Cami reached for her hair. “I can’t wait to change it.”
“One thing at a time,” Brigid said.
She packed the things Cami was borrowing into a Gucci bag and handed it to her.
“This is really wonderful of you.”
Brigid shook her head. “Purely selfish. Brash will participate in the profit from this job.”
As they drove away, Cami commented on the house next door.
“Beautiful houses,” she said.
“Believe it or not my in-laws live in that house.” Cami looked at her. “Yes. Right next door. It’s a good thing I like them.”
“It is.”
“Brandon owns the lot right there.” Brash pointed toward a piece of grass with a few trees. “He’s going to build a house someday.”
“Huh.” That was the most non-committal thing Cami could think of to say.
She supposed they weren’t exactly inconspicuous as they entered the lobby of the modern high rise office building. As they got on the elevator she was thinking, “Four bikers, a redhead, and a spikey-haired blonde in a red silk dress and combat boots walked into a bar…”
On the other hand, Trey would be looking for a sophisticated woman with long mahogany hair, no bikers, no combat boots. It could be a brilliant version of hiding in plain sight.
Brandon had bought a downtown building on Congress between 6th and 7th before he moved the main offices to Austin. He took the top three floors and rebranded the building with the Germane name and emblem and was instantly admitted to Austin society and invited to join the exclusive clubs.
Cami didn’t notice the building name and it wouldn’t have registered as out of the ordinary if she had.
The six visitors stood facing the doors as the elevator rose higher. Cami was feeling some butterflies in her stomach. She didn’t know if she was nervous about calling Brandon on his sexuality or if she was afraid of finding out that the attraction was hers alone.
When the elevator stopped, it opened directly into the reception area of Germane Enterprises. Cami was familiar with the name, which didn’t really say much. Most people were familiar with the name and the sultry voice that delivered the TV ads.
“We don’t always put our name on the things we make, but we’re everywhere you look. We’re the future. We’re Germane.”
The stunning brunette at the reception desk gave Brash a big Hollywood smile, while ignoring Brigid and Cami altogether. Ugh.
“He here?” Brash asked.
“Yes. He is.” She started to open an intercom line, but Brash stopped her. “Not this time. It’s a surprise.”
Her smile fell. “But sir…”
“I take responsibility.” To the three tagalong bikers he said, “Wait here.”
Like good soldiers, they unquestioningly took seats on plush chairs.
Brash led the way to Brandon’s office, the big one at the end of the hall that faced south and east. Cami stopped dead when she saw the name on the door.
Brandon St. Germaine.
No wonder he’d seemed familiar. She’d seen his photo at society events in Town & Country a hundred times. She hadn’t pegged him because, who would have ever guessed that the CEO of Germane Enterprises would show up at a New Jersey warehouse, impersonating a bodyguard. On one hand, it explained a lot. On the other, it posed a maelstrom of confusion and questions.
Brandon appeared to be talking to air while wearing a Bluetooth earpiece that resembled a scifi implant. Gone was the four days of beard scruff he’d accumulated on the road. He was groomed to perfection, downright dapper in a charcoal gray custom made Italian silk and gabardine suit with a crisp white shirt and pale yellow tie.
He’d been appreciating the view from his office while talking lease terms on a Channel warehouse when he swiveled around to see Brash, Brigid, and Cami standing just inside the threshold of his office door. Cami looked like she’d just seen someone hit by a car, which made his own stomach sink in reaction.
It looked like he wasn’t going to be able to take time carefully crafting retractions and revisions supported with plausible explanations about how wacky fall-in-love road trips can be.
The two of them remained frozen in a stare for a few seconds.
She broke eye contact first, looking around the room. There was a framed copy of the magazine cover that featured Brandon, the same one that instigated the life-altering events that led him to a father and brother he hadn’t known he had.
First Cami stomped around the desk, grabbed the Bluetooth gadget off Brandon’s ear and tossed it to the other side of the room.
