Page 19 of The Things We Treasure
Then she realised.
Brierley pulled back slightly, just enough to look up at him. His dark eyes were fixed on hers with an intensity that made her breath catch. She could see the desire there, the tenderness, the way he was looking at her like she mattered.
Fear spiked through her chest.
She stepped back fully, her arms dropping to her sides. The sudden distance felt necessary, like a lifeline. Her heart was racing, and she couldn't quite catch her breath. This was too much. He was too much. The way he looked at her, the way she felt when he looked at her—it terrified her.
"I—" she started, then swallowed hard. "Don't think I'm not appreciative of all you've done for your little pet project. I really am. You're really turning things around for Ohpaua. But I just think we should keep things professional."
Breht looked at her and frowned, stung by her words. Was that really what she’d thought? That he’d put his heart and soul into Ohpaua because it had been a hobby for him to try and turn her life around. Maybe that had been the case when he’d first arrived, but now? Her business meant as much to him as it did to her. He didn’t know what he had been expecting. But her words took the floor right out from underneath him; he was confused, as last night she’d been wanting more from him. He assumednow that it was due to alcohol. He could put on a brave face in front of rejection, but what she’d just said, he had to question: “Pet project?” The question ripped from him before he could mull over the words.
“Sure,” Brierley returned, though her spirits weren’t dampened by his accusatory tone. “I mean, it’s Ohpaua that’s on the line. In a few weeks’ time, you’ll be back at Merloft Corp and have forgotten all about what we’ve done here. It’s ahugedeal for me, but you do this all the time, right?” She asked, oblivious to her scathing words. Merloft was one of those big-name corporations; she couldn’t easily dismiss his motivations for making Ohpaua a success - higher rates of rent and investment percentages. What was in it for Breht other than a bonus in his pay packet?
Tersely, he shook his head. He didn’t trust himself to reply. It’s not like he wanted to return to the city and get back to pushing papers behind his desk, whittling away the hours unsatisfied. He turned away from her, making his way to the front door. “I’ll let you get on then,” he replied, professionally, just as she wanted.
“Breht?”
He looked back towards her with a smile painted behind his large tusks, professionalism, even though her words cut far deeper than she knew. “You’ve got a store to fill, Brierley. I’ll let you work in peace. Meet me in the park tomorrow morning?” He asked, “We can go over the plans for the relaunch?”
“Sure,” she replied, moving back behind her desk and picking up one of her perfectly placed tools. Eager to get to work on a few more pieces of her relaunch collection.
Chapter 9
Chapter9
Those words were devastating: ‘I think we should keep things professional.’ They were the right words under all other circumstances. His recent break-up with Rosani, the precarious position of Ohpaua and his uncertain thoughts on the future. But that didn’t make his heart feel any better. He’d spent the rest of the previous day answering emails and making dull telephone calls to clients regarding things he no longer cared about. The passage of time had dragged, drawing the hours on for weeks! Eventually, he’d given up on working, switched his phone off and fallen asleep in the comforting embrace of frilly pillows.
The warm morning sun beating down on his face was the perfect weather for pursuing summer romance. But Brierley had stopped the orc dead in his tracks. When he looked back on their kiss, she had wanted it as much as he did; Brierley had taken absolute delight in teasing his ears, attempting to explore the reaction she stirred. Their day together, distributing leaflets for the looming relaunch of Ohpaua, had been a dose of heavenly fun. The merriment had come crashing down when he’d tried to kiss her, and he couldn’t fathom what had gone so terribly wrong. The mixed messages left him utterly confused.
A glimmer of hope arose when his phone rang, quashed when he saw the name of the caller glowing vibrantly on the screen. With a groan, he lifted the phone to his ear; “Ma,” he answered with a single word.
“Mr Merloft. You’ve not been giving me updates on your venture,” his Matriarch informed him with no preamble. No asking after his health and well-being. Two could play that game, he thought indignantly.
“We’re relaunching tonight with a new product range,” he announced.
“Good,” She uncharacteristically encouraged. “Enlighten me?”
“I’ve encouraged Brierley…” he started to explain.
“Brierley?” She questioned.
“Miss Mirren, the owner,” he elaborated with a pang of complicated emotions.
“Go on.”
“I’ve encouraged her to take her business more up-market; a better product commands a higher price. Working with higher-end materials with her designs to capture a more niche market,” he’d picked his words very carefully. Not daring to say that the designs she’d been working on were of his imagining, alongside her own. Brierley had been nothing short of incredible in accepting his artworks; his Matriarch wouldn’t be so understanding.
“Sounds positive.”
Breht could imagine her nodding her head in satisfaction on the other end of the phone, but knew the encouragement would only go so far. “I know Bri… Miss Mirren is eager to reopen Ohpaua…”
“You couldn’t persuade her to change the name then?”
“No, the paua stone has a deep personal connection for her. It’s the one thing she insisted on keeping.”
“A pity,” Dura commented. “It’s a stupid name.”
Breht’s expression soured, even though he had initially thought the same. A frown deepened the lines of his face. Of course, Dura wouldn’t understand personal connections. She was as corporate as they came.
