The CEO's Painted Skin

Joseph entered his brother's office wearing a scowl on his face. "I'm here now," he said and sat down on the chair facing his brother.

John studied his brother's face. They used to be so close to each other when they were still young, they slowly drifted apart during their adolescent years and eventually hated each other's guts because of Dahlia in the later years. It's because of one woman they were torn apart as brothers. Probably his greatest regrets were that they were involved in the same woman if he could turn back time, he will avoid Dahlia just to preserve his relationship with his brother and maybe Dahlia would also have not died if they were not involved in a romantic relationship.

"Did you just call me here in your office to stare at me?" Joseph asked.

John twirled his pen for a while and then put it back in the table. "Joseph, I will give you a job. I will assign you to manage the construction of Hacienda Catherine, we're turning it into an Eco-Tourism Resort in two years, and the building construction will be completed next year."

Joseph's face was contorted in dismay.

"Why you assigned me into the countryside, you know very well I hate places like that, I want to live in the city closer to Mom and Dad!" Joseph grumbled.

John sighed deeply, convincing Joseph was getting harder than he anticipated. "There's no vacancy for you here in the city," he said.

"That is pure nonsense! Fire somebody so that I can take his place, isn't that hard to do, you're the boss, right?" Joseph suggested.

"Firing somebody just because you wanted his or her job is unethical. I don't operate like that. Besides show me first if you are capable of handling a managerial position, if you can do it well, I will promote you in a much higher position, prove to me first!" John challenged him.

"What is there to prove? I'm your brother, why do you have to make things complicated for me?" Joseph complained.

"I'm not making things complicated for you, I just want you to start from the low level and climb your way up. It's not that hard to do, I'm here to guide and support you," John said.

Joseph shook his head. "Did that bitch woman complained to you about me? That is why you will send me away to the countryside?" his eyes turned dark.

"Partly yes! Stop harassing her Joseph! I warned you. That woman didn't do anything to you, why do you have to harass her?" inquired John.

Joseph gave his brother a jeering smile. "Wow, brother, you are so protective of your sister-in-law! Aren't you feeling guilty doing it behind your missing wife's back?" he subjected his brother to a malicious stare.

John groaned, here we are again, back to a repetitive cycle of nonsense arguments, it's getting infuriating already! He would love to punch his brother's face right now but he chose to do nothing of that sort, he won't let his brother affect his already bad mood.

"If you don't like the job I gave you, then do nothing, just stay away from Caroline, don't cross the line and we will be good. You can continue staying with Dad and Mom's place, I will give you a monthly allowance but that's all there is to it. You will forever stay that way dependent on me, dependent on the brother you hated so much or... you will start becoming a responsible adult and starts building your empire while am still willing to back you up. Which way you want, brother?" John said.

Joseph shifted his gaze to the city's sky view. "You are greedy, brother! Give me Caroline, I want her to be my maid."

John's eyes widened, shocked by his brother's outrageous demand. "Huh? And what are you going to do to her?"

"It's up to me what I'm going to do with her, it's none of your business," Joseph said.

"Caroline told me that she doesn't like you, she's afraid of you. Why would you still want the person that doesn't like you?" asked John.

"Because she likes you and I like her, isn't that obvious?" said Joseph smiling at his brother, he loves irritating his brother to the max.

John was near a breaking point. "Stop punishing me for Dahlia, brother. Our rivalry ended the day she died. Can you stop behaving like a child? And start growing into a mature adult? It's no longer funny, don't make me lose my control," he said between gritted teeth.

Joseph stared at his brother vehemently, and then he softens his face. "Okay fine, I will accept the job that you assigned to me. But I need to have my car, I want a brand new one!" he demanded.

John breathed comfortably. "Consider it done," he said. Finally, their back and forth bickering ended and huge relief washed over him. "Meet me here in my office tomorrow, we will buy your car," he said.

Joseph rose to his feet and left the room without saying goodbye to his brother.

After his brother left, John enjoyed a momentary feeling of calmness inside his office. He can breathe easy now. Joseph was always been hard to handle, their personality clashed all the time, he felt like his brother never really grow up, Joseph was always been the spoiled one. Since he was the older brother, born one year ahead of him, he has to remain calm and understanding all the time. He was hoping this time, Joseph will finally start exhibiting maturity so that he will have less problem to deal with. He will be putting his father in his shoes for a while to handle the business responsibility in the office... that will be for the meantime so that he can travel all around the country to find his missing wife.Find authorized novels in Webnovel，faster updates, better experience，Please click www.readwn.comfor visiting.

With one last look at the city's bright skyline illuminated by thousands of lights, he stood up ready to leave his office and go upstairs to his flat to spend some quality time with baby James.