Brash picked it up and said, “He’ll call you back.”
Cami walked over, took the photo off the wall, placed it in front of Brandon on his desk and said, “This you, bodyguard?”
Brandon couldn’t stand the hurt he saw on her face. He swallowed so hard, his tie moved, before he said, “Yes. But I can explain, Rose.”
“It’s Cami! Don’t bother getting up because I’m leaving. And don’t bother reintroducing yourself because I’m not interested. There’s not a single thing about you that’s real. I don’t know you. I don’t know anything about you.”
He hated the fact that he’d caused her more pain. Worse, he hated the fact that she hated him.
As she stormed toward the door, Brash looked at Brand, who said, “Thanks a lot.”
“Hey. When you want me to keep secrets, you need to give me a heads up. She started my day with a big sloppy kiss that was meant for you. I brought her here so she could deliver to the right brother. If I’d known this would fuck things up, we wouldn’t have come. You know that.”
“She’s supposed to be on lockdown until the threat has passed.”
“She’s safe with me. Got Rock, Crow, and Eric waiting out there in the lounge, probably flirting with your fake tits receptionist.”
Brandon started toward the door, but Brash stopped him.
“Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. Hold on. You need to let her simmer down a little. Club’s throwing you a party tonight. You’ll have plenty of time to sweet talk the young lady into forgiving you for being you instead of the guy she thought she wanted.” Brash grinned. “Take care of business. The girl’s not going anywhere.”
Brandon didn’t look completely convinced that letting it go until later was the best course of action, but his brother deserved respect when it came to women. He’d managed to do the one thing Brand had never done. He’d created and was maintaining a long-term relationship with a woman that was giving all appearances of being of the forever variety.
“She doesn’t like being referred to as ‘girl’. She thinks it’s demeaning.”
Brash laughed. “Okay. It’s official. You’ve got the bug. Welcome to the PW club. Don’t worry about the hit to your balls. It’s worth it. I wouldn’t have picked you for somebody who looks so… rough and tumble.”
“That’s not… It’s a disguise. But it still looks good on her.”
He knew he sounded defensive, which made Brash’s smirk grow even bigger. He didn’t know how Brash could be having such a good time at his expense when he felt so damned miserable.
He tried to get his mind back on work, but if that happened, it was going to be the challenge of the day. Maybe the year.
When Brash walked into the reception area, Cami said, “Take me back,” in an imperious way that had Brash raising an eyebrow at her.
“Yes, ma’am.”
He emphasized the word ‘ma’am’ to make the point that he wasn’t a lackey.
When they got back to the clubhouse, Cami went straight to the bar.
“Do you know how to make a Manhattan?” she asked Rita.
“Of course. I worked at the Yellow Rose before this.”
“I don’t know what that is.”
“Never mind. Coming up.”
Two minutes later Rita set a perfect Manhattan on the bar. Cami looked down at it. “You know the two cherries on top of the lemon twist kind of look like…”<
br />
Rita smirked. “Balls?”
Cami raised her eyes to Rita, then dropped both of the cherries in her mouth and made a show of crushing them between her teeth.
“Keep ‘em coming.”
“You sure? I made that stiff.”
“Not the alcohol. The cherries.” Rita smiled. “There’s a nice tip in it for you.”
“Yeah? I’ll bet.”
“No, really. Here it is. Free of charge. Don’t spend another day hanging around lying liar bikers.”
Rita laughed. “You know, being called liars? That’s not the worst thing I’ve heard said about these boys.”
Mimicking Rita, Cami said, “I’ll bet.”
Brigid sat down next to her. “Hey. Maybe you’d like a sandwich to go with that booze. Rita was just getting ready to make lunch, weren’t you, hon?”
Rita shook her head no while saying, “Oh yeah. I was just on my way to the kitchen.”
“Don’t bully her,” Cami told Brigid, who laughed.
“Nobody bullies Rita. If she could be bullied, she wouldn’t have lasted half a day around here because every one of these men will try it at some time or another.”
