Swallowing, Tom nodded. He glanced one more time at Braxton.
The kid lifted his eyebrows. “I do have to give you kudos for one thing. That little trick you used to get Lenna away from me was ingenious. I mean, why would she ever doubt her own father, the man who loves her and raised her, taught her the difference between right and wrong? She admires you and looks up to you like I’ve never seen any daughter love her father. She and trusts your word above anyone one else’s in the world.”
Puckering his face into a mock look of regret, he sighed before adding, “It’d be a real shame if she ends up hating you after she finally realizes how deeply you broke her trust.”
Tom’s face drained of color.
Oh, shit.
Braxton smiled grimly. “Hadn’t thought of that, had you, Tom?”
* * * *
After Davenport blew out of the meeting room, looking sick to his stomach, Braxton buried his face in his hands.
When he felt his father’s stare, he glanced up. “So, you would’ve fired him, huh?”
Spencer shrugged. “Doesn’t matter what I would’ve done. This is totally your decision, son. It’s your company now.”
Laughing harshly, Braxton closed his eyes and tapped a fist against his forehead. “But you think I made the wrong decision?” he pressed.
“Not necessarily. Tom’s been a loyal employee for twenty-five years. He has a lot of history with Farris. Firing someone like him would cost us a hefty price. But if it were me he’d lied to, and taking into account the fact I’ve worked with him longer than you have, I would’ve felt more betrayed by his behavior just now. Actually, I feel betrayed enough as it is. That he would do something like this to my son; I’d just like to go out there and...”
When he surged to his feet, fists balled, Braxton did as well. “
Dad
!”
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.”
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.
* * * *
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.
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.”