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“You wouldn’t!”
“I would. Ball is in your court, little one.”
With another too-light kiss, he released her and headed toward Emmett’s office, all the while pretending he didn’t hear her calling him all manner of names under her breath as he walked away.
Little brat. He was so going to enjoy taming her.
For now, however, he had a very difficult conversation to have with someone he cared very deeply for. Standing outside Emmett’s office, Braden dragged in a deep breath to steady himself, then gave a cursory knock before pushing open the door.
“Emmett? Are you in here?”
The door opened fully, and Braden was treated to the shocking sight of his closest friend sitting in front of his computer, his hair sticking up in a million different directions as he frantically clicked his mouse. Emmett glanced up from his screen, his smile distinctly forced. “Braden! I wasn’t expecting you.”
“Clearly.” Stepping into the office, Braden closed the door behind him, concern sitting like a weight on his chest. “Emmett… is everything all right?”
“Of course. Just getting some things off my plate. No rest for the weary, am I right?”
Something was wrong. Not just ‘grieving widower hiding himself away from everyone for two years’ wrong, but wrong. Braden could feel it in his bones. “It’s Saturday, Emmett.”
“Is it?” Pausing his frantic clicking, Emmett blinked owlishly at the computer screen. “I didn’t realize. Ah, well, you know how it is. Some things can’t wait for normal business hours.”
Before Nat’s passing, Emmett had been a bit of a workaholic. So it really shouldn’t have been worrisome to find him busy at work on a Saturday. But Braden knew for a fact he was little more than a figurehead at his company these days. The board kept him on, mostly because the Duvall name still brought in clients with deep pockets, but he was fairly certain Emmett hadn’t actually worked a day since Nat’s death.
Which begged the question… What was he doing? And why did he seem like he was hiding something?
“What are you working on?” Settling into one of the oversized visitor chairs on the other side of Emmett’s desk, Braden kept his tone as casual as possible.
“Little bit of this, little bit of that. You know how it is.”
“Emmett.”
At the sound of his name, Emmett looked up again. Now that he was closer, Braden could see the hints of panic in his eyes, the tightness around his smile. “Braden.”
“Is everything okay? You seem a bit… frazzled this morning.”
“Everything’s fine.” Emmett’s smile brightened, but it was almost too bright. “Just busy. You know how it is.”
That was the third time in less than five minutes Emmett had used the phrase and Braden couldn’t help but feel like he was being deliberately kept at bay. Concern for his friend’s wellbeing overrode any desire Braden had to fill him in on his relationship with Charlotte. “Okay. Well. I suppose I’ll let you get back to it.”
“Sorry I’m not better company this morning.” Emmett’s expression shifted to a passable facsimile of an apologetic smile.
“My fault for surprising you. But we should have dinner soon. Catch up a bit.” Inspiration struck, and Braden flashed his friend a grin of his own. “Why don’t you and Lottie come over Tuesday for dinner?”
Charlotte was off Tuesday night. It would also give Braden a few days to talk to her and let her know he planned to tell Emmett about their relationship.
And to see if she knew anything about what the hell was going on with her father.
* * *
LOTTIE
Whoever designed her father’s office doors deserved a fucking award for soundproofing. Even with her ear pressed to the wood, the most she could hear was the sound of their muffled voices and not any actual words.
It hadn’t occurred to her until Mr. Elliott—Braden—had been in there for a few minutes that he might be telling her dad about them. So here she was, trying to listen through the door in case she needed to interrupt him before he did something stupid. But she couldn’t hear a damn thing, and she didn’t want to just bust in there if they were just talking about business or whatever other boring things men like them talked about behind closed doors.
She was so focused on what she didn’t hear, however, that she completely neglected to take note of the sound of footsteps approaching the door until it was too late. At the last moment, she jerked away from the door. The sudden movement caused her to lose her balance, and she ended up sprawled on the floor just as the door opened, revealing her Daddy.
He glanced down at her, his eyebrow raising in that look she’d come to associate with being in Big Trouble, and she felt her bottom clench as if anticipating the spanking she was about to get.
