His to Keep (Beauty and the Brit) (25 page)

He carried her to the bathroom, still buried inside her. She wanted him to trust her, the way she’d come to trust him. “You can tell me anything, you know. I promise I won’t quote from a manual.”

He didn’t laugh, as she’d intended. “Don’t want to talk about it. It’s something I have to figure out meself.”

Feeling chastised and dismissed, Brynn said nothing when he finally slid out of her. Instead, she turned her back on him and flipped on the shower. She reminded herself again that even though she was crazy about him, they hardly knew each other. Not really. And his business was his own.

Still, she felt hurt. Rejected. Brynn had lost her heart to Iain. She only hoped he’d handle it with care.

Brynn was having the worst Monday imaginable.
It had started out well enough, with Iain kissing her breasts, sucking them, laving his tongue across her nipples until she woke up writhing, the dark gray sheets in a tangle around her legs.

Wet and ready, she’d reached for him. They didn’t play games in the mornings, and he didn’t waste time, either. Entering her in one slick motion, Iain thrust his hips forward, withdrew, then did it again—over and over with dizzying effect. Brynn’s loud moans filled the silence as she wedged a hand between their bodies and, using one finger, circled her clit. She came in minutes. Iain had opened that door for her. Brynn didn’t know if it was simple biology or if the love she felt for Iain mixed with her body’s response.

After her gasps subsided, Iain increased his speed. He stroked faster and faster, shuddering and hoarsely moaning in her ear. Afterward, they lay together, their bodies cooling as dawn broke out over Vegas and long shadows fell across the room.

Brynn didn’t want to go to work. She’d rather stay there with him, wrapped in his warmth, sated and drowsy, until he was ready for another round. But since having sex for the rest of the morning wouldn’t pay the mortgage, Brynn kissed his shoulder and crawled out of bed. She glanced out the window, catching a glimpse of the Strip on her way to the bathroom. The city, so lively and chaotic every night, looked a little tawdry at dawn. Litter lined the street and the bright neon lights began to dim as the sun rose. This was her town, and even at its shabbiest, Brynn loved it.

After a quick shower, she threw on a purple peasant skirt and a lavender blouse. She and Iain moved around each other in a badly choreographed dance. She’d bumped into him twice, once at the bathroom sink and once at the coffeepot. She’d nearly spilled her travel mug all over the floor. She managed to pull her hair into a fishtail braid and grab her things before finally heading for the door.

Iain stood in the living room, a bemused expression on his handsome face. “You’re forgetting something, pet.”

Brynn stopped in her tracks. She had her bag, a bagel secured between her front teeth, a full mug, and her keys. “What?” she mumbled.

Fixing his cufflink, he stared at her with raised brows. “I need a kiss good-bye, don’t I?” He moved forward and bussed both of her cheeks and her forehead, then brushed her neck with his chin. “You’re meeting me for lunch at the bistro, yeah?”

“Uh-huh.” Then she flew out the door and made the long elevator journey to the lobby. The concierge now knew her by name. Brynn nodded and smiled. It should have been weird, staying there most nights, nodding at Iain’s neighbors every morning, but though it wasn’t home,
being with Iain was worth it. Despite the ugly furniture.

She navigated rush-hour traffic and got to the office by eight. But the minute she entered, Brynn’s day turned from stressful to shit. Her computer was dead. No noise from the hard drive, no blinking cursor, just a horrible, blank screen. Brynn turned it off and tried again. And again. Oh no. This was bad. This was worse than bad—this was catastrophic.

Whipping out her phone, she called the off-site IT guy and, in a panic, explained what happened.

“Sounds like a complete hardware failure,” he said. “Tough to know until I can see it. I’ll be by sometime this afternoon.”

Anxiety had Brynn grasping her braid. “No, I need you now.”

“Brynn, babe, I’ve got five people ahead of you.”

“So escalate the ticket. Bump me to the front of the queue.”

After some begging and an offer of two hundred in cash, he promised he’d make an appearance that morning. Her computer was old, the software obsolete. She’d inherited it from the last poor sap who’d constructed curriculum.

Working the kinks out of her neck, Brynn slogged to Cass’s office and knocked on the door.

