But Spencer merely began to pace the room. “It’s probably a good thing you had to deal with this, now that I think of it. You can view this from an unbiased standpoint. You were able to keep a level head today, Braxton. I’m proud of you. You handled your employee in a professional, impartial manner.”
When Braxton snorted and shook his head, his dad finally paused to ask, “Why didn’t you fire him?”
Braxton closed his eyes and sighed. “Because I’m in love with his daughter.”
CHAPTER 23
Lenna dreaded approaching Farris Industries, but it was the second Tuesday of the month. She couldn’t not meet Tom for their basketball session or he’d wonder why. Since he didn’t know about her and Braxton—and she didn’t care what Braxton thought, her father didn’t know—then she couldn’t explain to him why she didn’t want to go anywhere near the cheating jerk’s company.
It’d been less than two days and she missed Braxton. If she wasn’t at work, she was at home, crying. Sometimes, she even cried at work.
Greg had called her into his office, concerned, but she couldn’t tell him what a snake his best friend was. She couldn’t talk about it with anyone.
Appearing confident as she breezed through the front door, Lenna kept out an eagle eye out for Braxton as she strode purposely toward her father’s office. But she encountered Ben Hendricks before she reached her destination.
He fell to a surprised halt. “L-Lenna? What’re you doing here?”
“I’m meeting Dad for lunch,” she said, frowning in confusion over the question. Ben knew all about their matches. “Like I do every second Tuesday of the month.”
The older man blinked. “But d-don’t you know?”
She frowned. “Know what?” The first shiver of alarm raced up her spine.
Ben licked his lips and darted his eyes down the hall before saying, “Tom...well, Tom was suspended yesterday.”
Her heart plopped into the base of her stomach. “What? Why?”
Ben’s face turned a bright, flushing red, and suddenly she knew. She’d dumped Braxton, and he’d gone after her father. She could tell Ben knew why too by the way he wouldn’t meet her gaze.
“Excuse me,” she growled, brushing by him to storm down the hall.
She went straight to the executive office. As she approached the double oak doors that led into Braxton’s inner sanctum, she barely glanced at the secretary guarding the entrance. The seventy-year-old woman with styled gray hair was on the phone, but she quickly put her hand over the receiver as Lenna charged closer.
“Hello,” she said with a pleasant smile. “May I help—”
“Is Mr. Farris in?” Lenna asked, never breaking stride as she headed determinedly toward those two doors.
“Yes, but...Wait!”
The secretary hopped to her feet, but she wasn’t even around her desk by the time Lenna shoved opened a door.
Braxton sat at his desk with a pen stuck in his mouth as he simultaneously typed on his computer and studied a sheet of paper in front of him. He glanced up when she entered, and the pen dropped unnoticed from his teeth.
“Len—”
“You bastard,” she hissed, fisting her hands.
Braxton popped to his feet. Glancing behind her, he boomed, “Tasha, shut the door.”
Lenna didn’t notice the secretary’s hasty retreat or the sound of the handle clicking behind her. She advanced toward Braxton as he leaped out from behind his desk.
He was so beautiful and distinguished-looking here in his office, a fresh wave of agony washed through her. This man had made her fall for him and then he’d deceived her. To top that off, he’d gone after her father.
Her father.
Letting the fury inside her take over, Lenna wound back her arm and jacked him in the face.
“How could you do this to him?” She screamed as pain exploded in her hand. “What is wrong with you?” She cradled her aching knuckles to her chest as Braxton shook his head, dazed, and dabbed at his nose, then checked his fingers for blood. “Don’t you have a soul? Your company is all he’s ever known.”
“Lenna, please don’t,” he mumbled, and shook his head again. “I don’t want to fight with you. What happened yesterday between Tom and me was business. It had nothing to do with you.”
She snorted. “And just how can you expect me to believe that the very day after I break up with you, my father, who’s been with your company for twenty-five years, did something to warrant being suspended?” Arching her brows, she folded her arms over her chest. “Isn’t that a little convenient for you?”
