Page 16 of My Best Friend's Grump Brother

My eyes widened. “What?”

“I have zero tolerance for harassment in my workplace. He crossed a line.”

He stared at my face as if he were searching for something. That was the thing about these Sinclair siblings. It was like they looked right into the crevasses of your soul and saw everything you were trying to hide. I felt naked under his gaze, but not the good kind of naked.

My wrist heated where his hand had gripped it. It was that kind of heat that was deliciously scorching.

I pulled my wrist out of his hold and broke free from his stare. “Um, get home safe, Mr. Sinclair.”

He made no move to leave. Instead, he took one step, closing most of the distance between us. His woodsy scent invaded my nostrils, and my entire world tipped on its axis. His thumb hooked under my chin, forcing me to look into his eyes.

“Something is off about you.” The statement was like a bucket of ice-cold water down my back.

Not wanting to get into it, I turned my head to the side and stepped back, trying to create the distance I needed. “I know you think you know everything and have this constant need to control and know about everyone and everything around you, but that does not include me—at least not after work anyway. Goodnight, Mr. Sinclair.”

I turned and got into the car, and revved the engine to life. I kept my eyes forward, not wanting to look at him. I hated how he looked at me- like he could see all my ugly.

No one should see those parts of me, least of all the man I held this bright burning flame for.

It was embarrassing. I needed to smother that flame before it caused me more trouble.

When I broke out of the basement and into the rainy Chicago weather, I promised myself that I would sort out this Marcus situation and find a way to get him back behind bars.

I refused to let him take more parts of my soul than he already had.

Chapter eight

Absent

Daniel

WhenItookmymorning run, I had expected to see Selena on the trail. I had seen her on the mornings prior to today. But she was a no-show. I wasn’t worried then, but my worry grew as I got into the office and noticed her absence at the meeting.

“Lisa?” I looked at the woman standing beside Brandon at the back of the room.

“Yes, Mr. Sinclair?”

“Where is Selena?”

Lisa frowned, “I don’t know. She didn’t come into work today.”

“She said she was sick and was taking a few days off to get better.” Brandon piped up. Now, why was this little trust fund baby answering?

“She called you Brandon?” I stared him down. I watched his Adam's apple bob up and down as he swallowed hard. This man would buckle under the pressure of a courtroom. He was not built for criminal law. He knew it, too, but yet he was still here.

“Yes, this morning when I was coming into work. She said she had a high fever and would go to the ER for medication.”

She looked pale when I saw her in the parking lot yesterday, but her snappy attitude made me think she was anything but sick. I was not the most welcoming person, but she was colder than normal.

“Next time, she needs to email me or William directly. I would have thought that one of you two would have told her of our protocols.” I then turned my attention to the rest of the room and began the meeting.

I did my best to focus on the agenda at hand, but in the back of my mind, I was thinking about a pair of violet-blue eyes that had looked almost haunted the night before.

I had no reason to worry about her; she was a grown woman, but I still wondered what had freaked her out so badly.

It’s none of your business, Sinclair. She is not your responsibility. The firm is the number one; if she can’t handle it, that is not your issue.

I read through the file of the LeVrous case over again, ensuring I had everything set for next week. I would be flying to meet him in New York to discuss the entirety of the case. I knew he didn’t want to reach an agreement and wanted to go to the courts. Settling would be like an admission that he had withheld his actual income from sponsors and advertisers. He wanted to clear his name completely. I didn’t fully agree, and taking it to court would be harder, but I was never the kind of man who backed down from a challenge.

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