Broken (Breaking the Rules) (18 page)

Jordan

I laughed out loud at Jordan’s email. It appeared that he had a thing for Pepper, even though she couldn’t stand him. Pepper couldn’t stand anyone. Props to Jordan for being pushy. Nobody ever got past the frosty exterior with Pepper. But Jordan seemed to be enjoying this personal challenge. The Ice Queen needed to get laid, and who better than the handsome Jordan Compton?

I was still grinning when another email popped into my inbox. Noticing that it was from Jackson, I frowned.

Andi,

You’ll need to figure out lunch on your own today.

Jackson

Fuming, I slammed my pen down on the desk. What the hell was his problem? I would confront him but his door was closed and I couldn’t be for certain if he had someone in there or not.

Throwing myself into my work, I tuned out all thoughts of Jackson and his drama. By the time lunchtime rolled around, he still hadn’t emerged. I was still looking at his office door when Bray came walking out of his own.

“Remember that you promised me lunch today, friend?” Bray reminded be as he flashed his boyish grin. Recalling that I had in fact promised him, I nodded. “Let me grab my purse. I’m at a stopping point,” I told him. Once I had my purse, we walked to the front door together. Throwing one last glance at Jackson’s office door, I gasped when I saw him watching us leave and he looked pissed. Fuck him.

“This place has the best Indian tacos,” Bray stated, pointing at the menu.

The smell of the restaurant made my stomach groan with joy. “Sounds good. I’ll have that and a tea.”

After the server took our order and brought us our drinks, we started chatting about easy topics. He’d been working at another firm since right after graduation. The Compton brothers had actually sought him out to work at their firm because he had built a quick reputation of being an excellent architect. They had offered to pay him twice as much as he was making at the previous place, so of course he accepted.

He asked about Pepper and what she was doing these days. I told him all about the museum and even a little bit about Jordan attempting to take her out, even if he had to sneak the date in. “That’s comforting. I actually thought he had a thing for you yesterday by the way he had his hand on your leg,” he admitted.

“I think he’s just an affectionate person. It really just seemed friendly to me,” I said truthfully.

“Well, I wasn’t the only one to think that. Jackson seemed like he was ready to throw him out the window. It’s obvious there is something going on between you and him,” he conveyed, waiting for my confirmation.

“Yeah, well it’s complicated,” I muttered, trying to change the subject.

“Complicated, how?” he inquired. Subject unsuccessfully avoided.

“Well, some moments we have a really great connection, but then in an instant he’s cold and aloof. I don’t understand how he switches back and forth so easily. My feelings remain the same so I end up hurt and confused when he flips the switch.” I frowned.

Bray reached across and took my hand. I wanted to jerk it away, but it really just was a friendly move. “He better find out real quick what he wants because you don’t deserve to be dragged around like that.” That was interesting coming from him, but at least he was trying to protect me.

Pulling my hand back into my lap, I agreed, “I know. I’m finally in a place where I can be happy with myself since the ‘incident’. If he can’t get on the same page as me, it won’t bode well for my psyche. It’s already fragile as it is.”

Bray flinched at the word “incident” but tried to play it off. It was incredibly strange to be having a conversation about my new love interest with my ex-fiancé. Pepper and Olive would have a new story to hear this evening. It seemed my life is wildly entertaining.

The server dropped off the food and left us again. We dug in, effectively ending the conversation about Jackson. The tacos were amazing. I might have just found a new favorite restaurant.

Bray started laughing at me as I went on and on about how good my food was. The rest of the meal went on just fine. As unusual as the situation was, I had missed the friendly banter we had always shared. Perhaps being friends with Bray wasn’t the most horrible idea of all. We had to work together, so the least we could do was get along.

Before I could pull out my wallet to pay my portion of lunch, Bray had already handed the server a handful of cash. “Bray, you didn’t have to do that. I’ll pay next time,” I admonished him sternly, mostly for the fact that I in no way wanted this to be considered a date.

He chuckled, “Sounds like a plan, Andi. It was the least I could do after…well, after everything I did to you.” His eyes turned serious as he looked over at me. “Andi, I will forever be sorry for how I treated you. Every day I’m thankful that you didn’t die from the overdose. Everything about our breakup and the event that caused it made me rethink my life. I will value my next relationship more seriously because of everything that happened to you as a result of my actions. Can you forgive me, Andi?”

He’d apologized so many times before, but this one seemed the most genuine. Maybe because it wasn’t just a ploy to get us back together? I smiled at him and nodded.

“Yes, Bray. I forgive you,” I responded, standing from the booth.

He mirrored my actions and then pulled me in for a hug. It was brief but comforting. Little by little, my heart and mind were healing.

The whole way back we chatted about baseball. Bray had never wanted to pursue it outside of college. It had always just been a means to pay for college.

Once we arrived on our floor, Bray hurried to his office, remembering a client he needed to call. I hesitantly walked over to my desk after noticing that Jackson’s door was open. When I stepped in front of his door, he was staring right out at me. Our eyes locked in a moment of intensity.

Neither of us said anything but we didn’t back away either. Finally, deciding to mess with him, I turned away and bent over to drop my purse in my desk drawer, hesitating for a few seconds longer than it should have taken.

He cursed under his breath, but I still heard it. Ignoring him, I sat down at my desk and began checking my emails. There were a few that needed immediate attention and I replied to those. I was finishing up with those when a new one pinged my inbox.

