“Hey, Faith.” Brandon came up behind her and placed a kiss on her cheek.
Faith whirled around. “Brandon. Hey.”
He took her hand and started for the café entrance, then stopped. “Wait. Let me take care of the parking validation first, so I don’t forget.” He held out his hand. “Do you have it with you?”
“Yes.” She removed it from her purse and handed it to him.
He took it over to the information desk for the receptionist to stamp it, came back and gave it to Faith, then escorted her into the restaurant. As he suspected, the lunch rush had passed and it only took them a minute to be seated and give their orders.
“This is nice,” Faith said.
“And the food is good. Before the new owner took over, the only thing I came in for was coffee.”
She laughed. “That bad, huh?”
Brandon loved her laugh. It always did something to him. “That bad.”
“How long has the new owner been here?”
“Somewhere close to two years, I think.” They continued to make small talk until the food arrived.
Faith picked up her grilled chicken sandwich. “Okay, let’s see how good this is.”
He watched as she took a bite of the selection he had suggested and chewed. He smiled when her eyes lit up and she groaned. “Told you.”
“Most times the chicken breast is dry and tastes like somebody forgot the salt. But this one is juicy and seasoned perfectly.”
Brandon bit into his own chicken sandwich. For a few minutes they ate in silence. “Are things still going well with your father?”
“Yes. I’ll miss him when I leave, but I told him I’d be back later in the year. He’s also said he’ll visit me.”
The fact that she would be back gave him hope their relationship could grow. “I’m sure he’s happy about that.” Silence rose between them as they continued to eat. When she finished, he asked, “Do you like LA?”
She took a sip of her water. “Yes. Aside from all this traffic,” she added with a smile.
He laughed. “Yeah, well, can’t argue with you there. Besides that, do you like it well enough to consider staying?”
“I can’t stay,” she said quietly with something like regret in her eyes.
He reached across the table for her hand. “Why not? You said that you could do your job anywhere as long as you had a laptop.”
“Brandon, we agreed to see each other until I leave. And I am leaving. I’ll never forget what we shared, but there’s no use in continuing something that won’t last. You and I both know that this is only physical.”
“You don’t believe that any more than I do,” Brandon said with irritation. Her eyebrow lifted. He drew in a calming breath and reminded himself he was supposed to be using a softer approach. “What I’m trying to say is that I realize what we shared started out as nothing more than physical attraction, but it’s become more. And we both know it.”
Faith withdrew her hand and shook her head. “It’ll never work, Brandon.”
“It will, if we want it to. And I do. You can’t tell me you don’t feel what’s happening between us.” For a moment, she said nothing and he wondered if he had been wrong—that she didn’t feel the same way. She stared at him for what seemed like forever before answering.
“I do.”
He reached for her hand again. “We’re good together, and I’m not just talking about in the bedroom. Neither of us expected this, but I know we can make it work.”
“It won’t. The first time I don’t agree with you we’ll have another episode like last week and I don’t want to have to spend time worrying whether what I say is going to set you off.”
It was all Brandon could do to curb the smart-aleck response poised on the tip of his tongue. What he started to say would guarantee an argument and prove her point. He’d been working hard to tone it down, both personally and professionally and at this point, it was turning out to be one of the most difficult undertakings of his life. “I’ve readily acknowledged that shortcoming, but I also promised to work on it and I am.”
She regarded him silently for a moment. “I believe you, Brandon. But there’s something I—”
His cell phone rang. “It’s probably my assistant. Let me get this.” He let go of her hand, fished it out of his pocket and answered without looking at the display. “This is Brandon.”
“Where are you?” Morgan asked. “Some people have jobs and can’t spend all day waiting for you, so get your butt up here, Mr. CEO.”
Brandon groaned. He had completely forgotten about the meeting they’d scheduled to discuss the retirement party. “I’ll be there in a minute.” He hung up and pocketed the phone. He really didn’t want to leave right now, especially with nothing resolved between him and Faith. “I have to go. I forgot I had a meeting.” A thought occurred to him. It would be a good time to introduce Faith, since all of his siblings were here. And it would show her that he was serious about them.
“No problem.”
“Would you like to meet my brothers and sisters? They’re all here so we can discuss my dad’s retirement.”
“No,” Faith answered, a little too quickly.
Something—he didn’t know what—flashed in her expression.
“You’re already late and shouldn’t keep them waiting.” She waved him on. “Go ahead. I can take care of the bill this time.”
Brandon ignored her, pulled out his wallet and placed some bills on the table. “You already know my answer to that.” He slid out of the booth and came around to her side. “We’ll continue this conversation tonight.” He bent and kissed her. “You said I was direct, but I can also be persuasive. So here’s a little warning, sweetheart.” He leaned down close to her ear. “I will be taking my A-game to the next level.” Brandon smiled at her stunned expression, then sauntered out of the café, confident she would be his. He had never been one to back down from a challenge, even an unspoken one. And he wouldn’t start now.