“Enter.” Cass stood with her back to the window, staring at three cocktail dresses draped over the desk. “Oh good, Brynn, you can help. I need to decide on one and return the other two.” She grabbed the black satin with a ruched shoulder. “What do you think?”

“Cass, my computer’s dead. I can’t access any of my work. The IT guy is coming to pick it up soon, but in the meantime, I have nothing. The animation for the Pampered Pooch franchise, the manual on how to close a sale, my notes on the car dealership—all of it’s gone.”

Cass placed the dress back on the desk. “Didn’t you back everything up?”

“Yes, of course. I back up my data every Friday afternoon. But since my computer’s fried, it doesn’t matter. Even if the IT guy can revive it, I don’t know how long that will take. What are we going to do?”

Cass fell into her chair. “See if you can use Paige’s or Lori’s computer.”

“They don’t have the software I need. If you authorize me to get a new computer, I’ll have to get new software too. What I’ve been using is too ancient for a new system. All of the due dates are going to have to be pushed way back. This could take weeks.”

Cass sat staring at her desk. She didn’t speak. She didn’t blink. After several minutes passed, she placed her head on the orange satin dress and began weeping.

Brynn snatched it off the desk and flung it at the chair. Cass couldn’t return a dress covered in mascara stains. “Oh God, Brynn.” She lifted her head and tears poured from her eyes. “I thought I could handle it all, but I’m up to my neck in debt. I barely make payroll every week. The vet’s threatened to stop treating Nef if I don’t pay my bill. What am I going to do?”

Things were as bad as Brynn had feared. She walked the narrow path to her boss’s desk, careful not to step on anything or accidentally knock over a stack of folders. She halfheartedly patted Cass’s shoulder. “You
have
to get some kind of financial person in here to straighten it out. Today.”

“Who? I can’t afford to pay anyone.”

“My brother-in-law might know someone.”

Cass pulled back, shaking her head so hard, the baby fine curls sprang around her head. “No. Word will get out. Everyone will know. I’ll be a laughingstock in the industry. I’ll find a way, you just have to be patient. We’ll get a computer next week.”

Reality and her boss didn’t always see eye to eye. This was one of those times. Brynn bent down and patted Cass’s knee. “Of course everyone is going to find out. There’s no way around it. But this can’t go on. You’re barely solvent. If you don’t call someone today, I’m going to have to quit. I can’t continue to support your bad choices.” For once, Brynn stood her ground and didn’t feel bad about it. Cass needed a dose of tough love.

She gazed at Brynn with watery eyes. “You don’t mean that.”

“I do.” Brynn had been a fool to trust Cass for as long as she had. She’d made excuses for her boss, put up with her manipulations, and worked her ass off for nothing. If Cass didn’t change, they wouldn’t last another week. “You need someone to look over all the financials, put you on a budget, and get this company back on track. If you’re not willing to do that, I’m out.” Brynn had clients who liked working with her. She could go freelance, and she’d be fine. It was Paige and the rest of the team she was worried about.

Cass dabbed her fingers beneath her eyes and nodded. “I guess I have to. Call your brother-in-law. After all this is over, we’re doing tequila shots.”

Brynn rose and retraced her path to the door.

“Have you ever thought about having a roommate, Brynn?”

“Not a chance.” It flew out of Brynn’s mouth before she had time to craft a more diplomatic answer. With her hand on the knob, she glanced back. “I mean, I like my space.”
Having Cass and her cat as roommates or living in my tiny office for a month—no showers?
The hovel won.

“Right. I guess I should cancel my date tonight. A new one. He sounded like a winner. He owns a Corvette and only has one ex-wife.” She started sobbing again as Brynn quietly left.

Paige waited outside the door and followed Brynn into her office. “What’s going on? And don’t say ‘nothing.’”

Though she hated delivering bad news, it was time for Brynn to be honest. Paige deserved to know the truth. “Cass is in deep financial trouble. She said she could fix it with the big contract from Blue Moon.”

“How much trouble?” Paige’s face turned chalky.

“Get-your-résumé-in-order kind of trouble.”

Paige stumbled backward. “How long have you known?”

Brynn hesitated. “A couple weeks.”

“Weeks? You’ve known for
weeks
, and you didn’t tell me?”