“Convenient?” He sputtered, then hissed out a breath and tipped his face back before he clutched his nose again. “Yeah, right.”
She’d definitely hurt him, and she refused to feel bad about it. “You’re a snake, do you know that? I thought you were better than this. I thought you would be able to keep our personal relationship away from your job. But, obviously—”
He grabbed her arm, cutting her off as he pulled her close. “Listen to me. This had nothing to do with you. I swear it.”
She yanked herself free and pushed herself back. “Then what did he do that was so wrong?”
He opened his mouth; no words came out.
She tapped her foot against the floor. “I’m listening?”
“I...I can’t tell you.”
“Why not?”
“Because it’s work,” he said, his eyes begging her to believe him. “It involves company-sensitive information.”
“No,” she countered. “It involves me. You hurt him because I wounded your stupid pride.”
“Damn it,” he roared. “It’s because I don’t want to be the asshole who clued you in to the fact that your darling father isn’t as perfect as you think he is.”
Lenna drew back. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means he lied to me,” he exploded. “Just like he lied to you. I was forced to do what I did. God, I should’ve fired him. There’s no way I’ll ever be able to trust him as an employee again after this. He’s lucky to get off with a mere suspension. The man looked me straight in the eye and told me a bald-faced lie, Lenna. A lie that could affect everyone under my payroll.”
“Oh, here we go again.” She rolled her eyes. “How many times do I have to tell you, Thomas Davenport doesn’t lie. He’s too straightforward. You’re the one who’s lying.”
“And how many times do I have to tell you, I can’t lie worth shit?”
Lenna hugged herself tighter while Braxton growled out an impatient sound and turned away, running his fingers through his hair before he clutched his nose again. An impasse of silence passed for a good ten seconds.
Finally, he let out a long, tired sigh. “It doesn’t matter what I say to you. You’re not going to believe me. If you can honestly think I’d see another woman behind your back, then there’s no way you’ll—”
“You know what?” Lenna snapped, not wanting to think about Braxton with other women. “My father was right about you. You got a plateful you couldn’t handle when you fell into this job.”
Braxton eyes flashed hot in warning. She knew she hit a nerve; that’s why she pushed. “Everything you know about Farris Industries couldn’t fill his pinky finger.”
He clenched his teeth into a furious snarl before grabbing her hand and yanking her close.
“One of these days, Lenna, you’re going to learn how wrong you are about me. When you leave this building, why don’t you stop every fucking person you see and ask them how many ladies I have paraded through my office since I’ve come here.”
He let go of her at the same moment she jerked away. The glare he sent her had her insides cringing as she stumbled a step back.
Realizing she’d probably just made the biggest mistake of her life, she backed toward the door, staring at Braxton with wide eyes. He glared back, features hardened and jaw tight.
Turning swiftly, she hurried from his office.
* * * *
&
nbsp; As soon as she was gone, Braxton’s knees gave out. He crumpled to the floor, sitting with his elbows on his knees, his head in his hands, and his back braced against the side of his mahogany desk. It wasn’t bleeding, but he touched his tender nose again.
Hurt like a son of a bitch.
Tasha gave a timid clearing of the throat and she peeked around the open door. “Boss?”
“Shut the Goddamn door!” he yelled.
When she did, quickly, he closed his eyes.
Lenna was gone. Probably for good this time.
It didn’t seem real.
Telling himself to get up and return to his desk, Braxton stayed rooted on the floor. He combed his hair with shaking fingers and blew out a breath. This was not the time to lose it. He was at work and needed to get himself together.
But whenever he tried to focus, his thoughts went haywire. All he saw was Lenna glaring at him, Lenna turning her back to him, Lenna striding out the door. Away from him.
No, he couldn’t think about that. He had to concentrate here. Though, oh God, he was starting to hyperventilate. He prodded his tender nose and winced. Damn, she knew how to hit.
