Rule #13: Bend According To Circumstances
After driving for a few minutes with the low sound of the radio filling the silence, Brandon pulled up in front of a hotel.
"A hotel? What are we doing here?" She stepped out of the car before Brandon could help her out, conveniently ignoring his outstretched hand.
"We…are here to eat." He retracted his hand with an almost awkward smile that he wiped off his face as quickly as it came.
With her eyebrows raised, her face showed her disdain. "Out of all the places, restaurants, and diners in this area...YOU...chose a hotel? Unexpected."
She didn't expect a candlelight dinner, of course, but the roses might have raised her expectations a little bit…just a little bit. Sadly, all those expectations came crashing down beautifully. She shouldn't have expected anything from that fool or from the dinner.
"Don't look down on this magnificent place!" Brandon handed his key to the valet, and his hand settled on her back, gently leading her inside. "This is one of ROWEN's hotels, and I know I might sound biased, but the food is very delicious. Also, I might have wanted to see how the place is doing."
"So you brought me for an on-site inspection? Just great." She rolled her eyes, walking a bit faster away from his burning palm on her back.
"Of course..." He deliberately paused, a twinkle in his eyes, "No."
She trembled; there was something about him at that moment that made her seem like prey and him...a predator. But there was a smile back on his face like that switch never happened.
Before she could ponder more on what she saw, he led her into a private room. Even though she didn't feel very safe being in an enclosed private room with Brandon, she still walked in and sat in the chair he pulled out for her, betting on the fact that he wouldn't hurt her in a public setting.
You're literally in his own territory. Thinking of that made her fidget a bit in her seat; she shouldn't be worried, though. Brandon knew nothing of her plans, meaning she was safe. But maybe it was trauma, maybe it was just him or maybe it was the fact that he was a ROWEN Brandon gave her a weird, unexplainable feeling.
"What's wrong? You don't like this place?" His eyes switched from the menu to her face, assessing her.
"No. I'm fine." She shook her head, ignoring the feeling. She pushed the menu in front of her to Brandon. "Also, order for me, since this place practically belongs to you."
"Technically my father, but okay. What exactly do you want? Give me a general idea."
"Order anything." She didn't want to hear about his father, at least not now, when she wasn't mentally prepared.
He arched an eyebrow. "Anything?"
"Anything but seafood." She quickly added.
"Hmmm...allergic?" He asked, tapping a button to call in the waiter.
She didn't bother to answer him, instead focusing on her phone, replying to Maeve's growing messages. They sat in that awkward silence before the waiter came in with a glass of wine; he poured some in Brandon's glass and was about to do the same for Lilac, but she shook her head. "No, thank you."
"Why not?" Brandon asked once the waiter left.
"I don't drink."
"Why don't you?"
She shrugged. "So why'd you invite me here? Just to drink and eat?"
"Isn't that what people just do on a date?" He teased.
"Maybe if we were on a date, then sure. But we aren't, so spill it." She said, now annoyed. He wasn't that bored to invite her to just eat and drink, was he?
"You're no fun. I have some important things to talk to Ms. Callen about."
Ms. Callen, why was he suddenly calling her by her last name? It was like he was trying to put emphasis on something.
The door opened, and the waiter came in with their food. "And I'll be sure to tell you all about it, but after we eat."
The meal was passable to her, but maybe she didn't enjoy it as much because she was worrying too much about what he wanted to talk to her about. What was it? Did he know? Would something happen?
₊˚ෆ
"Do you want to take a walk to digest the meal?" Brandon suggested after they finished dessert.
"No." She took the last bite of her chocolate lava cake; the only good part of the hotel's food had to be their dessert. "Just start talking." She looked at the little bit left on her plate that couldn't be scraped with a spoon; if only Brandon wasn't there, she would have used her tongue to scrape the remainder off. Very unladylike
"Okay, then I have a couple of questions actually."
"Go on."
"Why did you suddenly choose to take over the Sapphire Rose project? I checked, and you weren't involved in any CRM projects before this one; even when CRM had projects with VaLe, you didn't get involved; instead, you were just a nominal CEO. But suddenly! You've developed an interest in such a small project." Brandon leisurely spoke, watching his half-full glass. He continued, his eyes boring into hers, "I can't help but think you have some sort of ulterior motive."