“I’m so sorry.” Brynn rubbed her aching forehead. This day was getting out of control faster than a loser on a winning streak.

“I thought we were friends, Brynn. I have bills and rent and school loans to pay off. You should have told me.”

“Cass promised me she’d get back on track.”

“Huh, and when was the last time she kept her promise?” Paige made a show of peeking under the desk and looking behind the bookcase. “I don’t see that assistant she’s been promising you. You’re a sap, Brynn. And a bad friend.”

A bad friend?
Brynn had never been accused of that before. “Listen to me, please. I’m going to talk to my brother-in-law and see if he can recommend a financial advisor. We have clients. The sales team has leads. Let’s not give up.”

Paige thrust her jaw out and crossed her arms. Brynn didn’t need to consult her
Body Language and You
manual to know her friend was right at the edge of mutiny.

“Please?”

“What choice do I have? If I quit without having another job lined up, I’d be an idiot. At least if Cass lets us go, I can collect unemployment until something else comes along. But that doesn’t make things okay between us, Brynn. That was a shitty move you pulled, not telling me sooner.”

“I’m so sor—”

She didn’t get to finish, because Paige had already slammed out of her office.

Brynn fell onto her chair and, snatching up her phone, dialed Trevor.

“What is it?” he answered. Surly. If she had to use one word to describe Allie’s husband, that would be it. He wasn’t that way with Al and the boys, but with the rest of the world, he was full of surl.

“Hey, Trev. How’ve you been?”

“As ever.” His dialect was the opposite of Iain’s. Cold, crisp, and supremely snooty, his accent alone would make any commoner feel inferior. And Brynn was about as common as it got. “What do you need?”

“A financial guru at rock-bottom prices.”

“Explain.”

“My boss is in over her head and we’re all about to get canned if someone doesn’t come in here and whip her into shape. Like right this minute.”

“Mmm. Sounds like you’d be better off finding another job. Like right this minute.” His words were clipped, his tone mocking.

“Well, you know me. I’m loyal to the end.”

“Indeed, I do know you. You care too much for other people when you should be worried about yourself. I rather hoped you’d have outgrown that annoying trait by now.”

“The people in this office have families and bills and all that crap. They need their jobs.”

“Yes, quite. I’ll send someone along this afternoon. Good enough?”

Trevor had never denied her anything. He cared about Brynn and her family, in his own snotty way, and she loved him for it. “Thank you. This means a lot to me.”

“You might very well end up unemployed despite your best efforts.” He paused. “How’s that working-class Manc you’ve been seeing?”

Brynn smiled. “Full of awesome.”

Trevor sighed, long and deep. “Good God, you’ve fallen for him, haven’t you? You can do better, you know.”

“I don’t think so. He has a good soul.”

“I wish you could hear yourself right now. You sound bloody ridiculous. If he hurts you in any way, I’ll crush him. Do tell him that for me.” Then he hung up.

Over the next hour, the IT guy arrived and examined her computer. “It’s not looking good. I think you’re going to have to kiss this baby good-bye, but I’ll see what I can do.” Brynn had a sinking feeling he was right. It would cost Cass thousands to upgrade the programs she had stored on that old laptop. Programs she needed to do her job.

As she sat contemplating her next move, her phone rang. Iain.

“Hey,” she said.

“I’m sitting here in the restaurant. Where are you?”

“My computer died, taking all of my work with it. Cass can’t afford another one. She’s been living in some kind of dream world where cats rule the universe and financial woes magically disappear. Paige isn’t talking to me. All in all, this day has sucked.” Brynn placed one hand against her warm neck.

Iain was quiet a moment, then, “Started out well enough.”

“Right? I knew I shouldn’t have gotten out of bed this morning. I called Trevor and he’s sending over a financial guy to get Cass’s shit together. So there’s hope.”

“Why’d you go to Trevor instead of calling me?” He actually sounded pissed.

“Because I didn’t want to burden you with my problems, Iain. You’d just tell me to come work for you, which is not a solution I’m willing to entertain.”

“Not a solution you’re willing to entertain. I like that phrase. Might steal it for future use. I’m sorry you’re having such a hard day, pet. I’ve had a pretty shitty day myself. My building didn’t pass code and it’s going to take a fuckload of money to get it there.”