Andi,

Did you fuck him?

Jackson

My blood boiled at his question. He thought he could ignore me all night and most of today but then accuse me of sleeping with Bray like suddenly he cared. Screw him!

Before I would allow myself to cool off or even look at him, I sent him a reply.

Jackie,

What’s it to you?

The Office Slut

Firing it off at him, I sat quietly for a moment, trying to collect myself. I was furious with him and his insinuations.

Bray decided to walk up to my desk about that moment. He held out a folder to me. “This is the Higgins file I started. You might want to briefly look it over so you’ll have an idea about the proposal and his business history.”

Reaching up, I grabbed for the file, but Bray snatched my wrist in his hand.

“What the fuck is this, Andi? Did he do this to you?” he asked angrily, jerking his head towards Jackson’s office.

Oh shit. My wrist had bruising all around it from Jackson gripping me last night. I wasn’t sure how I was going to explain this to Bray.

“Um, we...” I trailed off, not knowing how to explain this to him. He was glaring at me so I had to at least try. “It was consensual,” I finally admitted, looking down at my keyboard. He let go of my wrist and I pulled it back to me.

Turning on his heel, he stalked into Jackson’s office and slammed the door. Shit! I jumped up to try and stop what was about to happen. Jackson and Bray were chest to chest by the time I ran in there.

Bray had his finger in Jackson’s face. “You hurt her and I will fucking kill you. She is fragile and you keep fucking with her. What the fuck’s wrong with you?”

They were pretty evenly matched size-wise so this could get bad. Jackson was pretty much touching Bray’s nose with his own when he growled, “It’s your fucking fault that she’s fragile in the first place. I hope you live with the guilt that you almost fucking killed her so you could get your dick wet in some whore.”

Tears welled up in my eyes when I realized half of the office was standing in the doorway, watching the drama unfold, and hearing my dark secrets that I would have rather have kept quiet from them.

Jackson shoved Bray away from him, making him stumble backwards into me. I fell to the floor on my ass with a thud that practically knocked the breath out of me.

About that time, Jordan’s voice boomed, “Bray, get back to your office! Jackson, go home!” He jerked Bray’s arm and pushed him towards the door. Kneeling beside, he put his arm around me. “Andi, are you okay?” he questioned.

“Don’t fucking touch her, Jordan!” Jackson roared, yanking his arm off of me. Jordan jumped up, furious with Jackson, and physically dragged him out of the office. This was so bad. I could hear Margie telling everyone to get back to their desks as Jordan forced Jackson out of the building.

Bursting into tears on the floor in Jackson’s office, Jordan came back in, shutting the door behind him. He pulled me up and led me to one of the chairs, still scowling from having manhandled his brother. “Are you okay?” he asked again, sitting in the chair beside me.

I just shook my head and buried it in my hands as the tears flowed continuously.

He patted my knee, trying to comfort me. “Andi, my brother has issues. I can see that you guys have something going on. Not to mention, I heard it all yesterday through my office wall,” he chuckled under his breath.

I groaned in embarrassment, realizing my boss had heard me having sex with his brother in the next room while at work. Could this day get any worse?

“He doesn’t do relationships very well. That’s why I am surprised that you guys have managed to keep up whatever it is you’re doing as long as you have. It’s unlike him to stay interested for so long. And boy is he jealous. I also know about your past with Bray. He told me yesterday. And with what they argued about a few minutes ago, it appears that you are caught in the middle of two men who want to protect you but have a terrible way of showing it,” he observed.

“Jordan, I am so, so sorry for this. I am horribly embarrassed,” I whimpered tearfully, looking up at him.

He smiled at me. “Andi, no worries. He’s my brother. I’m used to him, and so is the rest of the office. He’s hard to figure out because he’s all over the place with his emotions. If you have the patience for him, I bet he’ll come around eventually.”

“I don’t know if I can handle it. I mean, I really like him. He can be funny, sweet, and caring. But the next moment, he’s so distant or he acts like he forgets about me. I don’t understand it. Do you think he’s as interested in me as I am him? I’ll be honest, I’m too weak to be played around with.”

Jordan looked at me thoughtfully. “He’ll come around, Andi. I can see that he really likes you, but he’s struggling with some demons from his past. Why don’t you go on home? You’ve had a rough afternoon. Everyone can start fresh tomorrow with better frames of mind.”

“Thank you, Jordan. You’re quite possibly the best boss ever. I hope your dinner tonight goes well with Pepper. She’s worth the fight too, you know.”

He smiled and winked at me. He knew she was. I could tell by the look in his eyes.

I stood up from my chair so I could pack my things and leave. Jordan pulled me in for a hug. Laughing into his chest, I said, “By the way, you need to visit your mother. She misses you.”

He pulled away and looked at me. “He took you to see Mom?” he asked, clearly bewildered.

“Yeah, and she’s quite adorable. You should be ashamed of yourself for not visiting more often,” I scolded him.

Shaking his head, he chuckled, “That’s proof right there, Andi. You’re only the second girl he has ever brought home to Mom. He likes you.”

I smiled at him and left the office.

Everyone that was staring at me as I walked out quickly looked down, trying to look busy. I snatched my purse and bag, heading out for the day. Margie waved at me on the way out.

On the elevator ride down, I frowned at how the day had gone. It really had been an awful day. I knew Bray was trying to protect me. So was Jackson. But they had a terrible way of showing it.