by K. Anderson
The following day at work, she was a little self-conscious about everything that had happened, especially since she had a love bite on her neck she’d had to spend ages covering up with makeup. She felt as though people were looking at her, whispering about her, as if they all knew exactly what had happened. Logically, she knew that was just her paranoia. There was no way anyone could ever know.
That was what she told herself, and she was even starting to believe it to, until she felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to find Brendan Briar standing there with a dark and serious expression in his eyes and an unsmiling face.
“Could I have a word with you in my office, please. Five minutes.”
He walked away before Alexis could answer, leaving her with a sinking feeling in her chest and her stomach twisting up into knots. The way he’d spoken to her, his tone of voice, and the way he’d looked. He must know something.
She knocked nervously on his office door five minutes later and was told to enter, again, his voice sounding very official and serious still.
“Come and sit down.”
He waved her over to the chair opposite his desk and she did as she was told without speaking.
Once she was sat, he cleared his throat and folded his hands neatly on the desk in front of him.
“Did you sleep with Bradley?”
Wow, he just came right out with it, and Alexis was thrown. She gasped quietly and opened her mouth, her eyes wide.
She didn’t know what to say. Should she deny it? Would he know? How had he found out? Had Bradley told him? If he had, there wasn’t really much point in lying because he’d probably believe his own brother, one would have thought.
In the few seconds she considered how to respond, he spoke again.
“Just tell me the truth,” he said. “I hate liars. It’ll be worse for you if you lie.”
Worse for her? Oh gosh, what was he planning? Was she going to lose her job over this? If she did, she could never forgive herself for being so weak and pathetic and falling for some stupid handsome guy who came on to her.
“I…uh…y-yes…I did,” she admitted very quietly, looking down at her lap, ashamed and unable to meet his eyes.
There was a long, intense pause that seemed to fill the room with tension.
Then she heard him let out a long, quiet sigh. “You can go now.”
“G-go?”
“Go. Get back to work.”
Her shoulders sagged with relief then she quickly stood up, rushing out of the room before he could change his mind. She hurried back to her desk and sat down, trying to get on with her work although she was very distracted and stressed out by that point.
She was constantly looking up, wondering whether Brendan would be walking over to her again and telling her to pack her stuff and leave.
She was quite relieved when she didn’t see him around for the next two days, and she was even starting to believe that everything was getting back to normal.
She hadn’t seen Bradley either, nor had she heard from him via telephone or text, which to her was just further proof that she had been right in her initial assumption – it was just sex to him and had meant nothing.
Then Brendan came back.
She saw him when she went to the bathroom. He was standing just outside his office door looking down at his phone, and glanced up at her, then quickly looked down again.
She saw him again at lunchtime. He was just sort of lingering by the elevators looking moody and brooding. Again, he glanced at her then looked away and stalked off to his office as though he was in a bad mood.
Then, she was sat at his desk and she looked up and he was stood there, leaning against a wall and staring at her. Once he realized she’d noticed him, he turned and walked off again.
There was more than one incident like that and it freaked her out a little. She wondered what he was thinking and what he meant by it, and was hoping he’d go off on another one of his business trips soon so she wouldn’t have to see him around the office all the time.
Again though, there was no sign of Bradley, and it had been over a week by that point. She quietly began to give up on him.
Two weeks later, after Brendan had continually been brooding and strange around the office, he approached her desk and invited her in to talk to him again, just as he’d done before.
This time though, his mood seemed lighter, different. He had a small smile on his face as she followed him in, him wanting to see her immediately.
“Please, take a seat…”
“Thank you.”
She sat, and he went around to sit down at his desk. “Remember when I spoke to you about the possibility of going on business trips? And I asked you whether you’d be comfortable doing something like that?”
“Yes.” She nodded.
“Well, an opportunity has arisen and…well…would you like to be my personal assistant, Alexis? How would you feel about that?”
“Your…your personal assistant?”
“It would involve a pay rise, of course, but also possibly some unsociable hours and you might occasionally be required to work weekends. Would that be OK?”
She was honored and extremely excited by the opportunity. There was barely any hesitation before she nodded and eagerly accepted. “Yes…yes, of course. Thank you so much.”
“It’s my pleasure. And really, thank you. Now, what I want you to do…is go back to your normal work and continue doing what you always do…I’m arranging a business trip at the moment and I’ll need you to come with me in two days’ time.”
“OK.” She listened to him attentively and nodded, taking it all on board then went back to her desk and got on with the work she’d been assigned that day, feeling exhilarated and thrilled that she was going to be doing something completely different and new and exciting in a couple of days’ time. She’d been so worried that Brendan was annoyed at her over the Bradley incident, that he hated her and wanted her out of the company, but it appeared not.
