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make her be inexcusably cruel for his own good. “Because you’re a booty call, Brett. Nothing more. We’re not in a relationship. I can’t have Brian so I’ll take you.”
    Brett’s jaw flexed, and his face went white. “Yeah. Okay.” He put up both hands in a warding-off gesture. “Whatever.” Then he walked out of her office, leaving the door open behind him.
    Tessa dropped into her chair, staring after him while her heart ground to a powder. She’d felt less pain breaking up with other guys. Why did it hurt? It shouldn’t. Bad enough she’d had to slap him down, but did she have to suffer the sting, too?
    Her clothes felt inside out, and her eyes burned.
    She pushed herself to her feet. Crossing the room, she realized she didn’t have her shoes on. She pushed the door closed before going back for her shoes. He needed to get it through his head this was all physical. Why was he trying to make it something more?
    Someone knocked.
    Tessa straightened and tried to look like she hadn’t been getting oral sex ten minutes ago. “Come on in.”
    Sandy leaned in. Great, two disasters in one day. Or did this total three now? “Jody said Brett just stormed out of here. Something wrong?”
    “Jerry’s booked solid.”
    “And he’s not happy with Jason?” Sandy frowned, coming the rest of the way into the office. If he thought Brett was rejecting one of his boys, Brett was going to be near the top of the shit list for the rest of his life.
    “No, not at all. I haven’t even called Jason yet. He was just a little frustrated.” Oh, frustrated. Maybe that was why he was so mad. But he had to know seducing her in her office where she couldn’t give payback was a bad idea. “Everything rides on this next record, and he’s young.”
    “I hope you warned him it doesn’t get any better. Everything always rides on the next record these days.”
    Tessa nodded. Hopefully, Sandy wasn’t gearing up for one of his “back in my day” speeches. As bad as his lectures had been back in high school when she was a kid and couldn’t relate, they were worse now that she was older and could. “I’ll call Jason and get him to do it. Then I’ll smooth Brett’s feathers. Jason’s as good as Jerry anyway.”
    “Better. That boy always had an amazing ear for a tune.”
    “He’s good.” Sandy wasn’t leaving. What did he want? Tessa checked the time on the computer. She hadn’t even been here for two hours and she wanted to go home to eat ice cream in her pajamas all weekend. And it was Monday. If she could just keep everyone off the topic of Brett, it might be okay.
    “Why is this boy your special project all the sudden?”
    “This boy?” Damn.
    “Brett Cherney. I’d have bet you never heard of BroRide before last year when Suzi split up with Logan. Why the sudden interest in him now?”
    “Well, because he was there for Suzi when she needed him.” Tessa shrugged. Damn, that sounded pretty good. “None of us were there when she needed a refuge, and Brett took care of her. I figured it was the least I could do to help him out.”
    Sandy nodded. “Are you sleeping with him?”
    Heat hit her face like a sunlamp, and she suddenly remembered when Sandy was her ninth grade math teacher and the only reliable adult male in her life.
    “I see,” Sandy said. “You take care of yourself. Remember, he’s young and impulsive. Probably doesn’t have the brains God gave a can of peas and thinks the world of himself. But we think the world of you. I won’t tell a soul.”
    “Thanks, Sandy.”
    “Just try to keep it out of the office.” He winked at her and walked out.
    No matter how her clothes felt on her body, they weren’t screwed up. Could he smell something? She sniffed. There was a slightly funky odor coming off her. Could he have smelled her from across the desk? Oh, God! She put her head down on her arms.
    Leaving that reception with Brett Cherney had to be the dumbest thing she’d ever done.
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