made the final decision. Still, even though my brothers seemed to think I thrived on making their lives harder, I really didn’t.

Hassan glanced at me meeting my gaze, “You sure.”

I inclined my head, and he pushed it towards Malik. My brother scanned it too, then glanced my way. “Should I take a guess as to why this one? Because the omega is quite fetching even in profile.”

Something in me stirred at my brother’s words, and I had to tamp it down. I had no claim over the man. I’d never even met him, and I certainly never slept with anyone while on a job. “I never mix business with pleasure, as you well know.”

Malik acknowledged my statement and shrugged, “Well, looks like we’ve got our next project.” He glanced my way, “Think you can stay out of the clubs long enough to complete this one on time?”

“When am I ever not on schedule?”

“You do manage to get shit together when it counts,” Hassan acknowledged.

“Which is why the whole ‘you don’t care about anything’ act should have gotten old by now,” Malik chimed in.

I sighed, “I guess the lecture was bound to happen one way or the other.” I rolled my eyes, “But before it starts, how about one of you send an email informing him he’s been chosen, and the day we’ll arrive to start work and filming. Then we can resume the Kairo is going to ruin the family name one day drama.”