73

Gina

WhenIwalkedintothe office on Monday morning, I froze. Mateo was sitting at my desk, one of my pictures in his hand. He spun from one side to the other in my chair, his lips pressed together in a thin line.

He looked up and saw me, his frown only deepening. Mateo put the picture back down on my desk and got up.

“Morning, Mateo,” I said, dropping my purse off under my desk. “Odd to see you here. I thought that you liked working from home.”

“I do,” he said, not offering anything else as he tucked my chair in before I could sit down.

“Alright. Well, is there something that I can help you with? I have several listings to get up on the website, and I can’t do that if you’re blocking my desk.”

The corner of his mouth twitched as he looked down at me, his dark eyes narrowing. “I have something that I need to talk to you about. I was warned that you don’t hold your tongue, but I didn’t think you would start with me this early morning.”

Other employees started to enter the building. Shelby looked over at me as she sat at the front desk, raising her eyebrow. I nodded to her with a bright smile. Shelby shook her head but turned around in her seat and started talking to one of the real estate agents.

“Mateo, is there something that you need right now? I have work to do.”

“That’s the second time you’ve said that.”

I sighed and crossed my arms. “Well, you’re determined to waste my time.”

“Come with me,” he said before walking down the hall to one of the conference rooms. He grabbed a file off someone’s desk and took it with him.

I looked up at the ceiling, wishing we were at the end of the day so I could go home and shower. The last thing I wanted was to meet with Brandon’s assistant as soon as I walked into work.

From what the other staff had told me, Mateo was a hard ass, and everyone was happier that he worked from home. But most of them had altercations with him, leaving a sour taste in their mouths.

And I was looking forward to having a good day, I thought as I followed him to the conference room.

I closed the door behind me before I took a seat across the table from him. Mateo opened the file and scattered some of the pages inside. I looked at the pages and expected to see something, but the sheets were blank.

“What’s this meeting about?” I asked as I nodded to the papers. “There’s nothing on those.”

“I know there isn’t. But imagine my surprise when I drove over to Brandon’s last night to see if he wanted to go to the bar while Amalia was away, and I saw your car sitting in the driveway.”

“We had work to get done.”

“Don’t lie to me. I have access to every aspect of his schedule. So I know that nothing needed to be done yesterday.”

I shrugged and leaned back in my chair, trying to look relaxed even though my heart was pounding a mile a minute. “I’m interning. I don’t know what you want to hear, but I went over there last night to get work down.”

Mateo shook his head, the corner of his mouth twitching upward. “I didn’t think you were the kind of person who would sit here and lie to me.”

“I don’t know what you’re trying to accuse me of.” I crossed my arms and arched an eyebrow. “From where I sit, this seems like an excuse to waste my time because you didn’t think to knock on the door and ask if your friend could come out to play.”

Mateo gritted his teeth and leaned on the table, clasping his hands together. “Why don’t we stop playing games? I know that Brandon is dating someone, and I think that person is you.”

My eyebrows raised. “That’s an accusation.”

“Gina, tell me the truth.”

“I didn’t deny it, did I?” I smirked at him and ran my hand through my hair.

“You didn’t confirm it either.”

“That’s the best that you’re getting from me. Quite frankly, I don’t know or trust you. I have no clue why you’ve pulled me into this meeting or what you hope to gain.”

Mateo nodded and leaned back in his seat. “That’s part of what I wanted to talk to you about. What do you think you will gain by dating your boss?”

Anger flooded through me. I scowled at him, trying to keep my temper under control.

“Did you come here looking to take advantage of Brandon?”

“Fuck you,” I said, venom in my voice.

I didn’t care that this man could get me fired if he wanted to. I wouldn’t sit here and be insulted by a man who barely knew me.

“You have to listen to me for a moment. I’ve been friends with Brandon for years. I only have his best interests at heart, but you walk into his life, and suddenly, he’s becoming a person I barely recognize.”

“I moved here because the life I thought I would have blown up in my face. I was supposed to marry a man, and then he stuck his dick in everything that moved. Then, everybody in my life except Amalia chose to support him. So, excuse me if I moved to a sleepy little town to restart my life.”

Mateo sighed. “It seems convenient that you started a relationship with Brandon after getting hired here.”

I stood up and took a deep breath. “I didn’t start a relationship to get ahead. I’m interning here before I start my own business. Dating Brandon is just something that happened, and if you think otherwise, I suggest you have this conversation with him. I am a damn good intern, and I won’t sit here and take this shit from you.”

Without waiting for his answer, I spun on my heel and walked out.

There was no need for me to sit there and take that. I was good at my job. Brandon and I kept things professional at the office. So skilled that nobody suspected anything.

