Broken (Breaking the Rules) (13 page)

Sliding from the booth, he said to all of us, “I’m tired. I’ll see you all later.” Without another glance in my direction, he left the bar. Jackson was so damn hot and cold. But the hot was almost worth the cold.

A DARK TWO WEEKS…

“She’s coming back to Indiana with us,” my mother informs the psychiatrist, Dr. Sweeney.

“Ma’am, I think we need to let Andi decide what she wants to do,” he says gently, looking over at me. It has been a couple of days since the accident and they are ready to release me. Dr. Sweeney wants to see me again on Friday.

“Mom, it’s okay. I’m supposed to be moving in with Pepper this weekend. I promise I’ll be okay. Dr. Sweeney and I have really been working out some of my problems,” I assure her, sighing. My mother isn’t a very affectionate, loving woman. It is weird that she even appears to care. Dad and my sister Megan couldn’t even find time from their schedule to come see me at the hospital.

She sighs but nods in agreement. Dr. Sweeney scribbles out a new prescription for me and asks me to promise that I not take them with alcohol. I nod sheepishly. The whole thing really was an accident. I wasn’t really trying to kill myself, but I almost succeeded, even if by accident. If it weren’t for Bray, I shudder to think what could have happened.

Bray has remained on constant vigil by my side throughout this entire hospital stay. Pepper refuses to speak to him anymore and gives him death glares when he’s nearby. Yesterday, though, Dr. Sweeney put an end to his visits. He said that part of my recovery revolves around healing myself without Brayden’s help. Bray was really torn up about his suggestion but said that he really wants to help me and would honor Dr. Sweeney’s wishes. After a gentle kiss to my forehead, he left me, saying that when I was healed from all of the pain he’d caused maybe we could work on a friendship at the very least.

I really don’t want Bray out of my life but I fear I’ll always be in a fragile state unless I handle my problems without him. This weekend I plan on starting the next phase of my life. I’m ready to start living again. The last two weeks have been an awful blur, and I never want to feel that way again.

This morning I was on top of things despite my pounding head from the shots last night. I found a really sexy suit a little on the shorter side now that I knew who I’d be wearing it to impress. After I slipped on some thigh-highs and then some impossibly high heels, I walked over to my full-length mirror and admired the view.

Jackson would have to be dead to ignore me today. My blonde hair hung in sexy curls down my back, my makeup was a little on the darker side today, and my outfit screamed “Fuck me.” In a moment of bravery, I slipped my panties off and kicked them to the side. Knowing that I would be working without panties near Jackson almost had me running for my vibrator in my bedside table. Ignoring the desire coursing through me, I snatched my purse and headed out.

Right before we pulled up to the building, I reapplied my red lipstick and paid the cab driver. Heads turned as I walked into the building, boosting the self-assurance that had been stolen by Jackson yesterday. I held my chin up and confidently rode the elevator up to our floor.

When Margie saw me, her eyes lit up. “Hey gorgeous! You’re going to knock them dead today. Jordan and Jackson are already in the conference room with the new junior architect, who is absolutely hot. Jordan said to send you in when you got here,” she giggled. I smiled and thanked her. Swinging by my desk, I dropped my purse in my drawer and picked up a note on my keyboard. It was from Jackson.

Lunch again today? Same time, same place?

His scribbled request made me smile. Maybe things wouldn’t be so bad. And he was definitely going to have a hard time not paying attention to me today. I was hot and knew it.

I strode into the conference room and smiled at Jordan, who was watching me with wide eyes. Jackson swiveled around and actually grinned as he appreciatively took in my appearance. My smile faded when the third chair turned to see what Jordan and Jackson were looking at.

“Andi? Oh my God. I can’t believe this!” Bray exclaimed, jumping from his seat and coming toward me. He pulled me in for an embrace, and my eyes closed when I got a huge lungful of his familiar scent. He rubbed my back, not wanting to let me go until someone cleared his throat behind him.

Quickly pulling away, he turned to see Jackson glaring at us. “You two know each other?” Jackson asked, voice rolling with anger.

Not wanting to make things uncomfortable for Bray, I spoke up. “Uh, yes. We went to college together,” I half-lied, avoiding Jackson’s fiery gaze. I quickly moved to sit down beside Jordan.

“Great! This is really going to be a great dynamic for our team here. Since you two know each other, things will go so much more smoothly,” Jordan beamed warmly, patting my bare thigh and then removing it to neaten his stack of paper in front of him.

I looked up to see Bray and Jackson wearing matching glares, this time directed towards Jordan, who seemed oblivious. The testosterone was thick in the conference room today.