She grinned happily to herself and the rest of the day went by fast.
Chapter Nine
Alexis wasn’t sure what on earth was going on between the two brothers. She knew they had some kind of rivalry based on what she heard and how she’d seen them act with each other at her interview, but what happened the following day at work put everything in a whole different perspective.
Ever since she’d been called into Brendan’s office to answer the dreaded question as to whether or not she’d slept with his brother, she had been wondering how he’d found out in the first place, and as no one else in the office seemed to be looking at her strangely or gossiping about her or asking her about it (despite her earlier paranoia), she could only assume that he had heard about it from Bradley himself.
Maybe Bradley had even bragged about it…about his conquest. She imagined him to be the type of guy to do such a thing.
The thought had made her feel a little sick and she was rapidly going off the younger of the two brothers, starting to feel as though she’d been used simply for sex or as a way of gaining one up on his elder brother.
She’d chosen to focus herself on the new job with Brendan and push Bradley from her mind.
But then she answered a phone call from a withheld number, the very next day after Brendan had given her the new personal assistant position.
It was Bradley.
Her heart skipped a beat as she recognized his voice immediately.
“Hey babe. Sorry to call you at work, I know you’re probably very busy.”
“Um…uh yeah…” She mumbled, unsure why he was ringing or what to actually say to him.
“Not too busy to talk to me, I hope. Ah, it’s my business anyway, I’m gonna go ahead and give you a break right now so you can chat to me.” He chuckled softly down the other end of the phone.
She smiled a little.
“How have you been?” He asked her after that.
“Err…okay, I guess, yeah.”
“
Listen, I’m really sorry that I haven’t been in touch. Things just got really hectic and I couldn’t find the time.”
“Oh…it’s OK.”
“Yeah, I hope you don’t mind too much, and honestly, babe, I want to make it up to you. I really miss you a lot.”
At this point, she wasn’t sure whether to believe him or not. He sounded pretty sincere over the phone but then, he’d let her down before.
“I want to take you out for dinner,” he continued. “Romance you properly. Not just sex. I want it to be special. I want to show you how much you mean to me.”
She felt her stomach flutter a little at that. That was all she really wanted. Someone to love her and take care of her. For her to mean something to someone. Could it really be Bradley?
She didn’t have time to answer.
The phone was snatched out of her hand and roughly put back down on the receiver.
She gasped in surprise and glanced up.
Brendan Briar was standing at her desk, glowering down at her. “There’s one condition of you being my personal assistant,” he muttered, keeping his voice down low so the others in the office wouldn’t here. “You’re not to sleep with my brother and you’re not to converse with my brother. Now, take the rest of the day off and go home and pack, and sort out what you need to for the trip. We’ll be gone for the next three days.”
She gulped and nodded, wondering whether she should apologize.
She wasn’t sure how he knew it was Bradley she was talking to, but it seemed like the brothers always kept tabs on one another.
Brendan had obviously told Bradley that he’d made Alexis is personal assistant. Had that been what prompted him to make the call and try to make another move on her? Perhaps Brendan had been anticipating Bradley to make such a move. Did he tap the phones in the office? Or just her phone in particular?
There were a lot of thoughts flying around her head that afternoon as she went home and arranged things for the business trip.
She got in touch with Maria and made sure she was good to come in the evenings too and give her mother some dinner, and of course, her mom didn’t mind in the slightest, even though she’d be away for three days and they’d miss one another. She was just overjoyed that she was doing so well at her new job and that she’d be getting a pay rise.
“Personal assistant, my goodness,” she chuckled as they hugged each other goodbye, her bags all packed and ready to go. “He must really like you.”
Alexis didn’t realize how much that was true.
At the airport, she was fully expecting to line up with her passport and boarding pass and check in her bags and go through all the usual rituals that happened when people travelled. She hadn’t flown very often, but she still remembered that was how it went.
But to her surprise, Brendan linked her arm and guided her somewhere else altogether, to a private door right at the side of the check in desks.
There was a single security man on duty, and Brendan flashed some kind of ID card at him that Alexis didn’t get chance to see. It turned out he didn’t need to flash it anyway, as the guy obviously recognized Brendan, giving him a grin and opening up the doors for them both.
“Have a nice flight, Mr. Briar. Good to see you again.”
“You too, Peter,” murmured Brendan, sweeping his arm forward like a gentleman and indicating to Alexis that she should go first. “After you.”
“Thank you.” She smiled sweetly and walked through the door, finding herself in a long white corridor, a wall on one side and a set of windows on the other that looked out over the runway where all the planes were sat waiting to go.
“This way,” said Brendan, setting off down the corridor and walking at a brisk pace that Alexis initially struggled to keep up with.
“Where are we going?” she asked.
“To my private jet.”