It might be broken. But he didn’t care. The pain in his chest hurt more.
He could’ve told her the truth. He’d wanted to tell her. But what would that accomplish? She’d go to her father, force the truth from him; then she and Tom would be on the outs.
As much as Braxton would love to see that man get his just desserts, he couldn’t do it to Lenna. Tom was her father. He’d always be her father. And no matter how much Braxton loved her, her dad would always be between them in some form or another.
“Fuck.”
This was not the life he’d chosen. This was not what he wanted. If he’d had his way, he never would’ve come to Farris. He’d still be at ProTech.
He had been happy at ProTech. Content.
And he could have Lenna if he was still there.
Yet, here he sat, having a breakdown on the floor of his father’s office, all because a freak turn of events had taken complete control of his life and lost him the girl of his dreams.
CHAPTER 24
Ben Hendricks plopped into the chair across from Tom’s desk in his den. “So, how long am I going to owe you for what you did for me?” He didn’t sound like his usual jovial self, but subdued and apologetic...which was good, since Tom probably would’ve strangled him if he had tried cracking a joke about their predicament.
It’d been five days since his suspension, and Farris hadn’t called him back yet.
“Oh, you’re going to owe me for the rest of your life, pal.”
Ben’s shoulders slumped as a long sigh eased from his lungs. “Thought so.” He lifted his face. “How long is this suspension thing supposed to last?”
Tom shrugged. “Until Farris cools down, I guess.”
“Well, I can’t thank you enough for what you did for me, Tom. You saved my butt, big time. If there’s anything I can ever do for you in return...”
Tom’s eyes narrowed. “You can tell me why you copied sensitive information off his computer... information that could hurt everyone at Farris like bank account numbers.”
Ben’s bushy eyebrows rose, then lowered into a confused frown. “Say what?”
Tom repeated what Braxton had told him about the things that had been taken from his terminal.
“Hey, that wasn’t me,” Ben insisted, leaping to his feet. “The only thing I took was those pictures of Lenna so I could give them to you. I swear it. I’m no traitor. I would never—”
“Then who took the information?”
“I don’t know. But you’ve got to believe me. Farris Industries is as important to me as it is to you. I would never do anything to hurt the company.”
Closing his eyes, Tom nodded and let out a sigh. “I’m sorry,” he finally said, scrubbing his face with both hands. “I knew you would never do anything like that. I’m just...I’m sorry.”
Ben slumped back into his chair. He sat quietly, staring at his hands in his lap for a moment before he changed the subject. “So, I guess Lenna and... ah...Farris broke up, huh?”
Tom frowned. “Why do you say that?”
Had word finally gotten out at the office about Lenna and Braxton’s affair?
Ben’s eyes lit. “Well, this week,” he started, obviously eager to spread gossip, “Tasha caught Braxton staring at this opened ring box when he was sitting at his deck. When he saw her, he snapped it closed and shoved it into his drawer. So she snuck back in after he left for lunch and found the biggest damn engagement ring she’d ever seen.”
Tom’s knees gave out. He had to sink back into his chair and fist his hand against his mouth. “Good Lord.”
“Farris must’ve left something in his office, because he caught her in there looking at it. But instead of blowing up at her, he asked her to return it to the jewelry store for him.”
Ben paused significantly. “Everyone knows about the ring, Tom. They’re all wondering who this girl is that broke his heart. And Farris...” Ben blew out a breath. “That boy growls around the place like a wounded bear. Anyone with eyes in their head that can see he’s sore over...well...everything. It’s made everyone else all the more eager to find out who his girl was.”
Tom suddenly felt very sick. He closed his eyes and rested his forehead on his desk.
“I didn’t tell them about Lenna though,” Ben assured. “I wouldn’t do that to you.”
“Thanks,” Tom managed to choke out. “I appreciate it.”
Ben fell quiet before he said, “I kind of feel bad for him.”
