3 – BRYNLEE
“Bryn! How was your first week?” my brother, Brayden, asks after I finish my dessert. He’d invited me for dinner tonight to celebrate starting my new position on Monday. He had prepared shrimp fettuccine, a Caesar salad, garlic rolls, and salted caramel tiramisu.
After sipping from my glass of Moscato, I set it down on the table hard.
“Your best friend, Ambrose Charles, can kiss my ass.”
“Excuse me?”
I take another sip before eyeing him over the rim of my glass. “You heard me. He can kiss my ass!”
“What does Ro have to do with your new job?” Brayden’s girlfriend, Shayla, asks in confusion.
Rolling my eyes and resting my arms on the table, I lean forward and hiss, “He’s my new boss!”
Shayla frowns, asking, “Wait. I thought you said it was someone named Mike Capp, Clark, Cant—”
“Cape. Mike Cape apparently up and died the day after they informed me that I was hired. I quit my role as CFO at my sister’s billion-dollar company and go through three months of interviews to work for the guy, and he doesn’t even have the decency to hang-around. What does he do? Ups and kicks the bucket, pushing up daisies from six feet under!”
“Damn, that’s harsh, baby girl,” Brayden says.
“No! What’s harsh is that his ass then has Ambrose Charles come in as his fucking replacement because he mentored him! Of all the people in the world!”
“What’s your issue with Ro,” Brayden asks. “You always seemed to have an attitude with him whenever you crossed paths with us at school or when he came home with us on break.”
“He’s always been an arrogant, immature asshole who needs to grow up.”
I bite my tongue at the last minute just before spilling the beans. It would serve Ambrose’s ass right if I told my brother the truth about his best friend, except I can’t because I know that it will hurt him. I know he’ll feel betrayed by Ambrose and me, too, and I just can’t do that to him.
“No nepotism on his watch. Can’t have people thinking that his best friend’s baby sister got the job because of a favor. So, what does he do? He rides my ass hard!” I snap.
I grab my wineglass and take a long gulp as I recollect when he rode my ass. And he rode it long and hard. Now is not the time to think of Ambrose in that fashion, especially after I drilled it into him that we needed to let go of our past; there was nothing to recall, and we needed to keep it platonic.
“I think he’s just doing his job, baby girl.”
“Why didn’t you tell me that Ambrose was the new CEO?” I ask.
“I hadn’t spoken to him lately because he’s been out of town, and I’ve been buried in some new projects at work,” he says, frowning.
“The only thing that matters is that you’re working in your dream job, sis. Get in there, prove yourself, and before you know it, you’ll be working independently of him,” Shayla says, shrugging her shoulders.
“Exactly. You’re the Chief Administrative Officer at one of the largest construction companies in the nation. You may have quit Layla Amara, but Top Tier ain’t peanuts. It’s on the same level as our company, if not higher. Baby girl, get out there and shine! That’s what you do. That’s what you’ve been great at for the last decade. You show Ro who’s the boss. In the meantime, I’ll call him up and have a little chat with my boy.”
“No!” I shout, frowning as my heart beats out of my chest.
“Why not?”
“Because I don’t want to look like little Brynlee, who always used to run to her big brother when shit didn’t work out. The one that always had her brother running in to save her.”
“That’s what I do?” Brayden asks, pulling his beer to his lips.
“Yes, you do, but not this time, Bray. Please.”
“I won’t be too harsh.”
“I know. I’m just...well, I need to prove myself. You said it yourself; I’m a CAO now, and the last thing I need is anyone else fighting my battles. You calling him makes it look like I can’t cut the mustard. Give me a chance. I can handle Ambrose Charles,” I say in a fiery tone.
“All right, sis. Just let me know if he gets out of pocket. Don’t make me break my size thirteens off in his ass.”
Shayla scowls and shakes her head. “She’s right, Bray. You can’t keep running to her rescue.”
“What exactly is the issue?” he asks.
“He’s rude, Brayden. Honestly, he’s worse than he used to be. I don’t know how he could be a friend of yours, let alone your best friend. He’s changed.”
“Interesting. He said the same thing about you.”
“He called you?”
“No. I called him to see how you were doing on your first day.”
“Bray!”
“I just wanted to make sure everything was going well.”
“So, you knew that he was my boss?” I ask, leaving the dining table, walking to his couch, and plopping down.
“Found out Monday, just like you. I knew he would be in town working this week and not traveling. I asked him to drop in and check on you. That’s when he told me. I know you both have this in common; you’re hard workers with a great work ethic, and you’ve excelled rapidly in your careers. Besides, I’m happy about it. Now I have someone else to look out for my little sister when I’m not around.”
That was the one thing that drove me crazy when I did work for my sister’s cosmetics company. Brayden scared every potential man away from me at work, not that I was interested. No one dared cross me up or piss me off because they were scared of him. It made it difficult to have workplace friendships, let alone relationships.
I shake my head. “You don’t understand. The guy is hard and callous. If he’s like that on my first day and hasn’t had a chance to show his true colors, I don’t want to imagine what he’s like to work for. It was a battle not to walk out today and tell him to kiss my ass and shove his job where the sun doesn’t shine,” I grumble, pulling my feet up on the couch as Brayden’s dog, Macchiato, jumps beside me.
I pat my lap, and the little brown toy poodle jumps into my lap and snuggles up as I rub his head.
“And do what, Bryn? Run back to Layla Amara?”
“Be careful, Bray. She just might,” Shayla mumbles.