Cami turned back toward the bar. “Good for you. Don’t take any crap.”
Rita narrowed her eyes at Cami. “You’re not used to drinkin’, are you, sugar?”
“How much has she had?” Brigid asked.
“Half a Manhattan.”
“I see.” She half pulled Cami off the stool. “Come on. After you have something to eat you can have some more cocktail if that’s what you want.”
“You can keep the cock,” Cami said. “I have no use for it.”
“Well, alright then,” Brigid said, “I will.”
Rita laughed, but headed to the kitchen ahead of them and started pulling out stuff to make sandwiches for lunch. Over the next few hours, hungry guys would be wandering in and out. They might sit down and converse with whoever was around while taking a lunch hour. Or they might just grab a sandwich and a bag full of chips and take it with them.
Since it was a club party day, several of them were already hanging around the spit outside that was giving an entire hog a slow rotisserie smoking. Cami had noticed it on the way in, but had averted her gaze because the scene looked a little barbaric for her liking. It was pretty clear that everybody was in a good mood.
After they sat down at the table that doubled as an island and a counter height table big enough to seat twenty for a meal, Brigid turned to Cami.
“You know what the party’s for?”
Cami looked blank. “What party?”
“Nobody told you? There’s a big party here tonight. All the members and their women will be here. Brandon is being patched in.”
Cami shook her head to indicate that she had no clue what that meant. “No idea.”
“It means full membership in the club. He’s going to get the SSMC colors you see the other guys wearing.”
“The snake in the, ah, temple?”
“Yes. It’s a very, very big deal for Brandon because his grandfather founded this club. His father is the president. And his brother,” she smiled, “the one who’s mine, is the enforcer. He grew up without even knowing he had a father or a brother.”
“He told me that. How did that happen?”
“Their mother. She was like you. Is like you, I guess.”
“Like me how?”
“Lots of New York money. Lots of family expectation.”
Cami took a big breath and looked away. “Oh.”
“I guess it’s not that surprising that Brandon would fall for someone like you. I’ll bet the two of you have a lot in common.”
Cami thought back over all the times on the road when she’d felt inexplicably close to Brandon. She knew he couldn’t have a similar background or history, but even as she kept telling herself that, he felt familiar.
“The way the story goes, she’d been a little wild and the behavior was becoming scandalous for the family. When she graduated from college, her dad brought her to Austin with him for the summer while he was overseeing development of the Yellow Rose.”
“Rita mentioned that. What is it?”
“It’s an exclusive golf resort designed to please even the most discriminating tastes.”
“I hate to interrupt, ‘cause this is a really good story and all, but I need to know what kind of sandwiches you two are having,” Rita said. She pulled her hair into a ponytail, put on an Astros ball cap, and began washing her hands.
“You got some of that turkey cranberry salad from H.E.B.?” Brigid asked.
“No. They’re out. I’ve got some Rita-made chicken salad.”
“Celery?” Brigid asked.
“That mean you want it with celery or without?”
“Without.”
“Then it’s without celery.” Rita smiled as she donned a clean white apron and made quick work of tying it in back.
Cami chuckled a little in spite of the fact that she was mad enough at Brandon to want to chew him in two.
“How ‘bout you?” Rita asked Cami.
“I’ll try that. You have wheat bread?”
“Yeah. We got wheat. Toasted?”
“Ooh. That sounds good.”
“With lettuce and tomato?”
Cami looked at Rita like she loved her. “Lettuce and tomato. Without me even having to ask. You’re my new hero.”
“It was bad out there on the road, huh?” Cami was nodding and looking like she might cry. “Once you get away from the cities there’s not much to eat unless it’s been fried or put between two big white buns.”
“Oh my God. You know!”
