Page 46 of Rescuing Brinley

“You can listen to whatever she has to say in her messages.” Brinley took the phone out of her purse and unlocked it before handing it to him.

It took a ton of control to calmly take the phone from her and click on the voicemail button. But that was nothing compared to the effort it took to keep a straight face as he listened to the three messages the Tamika person left for Brinley.

First she cajoled, then whined, and, in the last message, flat-out threatened Brinley if she didn’t take her on as a client.

You’ll regret this.

The three words echoed in Shadow’s brain. The woman sounded furious, almost unhinged. And it worried him. But he didn’t want to freak out Brinley any more than she probably was already.

Without asking, he tapped on the share icon and sent the three messages to his email. For some reason, he felt the need to make sure the messages weren’t erased. He had a feeling Brinley would delete them in an effort to make the issue disappear.

“What did she say?” Brinley asked, her brow furrowed.

Shadow hated that she was so obviously stressed. The carefree date they were having had shifted, and it was all because of some bitch who couldn’t take the word “no” for an answer.

“You were right, she’s not happy and really wants you to work with her. This is harassment, Brin. Block her number immediately, and if she calls you from another number, block that one too and hang up as soon as you realize it’s her. You don’t have to stand for being treated this way. From her or anyone. You have the right to decide who you take on as a client and who you turn down. And considering how ugly she’s acting, you’re completely right to say no to her.”

“Thanks. You’re right. And I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“For ruining the night.”

“You didn’t ruin anything, hon. We aren’t going to let that bitch taint our first date.”

“Maybe our second date won’t have any drama like the first two have had.”

He smiled. “I don’t care how much drama we have, as long as I get to keep taking you out.”

“That’s sweet.”

“It’s not sweet, it’s honest.”

“That too.”

This woman. She was killing him. “Ready to go?”

“Yeah. Thank you for tonight. The coffee, the walk, dinner, and listening to those voicemails so I don’t have to.”

“Anytime. And I mean that. All you have to do is pick up the phone if you need anything. I’ll be there.”

She stared at him for a long moment.

“What?”

“I just… It’s hard to believe this is real.”

“It’s real,” Shadow told her. “I can’t believe you were here in the same town as me and I didn’t know. That we hadn’t met.”

“I don’t exactly get out much.”

“Well, however it happened, I’m happy that luck was on my side and I found you before anyone else did.”

“It’s not as if I’m that great of a prize, Dash.”

“Wrong. You’re the ultimate prize, sweetheart. And I’m gonna do whatever it takes to win you.” He winced as soon as the words were out. They sounded so…wrong. Sexist. But thankfully, she didn’t seem to take offense.

Brinley giggled. “You’re weird.”