Chapter 7

Brandon signed the contract, trying not to feel like he’d just sold his soul and freedom to the devil.

“Good luck,” Brenda said. There was a sympathetic, pitying glint in her eyes, which wasn’t reassuring, either. “You need plenty of it.”

Brandon smiled weakly. “Is he really that bad?”

She just winced and said nothing for a moment before glancing around. “Mr. Ethan is… difficult to please. I’ll be honest with you: his assistants don’t stay long. He has had a number this year alone. And after the company’s expansion, his workload is insane, which means his PA’s workload is insane, too. You’ll have to travel all the time between countries and the other offices of Wings Group. It will not be easy. And that’s without taking the boss’s difficult character into account.”

Brandon chuckled. “If that’s your idea of a preparation talk, it’s kind of terrible.”

Brenda gave him a full smile. She seemed to hesitate before lowering her voice and saying, “It’s not that he tries to be difficult. I think he just can’t help it. He was raised that way.”

“He was raised to be an ass?” Brandon said doubtfully.

A chuckle tore out of her throat. She glanced around again before murmuring, “Don’t let his high standards fool you. He has seen the world. He was raised differently, and he has seen a fair share of life. Rumors even have it that he is hated by his father. That is why he tries his best to be the better one among his other siblings.”

Brandon’s eyebrows drew together. “That’s a lot for a man of his standard. Shouldn’t he be idolized by his family for becoming successful independently?” He didn’t subscribe to the notion that a family should still be segregated. He grew up in an abnormal one, but everyone was treated equally. Then, if he wasn’t from America, where else could he be from?

“He may also be connected to men of different culture” Brenda said, giving him a look. “Men from Sicily.”

Brandon blinked, utterly confused, before realizing what she must have been hinting at. “Are you actually implying he’s part of the Mafia?” he whispered, a laugh bubbling up in his throat. This couldn’t possibly be real. “People keep fabricating shit about others.”

Brenda winced. “No,” she said, looking like she already regretted bringing it up. “But there are strong rumors that his family is. They’re well-connected and have ruled a large spectrum of Italy for as long as the family has existed. So, you can probably guess how he grew up. He’s used to everyone doing as he says—he takes it for granted and sometimes can get carried away.”

Brandon stared at her. Great. So, not only was his boss possibly a member of the Mafia, but he also didn’t understand the concept of “no.” “Must have been nice to be born with a silver spoon in your mouth.”

Brenda shook her head and lowered her voice again. “I told you that he is the outcast of the family. He moved away from them to start his own life. Tired of living in his father’s shadow, and before the incident today, he wanted to announce his termination of anything connected to his family. Now, he is solely an independent man.”

“You can’t know that,” Brandon said skeptically. “They could be helping him. This might all be a show to promote the family and make him look good.”

Pursing her lips, she shook her head. “His family completely cut him off as soon as he made the choice. The father only put up a show for the press, but his family knows the truth. Even when Mr. Ethan got sick with a cause that wasn’t disclosed to date, his father never visited. He was in a coma for a long time. That is why, as soon as he recovered, the first step he took was to move away from them. Also, even though he bears his father’s last name, don’t mention the name Noah to him. He doesn’t want any linkage with his father, including the name his father bears. Mr. Asher has been through a lot, and you can’t totally blame him for turning out this way.”

Brandon shrugged. Now that he thought about it, he saw a little sense in Ethan’s attitude. Maybe he was mad at the world for abandoning him. It didn’t excuse his attitude. “What if something comes up that needs me to call the name Noah?” he muttered.

“Oh, be so careful around him not to make that mistake. It won’t end well.” Exhaling, she said, “That aside, he is an icon in the business world, just…”

“Just not a good boss,” Brandon finished for her.