Brandon (Anderson Billionaires #3) - Melody Anne Page 0,27
thought. The fact that she couldn’t frustrated her.
She finally rose from her position and walked the short distance to town to her favorite coffee shop. Since it was the middle of the day, she decided to grab a treat and sit in the park. She wasn’t in the mood to visit anybody. She wasn’t sure she could fake a smile at the moment.
As a business owner in a small town, she couldn’t allow herself to be less than perfect when she was out and about. If she scared off her customers, her place of business would go down in flames. That would end all of her dreams.
Beyond that, her parents had so instilled perfection in her it was the only way she knew. She’d be more mortified to run into her parents looking like a mess than any of her customers. She might put a lot of it on herself, but it was hard to change your ways after so many years. She wasn’t sure she liked being this way. It made life so much more complicated. She would love to be easygoing like so many others she knew.
She sat on a bench and sighed with pleasure as she sipped on her peppermint tea. One great thing about the holidays was the yummy drinks that came with it. She might not like them as much if she could get them year round. The calories she consumed during the holidays certainly wouldn’t like her over time. She absolutely hated working out, so she had to be a bit careful in her eating. She might have a great metabolism now, but studies she’d read proved that the older a person got, the more the body broke down. Someday her love of food was going to catch up to her in a less-than-positive way.
“What are you doing out here all alone?”
The booming voice that could only belong to one man about made her lose her cup. She jumped in her seat and was grateful when only a small amount splashed from the lid.
Turning, she found Joseph Anderson, along with Lucian Forbes.
Lucian Forbes was one of Joseph’s oldest friends, and if the rumors were true, the two of them had been up to no good not that long ago, and suddenly all of Lucian’s children were happily married. The rumors of Joseph’s matchmaking were unconfirmed, as he’d never admitted what he was doing, but it seemed all of his friends with unruly children suddenly had exactly what they’d wanted—a lot of grandkids running around and in-laws they were proud to call family.
She should run—fast.
She was also completely tongue tied for a moment. Joseph and Lucian had that effect on people. Except she didn’t usually allow the men to daunt her. That wasn’t what they were currently trying to do, but their mere presence made the average person intimidated.
“Hi, Mr. Forbes, Mr. Anderson,” she said after too long a pause. “I’m just enjoying some sunshine,” she said as the sun was swept behind the looming gray clouds overhead.
“Now, Chloe, we’ve told you formalities are for the boardroom many times before,” Lucian said with a smile.
“It’s very difficult for me to address business tycoons by their first name,” Chloe said with a smile.
Joseph scoffed. “You know how to stroke an old man’s ego since you’re a business magnate yourself,” he told her.
She laughed, the sound real, and she suddenly felt wonderful. “For you to even sort of compare my small restaurant with your empire is downright funny,” she said in between giggles. “But I’ll take it, anyway. It’s not every day a girl gets such a compliment.”
“Well, we’re hungry,” Joseph said. “Come and join us.”
He said it politely, as if it was nothing more than a friendly invitation, but Chloe wasn’t fooled at all. Joseph had an agenda. There was a part of her that wanted to insert her independence and tell him she was busy, but she was very aware that not too many people turned Joseph down. She wasn’t going to, either—not on something simple like a lunch invitation.
“I could grab a bite,” she said as she stood. Her blueberry scone had done nothing more than whet her appetite.
“It appears they let anyone wander these streets nowadays.”
Chloe froze as a new voice entered their conversation. She didn’t have to look to see who it was, but she looked, anyway. Didn’t the man ever work? It was almost noon on a Tuesday. She’d think he’d be knee deep in wires right about now.