by Paris Hansen
“I know. I’m working on it.”
“Well, work harder. You’re running out of time, so you need to seal the deal. Don’t make me regret backing you on this, Matthew. You don’t want to know what happens to people who disappoint me.”
There was a pause in the conversation, a rustling of papers, and then the creak of someone walking across the room.
“You better get back to the party. You don’t want to leave your date unattended for too long with Clarke out there waiting to stake his claim.”
“I’m not worried about it. I’ve got her right where I want her. But you’re right. I shouldn’t leave her alone while Clarke is around. I should be up there rubbing it in his face that she’s with me and not him. I knew I’d be able to find someone desperate enough to be manipulated at that speed dating thing, but finding the chick that Clarke loves was an absolute bonus. I’ll see you back at the party.”
Andi knew that was her cue to leave. She hurried back to Braeden’s office, so she could hide while Matthew and his boss headed back to the party. Part of her wondered if she should call Braeden and ask him to come back to the party. He couldn’t have gotten far since their talk, but she knew that was a bad idea. The last thing he needed was to cause a scene in front of everyone in the company and their dates. She’d have to wait to tell him what she heard then they could form a plan together on what to do with Matthew and his scheming boss.
When she reached Braeden’s office, she took a seat on the couch, not bothering to turn the light on since she wouldn’t be staying long. Her heart thundered in her chest, from anger or from the fear of getting caught, she wasn’t quite sure, but she was having a hell of a time calming herself down.
She’d been struggling with her lack of feelings for Matthew for a while so she knew she shouldn’t be that pissed to learn he was using her. It would make breaking things off with him easier. She’d no longer have to worry about hurting a good man and instead would be brushing off an asshole. The more she thought about it, the more she realized she wasn’t mad that he was using her, even though it sucked. What pissed her off was the fact that he was trying to screw over Braeden, all with the backing of his boss. She was more angry on Braeden’s behalf than anything else.
Andi waited twenty minutes before she found her way back to the elevator. The offices were dark and quiet as she walked past them. She wouldn’t find herself eavesdropping on any other nefarious plots before she walked out of the Archer, Quinn, and Associates offices, which was probably for the best. Once in the elevator, she pushed the button for the first floor. There was no way she was heading back to the party so she could fake being nice to the asshole that was trying to hurt Braeden.
Instead, she pulled up the car hire app on her phone to request a ride home. Once that was done, she sent a quick text to Matthew letting him know that she left. She used a headache as an excuse knowing he wouldn’t ask too many questions. By the time she reached the lobby, her ride was waiting out front, and Matthew hadn’t responded.
She spent the twenty-minute car ride home debating with herself over whether she should text Braeden and tell him to meet her at her house. The faint sounds of Christmas music filled the car while she watched the scenery pass by. She’d always found it a bit creepy, yet fascinating how dark it was at night while driving over the I-90 floating bridge, especially when coming out of the brightly lit tunnels.
Before she knew it, she was saying goodbye to her driver and walking up to her front door. The minute she was inside her apartment, she pulled up Braeden’s contact in her phone and pressed the call button. As the phone rang, she took a seat on her couch so she’d be comfortable while she tried to explain to him what happened.
“So how did he take it?” Braeden asked instead of his usual greeting.
“Well...there’s something…” she started but was quickly interrupted.
“Fuck, you did break up with him didn’t you?”
“Well…”
“Damn it, Andi. How can you be so stupid? Did you fall for one of his fucking lines?”
Andi couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Had the man she loved just called her stupid? Did he have a death wish? Anger coursed through her. Not only was he not letting her talk, but he was talking down to her, which was something she’d never accept.
“I was going to, but something happened. I thought it was best to wait until after I talked to you to make any moves. But if you’re going to be an asshole, then maybe I don’t want to talk to you at all. Feel free to let me know when you’ve pulled your head out of your ass and turned back into the amazing man I know you are. Until then, I don’t want to talk to you.”
Braeden started to protest, but she didn’t let it stop her from hanging up the phone. She turned the ringer down to vibrate knowing that it would still annoy her when he called, but she couldn’t afford to put in on silent now that Brooklyn was getting close to her due date. She would have to deal with Braeden bothering her since the twins could easily be born at any time.
Walking back to her bedroom, Andi tried to shake off the anger and hurt she was feeling. Braeden had already done a number on her and they weren’t even together. Was she really willing to put herself through this for the long haul? It was something she was going to have to think long and hard about until she was ready to talk to him again.
Shucking her dress off, she crawled into her queen-sized bed and pulled her plush comforter up to her chin. Tears filled her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. She’d shed enough tears over Braeden Clarke through the years. She didn’t want to waste any more on something so stupid. She had to believe that eventually, they’d get things right. Otherwise, she wasn’t sure how she’d make it through.
Chapter 7
Braeden
“Someone better be fucking dead...or dying,” Braeden mumbled as he rooted around on the table next to his bed.
He wasn’t sure what time it was, but he knew it was too damn early to open his eyes, let alone answer the phone. Too bad whoever had the misfortune of dialing his number five times didn’t understand that. When he finally found the phone, he opened one eye just enough to see where he needed to swipe his finger before growling into the phone as his greeting.
