Chapter 3.3

"My father has protected your father and family since they were young..." Vee could hear Conan saying. "It is the same thing he planned on doing, I trust. My Dad and yours - they think alike. I trust that's the same reason they have similar instructions in their Will." He suddenly stood up, slightly surprising Vee. She watched as he resumed pacing back and forth, his hand on his trim hips. She noticed how his biceps flexed with every movement he made.

"Now, before you turn twenty-three, we must find my younger brother. It is vital that we find him before your birthday to avoid complications." Conan went over to the other side of his office and started rummaging through his drawer, looking for something. He found what he was looking for after a few minutes and handed whatever he had found over to Vee.

"What's this?" Vee stared at the photograph in her hands before looking up and handing it back to Conan. She knew that it was a photograph of another young man, but she had no clue what to do with it, and she was honestly lost in thought as she recalled how Conan looked so manly as he bent over the cabinet where he rummaged through stuff earlier. She cleared her throat and averted her gaze, inwardly calling herself out for thinking inappropriate things while in the middle of a serious conversation.

Conan grinned as though he had an idea of what was going through Vee's head while he was busy looking for what he needed. His face fell a bit, though, as he started explaining that the young man in the photograph was his younger brother who rarely comes home.

"He left home when he turned twenty to pursue his own career which no one in the family disclosed to the media," he told Vee. "We had hopes of the media leaving him alone." He noticed that Vee still didn't spare the photograph another glance, and he chuckled, curious about how everything might turn out. For them to move forward, though, he had to keep giving Vee more details as much as he could to keep her interested with what he would say next.

Conan pointed out that his father, Alister, apparently had always known that the youngest Gallagher had secretly joined the military, but out of respect for his son's valued independence, had never revealed it until his Last Will was read.

"Help me find him," Conan said, sinking back on the seat before Vee. "We need to find him and let him know what happened... He has to come home before your birthday." He rested his head against the edge of the sofa as he closed his eyes in frustration. His arms were stretched atop the armrest, his fingers lightly tapping the seat leather.

Vee was starting to get confused as she analyzed Conan's words. What's my birthday got to do with this runaway ass?

She finally roamed her eyes back to the photograph that Conan had put on the table. It wasn't even a clear photograph - it was taken from afar, cropped from a seemingly large group photo from God-knows-when. Her eyes narrowed at the rugged, naughty face she saw, noting the smirk he had on his lips as he bit the bar pendant of his silver necklace. She could imagine how he could have been acting when he posed for the camera, and she didn't feel particularly interested in seeing him, much less meeting him in person. Seems like a stupid playboy.

When Vee snapped out of her judgmental musing, she noticed that Conan was already looking at her with laughing eyes. She hoped she had not thoughtlessly voiced her ill opinion of Conan's brother. She tried to hide her annoyance as it wasn't directed at him, but at his younger brother, and why there was a need to know about his existence.

"What's he got to do with our current situation?" She had to ask to cure her irritation.

Conan gave Vee another mysterious smile before he said, "my younger brother, as the rightful heir to the Gallagher Industries, is your future husband."