Exposed (18 page)

Without warning she shifted her gaze from the computer and leveled an icy glare at him.“On second thought, I
do
have something to say to you.”

Brandon paused midstride.“Okay.”

“One of the things I’ve always admired and respected about you, Brandon, is that you’re a true Southern gentleman. Really, you’re like a throwback to a different era, which is why every female at this law firm is halfway in love with you. But
the man I encountered an hour ago was an asshole, an asshole with a serious mean streak. Whatever you’re about to tell me doesn’t justify the way you spoke to me. I apologize for offending you, but I honestly don’t believe I said anything
you
wouldn’t have said to me if the situation were reversed. Now, I understand that we work in a pressure-cooker environment and sometimes the stress can get to us. But I swear to God, Brandon Chambers, if you
ever
disrespect me that way again—”

“I’m attracted to you.”

Stunned into speechlessness, she stared at him.

He offered a wry half-smile. “That’s why I didn’t choose you to be my assistant. Not because I owe Kessler a damn favor or I’m honoring some stupid male bonding ritual. I chose him because I honestly don’t trust myself around you. Working long hours and weekends together in preparation for the trial?” He grimaced, shaking his head. “That’s just
way
too much temptation.”

“Wow,” Cynthia murmured, slowly leaning back in her chair.

Brandon perched on the corner of her desk, arms folded across his chest.“Things are really fucked up between me and Tamia right now, and I don’t want to complicate matters or take advantage of you in any way just because I’m feeling …” He searched for the right word.

“Vulnerable?” Cynthia offered.

“Yeah. I guess that’s pretty accurate.” He gave her a small, rueful smile. “I owe you an apology for allowing my personal issues to interfere with our professional relationship, not to mention depriving you of an opportunity to add such a high-profile case to your résumé.”

“It
was
selfish of you,” Cynthia calmly agreed. “And you also made an assumption that could have been corrected if you’d shared your concerns with me beforehand.”

Brandon held her steady gaze.“What do you mean?”

“You said you didn’t trust yourself to spend long hours
with me. By that you were implying that you might make a move on me in a moment of weakness, and your assumption was that I would naturally reciprocate.” She shook her head slowly.“But you were mistaken.”

He was silent, prompting her to continue almost gingerly.

“The thing is, Brandon, I’m attracted to you, too. I’d have to be blind and comatose
not
to be. But I have no intention of acting on my feelings because I know it would only lead to disaster. See, I’ve always had a rule against getting romantically involved with colleagues. I’ve seen how workplace romances can destroy careers, so I’ve vowed never to become a casualty. Next to my family, making partner is the most important thing in the world to me. I’m not about to put that in jeopardy, no matter how tempted I might be.” Her lips curved ruefully. “And believe me, I’ve been tempted
plenty.
”

Brandon stared at her, wondering why her no-fraternizing policy didn’t make him feel as relieved as it should.

“I’m sorry to hear about you and Tamia,” Cynthia continued quietly.“Do you want to talk about it? I think you already know that I’m a pretty good listener.”

Brandon wanted more than anything to unburden himself, to share his fears and suspicions with someone else to see whether he was just being paranoid. But confiding in another woman would have made him feel like he was betraying Tamia.

“Thanks for the offer,” he declined with a rueful smile, “but I think I’d better work this one out on my own.”

Cynthia smiled gently.“I understand.”

Brandon glanced at his watch, then rose from the desk.“I haven’t spoken to Kessler yet, so I’ll meet with Mitch on Monday morning and let him know that I’ve decided to make you my assistant instead.”

Cynthia’s expression softened with gratitude. “Are you sure?”

“Absolutely. There’s no one I’d rather have in the trenches
with me than you.” He grinned, winking at her. “As long as you keep your hands to yourself, woman, we should be cool.”

Cynthia threw back her head and laughed, a sound that was pure music to his ears.

Tamia had hoped Brandon would be home when she returned from her hair appointment. On Friday nights, they usually made a concerted effort to leave work on time so they could go out on a romantic date. But the dark, empty silence of the condo greeted her when she arrived after seven-thirty.