“Wake up sunshine,” an overly chipper voice said through the line. “The baby phone tree has officially been activated.”
“Meghan?”
“You answered the phone without even looking to see who it was?”
Braeden groaned as he lifted his head just enough to see the time on his alarm clock then let his head flop back down on the pillow.
“It’s three thirty in the morning, and you called five times. It didn’t matter who the hell was on the phone. Why are you so fucking chipper?”
Meghan’s laugh echoed through the phone. “Didn’t you hear what I said?”
“It’s three thirty in the fucking morning, Meg. No, I didn’t hear what you said.”
Deciding it was futile to think he was going to get to go back to sleep anytime soon, Braeden sat up and wiped at his eyes.
“I said, the baby phone tree has officially been activated. Brooklyn’s in labor.”
“Oh shit. It’s too soon isn’t it?” Braeden asked as he ran a hand through his hair.
“She’s thirty-seven weeks and twins usually come early, so everyone should be fine. There’s no telling how long things will take though. You remember how long Savannah was in labor, right. So aside from Savannah and her parents, everyone’s going to wait until morning to head to the hospital.”
“Then why did you call me at this ungodly hour?”
“Well, there’s one other person who is hanging out at the hospital waiting for her nephews to be born. I figured the potentially long wait might be the perfect time for two people to finally have a conversation.”
“Meghan…” Braeden growled in warning. She was trying to meddle again even though he’d asked her repeatedly not to.
“You don’t know the full story
. Until you hear it, you’re being a jerk for no reason. Stop being so fucking stubborn and go to the hospital so you can finally make things right with her. Haven’t you guys wasted enough time already? Pull your head out of your ass and do something about it. Now I’m going to go back to sleep. I will see you at the hospital around nine. Don’t disappoint me, Braeden.”
Before he could respond, Meghan disconnected the call. He stared at his cellphone for a long time before deciding she was right. They’d already wasted enough time not being together. Andi said she had a good reason for not breaking things off with Price after the party. He should have trusted that she knew what she was doing. Now because he was an ass, they’d wasted another nine...no ten days apart.
“Son of a bitch,” Braeden yelled as he hopped out of bed.
He quickly got dressed, throwing a baseball hat over his ridiculously messy hair. After brushing his teeth, he grabbed his wallet and keys and hurried out to his car. He wasn’t sure Andi was going to be all that receptive to him ambushing her at the hospital, but he didn’t care. They needed to talk, and from the sounds of it, they’d have plenty of time to do just that.
Traffic was non-existent on his drive into downtown Seattle which was likely the only benefit to getting up at such an ungodly hour. Once he reached the hospital, he realized he was wrong. Getting rockstar parking was another benefit to being up so early. Neither were good enough reasons to make it a habit, but he’d take it.
Braeden followed the signs, taking the elevator up to the fifth floor, then followed some more signs until he found himself standing outside of the labor and delivery waiting room. Instead of walking straight into the room, he hesitated while he thought about whether or not Andi would be happy to see him.
Andi and Erin sat across from a big screen TV on one side of the room. They both were looking down at their phones, although Andi looked like she was falling asleep instead of reading what was on the device. On the other side of the room were Savannah and Brooklyn’s parents. Their mother was knitting something blue while their father read a magazine. Realizing that he looked like a creeper standing in the hallway in the middle of the night, Braeden decided he needed to nut up or go home.
Taking a deep breath, he let it out slowly, then walked into the room. “So I hear we’re about to have a couple of babies.”
“Uncle Braeden,” Erin called out from where she sat near her aunt. She jumped up and ran over to him, barreling into him as she wrapped her arms around his waist.
“Hey, Pretty Girl. I didn’t realize you were home. How’s college treating you? Any boys I need to take care of for you?” he asked before placing a kiss on top of her head.
Even though he’d pushed Declan away, he still spent enough time with him and Erin to be given the honorary title of uncle. It was a badge he wore proudly, even if he didn’t always deserve it. He loved Erin and would do anything for her even though he had his differences with her aunt and her dad.
As Erin pulled away from him, Braeden’s gaze found Andi. She was watching him interact with her niece, a mix of confusion and warmth gracing her face. He gave her a quick smile, then turned his attention back to Erin. Her dark hair was pulled back in a messy bun. Her face was devoid of make-up, not that she ever wore much of the stuff. As he looked at her, Braeden realized that he missed the girl more than he ever thought possible.
“College is great. With work and a full class load, I’m too busy for boys, so you don’t have to worry about that. I got on a plane as soon as my finals were over yesterday. I’m so glad the babies waited until I could get here to make their way into the world. I didn’t want to miss this. I can’t believe I’m finally going to be a big sister.”