Rita laughed. “It’s not exactly a secret, darlin’. I think everybody in the world knows that except maybe you.” Cami seemed to deflate a little at that observation. “You want that with fries?” Cami’s eyes started to look a little wild, but Rita quickly put her at ease. “Just kidding. I’m not frying any potatoes today. Garland is having about six gallons of potato salad sent over from The Smokestack.”
Brigid nodded in response. “I like their potato salad.”
“Yeah. Everybody does.”
“You were saying, about Brand’s mother?”
“I don’t know all the details. That’s probably for the best. But Brant was the head mechanic at the Yellow Rose. They met when she got lost on the property and I guess there was a sort of instant connection.
“Long and short is that they fell in love. Garland got pregnant with the twins. Her father was insisting she go to Wharton. She couldn’t say no to him. So she said no to Brant. Brant was so heartbroken she gave him Brash. His real name is Brannach, but he was always…” she smiled affectionately, “let’s just say he doesn’t hide anything or hold anything back.”
“That’s…” Cami looked spellbound and incredulous at the same time.
“I know. Heartrending.”
Cami nodded. “So how did they, um…?”
“Get the family together?”
“Well,” Brigid’s eyes sparkled, “there’s more.”
As Rita put plates in front of them, she said, “With that family there’s always ‘more’.”
“So tell me,” Cami said.
“Brash was going to replenish his stash of peanuts at the H.E.B.”
“Peanuts? Brandon eats those like his life depends on it.”
“I know,” Brigid said. “They both do. So Brash was standing in line to check out at the grocery store and he sees a picture of himself on this magazine. The guy’s in a suit and doesn’t have long hair like Brash did, but you know, it was him.
“So he bought a copy of the magazine, found out who Brandon was and went to New York looking for him. When Brash turned up at Brand’s office, the first thing Brash noticed - after Brandon’s shocked look, was a big bowl of peanuts on his desk.”
Brigid stopped to chuckle like she could imagine being there. “So the two of them figured out that the reason why nei
ther parent had ever married, or even dated seriously, was because they were still in love.
“The boys decided they wanted to get to know the parent they’d never met incognito. Crazy as it sounds, they decided to switch places. They met somewhere in Colorado. Brash cut his hair to match Brandon’s. Brand got tattoos to match Brash’s and learned how to ride a bike. The way Brash tells it, he was a natural, like motorcycle riding is in the blood or something.
“You can imagine how complicated it was, but it worked. They were pulling it off without either parent knowing, but Garland had a health event so they had to come clean.”
“What happened?”
“They were right. Brant and Garland had never stopped loving each other. It’s kind of a happily ever after.”
“It is.” Cami nodded.
“But here’s the real reason I told you all this. Brant and Brash both have heads for business. Like Brandon. But if you asked them about their identities, they’d say they were bikers who happen to be businessmen. Not businessmen who happen to be bikers.”
She stopped and seemed to be waiting for a reaction from Cami.
Cami said, “This is good,” to Rita, who waved a thank you over her shoulder.
“Point is,” said Brigid, “Brandon felt like he had his father’s and brother’s affection, but not their respect. That’s what this job was about.”
Cami sat up a little straighter. “You mean me?”
“Yes. Getting you here safely was about earning their respect. Germane Enterprises might be in the top ten of Fortune 500, but that kind of notoriety only goes so far with bikers.”
“Why are you telling me this?”
“I want you to see how much was at stake for Brandon. He couldn’t let anything take priority over getting you here safely. Getting the job done.”
Cami looked at Brigid like she was waiting for more. “This party is his reward.”
“The respect that comes from earning the colors is his reward. The party is just an excuse to party.”
“I heard that.” Brant’s gruff rumble rose over the kitchen noises.
“Well, it’s true.”
“Did you have a good outing?” he asked Cami.
She’d been bred to say, “Why, yes, thank you.” But she was thinking that, maybe in that environment, in a space where Brash was accepted for saying what was on his mind, it might be the one time when she could tell the truth.
The Biker's Brother (Sons of Sanctuary MC Book 2) Page 15