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It just reminded her what Braylon had said about Abby when it was discovered that her mother had mental health and addiction issues.
Didn’t Braylon do everything he could to keep that quiet so that nothing affected West?
She just had to hope that no one was interested in her and Braylon’s relationship like her boyfriend assured her.
And when Braylon texted her after lunch to ask how it went and if anyone commented on the picture, she brushed it off and said it was what she expected, but it was all good.
28
THE HUMAN ELEMENT
The next day, West and Abby’s official engagement announcement was released. The full story of their courtship and engagement photos were there. The donation to Abby’s choice was also published.
It was a wonderful article and would make his brother look great.
The family photo was a lovely touch. They chose the one that included Trevor and Lily.
Lily hadn’t been so thrilled over that. She’d seemed shocked, but Braylon wasn’t. He had a feeling that West would do that, but he wasn’t sure why.
Sure, he loved Lily, but it’d only been a few months. Though he didn’t think anything would happen to end his relationship, it was still early for that to be published.
Braylon was in the office early, as always. Lily had stayed the night and they came in together. She’d been quiet when talking about work and he wondered what might be going on.
He felt like there was more than she was saying and it was hurtful she wouldn’t confide in him, but he had to let her do her thing and hope if there were problems she’d come to him.
“Are you nuts?”
He turned to see Thomas standing in the doorway.
“Excuse me?”
“Your girlfriend,” Thomas said. “First off, I think West is the idiot for the whole article, but there was no stopping him.”
“It’s his decision and I don’t think he’d appreciate the insult,” he snapped.
“It’s my job to protect him and his business. The whole thing with Abby’s background was a mess, but you swept it under the carpet. You should have let me handle it and expose it all so there was no more talk.”
He ground his teeth. “That’s not your decision. It was West’s.”
His brother wanted to protect Abby, not tell the world something personal and private that no one needed to know.
Thomas didn’t always see the human element in things and that was why West gave it to him to deal with directly.
“I don’t believe West is too concerned about this,” he said. “You knew the article was coming out. We told you.”
“But I didn’t read it beforehand. If I had, I would at least have advised him not to put a picture of Lily with your family in it.”
“Why is it any business of yours who I date and if they are part of my family?” he asked.
Thomas came into his office and shut his door. “Well, if you were half the attorney you think you are, you’d do a background check on the woman you’re prancing around your family.”
“I’ve met her family,” he said. “I know what I need to know.”
Thomas was shaking his head at him. “Still young and naive,” Thomas said, tossing a file on his desk. “Just to open your eyes a little. Hope this doesn’t backfire on your brother. But at least he’ll know who is the one who had his back.”
Everything in him wanted to deck Thomas, but he wouldn’t.
After Thomas left, he opened the file and started to read the reports in front of him.
