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“What’s your last name, if you don’t mind my asking?” Dampening my enthusiasm as I willed my hands not to shake, Brandon’s question stalled my heart. My mind worked faster than it ever had before, and I smiled slyly as I cast him a sidelong glance.
“You’ll have to worker harder than that, Brandon.” He leaned on the railing to stick his tongue out like a child, and I giggled a little hysterically.I can’t believe this is going so well. Hopefully, killing him for what he did to me will be this easy.“So, what’s your number?”
ChapterTwo
BRANDON
Flopping back in my computer chair, I rubbed my palms down my face with a frustrated groan. Even behind my eyelids, I saw words printed perfectly on white paper, and I ran my fingers through my hair.This is why I can’t leave Bert alone for one damn night...
The dusty old fart liked money a little too much, but his tactics wouldn’t work the way they did in the ’60s.
“How am I supposed to get anything done when I have to babysit him?” The many times I’d tried to bring up Berthold’s retirement flashed behind my lids, and I frowned deeply. It’d been twenty years since I took over my dad’s company, but he still treated me like an idiot beginner. “Twenty years makes me sound so old... I guess I am. I’ll be forty this year.”
“Brandon, what are you still doing here at two AM?” The question raised the hairs on my arms as my head snapped up and a guilty smile replaced my frown. Audra’s shrewd green eyes narrowed into slits as she sort of wobbled across my office. “I thought I told you to go home hours ago.”
“I know, I know. I just can’t put off digging into this contract that Bert sent through the pipe.” Understanding showed on her rounded face, and Audra propped her hands on her lower back to stretch. Watching her hold back a groan that had nothing to do with business, I swiveled in my chair to stand up. “What are you doing here so early, Audra? You’re supposed to be taking it easy after the surgery. You only get one back, you know.”
“I had a nightmare that you were bones gathering dust in that chair, boy.” Chuckling at that, I leaned on the side of my desk before really noticing what Audra was wearing. Her hastily donned clothes didn’t match at all, and she shuffled from foot to foot. Messily tied, fiery red hair swished against her cheek, and I crossed my arms over my chest when she swiped it away to frown. “I actually couldn’t sleep because of my back. That new chair you bought me is the only thing that makes me comfortable. I came back because I wanted to know the product information so I could get myself one for home.”
“You know, I’m only a year younger than you, Audra. You also could’ve asked me for another one. You know I can’t run this company without you, right?” Audra waved me off, but appreciation filled her eyes when they met mine. “I couldn’t have gotten this far without you. The least I can do is give you a good night’s sleep after going through that.”
“If I weren’t married and in love, that look would melt my heart.” Heat crept up my neck at the sentiment, and Audra grinned, knowing exactly what she was doing. Clearing my throat roughly, I shuffled around the front of my desk and toward my many filing cabinets, and her giggle rolled up my back. “So, tell me what you’re really doing here, Brandon. I know you probably finished reading that contract ages ago.”
Absently searching for the receipt I’d kept for Audra’s chair, I sighed irritably at the row of manila folders.
“I’m thinking that maybe it’s time for Bert to retire.” I couldn’t even count how many times I’d said that before, but it was different this time. Leaning back from the cabinet to glance over my shoulder, I pursed my lips at Audra’s skeptical gaze. “I know I say it a lot, but this is getting ridiculous. That contract isnothinglike the terms he told me they’d discussed. I can’t believe any right-minded business owner would agree to that, andI’m running myself into the ground trying to salvage my company’s reputation because of him.”
“You don’t want to wait for him to have a heart attack or something, so you won’t feel guilty?” Tensing at the nonchalance that filled the room, I twisted fully as Audra shuffled over to my computer chair. She couldn’t talk and sit at the same time, but I only cared that she wasn’t hurting. Swiveling to face me, she held her purse in her lap and patted the side a few times before continuing. “Brandon, the fact of the matter is that Bert’s not healthy. I mean, I know I don’t have a model body, but I also had four kids. But he’s just not okay. I can guarantee you that he won’t make it five years before he croaks. As bad as it sounds, he made the choice to get this way, and it’s too late now. My honest opinion is that you should just shoot him down every time. Everything he does, just toss it in the trash. If he doesn’t care about his own health, he surely doesn’t care about anything else.”
“Wouldn’t that just stress him out more?” Slowly turning back to my cabinet, I frowned under deeply furrowed brows as Audra hummed. She’d said nothing that wasn’t true. Berthold was sixty years old and nearly 450 lbs. He got winded and sweated buckets taking the front stair of the building, and there were only five wide steps. “I don’t think wishing a heart attack on him is the best idea... let alone trying to induce one.”
“He’sgoingto have one. There’s no wishing or trying orifs, Brandon. I’m not saying that. I’m saying, rather than clean up after his messes, just stop them from happening. If he gets his panties in a twist over it, that’s his problem. This isyourcompany, and Bert isn’t your partner anymore. He’s your employee. I mean, seriously, when was the last time you did something you were passionate about?” A flash of raven hair assaulted my vision when I blinked, and I clenched my jaw as memories of the Friday before rushed me.
Katie.I’d made such a fool of myself, but she’d seemed just as out of her element. There were so many things that I could’ve done better, I knew. Somehow, I managed to impress her, and I still wasn’t sure how I’d done that. Even after exchanging numbers, we kept talking until we were both late for the auction.
Gripping the top edge of the cabinet, I blew out a hot breath and rapped my fingertips against the metal roof.What am I passionate about?I didn’t even have an answer for Katie, and I didn’t have an answer for Audra.
“You know? You’re right.” Whipping around, I sucked in a harsh breath at the surprise on Audra’s face, and I stalked stiffly over to my desk. She shuffled back on sneakered toes, and my heart lurched as prickles raced down my spine. Grabbing the large stamp off the front end of my desk, I slammed it down onto the front of the contract before I could stop myself.
My hand shook slightly as I signed my name through the red ink, and I pursed my lips against tightly clenched teeth. Berthold had been an issue for too long, and I couldn’t use him as an excuse. He was Head Boardman, sure, but he couldn’t just go around my decisions without the other executives to back him up.
And they wouldn’t because they all hated him.
“I’ll get you that product information in the morning, if that’s okay, Audra.” Casting her a questioning glance as she nodded dumbly, I straightened to clear my throat roughly. “I’ll walk you to the elevator.”
“No, no, I can do it myself. You get some sleep... not that I approve of your having a bedroom adjoined to your office, Brandon.” Smiling as heat suffused my cheeks, Audra gingerly hoisted herself out of my chair. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Ten AM, Audra, not a minute earlier.” I was a hypocrite, I knew. She shook her head, both of us knowing that I’d be up in about four hours. After years of sleeping so badly, I’d just gotten used to constant deprivation. Making her way out of my office, she left me in utter silence, and I dropped into my chair to fling my arm over my face. “What are my passions?”
What things outside of work did I enjoy doing? I had no friends, no social life. I didn’t even have a dog. Frowning deeply, I blew out a hot breath before a faint chime tickled my ears. Sitting up, I snatched my phone from my desk and inhaled sharply through my nose at the simple message scrawled across the screen.
Katie: if you’re asleep, ignore this.
My thumbs circled as I opened the text fully, and I gnawed on my inner cheek as giddiness energized my tired body.
Brandon: I’m awake... at work.
“I wonder what she’s doing awake at two AM.”More importantly, why was she texting me at two AM?Technically, it was Wednesday morning, a full five days since we’d seen each other at the charity event. Every time I’d tried to text her, I chickened out. What if she was busy?
