Sleeping With the Enemy

Chapter Forty One

"So it went well then?" I ask, taking a bite of my Caesar salad. Brandon got back late last night and we're having lunch before he has to head in to work. I hope once this thing with Herrera dies down, he won't have to be working around the clock like he currently is. It's wearing on him and I'm not content with only seeing him during a few stolen hours in the early morning.

Brandon shrugs. "It went better than expected, but that's not saying much."

"I think you're being modest. It sounds like you got everything you went for." I purse my lips, teasing him a little bit.

"I appreciate your optimism but I'm not chalking it up as a job well done until Herrera is gutted like a fish at the bottom of the Hudson."

I wince, setting my fork down loudly. "Can we please refrain from talking about gutting someone until we're done eating?"

"Sorry, babe." He chuckles. "How is it back here? Did you give Alex a hard time?"

I roll my eyes. "Of course not. I save all of that for you."

"Figures." He snorts.

"But we did have a good time. He's swamped at the restaurant with Ro gone so I helped him out a little bit. And your mom took me out to the winery she's remodeling. She wants me to design the gardens."

"That's a great idea." Brandon smiles, leaning back in his chair and resting his hands at the back of his head. The stretch causes his shirt to pull up a bit and the V of his muscles is enough to make me lose my train of thought. "I like the thought of you helping her there much more than you working at Brodo. Believe me, I've seen how some of those men treat the waitresses and they're real assholes. And the girls who come in are no better. You don't belong in a place like that."

"Oh please. I put myself through nursing school by bartending in the middle of downtown Denver for three years, I learned a thing or two about how to handle myself. Plus, aren't the girls that frequent that place your type?" I quip.

Brandon frowns. "What do you mean?"

"That blonde girl you were with the night I got there?" I smirk, dangling the bait out in front of him.

"Cass?"

"Oh yeah, that is her name."

"She is definitely not my type, and definitely never my girlfriend." Brandon laughs. "You know when you left, I tried to find someone who is the exact opposite of you. You were all I can think about, and if I was with someone that even remotely reminded me of you, you were all I could see. So it was easier to entertain myself with girls who were the exact opposite of you. And that's how Cass came to be."

"Entertain yourself?" I about choke on my food.

"That's all it was to me after you. I didn't want anything serious, and as much as I don't want to admit it, I used a lot of girls. Nothing ever measured up, so I figured why even try to connect with anyone else. I'm sure that sounds ridiculous." Brandon shifts his weight, taking a bite of his burger.