Page 94 of Silent Partner (Pine Falls 3)

I walked into the break room to find Jai sipping a cup of coffee and grinning at me. And not just any grin, but a humungous suspicious grin.

I tilted my head. “Good morning. Everything okay?”

“Sure. Sure.” He nodded. “Except you’re a big fat liar.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “What did I lie about?”

“Hmm. Hmm. Boss lady. I thought you couldn’t say who your ‘silent’ partner was.” He used air quotes and everything.

I swallowed hard. “I can’t. And there is something I need to—”

“He’s in your office,” he interrupted me before I could tell him I was reconsidering Brant’s offer. But that didn’t matter now, as what he said began to sink in.

“Who’s in my office?” I stammered.

“Oh, don’t play coy. You know very well who it is. Looks like he’s ready to get down to business, if you know what I mean.” He wagged his brows.

“Excuse me,” I squeaked before dashing toward my office door. This wasn’t happening. Not this morning.

“Don’t worry, we’ll give you some privacy if you need it,” Jai yelled out through his laughter.

We didn’t need any private moments. Except for one. The one where he was going to tell me what he was doing here and why he was telling people about our deal. Then he was going to leave.

I burst through the door to find Brant sitting at my desk behind a laptop, as if he owned the place. Which he didn’t yet.

He looked up at me all innocently, and way too sexy, in his crisp white button-up shirt. He had a layer of stubble on his jaw that begged to have my hand run across it. These were physiological responses I couldn’t help.

“What are you doing here?” I stuttered through massive heart palpitations.

“I do own the place,” he said as if that settled the issue.

“Not yet. I was actually thinking that—”

“I know. Dominique called. So, I had a chat with Carter and Giselle. I told them I was done screwing around and I want this deal done by end of day tomorrow.”

He did what? I shut the door and leaned against it. “No, no, no. See, I think it would be better if I took Giselle and Carter’s offer. I’ll figure out how to pay you back for all the legal fees and Dominique’s time.”

Without missing a beat, he said, “You’ll have to pay back a lot more than that when I sue you for breach of contract.” He smirked.

My mouth fell open; I wasn’t sure if he was teasing or not. “You’re kidding, right?”

“No, Kinsley, I’m not.”

“You can’t do that.”

“Of course, I can. And I will,” he said so matter-of-factly.

“Why?” I cried.

His eyes grabbed ahold of mine and held my gaze. “You told me that you wanted someone who would fight for you. This is me fighting for you,” he said poignantly.

I closed my eyes, tears stinging them, not believing this was happening. I wanted him to fight for me two years ago. Not now when everything was so messed up. “Brant,” I whispered, “please don’t do this.”

“I’m sorry. The biggest mistake I made was not pursuing you in the first place. I don’t plan to make that mistake twice. I’ll be working here when I can,” he said, all businesslike. “So, tell me what the Wi-Fi password is.”

I opened my eyes, flabbergasted. “You have another job.” I was getting desperate. He couldn’t work here, where I had to see him every day. Where I would have to deal with my overwhelming conflicting feelings for him. Like right now, I wanted to yell at him to get out all while wanting to kiss him until we were both breathless.

He shrugged. “I can do both from here. Besides, didn’t you say you needed more office help? Well, I’m here to help. By the way, we’re meeting with a contractor at two o’clock today to discuss renovating the main dining area. I hope that works for you.”

I blinked a hundred times. “Uh.” I had no words.

He flashed me his charming smile. “Kins,” he said so sweetly, “I know you hate me right now, but I love you. And I plan to fight like hell for you.”

I still had some fight left in me too. “You said it would be bad for business if the Holland name was associated with my restaurant.” I was grasping for all the straws.

“Fair point, but if you become a Holland, then what?” he asked way too nonchalantly for what he’d just implied.

“You can’t say things like that.” I gripped my throat and rubbed it as if that would help get some air into my lungs after a statement like that.

“Like what? The truth?”

“I don’t know what the truth is anymore,” I said, more to myself.

He stood and approached me.

I pressed my back against the door, as if that would keep me out of his reach.

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