Breaking Braydon Read Free

about her anymore.” I lied. I was fascinated by her. The way she moved, the way she talked and laughed. The same feelings from ninth grade had followed me into adulthood. Lust. Hatred. Shame.
    Angela had attended one of our charity events two days earlier. I’d watched her all evening, staying in the background so I wouldn’t be noticed. She was with her parents, the Bartholomew’s, originally from Texas. I remembered they were old money, oil, I thought. They were wealthy beyond reason, with so much money, I was sure they could feed a small country. They would never do that though, not with their precious daughter, whom they spoiled rotten. Angela had worn a designer gown with so many diamonds, I thought I spotted a security guard shadowing her.
    I recalled Angela’s outgoing personality, her ability to attract attention whenever she entered the room. She’d flaunted her wealth during high school, but I’d been too distracted by the newfound lust storming through my body to notice. That, or I didn’t care. When it came to Angela, I hadn’t cared about anything but her. What an idiot I’d been. I vowed never to make that mistake again.
    “You know, I just thought about something.” Todd’s gaze landed on me. “All the girls you date? All of them look a lot like Angela.”
    Sweat started to bead on my forehead. Damn.
     

FOUR
    Jain
    “Do you think they can help us?” I asked.
    “I do. They have a stellar reputation in the fundraising business. They’re supposed to be the best,” Colin answered for Martin. We were in Martin’s executive office, troubleshooting the funding problem. It had always been the three of us that hashed out problems dealing with financial issues.
    “He’s right. They’ve raised millions for companies just like ours. The owner, Braydon Decker, is a known workaholic, stopping at nothing until he meets the goal of his client,” Martin added.
    “Yeah, he gets what he wants all right,” Colin muttered under his breath.
    “ That Braydon?” I asked.
    “The very one,” he responded.
    I turned my alarmed eyes back to Martin. “We have to work with the famous Braydon? The one the tabloids refer to as Bad Boy Braydon? The one all the women want to break?”
    Martin raised his eyebrows and rubbed his chin. “What? Why would they want to break him?”
    Colin, who knew everything about everybody, chimed in. “Braydon Decker is a known playboy. What makes him special, or I should say, different, is the fact that he never spends more than six hours with any given woman. And he never goes back for seconds. All the eligible women on the charity circuit and their mamas want to be the one to ‘break’ him. Who wouldn’t want a billionaire for a husband or son-in-law? But he has a certain type. Blonde, blue-eyed, tall and slim. Oh, and beautiful. Can’t forget that.”
    Relief spread through me. “Well, I should be safe then!”
    Martin exhaled quietly. “Good. Because I’ve assigned you as the liaison. You’ll be coordinating the event with Mr. Decker.”
    I was stunned silent for a moment. “Wait. What?” I turned and stared at Colin, trying to communicate my reticence with my eyes. “Why me?” Colin should do this. I didn’t want to waste my time with some womanizer. There were more important things to do! I had at least ten clinical trials I was responsible for. My gaze darted back to Martin.
    Martin met my borderline desperate, pleading gaze and replied, “You coordinate all our other functions and events. It seems logical you’d do this one, as well.”
    No. He can’t believe I’m qualified for this. “I’ve organized employee meetings and a yearly holiday party.” This was nowhere near my skill level. “Can’t we hire this out?”
    Martin’s eyes cast down before meeting mine. “I’m so sorry, Jain. We’re completely out of money. We’ll have to do this in-house if we have a chance of holding on.”
    I tried my most convincing expression. “How about