Lilac clenched her hands in her lap, schooling her features into a mask of calm; she couldn't afford to show anything. Now was the time for all the acting she practiced in front of the mirror to shine.
"Like what?" Clearly she wasn't very successful in acting calm; her voice sounded hoarse.
It was easier to fool Alex than it was for Brandon; one had their rotten heart on their sleeve, and the other hid behind his 'sunny' smile. Brandon was more cunning than Alex was.
He smiled; ugh, she hated his freaking smile. "I don't know. You tell me." He leaned in. "I've been thinking, but I can't seem to figure it out. Why. Are. You. Interested. In. ROWEN?"
He enunciated each word clearly with enough pressure.
She took a deep breath and released into her seat, "You invited me to dinner to interrogate me?"
Her heart was beating fast, but as they say, fake it till you make it. She had to make sure to shoot down whatever suspicion Brandon had for her at the moment, or it could bite her in the future.
"Maybe. Maybe not."
"Why are you so curious about my life? How is it any of your business if I was a nominal CEO before or not?"
"Deflecting, are we?" He eyed suspiciously.
"I'm going to answer all your questions. The only thing I can tell you is that the Callen family adopted me."
Brandon raised his eyebrows; that information wasn't disclosed. If she was adopted, then not being involved in huge projects would make a lot of sense; the Callen family probably didn't trust her enough to let her deal with the important projects and could only let her deal with small projects. Lilac watched him spin an elaborate sad story in his head with a smirk on her face; everyone who heard she was adopted into the Callen family always thought she was this pitiful child that was treated like a rag. She loved fooling them like that.
"Oh...so that's it. I thought it was something else." He had more questions now, like where did she come from and more, but he knew Lilac a bit now to understand that she couldn't even bother answering him.
"Something like what?"
"Hm, you saw me and fell in love at first sight, so you decided to take over the project just to get closer to me and get a little glimpse of me."
Her jaw dropped, shock all over her face. Wow. He would have been best friends with Maeve with that imagination. "Have you ever thought of switching careers?"
"Huh? No." Although confused, he answered.
"You should. With that imagination, it's a shame you're not an author."
Brandon chuckled. "Maybe I'll write an epic love story someday."
"But the question remains..." He suddenly got serious, leaning in closer like he had a secret to share, beckoning her to come closer.
Lilac didn't take the bait; instead, she leaned backwards. "What?"
"Sooo...do you like me?" Brandon suddenly asked with a bright smile.
She stared at him in horror, like he suddenly grew another head. Speechless, they just stared at each other until Lilac moved her eyes to the clock on the wall.
"Maybe...maybe not." She mimicked him.
ෆ
Brandon dropped her home; once the car stopped, she jumped out without even glancing at him. Maeve wasn't there, but she left a sticky note saying she would be back soon.
After changing her clothes, Lilac immediately called Amy to book an appointment for the next day; she needed to finalize the project quickly. Hopefully she managed to shut down any suspicions Brandon might have had for her...
༊˚
In a hazy study room, Brandon stood in front of a man; he was holding a smoke pipe, looking down at the documents on his desk.
"Adopted, huh?"
"Yes, Father."
Mike Rowen, the patriarch of the Rowen family. Brandon was an exact carbon copy of him except Mike had black hair and Brandon's was white, though Asher looked nothing like him.
"Hm...Interesting."
"Father, if you don't mind me asking, why are you interested in her?"
"Because...you're single, she's single, and she's a Callen."
"But...I'm engaged."
"I'm sure Tobias Vale wouldn't mind us breaking the engagement; after all, he wasn't very willing when we proposed it in the first place."
"But I..."
"What? Don't tell me you've started having feelings for that Vale girl?"
"No, sir. I'm just saying..."
Mike raised his hand interrupting him "No more, Brandon... Do your best to get closer to her. Remember—you're a Rowen. She will be yours, one way or another. And if you play your cards right… you may not just win her, but win both the Callen and the Vale."
Head lowered, he nodded, "Yes, Father."