I reply. Pushing for any piece of information I can get, I ask, “What does Nina Thompson know that she shouldn’t?”
“Does it matter?” It’s my turn to offer a deadpan look, and after two beats he scowls and snaps, “Riker had an affair with Nina. When he tried to break it off, she threatened to go to his wife.”
Riker, who is gay, had an affair with his female employee? I’d laugh at the blatant lie if I wasn’t concerned about what’s really going on, and how my father’s involved. “Why didn’t you just tell me that?”
“Your skills are better used for bigger things. I handled it. Like I always do.”
Like he handled the Feds, but I let it go, pushing for a way inside this deal’s origin instead. “If I call Nina’s lawyer, what will I hear?”
“I convinced her not to hire a lawyer.”
Of course he did. “If I call her, then?”
“What do you think?”
I consider him. “I’ll pay her off. Consider it handled.”
“I’ll deal with the conclusion of the agreement.”
“Part of my employment contract requires my signature on all legal agreements. I’ll handle it.”
“Not this time,” he says, his tone absolute. “Riker’s a friend and he’s worried about his family.”
I shake my head at the absurdity of him having friends. “Of course, Father, and fucking around on his wife certainly proves that concern.” I pick up the envelope. “An investment is the wrong packaging for a gag deal. I’ll rework it and you’ll have your contract by morning.”
I turn and walk away to hear him growl into his intercom, “Come to my office, Emily.”
Tension ripples down my spine and I open the door to come face-to-face with my sweet-smelling potential liar. She physically flinches at our standoff, a reaction that hits me in a variety of ways. One: She’s fucking gorgeous and I still want her. Two: No one trying to rattle me would be this rattled by me—not unless she’s a good enough actor to fool someone who makes a living reading people.
“Shane,” she says. “I mean … Mr. Brandon.”
I step to her. “Not ‘asshole’?”
Her cheeks heat. “That would be unprofessional and I’m trying hard not to get fired. Unless you just made that happen.”
“In other words,” I say, “calling me an asshole is an appropriate term. Just not at the office.”
“I plead the fifth. I’m not incriminating myself to a man who could fire me.”
“A little too late for that, sweetheart.” I step around her.
“No,” she says from behind me and when I face her she steps closer, lowering her voice. “I didn’t know who you were and no matter how many ways you infer, or say I did, it still won’t be true. And I’m not your sweetheart, Mr. Brandon.” She whirls around and charges into my father’s office.
I stand there, fighting the urge to go after her. Whether she is telling the truth or not, there is one thing for sure. It’s game on, and if I win, she’ll be telling the truth and back in my bed, where I most definitely want her. If I lose, she’s lying, but she’s still ending up back in my bed.
EMILY
Trying to garner some semblance of control, I make a mental list I don’t dare write down, deciding a number of things quickly. Number one: I don’t have the luxury to leave this job if I’m not fired. Number two: In order to survive in the middle of a company, and a family, at war, I can’t be the gazelle outside the lion’s office. I have to be me, the real me that my nightmare of a secret has suppressed, and that means holding my own with all of the Brandon men. It’s a task I take on with Brandon Senior, from the moment he barks his first order and I spout back with knowledge, not fear, an act that earns me a long, hard glower, before respect flints through his stare.
By six thirty, only a half hour before Shane’s demand that I meet him in the garage, I’ve continued to hold my own with my new boss. On the other hand, I’m concerned that meeting his son, who had me naked and submissive last night, in private, isn’t the best way for me to keep my job. The intercom buzzes for about the twentieth time this afternoon and Brandon Senior barks, “I need that document I asked for before you leave.”
“Finishing it now,” I assure him, only to glance up in shock to discover Shane’s brother has