Chapter Ten
“P-private jet?” Her eyes widened.
“You don’t think I’d fly on US Airlines or something, did you?”
“Well, we could have gone business class. I wouldn’t have minded.”
“Nah, private jet is much better. It’s got a bed and everything.” He grinned across at her.
She almost squealed. This was such an adventure and so exciting. She was about to fly on Brendan Briar’s private jet. Life really was looking up for her!
At the end of the corridor, Brendan opened another door and they went down a set of steps, eventually emerging out onto the runway itself.
Another member of staff met them there, again obviously recognizing Brendan, and the two of them were both escorted to the private jet.
It wasn’t a big jumbo like a Boeing 747 or anything, or some kind of Presidential plane, but it was still a decent size and definitely big enough.
Alexis was impressed.
On board, there was a section at the front where the pilot and co-pilot sat, then it opened up into a large living room area, with a table and chairs that one might find in a dining room, a comfy looking couch on the right hand side, as well as four standard airplane seats with buckles at the back, two on either side of the walkway.
There were two flat screen televisions attached to the wall, at least 42 inches each, maybe even bigger; a cabinet full of DVDs and Blu-Rays, an in built stereo system with a collection of CDs; a fully stocked drinks cabinet and even a desk with some papers on it and a couple of drawers.
It was like a home from home on board an airplane.
At the back of the walkway, in between the two sets of seats, there was a door that led through to a bathroom and bedroom.
“This is incredible,” Alexis gasped in awe as Brendan gave her the full guided tour of the place.
He chuckled and sat down in one of the airplane seats, doing up his buckle and patting the space next to him.
“We have to sit here until after takeoff, then we can get up and move around, sit on the couch and watch a movie, eat, drink, whatever we like.”
She nodded and sat down next to him, grinning like a small child about to go to Disney Land. “This is amazing.”
He smiled again and shook his head. “I travel this way all the time, I’m kind of spoiled, I guess. Doesn’t really excite me all that much anymore.”
“You are totally spoiled, Brendan Briar,” she smiled, feeling relaxed in his company.
“It’s better being here with you, of course.”
“I thought it was your brother that did the flirting,” she teased.
He chuckled and smiled at her, then glanced out the window as the plane began to taxi down the runway. “I’m glad you’re starting to feel relaxed around me, Alexis. And not like…calling me sir or anything weird like that.”
“Well, you are my boss, so I probably should.”
“I don’t want our working relationship to be all official. I’m not into that stuff. I want us to be able to be friends.” He looked at her. “Know what I mean?”
“I…I think so.”
“I saw potential in you from that very first day…your interview. And I’ve liked you ever since then too.”
“Liked me?” She frowned slightly, her heart fluttering. What did he mean by that?
He turned to her in their seats just as the plane took off and held her hand in his, looking intensely into her eyes and frowning slightly. “Why do you think I didn’t want you to sleep with my brother?”
“Because…because it’s inappropriate?”
He chuckled and shook his head. “No, no, nothing to do with that. Because I was jealous of him.”
“Jealous?”
“Yes, jealous. I wanted you for myself from the very first day. And I was angry at him for making a move on you when he knew from the start that I liked you.”
“I ….”, she opened her mouth to say something although she wasn’t actually sure what. She was lost for words. This had taken her completely by surprise but now, she supposed it kind of made sense and explained his behavior. But how could both Briar b
rothers have a thing for her, and be fighting over her? It was too good to be true.
“I know he came on to you during your interview too. That in itself isn’t unusual. He does that with pretty much everyone we interview. Quite a few girls in that office have got down on their knees and sucked him off, let me tell you that.”
“Wow.”
“Yeah. But I didn’t want that for you. I didn’t want you to be one of the notches on his bedpost. Let me assure you, Alexis, I am nothing like him.” He ran his thumb over her knuckles gently. “Bradley is only interested in sex, no matter what promises he’s made to you. I could give you something more.”
Alexis was stunned by all of this.
And she was even more stunned when Brendan leaned in and gently pushed his lips to hers.
Her eyes widened in surprise, then slowly fluttered to a close as she relented, wooed by his words and his actions.
He undid both their buckles now that they were in the air, and wrapped his arms around her waist, tilting his head to kiss her deeper.
She moaned and parted her lips for him, his tongue weaving its way into her mouth slowly, brushing ever so delicately over hers as her hands moved to around his waist in return, the two of them holding and kissing each other gently for a minute or so before he pulled away.
“Now that we’re flying, we can move to the bedroom. It’ll be more comfortable there.”
“The bedroom?” She raised an eyebrow.
He reached out and brushed back some hair off her eyes. “Why do you think I asked you to be my personal assistant? I want you, Alexia. I want all of you, all the time.”
