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I watch Breanna step out of the vehicle and run a hand through her hair. She’s wearing skin-tight jeans and a tank top that emphasizes her curves. Is she meeting someone?
I wait in my car for a couple of minutes so it doesn’t seem like I was following her.
Then, I head inside.
It takes my eyes a moment to adjust to the dimness of the club. When they do, I see a smiling cocktail waitress heading toward me. Her eyes comb over my body as her smile grows wider. My hat isn’t fooling anyone.
“Mr. Jones. Your usual booth?” she asks.
“No,” I say, turning away and scanning the tables. Breanna is in the back, her head bent over a small glass. I lead myself back to her table, not needing any cocktail waitress’s help.
“Hey.” I lean against the booth, and Breanna’s head flies up, her eyes wide with panic.
“What are you doing here?” she asks. She glances behind me like I might have brought someone else.
“I want to talk to you about the message you left on my phone.”
Breanna busies herself adjusting the glass, using the corner of the napkin to clean up a smudge of condensation.
“So? Why did you quit?”
Breanna sighs as she continues to squeeze the glass tightly. I slide into the booth so that we can have this conversation face to face.
“Garrett and I used to date, and I know he’s your brother, but…”
“Tell it to me straight.”
“He’s… toxic. He’s good at manipulating people, and he manipulated me for a long time. He…” Breanna takes another deep breath and lets it out.
“Did he hurt you? Physically?”
Breanna shakes her head. “No. I always told myself if he did that I was out of there. But he hurt me in other ways. He…” she hesitates again.
I don’t know what makes me do it, but something propels me to reach across the table and lay my hand on top of hers. She bites her bottom lip, and I can see a sheen of tears forming over her eyes.
“He… cheated on me, more than once. Each time, he would pretend he was sorry. But then, he stopped even doing that. He said it was my fault. If I would satisfy him, then he wouldn’t need anyone else. He would do that… switch from sweet and loving to cruel and… I finally said enough was enough.”
“You left.”
“I couldn’t do it for the rest of my life. My best friend… she doesn’t even know half of what happened because I was too embarrassed to tell her.”
“Why? If Garrett was the one mistreating you?”
“Because… I felt like it was my fault. If I could just get my shit together, then he wouldn’t cheat. If I just kept the place clean enough, then he wouldn’t get mad. And… I finally realized that nothing would ever make him happy except tearing me down. That was why I just left. I didn’t say goodbye or start an argument. I just gathered my things and walked out while he was at work. I blocked his number, and… I haven’t seen him since.”
I remain silent as Breanna unburdens herself, my thumb gently stroking the back of her hand. I want to pull her toward me, hug her and tell her that my brother is an asshole. But I don’t.
I just let her talk.
Breanna finally acknowledges the tears starting to streak down her face, and she pulls her hand out of my grip to dab at them. “So, yeah, that’s why I can’t work for you. I can’t stay anywhere where Garrett has reach. His effect on my life was… too much, and it’s over now.”
I swallow, realizing exactly how awkward this position is that I’ve put her in.
“Garrett already filled my ear with every reason I should fire you,” I tell Breanna. Her eyebrows shoot up, and I see the look in her eyes change from pain to anger. “And you’re still here. I’m not listening to him.”
“I’m not still here. I quit.”
“Ah, yes, that small detail. Look, Breanna, I’ll kick him out of the house and back to wherever he came from. I let him come stay because I haven’t seen him in a while. I figured what could it hurt? But clearly, it could hurt a lot. You’re good with Jaxon, and he already loves you. I…” I stop myself before I can tell Breanna how much I like her. I respect her as a person, despite our differences. And there’s something deeper stirring within me.
