Page 92 of How to Resist Prince Charming

“And our Braxton worked there before coming here?” Tasha asked, clearly skeptical.

“Hell, he damn near built the place from the ground up. He and one of his friends, Scandy or something or other, thought up the idea. They started it together, and from what Spencer told me, Braxton even invested a ton of money to get it off to a running start. To be honest with you, I’m not sure why his friend didn’t make him a partner, but Braxton let his buddy take all the glory.” Pat shrugged. “Beats me. Maybe he knew he’d be coming to Farris someday.”

“Good.” Tasha sighed. “At least he has somewhere to go now.”

Except he didn’t, and Tom knew why Braxton wouldn’t return to ProTech.

Damn it all to hell.

This piece of information was more than he could take. He needed to talk to the kid. Now. Letting out a frustrated breath, he stalked from the conference room, leaving his co-workers to gape after him. He went straight to the president’s office. When he found the door partially open, he pushed inside.

Braxton stood at his window with his back to the door, holding his hands laced together behind his head.

Tom cringed. “Did you know this was going to happen all along?”

Braxton whirled around. “Tom,” he gasped and pressed his hand to his heart, waiting a moment before blowing out a long breath. “Did I know what was going to happen?”

“That your father was going to return? Did you realize your presidency over this company was only temporary?”

“No,” Braxton answered. He shrugged. “I mean, as far as we were concerned, Savannah was never going to recover. I came here on the contingency I might stay forever.”

“But you knew if your sister did get better, Spencer would come back?”

Braxton gave a slight nod. “Yeah, I knew,” he admitted. “That’s why he wanted it to be me who took over. Before I started at Farris, we made a deal. I would run the company as I saw fit, like it was going to be mine permanently. But if he ever had the opportunity to return, he would.”

He jammed his hands into his pockets and stared down at his feet. “He had to leave. My mom couldn’t stay with Savannah by herself anymore. Dad wanted to be with them, but he couldn’t give up all hope of losing Farris Industries either. He wanted to come back if he ever could.”

Braxton shrugged. “It wouldn’t have been so easy for him, at his age, to return to the work force and try to start fresh somewhere else. He needed this position held for him.” Looking almost bashful, he added, “Since I’m young...well, it’ll be easy for me to find work somewhere else. And it’s not like Dad wouldn’t let me stay here if I needed a job.”

Tom studied the man who had secretly dated his daughter for months. A strange tightness bound his chest.

It was pride.

“Plus you knew you had a secure position waiting for you at ProTech,” he said.

When Braxton froze, Tom sighed. “I didn’t realize you’d worked there before you came here. But Pat just explained how you’d helped your friend start that company.”

Silence was the only answer Braxton gave.

“You got Lenna her job,” Tom murmured as it really struck him. “Her dream job.”

Braxton met his gaze dead on. “No.” He shook his head. “I only mentioned her name for an interview. She got her own job.”

Tom swallowed. “Are you going to have her fired so you can go back there? You could, couldn’t you?”

Braxton eyes frosted. “Jesus, Tom, you really think I’m that asshole, don’t you? No, I’m not going to have your daughter fired. I can find somewhere else to work.”

Tom swallowed. He sent Braxton a nod full of approval and apology. “I’m sorry, I just...I can’t...You...”

“God, will you just spit it out so you can leave?”

“It was all just...” Tom coughed. He couldn’t look the kid in the eye. “Everything you did was so altruistic and...and generous. The fact that you would sacrifice so much for your family...and then for my daughter—”

Braxton lifted a hand. “You know, I don’t want you to suddenly start liking me.” He blinked rapidly as if he had something in his eye. “For you to approve of me now would be the ultimate insult.”

“Braxton,” Tom said, apology thick in his voice.

But Braxton bulldozed over him before Tom could continue. “I’m sure Dad will want to see the progress you’ve made on the Trevis account. You might want to get a report together for him to read once he gets here on Monday.”

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