Jordan quickly addressed a few things before excusing everyone. I jumped from my seat and bolted back to my desk. Once I sat down and pretended to be preoccupied with booting up my computer, Jackson stalked past me into his office, slamming the door behind him. Shit. Today was even worse than yesterday!

Now, I had to work with someone who was the ultimate cause of the way I was today. Working with Bray was going to prove to be extremely difficult, especially since the pain in my heart I had eradicated pulsed at the sight of him earlier.

Jordan and Bray walked out together, shaking hands before Jordan went over to his office. Bray sauntered over to my desk and glanced at my legs. Dragging his eyes back to mine, he said, “You look really beautiful, Andi.” I muttered a thanks and turned my attention to the computer screen. He stood quietly for a moment before walking over to his office right next to Jackson’s.

Pepper needed to know today’s events.

Pep,

Guess who works here now? Never in a million years could I have predicted this. Imagine the worst possible scenario and you’ll be right. Drinks again tonight? This time at our apartment with Olive?

Your best friend who has no luck at all,

Andi

After I hit send, my inbox chimed immediately with her response.

Fucking Brayden.

Sighing at my luck, I got busy returning phone calls and planning meetings for all three guys. The morning flew by, and I was startled when Jackson came out of his office and left without saying a word to me.

I guess we were back to the cold Jackson I didn’t like. He had said that we were having lunch, so I was guessing he had gone to go get it.

Brayden suddenly emerged from his office and walked over to my desk. “Want to grab some lunch and catch up?” he asked, smiling at me. I squirmed under his gaze. Everything about this chance encounter had my nerves on edge.

“Jackson went to get some for me. Maybe tomorrow?” I quipped, biting my lip.

His eyes fell to my lips and he looked almost sad when he glanced back up at me. “Sure, tomorrow,” he muttered hoarsely and took off out the door.

An hour later, Bray came back in. Stopping at my desk on the way to his office, he asked if he had any messages. “I emailed them to you. Check your calendar. I set up something on Thursday with a Mr. Higgins,” I told him.

Glancing into Jackson’s office and then back to me, he asked, “How was lunch?”

“Um, Jackson is supposed to be bringing it back,” I offered weakly. Considering it was now a quarter to two, I thought I might have been stood up again. When my stomach growled loudly, I clutched it trying to get it to stop.

He frowned at me. “Shit, Andi, you know you get lightheaded if you don’t eat properly. Let’s go. We’ll run down to the café here in the building and grab you a sandwich.”

I stood up, quickly deciding that I needed to eat in order to function for the rest of the afternoon. The room spun and I grabbed the desk trying to gain my bearings. Suddenly, two arms were around my middle trying to ease me back into the chair.

“Andi, sit down,” Bray urged quietly. “I’ll be right back.”

I put my head on the desk and waited for Bray to return. When he finally came back about ten minutes later, I was happy to see him. He had a sandwich in one hand and a soda in the other. Unscrewing the lid, he handed it over to me. “Here, drink this. It will make you feel better so you can stomach the food. You need to bring some snacks to keep up here. Working at a fast-paced firm like this, there may be times you can’t eat and we can’t have you fainting. You know how you get,” he gently chided.

I nodded my head and sipped down the soda. Finally, I felt okay enough to eat the sandwich. Tearing it open, I ate it quickly. He watched me sadly while I ate. This had to be the most awkward situation ever. When I nervously tried to put the lid back on the bottle, my fumbling hands dropped it at my feet.

Before I could bend over to pick it up, Bray had already knelt down to retrieve it. When he glanced up at me, his eyes skittered up my legs, landing right between them. Heat instantly flooded his face as he looked up at me with a smoldering expression. “Fuck, Andi! You’re not wearing any panties!” he hissed, glancing there again.

Embarrassment overcame me as I crossed my legs quickly, ending his peep show.

“Is that so?” a familiar voice asked behind him. Jackson was glaring at Bray, who was still crouched in shock. Bray shot up from the floor and spun to face him.

“She has to eat or she will pass out. If you promise to bring her food, then fucking do it,” he growled at Jackson and stormed back to his office.

Jackson looked after him and then jerked his gaze back to me. “Shit. I’m sorry, Andi,” he apologized, rubbing both hands across his face. “I was having a really bad morning and I completely forgot.”

Shaking my head, I avoided looking in his direction and pretended to be doing something on the computer. “It’s no problem. Bray got me a sandwich,” I answered softly.

I could hear the grinding of his teeth before he grunted and went into his office, closing the door behind him.

A little while later, Jordan came over. “Andi, I need a favor. The firm is really needing some good publicity. The museum where your friend Pepper works is having a gala event soon. They’ve already pinned down their sponsors, but I want Compton Enterprises to be the main sponsor. I don’t care how much it costs and how much persuading it takes, but please make it happen,” he said and went back to his office.