“Dude, seriously? You were the one who initiated this and had legal put a rush on it!”
“And…?”
“You said you wanted signatures on it by the end of the month,” Travis said wearily. “I had hoped you’d sign off on it today so I could email it out to management and…”
“Have you read it?”
“Of course.”
“Was there anything out of place? Anything that sounded off?”
“No, it’s our standard contract that we’ve used for other complexes.”
Checking his desk to make sure he hadn’t forgotten anything, he shrugged. “Then we’re good, Trav. You can sign off on it and send it off. I trust you.” Walking around his desk, he smiled and clapped his brother on the shoulder. “Have a good night!”
“Wait!” Travis called out and waited until Brody turned to face him. “What’s going on with you?”
“What do you mean?”
“You’ve been cutting out early, coming in late, and…I don’t know…you just smiled at me. It’s a little unnerving.”
“Seriously? You’re complaining because I smiled?”
“It’s very unlike you.”
With a huff of annoyance, Brody put his satchel down on his desk before facing his brother again. “If memory serves, everyone hated me and how I was. Now I’m working on changing things up and it’s still a problem?”
“Okay, for the record, no one hated you. You were just a little…intense sometimes.”
“Fine, now I’m not so intense and yet you’re still giving me shit!”
With a groan, Travis tried to better explain himself. “I’m just curious what’s going on that has you…you know…relaxing like this. For years we’ve all been telling you to ease up a bit and you refused. Is it Charlene’s cousin? The baker?”
“Her name is Leanna, and yes,” he said a bit stiffly.
“Wow! I just thought you hung out with her that weekend to keep everyone off your back.”
Yeah, that had been the plan but there was no way he was going to admit it out loud because it made him sound…shallow.
“We’re…um…dating,” he said stiffly.
“Holy shit! Are you doing this so Dad will finally consider you for that promotion?”
“What?! Why would you even say that? What is wrong with you?”
Travis held up his hands in defeat. “Okay, okay…sorry. The timing just seemed a little…you know…convenient, that’s all. You haven’t gone out with anyone more than a handful of times in years so…”
With a huff of annoyance, Brody glanced down at his watch. “Was there anything else you needed? Leanna and I have plans tonight and I’d really like to get going.”
“That’s great, Bro! I had no idea you were serious about her!” Then he paused and Brody’s eyes went a little wide.
It was on the tip of his tongue to correct him and say they weren’t serious, but…they were. This was all so new to him and the last thing he wanted was anyone interfering or giving their two cents–especially anyone in his family.
Although…if it hadn’t been for them, he wouldn’t have a relationship with Leanna right now.
Still, he liked their privacy and wasn’t looking to invite any observers in.
“It’s all still a little new,” he said reluctantly. “Our schedules are a little hard to manage but we’re making it work.”
“Good for you!” Grinning from ear to ear, Travis repeated Brody’s earlier move and clapped him on the shoulder. “And don’t let me keep you. Go and have a good night. Maybe the four of us will have to go out sometime!”
It was not something he was even remotely interested in doing, but he simply smiled and said, “Sure,” as he grabbed his satchel and headed out the door.
The entire way down to the parking garage, Brody felt mildly annoyed by having his personal life questioned. It wasn’t anyone’s business where he went or what he did or who he was doing it with.
Then he realized that it wasn’t that big of a deal because…it just wasn’t. His behavior had changed and people were noticing so…where was the harm in that? It wasn’t like he was doing anything nefarious; he was simply dating a beautiful woman who made him happy.
By the time he climbed into his car and was pulling away from the office, he felt all the tension leave his body and he glanced at the clock and realized he would be seeing Leanna in two hours. Just knowing that put a smile on his face. Tonight they were staying in at her place and she was making them dinner. It was a Tuesday night and they now had a bit of a pattern–one night a week they ate in, two nights a week they went out, and on all of those nights he stayed at her place so they could make love for hours and he could sleep with her in his arms.
Funny how he never knew how appealing that could be.
Over the last several weeks, things had become…good. Really good. Brody couldn’t remember the last time he had been in a relationship but he knew it had never been like this. Because of the busy schedules they both kept, those three nights a week that they spent together meant more. He didn’t mind working late as a habit, but now he used it as a way to pass the time when he couldn’t be with her.
Leanna’s schedule was crazier than he ever realized. On the weeks when they had big events, she was busy baking and dealing with clients fourteen hours a day. When she had a day off or just on the nights they got to see each other, he tended to dote on her because he knew she never did anything for herself. There were lots of foot massages as well as full-body ones which were really just an excuse for him to get his hands on her.
Not that she minded.
They’d gone to see musicals at the theaters in both Raleigh and Durham, a hockey game, and out to several movies. He’d invited her to come and workout with him during his training sessions but she’d turned him down flat.
“If you ever see me running, it means someone’s chasing me. And not for anything good,” she’d told him and while he would have loved having her with him at the gym–and seeing her in spandex–he respected her wishes and didn’t push her on it. By the same token, she was constantly talking about cakes and cupcakes and never pushed him on trying them.
Balance. They had a good balance and a healthy respect for each other. He genuinely liked Leanna, respected her, and more than anything, he trusted her.
And he didn’t trust anyone.
That was why tonight was going to be a big deal. He was going to ask Leanna something that he’d never asked another woman and…just thinking about it made him a bit nervous.
There was a slight chance she’d turn him down, but he didn’t think she would.
He just needed to word it perfectly so she would be excited about it and not look at him as if he were crazy.
Okay, maybe he was overthinking it. After all, it wasn’t as if he were asking her to move in with him; he was simply going to ask her to come and spend the weekend at his place. So far, they had spent all their time at her place and that was something he made sure of–especially after their first date when she mildly freaked out over their differences. For the life of him, he didn’t know how she could stand living someplace so small. It was a little suffocating at times and he was a man who enjoyed his breathing room. But just as he’d told her that night, she was more than where she lived and he wanted to do everything he could to make her relax.