Braeden smiled at her enthusiasm even though he wasn’t sure how she was so damn perky at four in the morning. No matter how exciting the situation was, it was still the middle of the damn night. Then he remembered she was probably still on east coast time and to her, it was seven in the morning, a perfectly reasonable time to get up and face the day. Plus, she was still a teenager. It was a hell of a lot easier to run on little to no sleep at her age then it was for him now that he was working his way toward forty. He still had four years until he reached that point, but Braeden could admit that things were starting to get more difficult as time passed on.
Walking back toward the seat she’d occupied next to Andi, Erin told him about the classes she was taking at school and about her job at the veterinary clinic. She seemed to love everything she was doing, even the schoolwork which was far too heavily focused on science and math for his liking. When they finally sat down, Erin retook her seat on one side of Andi, while Braeden sat down on Andi’s other side. It was probably an obnoxious move on his part since it meant he and Erin had to talk over her, but he didn’t care. He hoped it would encourage Andi to take part in their conversation or at the very least acknowledge his presence.
They chatted for a little while longer before Erin decided to head off to find some coffee. The minute the younger woman left the room, Andi finally decided to talk to him. Her harsh and abrasive tone proved she was annoyed by his presence.
“What are you doing here, Braeden? You could have waited until later when everyone else came.”
“It’s nice to see you too, babe.”
Sighing, Andi tugged at a string on the sleeve of her hoodie. She didn’t seem to want to look at him which meant she was still mad at him or disappointed in him or most likely both.
“I’m sorry. I wasn’t expecting you to be here,” she admitted quietly.
“I’m not going to lie. I knew you were here. That’s why I came earlier than everyone else. I was hoping we could talk while we waited for the babies to come. I have it on good authority that this stuff can take hours.”
“I’m not sure what we could possibly have to talk about. You made yourself quite clear the other night.”
“Will you just look at me please?” Braeden asked as he reached out and stilled her hands. When she didn’t look up at him, he moved his hand under her chin pushing on it lightly until she did as he asked.
“Now that’s more like it. I’m sorry. I know we say that a lot to each other, but I truly mean it. I was hurt, and I lashed out without listening like the asshole I am. If you say you had a good reason not to break things off, then you had a good reason. I should have trusted in that, trusted in you.”
“Braeden, how can we do this if you won’t even stop and listen to me before jumping to the wrong conclusion?”
“It’s not you. Believe me. It has nothing to do with you. It’s that guy,” he admitted. “Matthew Price makes me act like a fucking fruitcake no matter how hard I try to fight it. It’s a shitty excuse, but it’s the absolute truth. I swear he’s out to get me. I hate that he makes me feel this paranoid, but I can’t help it.”
“You’re not paranoid.”
“Well I know that, but how do you know I’m not paranoid?”
“I know because I overheard him talking about how he’s basically out to get you.”
As Andi told him what she’d overheard the night of the party, Braeden had to remind himself where he was. Anger rolled through him with each awful thing she repeated. When he realized she’d learned Price was using her to get to him, Braeden felt a near murderous rage take over him. It was one thing to fuck with him. It was an entirely different thing to fuck with the woman he loved.
“How did he even know who I was?” she asked once her story was over.
“You obviously didn’t take any time to look around my office while we were in there,” Braeden said with a laugh. “I’ve got a couple of pictures of you in there. And by a couple, I’m talking at least triple that. They’re mostly pics of us and the guys, but there’s one of just you and me on my desk. Anyone that comes in can see it. That asshole has picked it up on a few different occasions and commented on how hot you were.”
“You have pictures of us in your office?”
“Cross my heart,” he said as h
e drew an X over his heart with his finger like they did when they were kids.
“Why is he doing this? Why is he out to get you in the first place?” Andi asked.
That was the million dollar question; one Braeden would have loved to have an answer to. He had no idea why Price thought he was in his way, although the way things worked in his world, everyone seemed to be in a rivalry with someone else. For the most part, it was a friendly rivalry, but with Price, it was anything but friendly. Braeden didn’t understand how the guy took a sense of healthy competition as an excuse to sabotage someone else. It just didn’t make sense.
“There’s always a sense of competition in the world of law. It probably stems from the fact that most things end with a winner and a loser. The feeling starts in college and as far as I can tell it doesn’t end until your dead or you retire,” Braeden explained. “The cutthroat nature of it all isn’t just in the cases we try, it’s the entire basis of how a law firm works, especially Archer, Quinn, and Associates. From day one, we learn that we're all competing against each other for most wins, most billed hours, best cases, and so on and so forth. Then it’s about who’s going to get bumped up to senior associate, then junior partner. Now it’s all about who’s going to be the next senior partner.”
“It sounds exhausting.”
“It is. It’s soul-draining, and sometimes I’m not sure it’s worth it. I constantly wonder if I should quit or if I should start my own firm, but then I get to do pro bono work and take on a case that no one else will, and it makes it all worthwhile. The money and resources available to a larger firm like ours are invaluable to those cases. If I want to keep helping people like that, then walking away from the money at AQA would be stupid,” Braeden admitted. “It’s why I want to make senior partner so bad. I’d have a hell of a lot more freedom being an equity partner. Unfortunately, there’s only one spot open. Of course, Price and I are in a deathmatch over it. Just like we’ve been since the beginning.”