Chapter 28 - The Endorsement Deal
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"I was here to see Brandon but he is clearly busy," I said rather stiffly as I eyed him with distaste.
"We were just finished. You can come to see me now," Brandon said.
I glanced toward Barbie, her mouth dropped and touched the ground. I felt pleased for some weird reason quite unknown to me.
"Of course," I said in a fake sweet tone which caused Brandon to raise his eyebrow.
"But sir she didn't book an appointment!" Barbie whined.
"I'm the C.E.O here not you, Stephenie. What I say goes, do you understand me?" Brandon growled.
"I understand and I'm very sorry sir," She apologized.
"Follow me," Brandon said to me.
Brandon turned around and walked the familiar route to his office. There were certain differences since the last time I had been in this room, for example, the desk was larger and a different color. There appeared to be more paintings that were just as expensive as Leonardo Da Vinci's Mona Lisa. The room for some reason appeared to be more spacious.
"Sit," Brandon said and gestured to one of the plump couches on the corner of his gigantic office.
I hesitantly took a seat. Brandon sat on the couch next to mine and faced me. I felt my heart skip a beat as I studied his perfect details, this man here definitely hit the gene jackpot from both, his mother's and his father's side. I guess some people were just lucky. Before I developed some self-love, I used to believe that my features were bland and not interesting but I know better. I learned how to love myself because, in the end, those hazel brown eyes helped me see the world around me... the brown hair kept my head warm and provided a cushion for my skull.
"So what's the surprise visit for?" He asked me.
I shrugged, "I just felt like popping in. I didn't expect you to be cheating on me with Miss Stanford." I said voicing my feelings.
Brandon suddenly burst out laughing, "What are you even talking about, Ashley?"
"You and Miss Stanford!" I said raising an eyebrow at him.
He continued to laugh, "I'm not cheating on you with her! She's endorsing my company so we were discussing the details of the contract!" Brandon said.
"Oh. What about the first time she came around?" I asked him, "She said you were expecting her. I'm one hundred percent sure that had a double meaning!"
"I knew you were jealous!" He laughed, "Zandri was here to tell me she accepted the deal. Today we were simply renewing the contract."
"Okay," I shrugged.
"Will you join me for dinner tonight, Ashley?" Brandon asked.
"Yes," I responded without thinking.
To be fair, he did send me bouquets of roses often and he was really trying to win me back. I had to give him a chance. I just wanted to go slow with the whole relationship, I needed to know that we could build the trust we once had. I wanted him to know that this time around, he couldn't pull stunts as he had with Sophia. Although I admired the lengths he went to, to save his best friend from a treacherous marriage, it hurt that he had jeopardized our relationship. He chose his best friend over me and that definitely stung.
I looked at Brandon who had a wide yet victorious smile on his face. He pulled me into a bone-crushing hug as I smiled. In a weird way, I had truly missed his scent, the scent that made me feel at home.
Brandon had always been sweet, kind, and patient. He never gave any signs that he didn't want me or anything. I always assumed that within maybe two years of us being together I would have been his fianceè. We were so in love but that Danish model ruined things for us. She and Alessio just had to put our relationship at stake.
I have to admit that Brandon's decision to help them out of the arranged marriage was stupid. In a way I now understood. Brandon and Alessio's friendship surpassed that of normal people, they may as well have been full-blooded siblings. They were tight-knit and were raised together.
Brandon was a lot of things but I didn't peg him as a cheater. I was curious to see the contract that he signed with Sophia Lancross. I was scared to ask him, but I couldn't help it.
"I want to see the contract between you and Sophia Lancross," I blurted out before I could stop myself.
"That's confidential!" He said.
"Why can't you show me?"
"As I said earlier, Ashley, it's confidential. No one but me, Sophia, and Alessio as well as our team of lawyers have seen it."
"You have a copy of it right?" I asked him.
He nodded, "Of course!"
"You can show me and no one will know. I won't tell a single soul!" I insisted.
"No. I'm sorry Ash, I've signed the document of silence. I'm not allowed to say anything. Me telling you about it is already overstepping the boundaries."
"How do I know you aren't lying?" I asked him.
"You'll have to trust me. Why would I lie to you?"
"I don't know." I shrugged.
"I can't help you there." He said.
"Whatever,"
"Don't whatever me Hayes!" Brandon said using his warning voice.
"I can do whatever I want," I said sticking my tongue out.
"Very mature." He grunted, "You behave like a two-year-old,"
"That's two years older than you mister," I said poking his chest.
"I can prove to you that I'm not an infant." He smirked coyly.
"I'm sure," I said sarcastically.
"I'll show you-"
"I don't want to see!" I screamed as Brandon laughed.
"Alright, alright relax," He told me still laughing.
"Okay," I said. I began inhaling and exhaling loudly.
"Okay Love. I'm heading to the bathroom. I'll be back and we can leave for our dinner." He informed me as he headed out of his office leaving me alone with his things.
A huge mistake on his part. As soon as the door closed and I was sure he was gone, I began to go through his desk items. I found random contracts for mergers but I couldn't find a single thing except for business-related papers. I rifled through some of the documents and when I heard a noise coming from the hallway I quickly stuffed all the papers back and practically ran across the office and sat down trying to regain control over my own breathing.
"I'm back," Brandon announced stepping in, "We can leave now."
"Sure," I smiled at him brightly.
"Italian or Mexican food for tonight?" He asked me.
"Hmm, you decide. I don't mind either." I said with a smug grin.
"Italian it is then," He smiled at me.
"Coco pops!" I said. Most likely because my heart was still beating at a crazy pace and I was nervous. I was surprised I wasn't sweating bullets.
"Um, what?" Brandon asked, laughing at my reaction.
"It's my new way of saying cool," I said.
"You're really special, Ashley."
"I know."
Hey Guys!
How did you find chapter 28?
Anyways, in this author's note it turns out I don't have much to say *laughs*.
Except for defending Brandon from the people who accused him of being a cheater in chapter 8! He's innocent!
Don't forget to comment (I respond to all of them in my spare time) and please don't forget to vote!
Thanks for reading, see you next update:)