LITMIR.BIZ

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the room to face Brandon. A part of her didn’t want to believe that this man, who had tenderly made love to her last night, who had taken her to the most sensuous heights possible in his arms, could be anything other than what she saw. Utterly beautiful. The epitome of a perfect gentleman, who was thoughtful and kind.

      Something in her eyes must have given her away, and when he reached for her hand, she took a step back. “What’s wrong, Cassie?” he asked in a voice filled with concern.

      Instead of answering his question she had one of her own. Swallowing the lump she felt in her throat and with a back that was ramrod straight, she asked, “How do you know Parker Garrison, Brandon?”

      Six

      There was a long silence as Brandon and Cassie stood there, staring at each other. Tension in the room was thick, almost suffocating. Brandon inhaled deeply, wishing like hell that he’d told her the truth last night as he had intended and not have her find out on her own. Apparently, she had listened to his phone conversation long enough to know the caller had been Parker.

      “I asked you a question, Brandon. How do you know Parker?”

      Her sharp tone cut into his thoughts and he could tell from her expression that she was beginning to form her own opinions about things. He didn’t want that. He took another deep breath before saying, “He’s a client.”

      She turned her face from him with the speed of someone who had been slapped and the motion made his heart turn over in his chest. He had hurt her. He could actually feel it. The thought that he had done that to her appalled him and at that moment he felt lower than low. “Cassie, I—”

      “No,” she snapped, turning back to him.

      She reached up as if to smooth a strand of hair back from her face, but he actually saw her quickly swipe back a tear. Brandon winced.

      “And just what do you do for Parker, Brandon? Are you his hit man? Since I’m not being cooperative did he decide to do away with me all together?”

      “I’m his attorney, Cassie,” he asserted, his brows drawing together in a deep frown, not liking what she’d said.

      “His attorney?” she whispered, her eyes widening in disbelief.

      His stomach tightened when he saw the color drain from her face. “Yes,” he said softly. “I represent Garrison, Inc.”

      She didn’t say anything for a few moments but the shocked eyes staring at him appeared as jagged glass. Then they appeared to turn into fire. “Is Brandon Jarrett even your real name?” she blurted.

      He exhaled a long breath before answering. “Yes, but not my full name. It’s Brandon Jarrett Washington.”

      Cassie frowned. She recalled seeing the name of Washington and Associates law firm on a letterhead sent to her on Parker’s behalf a few months ago when she had refused to acknowledge any more of his phone calls. “I should have known,” she said with anger in her voice. “Anything that’s too good to be true usually isn’t true. So what sort of bonus did Parker offer you to make me change my mind about the buyout? He evidently told you to succeed by using any means necessary. You wasted your time in law school since you would make a pretty good gigolo.”

      “Don’t say that, Cassie.”

      “Don’t say it?” she repeated as intense anger radiated from every part of her. “How dare you tell me not to. You came here pretending to be someone you are not, to get next to me, to sleep with me to change my mind because Parker paid you to do it?”

      “That’s not the way it was.”

      “Oh? Then what way was it, Brandon? Are you saying you didn’t come here with me as your target, and our meeting had nothing to do with Parker wanting me to give up my controlling share of the company?”

      Brandon felt the floor beneath him start to cave in, but he refused to lie. “Yes, but that changed once I got to know you.”

      That wasn’t good enough for Cassie. She shook her head and began backing away from him. She felt both hurt and anger when she thought of all the time they had spent together, all the things they had done. And all of it had been nothing more than calculated moves on his part.

      That realization filled her with humiliation. “You bastard! How dare you use me that way! I want you out of here. Out of my hotel,” she all but screamed. “And you can go back and tell Parker that your mission wasn’t accomplished. Hell will freeze two times over before I give him anything!”

      It only took her a minute to snatch her boots off the floor and then she stormed past him and went to the sofa to grab her jacket and purse. Brandon was right on her heels.

      “Listen, Cassie, please let me explain. I told Parker just now that I was going to tell you the truth.”

      She whirled on him. “You’re lying!”

      “No, I’m not lying, Cassie. I tried telling you the truth last night.”

      “It doesn’t matter. You lied to me, Brandon, and I won’t forget it. And I meant what I said. I want you out of my hotel or I will order that my staff put you out.”

      With that said and without taking the time to put on her boots, a barefoot Cassie opened the door and raced out of the suite.

      Brandon studied the roadway as he drove toward Cassie’s home, barely able to see due to the intense rain pouring down. By the time he had made it out of the suite after Cassie, she had gotten into her car and driven off. He had gone back inside and done as she’d demanded by packing, and within the hour he had checked out.

      He had called his pilot to cancel his flight off the island. He refused to leave the Bahamas until he had a chance to talk to her again, to clear himself. Nothing mattered other than getting her to believe that although his intentions might not have been honorable when he’d arrived on the island, after getting to know her, he had known he could not go through with it. And he had tried telling her the truth last night.

      But deep down he knew that none of that excused his behavior in her eyes. He also knew that she had a right to be angry and upset. He owed her an apology, which he intended to give her, and nothing would stop him from doing so. Not even the threat that Hurricane Melissa now posed since she had decided to head in this direction.

      The hotel had been in chaos with people rushing to check out. No one wanted to remain on an island that was in the hurricane’s path. But even with all the commotion, Cassie’s staff had everything under control and was doing an outstanding job of keeping everyone calm and getting them checked out in a timely manner. For Cassie to be at home and not at the hotel was a strong indication of how upset she was and just how badly he had hurt her.

      He inhaled a deep sigh of relief when he pulled into Cassie’s driveway and saw her car was there. He hoped she had no intentions of going back out in this weather. From the report he’d heard on the car’s radio, the authorities were saying it wasn’t safe to travel and were asking people to stay off the roads since there had been a number of major auto accidents.

      He glanced at her house when he brought the car to a stop. Judging the distance from where he was to her front door, chances were he would be soaked to the skin by the time he made it, but that was the least of his concerns. He needed to clear things up between them and he refused to entertain the thought that she wouldn’t agree to listen to what he had to say.

      He opened the car door and made a quick dash for the door. The forecasters still weren’t certain if Hurricane Melissa would actually hit the island or just come close to crossing over it. Regardless of whether it was a hit or a miss, this island was definitely experiencing some of the effects of her fury. He was totally drenched by the time he knocked on Cassie’s door. He had changed into a pair of jeans and the wet denim material seemed to cling to his body, almost squeezing him.

      The door was snatched open and he could tell from Cassie’s expression that she was both shocked and angry to see him. “I can’t believe you

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