Page 56 of Seducing Bran
“Dumb as a rock, aren’t you? I’d like to see Bran’s face when the program crashes.”
James could make fun of her looks, but she was the best at what she did. And she wasn’t allowing some jerk to talk to her like that ever again.
She straightened her back. “The program won’t crash, and no, I haven’t lost my mind. I rewrote the back end, and I did it in a few days. How long did you spend trying to solve the problem? Weeks?”
“You what?”His jaw shifted, eyes dark. “Did you fuck him? Is that how you convinced him to let you rewrite it?”
She shook her head slowly, reaching in her purse for her phone. “Leave, or I’m calling the police.”
He grabbed her arm. “And tell them what? That you stole proprietary software and called it your own? That you slept with the boss to get ahead?”
Shehadslept with Bran. But their attraction to each other started long before she began freelancing for Club Tahoe.
Ireland yanked her arm, but James wouldn’t let go. “My relationship with Bran has nothing to do with this.”
“So you did fuck him. If I fuck you, what will I get?”
“You asshole!” She was pulling and shoving and trying with all her strength to get loose, but for an average-sized guy, he was strong. Stronger than her.
Dammit, she didn’t want to be that helpless woman. She’d been weak and outnumbered for most of her career, and self-doubt washed over her now, suffocating her. “Let me go!”
Ireland couldn’t reach her phone, not with James holding on to her.
“You’re not petite, but you’re about as strong as a child. Aw, did I hurt your feelings?” He leaned closer, his sour breath coating her skin. “Get used to it, because I plan to hurt you more before—”
One moment James was in her face threatening her, and the next, he was on the ground rolling around with what looked like a linebacker.
“Bran?” Ireland said.
Bran climbed on top of James and punched him in the face.
“Stop!” Ireland yelled, scrambling for her phone.
James held up his hands, blocking Bran, then sucker punched Bran in the throat.
“No!” Ireland said. “Get him, Bran!”
Bran rolled off James, coughing. And then he was on top of James again. “Don’t you ever touch her, do you hear me?”
“Why? You the only one allowed to fuck the bitch?”
Bran jerked James to his feet and wrenched his arms behind his back. He slammed James against the nearest car and pinned him there. “Ireland,” he said. “Call the police.”
Ireland fumbled with her phone and kept hitting the wrong numbers, dammit! She finally dialed nine-one-one.
Everything happened so fast. Bran fighting with James, the police showing up.
“I want to press charges!” James screeched. “This man attacked me.”
Bran stood calmly near the police officer. “I pulled him off a woman he was attacking at my resort.”
“He hit me!” James said.
“’Bout to do it again,” Bran mumbled, but Ireland heard, and so did the cop.
The policemen asked if she wanted to press charges, and her mind went blank. James had threatened her. He’d grabbed her and hurt her arms. But the real fight took place between Bran and James. Though if Bran hadn’t come when he did… “I-I don’t know. I just want him to stay away from me.”
Bran rested his hand on her lower back. The touch warmed her, sending strength throughout her body. “You can press charges tomorrow.”