Chapter 16
Friday evening, Faith chewed nervously on her bottom lip while waiting for Brandon to arrive. Their lunch date hadn’t gone anywhere near how she had planned and she regretted not having the chance to tell him the truth. Though he’d mentioned working on not flying off the handle, she couldn’t help but speculate on whether he’d be able to keep that promise. In a perfect world, he would listen to everything she said, they’d discuss it like two mature adults, and he would respond calmly and rationally. But the world wasn’t perfect. He had said they were good together and she hoped that goodness extended to the boardroom.
Faith glanced at her watch. 6:27 p.m. She desperately needed to talk to someone and took a chance that Kathi had made it home from work. She grabbed her cell and called.
“Hey, Faith,” Kathi answered.
She sighed with relief. “Hey, girl. I need some advice.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Everything.” She and Kathi hadn’t spoken since Faith had told her about Thad’s offer. Faith spent a few minutes telling her about the blowup with Brandon and what she’d found out when she went to the Gray Home Safety website. “And with how angry Brandon got the last time, I don’t know how to tell him.”
“It sounds like you guys have gotten closer and get along great, so I don’t see why he would have a problem.”
Faith told herself the same thing, but didn’t believe it would work out that way. “We had lunch today and he wants us to continue seeing each other after I go home. Actually...he suggested I stay in LA.”
“Wait. What? Hold up, girl. I think you’ve been holding out on me. No man is going to ask you to move there unless he’s thinking about something permanent.” There was a pause, and then Kathi screamed. “Oh, my God, are you in love with him?”
Faith flop
ped back against the sofa and closed her eyes. “It wasn’t supposed to happen this way.” She groaned. “I don’t know what I was thinking.”
Kathi laughed. “You weren’t thinking. You were feeling. I know how that is. I end up saying those three little words and agreeing to a whole lot of stuff when Cameron gets me going.”
“You’re not helping, Kat.” Though she was right.
“Does he know?”
“Of course not! And I won’t be telling him because it doesn’t matter.”
“I disagree. If he’s asking you to move there, I can’t see him being mad about working with you everyday. You’d be right where he wants you.”
“If only things were that simple.” Admittedly, Faith expected that she and Brandon would work well together. And because she knew nothing about home safety, she had no problems letting him have the final say on any issues that might come up. But she was fairly certain he wouldn’t sit still long enough for her to communicate that to him. “Thanks for letting me vent. Brandon will be here any time, so...” Her cell beeped with another call. She took a quick peek at the display. “Kathi, Thad is calling on the other line.”
“Go talk to him. Keep me posted and I hope things work out for you and Brandon.”
“Thanks.” Faith ended the call and clicked over. “Hi, Thad.”
“Hey, Faith. I wanted to see how you’re doing and find out if you’ve had a chance to talk to Brandon.”
“I’m okay and no. He’s on his way over, so I’ll tell him then. I tried to tell him earlier, but he had to leave for a meeting.” Brandon had invited her to meet his siblings and the only thing on her mind had been running into Thad. If Thad had seen her, no way would he have pretended not to know Faith. She was glad he or someone from Brandon’s family hadn’t come down to the café. “I don’t think it’s going to go very well.”
“I wouldn’t worry too much. Brandon understands the importance of family legacy. Besides, if you two have grown as close as I think, he’ll be happy to have you near. I know I would,” Thad said with a little laugh. “Nothing wrong with having a pretty girl around every day.”
She rolled her eyes and chuckled. “Yeah, I bet.”
“Well, you don’t have too much time because the meeting is on Tuesday.”
Faith sighed heavily. “I know. Is this a board of directors meeting?”
“There isn’t a formal board of directors. Since we don’t have investors or shareholders, we have more of what would be described as an advisory committee and we typically meet three to four times a year. Aside from me, Nolan and his five children, there are four experts in the field of home safety who give input on trends, risk management and other things.”
“I see. Will they all be there on Tuesday?”
“Yes. I suspect DeAnna, as well as Siobhan and Morgan’s husbands will be there, too.”
“That’s a lot of people.” She recognized Brandon’s mother’s and sister’s names and remembered Thad mentioning the two sisters were married. This was getting worse by the minute. Families tended to stick together on an issue and if Brandon didn’t agree with Faith being there, chances were his siblings and parents wouldn’t, either.
“Faith, I know you’re a little nervous, but everything will work out fine. I’ve known Nolan and DeAnna for over thirty-five years and they’re good people. As I told you before, both are anxious to see you again.”
“What about Brandon’s siblings?”
“They’ll welcome you with open arms.”
She wished she shared his optimism. She opened her mouth to ask him another question and heard a knock at the door. Brandon. “Thad, I think Brandon’s at the door.”
