Chapter 5 : The Younger Dahan Brother

If Shir Dahan were to describe himself in one word, that word would be entitled. Not that he is self-aware enough to truly grasp what he is saying, but because deep down he truly believes that he is entitled to anything he desires.

This manifests mostly with him using his family name and wealth to procure absurd and exuberantly expensive things for the kick of owning them. In the past year, he bought and crashed two yachts, traveled exclusively by helicopter and private jets, and personally paid for at least ten girls to get extensive cosmetic procedures.

Shir had lived as an illegitimate son for the first half of his childhood, which mostly meant that his father visited him once every six months to ensure that his mother had enough money to live a quiet, comfortable, middle-class life. He had no idea how powerful his father actually was, nor did he even know his last name. When he was ten years old, he was stripped of his mother’s maiden name, and Shir Dahan was born.

Unsurprisingly, going from the family secret to having the entire world at his fingertips was an adjustment that he did not make gracefully.

His mother, on the other hand, had never seemed to care about money, no matter what his father gave to her.

He remembered thinking once that he never knew if his father loved his mother, or if he loved the challenge of finding what object would prove that she was just as materialistic as the rest of the world.

After his father died, all Shir got in his will was ten percent stock of his company and a staggeringly large inheritance. Of course, his mother controlled the funds until he was eighteen, so for a few years, he had no idea what his father stipulated in his will.

When he turned eighteen, he finally got to read it for himself. Of course, he would provide enough money for his mother to live comfortably for the rest of her life. When he got to the last paragraph though, his blood ran cold.

“And to my heir, Elon Dahan, I leave everything else.”

Everything; the house and everything in it, his entire company, and the complete remainder of his money. He might as well have written, “to my legitimate son”.

Naturally, there were stipulations. Elon was to graduate with at least a bachelor’s in any chosen field before he could take over as the CEO.

His father had always expected different things from Elon. Shir might as well have been nothing more than a test, to see if a child raised without the expectation of wealth could be more well-suited to take over a company than one who had.

Shir had failed that test, and his father gave up on him.

Now, his father was dead and Shir had nothing to prove to anyone. He was proud to think how his father would roll in his grave if he saw how fast he was blowing through – what was supposed to be – a lifetime's worth of money within a decade.

However, Shir knew better than anyone that he would never go poor a day in his life, not as long as his responsible older brother was there to ensure otherwise.

When Shir was twenty-years-old and Elon finally took his seat on his proverbial throne, he made sure to set up a monthly allowance for Shir, effectively putting him on the payroll of Dahan Tech Incorporated.

This suited Shir perfectly, as he had never had any expectations of working a day in his life.

Elon had never been what one could call an emotionally available older brother. When their father died, Shir had snuck out to Elon’s room and Elon opened his bedroom door to see his younger brother crying and covered in snot. Elon cleaned up his face and sat with him as he cried. But he never once said a word or changed his expression.

After his crying subsided, Elon carried him back to his room and tucked him in. When Shir woke up the next morning, he saw Elon sleeping on the chair in the corner of his room. They never spoke about that moment again.

Shir knew he shouldn’t hold something like that against his brother, but sometimes he couldn’t help but think that Elon had never loved their father at all.

He had absolutely no hang-ups about taking all the kindness his brother had to offer, partly because he knew that Elon could never say no to him.

As Shir’s helicopter lands at his family’s mansion, he can’t help but think about how it hasn’t changed a bit. The imposing, classic building doesn’t look like it has aged a day since his father died.

The door opens for him before he can even so much as knock, and an imposing but beautiful young woman leads him in.

Shir watches her lecherously as she leads him into the foyer, back straight as an arrow but her hips swing noticeably as she walks.

“And what is your name, sweetheart?” he asks.

Her dark eyes flash with something akin to annoyance for a moment, so brief that he questions whether or not it had been real.

“My name is Sabrina. I am Mr. Dahan’s head maid. Mr. Shir Dahan, I assume? He told me you might be staying with us for a while.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Sabrina.” He grabs her hand with both of his, pressing a kiss to the skin. “I think you and I are going to get along just fine.”

Sabrina snatches her hand back. “No, I don’t think we will. I’m going to go find your brother.”

Shir sucks his teeth as she walks away from him, disappearing out of sight quickly. He doesn’t care for girls like that. Too stuck up, they always think they are better than they actually are.

Sabrina appears a moment later with Elon in tow.

“Brother! It’s been too long, man. What have you been up to?”

Shir pulls him into a one-armed hug that Elon quickly pulls back from.

“Same thing as always, Shir.” Elon looks more exhausted than usual, but his detached tone remains the same as always.

“Ah, it never changes with you, does it? I'm telling you, you’re working too hard.”