She called Brandon to see whether he was on his way home, but he didn’t answer his cell. Hoping he was just stuck in traffic, she ordered dinner from their favorite gourmet delivery service. By the time the meals arrived, Brandon still had not returned.

She called him again.

Still no answer.

Disappointed, she ate her meal alone in front of the television. Afterward she took a long, relaxing soak in the Jacuzzi bathtub and slipped into a red silk negligee from Victoria’s Secret. After getting an eyeful of her in the sexy lingerie, Brandon wouldn’t even
consider
sleeping in the guest bedroom tonight. Or so she hoped.

She grabbed the latest issue of
Essence
and climbed into bed, savoring the luxurious texture of one-thousand-thread-count Egyptian cotton against her bare skin. She was determined to wait up for Brandon, no matter how late it was. They hadn’t made love since last Friday. Given how strained things were between them, she knew that the longer they went without having sex, the more susceptible to temptation Brandon would become.

She couldn’t allow that.

Perusing the magazine, she watched ten o’clock melt into eleven before she finally dozed off.

The next time she opened her eyes, Brandon was standing
over the bed. He must have been watching her sleep. But there was no warmth on his face, no tenderness or affection. His expression was completely devoid of emotion.

Ignoring a whisper of unease, Tamia gave him a drowsy smile.“Hey, baby.”

His answering smile was faint.“Hey.”

“I was trying to wait up for you.” She glanced at the clock on the nightstand, surprised to see that it was after one a.m. “Why are you getting home so late?” she asked, striving not to sound accusatory.

He sat on the edge of the bed to remove his shoes and socks.“I stayed at the office until ten, then met Dre for drinks.”

Tamia sat up and reached over to run her hand across his broad back, massaging between his shoulder blades. When his muscles tensed beneath her touch, she slowly withdrew her hand, feeling spurned.

“Why didn’t you answer your cell phone?” she asked cau-tiously.“I called you twice.”

“I was back and forth between my office and the Xerox machine.”

“What? Your secretary’s on strike?”

Brandon gave her a sardonic look. “She was gone for the day. Besides, I’m not allergic to making my own copies. Anyway, if you called me after ten, I was downstairs at Stogie’s and probably couldn’t hear the phone above the crowd noise and the TV. The playoffs were on, so it was pretty loud.” His lips twitched.“Any other questions?”

She smiled and shook her head, leaning back against the soft mound of pillows.“How are Dre and Leah doing? How’s the new living arrangement working out?”

“So far so good.”

Tamia felt a pang of envy. “Really? How wonderful for them.”

“Yup. Sure is.”

She patted her sleek, freshly relaxed bob. “I got my hair done tonight.”

“It looks nice.” But he barely even glanced at her head. Nor did he notice her plump breasts practically spilling out of her negligee, begging to be caressed and sucked.

Rising from the bed, he began to undress. She watched as he removed his pin-striped shirt and slung it over the back of a chair. Although he’d grown up with maids at his disposal, he was surprisingly neat, rarely leaving clothes on the floor or dirty dishes in the kitchen sink.

“Speaking of meeting friends for drinks,” Tamia began conversationally, “that’s what Shanell and I did yesterday after work. And guess who we ran into?”

“Who?” Brandon asked, unbuckling his leather belt.

“Cynthia.”

He glanced up.“Yeah?”

“Yeah. I had no idea her father is pastor of Yarbrough Redeemed Life Ministries. That’s, like, the biggest black mega-church in Houston.”

“Texas, actually.”

“Wow.”Tamia whistled softly.“If his ministry is even
half
as successful as Joel Osteen’s, he must be loaded.”

“You could say that,” Brandon murmured.

Yet another reason your parents probably adore Cynthia,
Tamia thought bitterly.

Brandon had shed his suit pants and sauntered into the large walk-in closet to hang them up.

“She had a date,”Tamia called after him.

“Who?”

“Cynthia.”

There was a short pause.“Did she?”

“Yup. She was meeting him there for drinks. Good-looking light-skinned brotha with glasses. Kinda reminded me of Maxwell.”

Silence.