Turning my gaze to her, I point my finger at her. “And you, you don’t get to judge,” I warn Shayla.
Holding her hands out, Shayla says, “You’re right, I don’t, but I know Ro, too, Bryn. He’s a decent man who’s kind, loving, and patient so the man you’re referencing may be just his professional persona, and I’m sure he didn’t get to where he is being soft and easy. The fact that he’s now the CEO of a major corporation at the age of thirty-seven is a testament to his hard work ethic. You haven’t even given him a chance, and you’re ready to call it quits.”
“I didn’t quit. I just said the asshole makes me want to. I’m hoping that I’ll be successful here.”
“I don’t see that happening if you keep calling him an asshole,” Shayla says.
Rolling my eyes, I turn to Brayden. “Your friend is an asshole.”
“I promise you he’s not. If he acted like that, there was a reason he did.”
“Take his side, why don’t you?”
“I am not taking his side, just pointing out obvious facts. Give him the benefit of the doubt.”
“I’ve got my closing tomorrow at six,” I say, changing the subject.
I lift Macchiato into my arms and bury my face in his soft fur.
“Brayden, maybe you can go with her,” Shayla suggests.
“Why do you care?”
She smirks and says, “Just interested in my man’s sister having her best shot at life, that’s all. I can’t wait for you to get moved in. You need something bigger and worthy of your new salary.”
“Hey, she made a pretty penny at Layla Amara,” Brayden defends.
“I know, but it’s a lot more now. Besides, she was always frugal. Maybe she can live according to her means now,” Shayla says.
“Hello, I’m still here.”
I roll my eyes as Shayla gets up and stands in front of me with her arms open. “Come on to Mommy, sweet baby,” she coos with puckered lips to my brother’s dog.
It takes everything in me not to roll my eyes at her mushy attitude regarding the dog. Like the traitor he is, Macchiato goes straight to her, and the two head into Brayden’s room.
***
“Spill the beans,” Shayla says later.
Brayden’s downstairs in his gym, working out for the evening. I turn at the door with my keys and bag in my hand, frowning at her. I was just leaving for home when she spoke.
“What?”
“You heard me. Come on,” she says, patting the couch beside her with a smirk.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I’m not stupid. There’s more to this than “he’s riding my ass so hard”, ” she says in a whiny voice.
“I don’t sound like that.”
“Hmmph. Yes, you do, and I bet he has been riding that ass,” she says, narrowing her eyes at me and pointing at my ass.
I slowly return to the couch, shaking my head. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Which is why I’m giving you a chance to tell.”
“Or what?”
“Or...I’ll tell Bray what I think I know, and he’ll go and confirm it with Ro. We both know that Ro’s not about to lie. He’s honest, if nothing else,” Shayla says.
“God!” I groan, dropping my head against the back of the couch and pulling my hands down my face.
“Nope, it’s just me,” Shayla squeals, knowing I’m about to spill the tea.
Sitting up, I fold my legs under me and turn sideways to face her. “Please don’t say anything. We both swore we would never let Bray find out. It would crush him.”
She grins, claps her hands, and mimics my position. “My lips are zipped,” she says, miming zipping her lips before propping her elbow on her thigh and resting her chin on her fist.
“I’d been crushing on Ro since meeting him in my freshman year when Bray introduced us. In my sophomore year of college, Ro came home with Bray on the holiday break. I think his parents had gone to Switzerland and he hadn’t wanted to go. One night, we were sitting in front of the fireplace, and everyone except the two of us had gone to bed. We started talking about school, extracurriculars, pledging, and all the dumb shit in our world then. I’d had one too many spiked eggnogs, and I confessed my crush.”
“Aww, that’s so sweet, Bryn!” Shayla exclaims.
“Yeah, well, I hadn’t expected him to admit he felt the same. He kissed me, and I was a goner for Ambrose Charles from then on. We snuck away for kisses the rest of that holiday vacation until we returned to school. He and Brayden had no classes in common, but they shared an apartment.”
“Please don’t tell me that you crept over there.”
“No. I wasn’t stupid. Bray would’ve killed us. He would always sneak over to my dorm and spend the night as much as possible. That went on throughout my entire sophomore and junior years. Couldn’t have been happier even though I was always scared Brayden would find out.”
“Well, what ended you two because he clearly went on and married?”
“That.”
“What?”
“He cheated on me with his agent his first year in the league. It was my senior year, and we were heading toward three years together. He was in town for a campus speaking engagement. His agent, Lyndsey Moon, flew in unexpectedly when a prior engagement was canceled. I’d returned to my dorm to grab my things to spend the weekend with him. When I returned to his hotel, she was there. She answered the door while he was in the shower and let me know they were a couple, and she wasn’t going anywhere...neither was their unborn child,” I reply sourly as I recall the bitch rubbing her belly while delivering the news to me.
“Did you ask him about it?”
“He stepped out of the shower when she was announcing it. I looked at his face and knew the truth. Besides, she had no reason to lie. She was a professional business woman making her mark on the world.”
“Or she was a money-hungry bitch who saw that he was on his way to making millions. MLB’s next biggest star and she couldn’t wait to get her claws in him,” Shayla says.
“Yeah, but she had his baby. I couldn’t compete with that, nor did I want to.”
Shayla reaches over and grabs my hand. “I’m so sorry, honey. You never told anyone?”
I shake my head. “No one but you. I haven’t even spoken with Ambrose about it. I told our dorm manager not to let him up, avoided him, and haven’t let him back in.”
“Not even today?”
“Especially not now.”