Brandon (Anderson Billionaires #3) - Melody Anne Page 0,30

seemed more curious than anything else.

Joseph’s grin grew. “I never said anything about matchmaking. I simply have a job I need completed,” he told her, looking far too innocent. She wondered how long it had taken him to perfect that look.

“Good. Then we’re on the same page. Shall we shake on it?”

Joseph looked as if he wanted to say something more, but instead he picked up his bottle of beer and took a sip and eyed her, as if he was just now realizing he’d underestimated her. She felt pretty dang proud of that fact. A lot of people had underestimated her, and it hadn’t gone well for them.

She held out her palm and shook the man’s hand. That was as good as a contract in Joseph’s opinion, and she was very well aware of that. She had no doubt the actual contract would make it to her restaurant within an hour of her returning, though. He liked to have no loose ends.

“What comes next?” Joseph asked.

She got a slightly evil glint in her eyes as she turned toward Brandon, who didn’t look quite so easy, as he could clearly see something brewing in her eyes.

“Brandon and I are going on a field trip. To make sure we have the best facility, we need to see what’s wrong at other places. We’re heading into the city tonight.”

She had a challenge in her eyes, daring him to refuse her. He looked as if he wanted to for a few moments before squaring up his own shoulders and nodding.

“Sounds good to me,” he said. “I love field trips.”

“Great. I can’t wait to hear all about it,” Joseph said. “Now, let’s stop talking business and enjoy this delicious lunch.”

And that was exactly what they did. Chloe actually found herself chuckling a few times. Joseph and Lucian were a riot to be with when their attention wasn’t focused on bringing a person down. She did notice that Brandon was oddly quiet, which was very different from his usual personality.

They parted ways after lunch, with the understanding that Brandon would come to her place at five o’clock. She’d see if he was still just as eager to work with her after all was said and done. She didn’t plan on making this easy for him. If she was hired to do a job, then only the best would do.

CHAPTER TEN

Chloe was running late . . . really late.

She hurried down her walkway, looking through her purse to make sure she hadn’t forgotten anything. That meant she wasn’t paying the least attention to where she was going.

She nearly got thrown to the ground when she walked straight into a solid wall . . . of muscle. Brandon’s arms snaked around her before she could bounce backward and ungracefully land on her behind. She wasn’t sure if she was grateful or not at the feel of his arms around her suddenly needy body.

“I’m sorry,” she said, her breath knocked out of her. She’d tried to block out the fact that the man was nothing but solid muscle in all the best places. Pressing against him in a bed was pure heaven, but running into him while walking too fast felt like hitting a brick wall.

“You can press against me anytime you want,” he said, his smile taking the rest of her breath away. Chloe ignored the extra thump of her heart. This project was only just beginning, and if she wasn’t careful, she’d never make it to the end.

“I’m running late. Sorry for making you wait, but it seems these days I can’t make it anywhere on time,” she told him, breaking the connection of their eyes as she looked down. “And I absolutely hate that. I’m a punctual person. I think it shows a complete lack of respect to be late. But I have piled too much on my plate right now, and I can’t seem to make enough time for it.”

She was rambling on, and she knew it, but she could barely force herself to stop. She was incredibly flustered at the moment, and being in Brandon’s presence wasn’t helping at all.

“I just got here, so we aren’t late at all. Take a breath, and we’ll be on our way.” She wanted to snap at him for no reason. Maybe it was just because she hated that she felt like a breathless teenager instead of a responsible adult when in his presence.

“Anything less than fifteen minutes early is late in my book. You can never