Page 11 of Punish Me

“Where have you been?” I grumble.

“Gracing my company with my presence. Where else?”

I lift my eyes from my computer again and snarl. “Is there something that I can help you with?”

He sits up and assesses me with a mischievous smirk. “Damn, they were right. Someone did piss in your soup.”

“No one’s pissed in my soup. It’s called working. And who the hell is gossiping about me?” I grumble.

Laughing, he says, “No one but the usual. Sandra and Lauren.”

Sandra Crowe, I inherited from John before his passing, and Lauren is the receptionist for the executive floor. I should fire them both.

“What are they saying?”

Shrugging, he presses his fingertips together and stares down at his shoes. “You know me...I’m not the type to gossip.”

I pull my fingers through my hair.

“You’re fucking impossible. Don’t you have work to do?”

“Well, since you insist,” he says, lying back on the couch again. “I heard that we have a new CAO and that she’s wickedly smart, fiercely funny, beautiful, and has a sexy body.”

“Sandra and Lauren said all that?”

Chuckling, he says, “Everything except about her body. I caught a glimpse of that myself. Why didn’t you tell me Brynlee was working for us now?”

A rush of protectiveness barrels through me like a kayak down a raging river.

“Didn’t know that I had to update you on all new staff.”

“When it’s someone from your past, you might.”

“Didn’t know that I needed to disclose that either. Did you mention to either of those loose lips Bryn and I used to date?”

“Nope. Figured I’d let them figure that can of worms out for themselves. I could tell, though, that they had no idea. It was never mentioned. Whatwasmentioned was that the two of you keep butting heads, and everyone’s trying to figure out why. I put my fifty dollars in the pool.”

“What pool?” I rage.

“The one where there’s a bet going that you like her and that you’ll have her before the month is over, whereas some say that you can’t stand her, you’re threatened by her brains and wits, and she’ll be out on her ass by the end of the month. I wager she’ll have you crawling on your knees, begging her to take you back within a couple of months.”

“The fuck?” I belatedly pull my hands through my hair, realizing a headache is creeping on me.

“You asked. I delivered,” he says, shrugging his shoulders as he props his hands behind his head and wiggles his crossed feet at the ankles.

“Seriously, why did you come by here, Austin?”

“I haven’t seen my big brother or niece in weeks. You’ve been traveling a lot. Could it be that you’re trying to avoid her?”

“No one’s trying to avoid anyone. I just had a lot of business in Maine and Oregon. Don’t act like you’re not always used to me traveling.”

“Yeah, I am. I know you were looking forward to this new role where you wouldn’t travel as much. Delegation...you know, like your predecessor used to do.”

“I’d planned to be around more and help Bryn get acclimated only she seems to want nothing to do with me.”

“Damn, that’s harsh. Well, what did you expect? After all, you were her first love and cheated on her.”

“You and I both know it wasn’t like that,” I grumble.

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