“Someone has to.” Elon’s dry humor never made much sense to Shir.

“Or consider taking a vacation for once. I can take you somewhere where the booze is cheap and the girls are cheaper, you just say the word.” Shir winks.

Elon gives him a quick once over. “As appealing as that sounds, I fear I’m going to have to decline. I’m in the middle of securing a partnership with a very important client, it really can’t be put to the side.”

“I don’t get it, the company was running fine before you decided to change everything. Why mess with that? You’re risking more than just yourself, you know? As a ten percent owner, I have to express some concern.”

Elon rubs his eyes, clearly tired and annoyed. “Noted.”

Shir suppresses a smirk. This is his favorite part about visiting, pushing the buttons of one of the most powerful men in America. It makes him feel as if that power is his, even if just for a moment.

Shir’s eyes dart to the side as he sees another maid peek her head out from behind a corner. She sees that Shir has spotted her and her face goes pink and ducks back out of sight.

Who is that pretty little thing?

“Anyway, I’m sure you’re really busy, bro. I’ll go find a place to store my stuff for now.”

"I'll get someone to help you, sir," Sabrina says.

Shir watches them walk away for a few moments before he hears Sabrina ordering someone to help him.

The maid he just saw a few seconds ago comes walking in his direction, her eyes facing the floor, but he can tell her cheeks are slightly blushing still.

“Eavesdropping is generally considered rude, you know?” he teases.

The girl snaps her head up to look at him, and Shir is genuinely taken aback.

She was easily one of the most beautiful creatures he has ever seen, and he makes it a habit to almost exclusively spend his time with beautiful women.

She opens her shapely lips and closes them again. “I wasn’t trying to listen, I just didn’t know that El— Mr. Dahan had a brother. My curiosity got the better of me.”

“Is that so?” Shir steps closer to her. “Well, here I am. Do I disappoint?” He tries not to let her comment bother him, but it was a line he had heard far too often. No matter what he does, it seems that no one cares about the second Dahan brother.

Her eyes dart to the side as if looking for an exit. Shir shifts his body slightly to make her look at him again.

“What’s your name?”

She seems to curl in on herself ever so slightly. She isn’t frigid, but not so mousey that she would cry the instant he tried to talk to her.

“Mia.”

“I like that name. My name is Shir. You’re new here, right? I can tell.”

She nods.

Shir steps back, trying to use a different, more friendly approach.

“You don’t look like you should be just a maid, Mia. I think you have a lot of potential. Let me guess, you’re an actress, right?”

She looks relieved but doesn’t relax entirely. “No. I’m just a maid.”

Shir tilts his head down to look at her. “That can’t be true. You’re too beautiful to not grace a screen. You know, I do have some friends in the industry, if you ever change your mind.”

Mia nods but doesn't say anything.

Shir pauses, taking a moment to give her a once-over. “What’s wrong? My brother made you sign a document saying you can’t make friends?” He seals the statement with an innocent smile. It’s never failed him yet.

She looks up at him for a few seconds before smiling back. “I apologize, Mr. Shir, I didn’t mean to be cold.” The smile doesn’t meet her eyes, but Shir will take it. “Should I take you to your room so you can get settled?”

“Of course. Lead the way," he says, gesturing toward the stairs. He already knows the place, of course, but it won't hurt to be accompanied by someone like her.

“I hope we can be friends, Mia. You seem like you’d be a great one.” Shir lays on the charm thick, slowly chipping away at her resistance.

Some in his past had referred to Shir as “sleazy”, but he’d never seen that. In his mind, any woman could be his if he wanted.

Girls like Sabrina were harder, and he almost never felt like they were worth the amount of effort it took for them to see reason. Easy girls had gotten boring though. It’s the same every time; he would flash a bit of cash and they would fall over themselves for a chance to be with him.

Aspiring actresses, models, and strippers. Any girl could be bought.

His brother’s maid might be more of a challenge though. It is more than likely that she is already trying to bag his much richer, better-looking brother. What this girl didn’t realize yet, is something that Shir had learned years ago.

Elon doesn’t have a heart to give to anyone.

He'll be a much better choice. And Shir can't pretend he doesn't like the idea of pursuing her. It's all about the game for him. The challenge of making a woman fall for his charms. The chase is always his favorite part.

Mia clears her throat. “If you don’t need anything else, I think I should get back to work now," she says, standing in the doorway and waiting for him to walk inside the room.

“Of course,” Shir replies, but he doesn’t move. Instead, he stops in front of her, pretending to decide if he needs something else or not, just so he can stand closer to her.

This seems to slowly dawn on her, and she quickly steps away, her arm touching his side for a moment as she walks away without looking back.

As he tosses his bag on the bed, Shir can't help but smirk to himself. Things will be more entertaining than he had previously imagined.