Tamia continued, “Every time Shanell and I glanced over at their table, they were smiling and staring into each other’s eyes. Looks like they really made a connection.” She chuckled slyly. “It wouldn’t surprise me if Cynthia gave up the goods that very same night. You know what they say about pastors’ k—”

Brandon emerged from the closet and she promptly lost her train of thought, her mouth going dry at the sight of his buff, naked body. Even as fine as Dominic was, there was
nothing
in the world like a sexy, dark chocolate man.

“I’m taking a shower,” Brandon muttered.

Tamia nodded weakly as he disappeared inside the master bathroom and closed the door. Moments later, when she heard the rush of running water, she flung back the covers and slipped out of bed. Brandon had obviously been too preoccupied from work to pay attention to what she was wearing, she told herself. Maybe he’d appreciate the negligee once the silken fabric turned wet and translucent in the shower, clinging to her voluptuous curves.

Smiling wickedly, she sauntered across the room to the master bath. But when she tried to open the door, it was locked.

She frowned.

Brandon never locked the bathroom door. Ever.

Things were even worse than she’d thought.

With a growing sense of dread, she returned to the bed and crawled beneath the covers. Nearly thirty minutes passed before Brandon emerged from the steamy bathroom. Still wide awake, Tamia watched as he retrieved a pair of dark shorts from the mahogany dresser and pulled them on.

Their eyes met.

She held her breath, waiting to see where he intended to sleep that night.

When he walked over and climbed into bed with her, she
nearly wept with relief. Whispering a fervent prayer of thanks, she switched off the bedside lamp so the only illumination in the bedroom was a sliver of moonlight that seeped through an opening in the custom drapes.

Brandon drew her into his arms and kissed the top of her head. Encouraged, she ran her hand down his muscled torso, slowly working her way toward the waistband of his shorts.

Suddenly he caught her wrist, stopping her.

“Not tonight,” he murmured.“It’s been a long day.”

Disappointment washed over her.

She hesitated for a moment, then curved her arm around his chest and pressed her body against his side, taking whatever intimacy she could get.

They lay silent and unmoving in the near darkness.

As Brandon’s breathing slowed and deepened, Tamia glanced up at his shadowy face, thinking he might have drifted off to sleep.

But his eyes were open as he stared at the ceiling, lost in thought.

And for the first time since they’d started dating, Tamia sensed that she was the
last
thing on his mind.

“You look like shit.”

Tamia scowled at her sister.“Gee, thanks. Nice to see you, too.”

Fiona snickered.“Sorry, Tam-Tam. I’m just keeping it real. You have some serious luggage under your eyes and you look like you’re losing weight, but not in a good way.” She made a face, shaking her head.“How is it that
I’m
the one behind bars, and
I
look better than you?”

“Who says you do?” Tamia retorted, though she knew it was probably true.

The past two weeks had been pure hell on her. Ever since the disturbing incident with the unidentified photographer, she’d been jumping at shadows and constantly looking over her shoulder. Although she hadn’t seen the mystery car in over a week, she couldn’t shake the ominous feeling that she was being watched everywhere she went. She’d tried devoting herself to her job to salvage her promotion, but she was too distracted and on edge to produce her best work. She wasn’t eating or sleeping well, and to make matters exponentially worse, she was going through serious dick withdrawal. Brandon had been pulling sixteen-hour days in preparation for an upcoming trial. By the time he dragged himself home every
night, he was too exhausted for sex. And she still hadn’t heard a word from Dominic, despite his promise to call her soon. So she’d gone from having the best sex of her life to counting herself lucky if Brandon gave her a peck on the cheek. From feast to famine.

So, yeah, she probably
did
look like shit. Felt like it, too.

Fiona was eyeing her intently, all traces of humor gone. “What’s going on with you, sis?”

Tamia sighed heavily.“Nothing. I’m just stressed out from work.”

Fiona looked skeptical.“Are you sure that’s all it is?”

Tamia wavered, deliberating on whether to confide in her sister. Truth be told, she could really use a confidante right now. Someone she could trust, who wouldn’t judge her or betray her scandalous secrets. As close as she and Shanell had become over the years, Tamia knew Shanell would condemn her recent behavior. She’d never understand the choices Tamia had made, because
she’d
never been forced into such desperate circumstances.