“Okay. Let me know how it goes. If you need me, call me.”
“I will.”
“I love you, Faith, and will always be here for you. Never forget that.”
“I won’t.” How could she? Most men would have given up searching for and hoping to reconnect with their child after a few years, but not Thad. She said goodbye and went to answer the door.
“Hey, beautiful,” Brandon said, smiling as he entered.
“Hi.” The man seemed more irresistible each time she saw him and Faith couldn’t decide which attire she liked seeing him in more—the tailored slacks and dress shirt or a T-shirt and shorts. He had obviously come from work because he had on the former. Once they were settled on the sofa, butterflies took flight in Faith’s stomach.
Brandon scooped her up and placed her on his lap. “Do you know how hard it was for me to sit across from you today and not kiss you like I wanted?”
He didn’t give Faith a chance to answer before his mouth came crashing down on hers, hot and demanding. His tongue swirled around hers, while his hand slid up her bare thigh, heating her all over. He shifted her so she was straddling him and continued to devour her mouth. Any coherent thoughts she might have had dissolved with each tantalizing stroke. She didn’t know how, but she found the strength to pull away. “Brandon, we need to talk.”
“We are talking, baby.” His hands slid over her hips and back, and then came up to frame her face. Their eyes met. “Don’t you hear what I’m saying?” He stripped her shirt off.
Faith’s pulse spiked. “This isn’t...ooh...talking.” She shivered in response to the slow, meandering kisses on the tops of her breasts.
“I beg to differ. Listen closely to what I’m saying,” he murmured, divesting her of the bra and circling his tongue around her hardened nipples. “Can you hear me now?”
She cried out at the exquisite torture. Surely he didn’t expect her to answer. And the only things she could hear were her labored breathing and her heart pounding in her ears.
“I’m telling you what I feel.” Brandon lifted his head and kissed her again, this time softly, tenderly.
Tears stung the backs of her eyes. Yes, she heard him. She felt him. Loved him.
“Let me show you, Faith. I want to show you how much you mean to me.” Brandon came to his feet, still holding her in his arms and strode down across the room to her bedroom.
Faith should have protested, should have said something, but she wanted this last night with him.
* * *
Brandon stared down at Faith sleeping beside him and a riot of emotions swirled around in his chest. No matter how hard he tried to tell himself otherwise—that it was just fun and great sex—his heart said something different. I love her. And she’d be leaving unless he could convince her to stay. He had planned to continue their conversation from lunch when he arrived, but one kiss was all it took for him to lose focus. Or redirect it. He could still feel her hands and mouth on his body and would swear he heard her whisper, “I love you,” as she drifted off. It gave him hope they were on the same page.
As much as he wanted to spend the night, he had the standing appointment with his brothers at the gym in the morning and he’d never make it if he stayed. But she was sleeping so peacefully he didn’t want to wake her. Brandon left the bed silently and dressed. He used the pen and notepad provided by the hotel to write a note letting her know he would be back tomorrow afternoon to talk and placed it on the pillow next to her. He gently pushed the hair off her face and kissed her lightly. “Sleep well, baby,” he whispered and slipped out quietly.
Brandon managed to get a few hours of sleep and, by the time he got to the gym, everyone else had arrived.
“I thought I was going to have to take your place,” Khalil said.
Malcolm laughed and eyed Brandon critically. “By the looks of big brother, that might be a good idea. Were you working late last night again, Brandon?”
Justin and Omar threw Brandon a knowing look, but didn’t comment.
Brandon bent to tighten his shoelaces. “No.”
Khalil let out a short bark of laughter. “No?” He sidled
next to Malcolm and elbowed him playfully. “I think Brandon is going to be playing on the other team soon,” he said, gesturing toward Justin and Omar.
Malcolm’s eyes widened and he whipped his head around toward Brandon. “You’re dating someone seriously? Who is she?”
Brandon knew he’d have to deal with his brothers sooner or later. “None of your business.” He picked up the ball. “Are we playing or not?”
Instead of playing a full game, they opted for a shootaround. During the game, the conversation went from the current state of politics to sports and everything in between.
“Brandon, do you know what this meeting is about on Tuesday?” Khalil asked as he made a shot.
“I’m guessing it has to do with Uncle Thad’s heir.” He still got heated every time he thought about it.
Malcolm tossed Omar the ball. “Do you know anything about him?”
“I can’t get Dad to tell me anything.” He launched the ball and sank a three-point shot. “It’s bugging the hell out of me. All I keep thinking is this guy is going to come in and try to take over.”
“As CEO, you’ll still have the last word, so he can’t really take over,” Justin offered.
Brandon divided a look between his brothers-in-law. “Are you two going to be there?”
Both nodded and Omar said, “Morgan asked me to be there, and whatever my baby wants, she gets. And I agree with Justin. You’re just going to have to learn how to be a team player.”
Giving My All to You Page 16