My heart was pounding in my chest as I went back to my desk. I took a few deep breaths before logging onto my computer and starting work for the day.

It would be a long day, especially with thoughts of Mateo exposing my relationship racing through my head.

Please let this day before over soon.

“You know, I never used to be able to see this many stars when I lived in the city,” I said as Brandon and I walked along the beach.

“I told you that coming out to the beach house tonight would be a good way to take your mind off whatever’s bothering you.”

I smiled as he looped his arm around me and pulled me to him. “It’s helping a little bit, but I must tell you about something that happened today.”

Brandon stopped and turned to face me. I ran my hands up his chest before linking them behind his neck. Brandon smiled at me, his gaze warm as his hands settled on my hips.

“What happened? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” I said, playing with the soft hair behind his neck. “But I talked to Mateo today.”

Brandon looked a bit surprised. “Mateo was in the office today?”

“Before you got in.” I continued to play with his hair before sliding my hands over his shoulders.

“Are you just going to keep feeling me up, or are you going to tell me what’s bothering you?” he asked, his smile teasing as I ran my hands down his chest and slid them beneath his shirt.

I smirked at him. “I don’t know. This could be a pretty good distraction.”

Brandon laughed and grabbed my hands. “Come on, Gina. I want to know what’s bothering you. Let me into that pretty little head of yours. What did Mateo have to talk to you about?”

Sighing, I shrugged and stepped out of his embrace, pulling my hands away. “He wanted to know if I was using my relationship with you to advance my career.”

Brandon’s eyebrows shot up his head, and his lips pressed into a thin line. “He said that to you?”

“Yeah. But look, don’t let it bother you. It’s been bothering me most of the day, but I’m over it now.”

Brandon’s blue eyes narrowed as the wind ruffled his hair. “You don’t look like you’re over it. Would you have still brought it up if you were over it?”

“You were the one that asked.” I shrugged and ran my hand through my hair to keep the wild brown strands out of my face.

Brandon sighed. “Gina. You know what I meant. You could have lied to me if you wanted to.”

“I’m tired of lying all the time. My last relationship was filled with a fuck ton of lies, and look at where it got me! So I’m in another relationship, except it’s both of us sneaking around this time!”

I took a deep breath and tried to relax. The last thing I wanted to do was start a fight between us, but maybe it was time to go over everything that had been bothering me.

It had only been a few days since I agreed to make this serious, but since we got back to town last night, I had felt nothing but anxiety over the situation.

“Gina, we just have to keep things hidden for a little longer. You thought that too so where is this coming from?” Brandon asked, his tone calm though I was losing it.

“I don’t know. I keep thinking that this will be a secret forever or that when Amalia finds out, she will never speak to me again.”

“Amalia’s not like that.”

Shaking my head, I paced back and forth. My heart was hammering in my chest as I looked up at him. It felt like a lump was rising in my throat and threatening to choke me.

“She might not be like that to you. You’re her father. She can’t go the rest of her life without talking to you about this, but I could lose the only person who has been there for me through all the shit over the last several years.”

Brandon’s shoulders slumped. “I’m sorry.”

I looked at him, my vision blurring slightly. “Don’t be. I’m an adult and agreed to this just as much as you did. I’m just feeling shitty about it right now.”

“So, what do you want to do about it?” Brandon asked, sounding defeated.

For a moment, I couldn’t say anything.

What do I want to do about it?

I knew that I didn’t want to end this. It was wrong to keep the secret, but I wasn’t ready to let him go. Brandon was special. He was different from other men that I had been with.

He brought out the parts of me that had been hidden for so long. I was myself with him. There was no pretending for the adoring fans or the crowds that always surrounded us.

I didn’t have to watch as he flirted with other women while signing pictures of himself.

Brandon didn’t try to stop my ambition.

“Maybe we should just end this before a whole bunch of people get hurt,” I said, my voice wavering slightly.

Brandon sighed. “Is that really what you want, Gina, or are you just saying that because you think you have to.”

I took a deep breath, letting the salt air calm me. “Does it Mateoer?”

“Of course. It Mateoers, Gina. If you don’t want this — if you don’t feel the same way for me that I feel for you — then walk away right now. I’m too old to be playing games and wasting my time.”

“You’re not wasting your time,” I said, reaching up to cup his jaw. “I want this too. I’m just scared. I’m scared of what will happen to us and our relationships once this gets out.”

“Then what do you want me to do?” he asked softly as he leaned into my touch. “How can I help you with that fear?”

“I don’t know,” I said finally, wrapping my arms around his waist. “Just hold me.”

His cologne enveloped me as he hugged me back, holding on as he might never let go.

I was okay with that. I never wanted to let him go, either.

However, there was a sinking feeling in my stomach that told me sooner or later, I wouldn’t have a choice.