BRIAN (The Callahans Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page A

close, you and your kids?”
    “It’s a fifty-fifty deal these days.” He lifted his own water glass and sipped from it, his eyes dropping from mine for a second. “When Abigail got sick, she didn’t want the kids to know until the end. Some of them understood, but others blamed me for missing out on the good days.”
    “I’m sorry.”
    “Kids are funny, sometimes.”
    The waiter came and delivered our meals then, interrupting the conversation. The moment he was gone, though, Brian jumped back in, his eyes never really leaving mine.
    “Do you have kids?”
    My heart jumped into my throat. I didn’t want to talk to him about my daughter, but wouldn’t it seem odd to him if I denied having any children at all? He knew I was Catholic; he knew how badly I’d wanted a large, Catholic family like the one I grew up in. I had five brothers and four sisters. I talked about them all the time when we knew each other all those years ago, talking about my adoration for my nieces and nephews. He knew.
    “A daughter.”
    His eyebrows rose, proving what I’d already knew. He remembered.
    “Just one?”
    “My husband had a virus when he was young. Doctors thought it caused him some fertility issues.”
    Brian’s expression softened. I could almost read his mind now. He felt sorry for me, that I would chose such a man. And he was thinking of how viral he was as a young man, back when we knew each other. He could have given me a house full of kids, but the man I chose couldn’t.
    I could almost smell the testosterone coming off of him.
    “Take the job,” he said after a few bites of his steak. “If it works out, great. If not, no hard feelings.”
    I nodded. “I appreciate it.”
    He smiled broadly.
    Brian to the rescue. He’d always had this need to rescue damsels in distress. And once again, I’d offered him the perfect scenario.
    I was once the putty. But now he was.
    ***
    Brian showed me around the office, introducing me to the secretaries and executives he worked with on a daily basis. I wasn’t officially his assistant until Monday morning, but he was so obviously in need of help now. There were stacks of papers on his assistant’s desk, each one more demanding than the last in the need for him to sign off on something or to read through some report. And emails…he showed me his email inbox, and I was overwhelmed. I couldn’t imagine how overwhelmed he was.
    There was actual work to be done.
    He brought me in to introduce me around and get the paperwork started, but I ended up staying to sift through his emails. It was nearly six when I finally came up for air, pressing enter on the last response I felt comfortable writing today.
    My cell phone buzzed. I don’t like looking at my cell phone these days. The only person who ever texts me these days is not someone I want to speak to, but I couldn’t ignore it.
    Do you have something for me?
    What could I say? No? I just spent six hours with Brian, and I knew that they knew. They were watching me.
    But what could I say?
    “How’s it going?”
    I jumped, almost convinced that they were here, that they’d come to force my hand. But it was only Brian, leaning against the doorframe, looking like a man half his age.
    “I’m good.”
    He smiled. “I know. I just got an email from Killian, the head of the PR department. He’s very grateful that you sent him the copy of that contract for the new pizza franchise.”
    I stood, knocking my hip against the edge of the desk. Brian stepped forward, but I held out my hand to show that I was okay.
    “I was wondering what time you want me here tomorrow.”
    “Seven. That way we can get in a few hours of work before human resources calls you down to do their security checks and whatever.”
    “Great.” I was fumbling for something else to say. I needed him to stay here; I needed to see his cellphone, or if he had an old-fashioned rolodex…I needed names, numbers. Needed anything I could find. “Did you have plans this