Tom lifted his face. Ben winced, apologizing with his gaze. Tom’s gut burned, because, damn it, he kind of felt bad for the kid too. But he still boomed, “Why the hell do you feel sorry for him?”
Ben shrugged and couldn’t quite meet Tom’s gaze. “He looks awful, Tom. Even...even besides the whole ring thing...all you have to do is look at him to tell he’s miserable.”
“Oh, give me a break,” Tom muttered, though now he couldn’t meet his friend’s gaze.
“I’m serious,” Ben insisted. “Farris has changed this last week. He’s moody and short with everyone and bound and determined to find the computer culprit. The kid’s out for blood, I’m telling you. No one, no one is brave enough to approach him anymore.”
He sat back in his chair and let out a breath as he swiped a hand over his brow. “I was really sweating bullets there for a while. When I thought it was me he was after. But now that I know someone else was on his computer, I—I feel like I might have a chance to keep my job.”
“What are you talking about,” Tom asked in confusion. “How could he find out? I’m not going to tell—”
“Oh, he’ll find out,” Ben said with certainty. “He’s making charts, for the love of God, noting when everyone was in and out of the office. He’s narrowing the list. No one is above suspicion in his eyes, Tom. No one.”
Tom fell quiet. Ben continued talking, updating him on minor issues, but Tom didn’t pay much attention. His thoughts returned to his daughter.
Braxton had bought her a ring. He had told her he loved her.
It might not have been a lie.
Feeling a migraine coming on, Tom cradled his head in his hand and muttered, “God damn it.”
* * * *
The next Friday, two weeks after he’d suspended Tom from Farris Industries, Braxton called Davenport into the office for a talk. He would’ve preferred to do anything except speak to Lenna’s father. Get his wisdom teeth cut out, pass a kidney stone, be burned at the stake...
He didn’t want to see Tom again for as long as he lived. But the man arrived at Braxton’s office just before noon.
An antsy-looking Tasha showed him in. Since Braxton already knew she’d stand outside and listen through the keyhole, he didn’t bother telling her to shut the door.
Instead, he shot straight to the point. “It was Gloria Benson,” he said before Tom c
ould even sit.
The older man paused, his knees already bent to plant himself in the chair across from Braxton.
He lifted his face and straightened. “What was?”
“The person who broke into my computer and downloaded my sensitive files.”
Mouth falling open, Tom straightened. “Gloria? But...I never would’ve thought she would...Really? It was Gloria?”
Braxton nodded. “I terminated her employment this morning. Farris Industries has also filed a lawsuit against her. There’s a possibility she’ll end up with jail time over this. But the good news is we caught her before she successfully sold any company information or stole enough money to hurt us.” He paused significantly before adding, “So you can stop covering for Ben now.”
Tom’s gaze sharpened. “Ben?” he said with all the confusion of an innocent man, except Braxton spotted the sweat beading his temple.
His eyes narrowed. “Yeah, your pal came clean and confessed he’d been in my computer as well. But he assured me the only files he downloaded were...” he coughed as a look of utter devastation crossed his features before he swallowed and added, “those pictures for you.”
“Is he...” Tom tried to ask, but his voice went hoarse before he could finish the question.
“Fired?” Braxton prompted. When he shook his head, Tom deflated. “No, Hendricks isn’t fired. Neither are you, for that matter. Actually, I’ve revoked your suspension. You can start working again Monday. That is, assuming you want to come back.”
Half hoping he’d decline—Brax could live out a full, peaceful life without ever setting eyes on Davenport again—and half hoping he’d accept—Farris Industries really did need the bastard back—Braxton waited a tense moment while Tom contemplated his answer.
Finally, Lenna’s father gave a brief nod. “Yes,” he said, his Adam’s apple jerking. “Yes, I’d like to come back.”
Braxton exhaled a small breath he’d been holding. “Okay,” he said, trying sound as monotone as possible. “We’ll see you Monday. Your co-workers will be relieved to relinquish your duties back to you.”