Chapter Five-Brandon

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When I left the club that night, I thought a good night's sleep was just what the doctor ordered. That a little bit of rest would clear my mind, keep me focused, and ground me so I could get to the bottom of this shit with Sadie. Instead, it had done the exact opposite.

I had every intention of fucking Cass until my mind was numb, and then sending her packing so I could sleep it off. Instead, I sent Cass on her way in a fit almost the second we walked into my pent house. I wasn't even remotely attracted to her after seeing Sadie again. The girl was like a fucking time machine, and suddenly, the thought of having another woman repulsed me. It wasn't fair. I had accepted her leaving years ago, no matter how hurt I was, and she had been back for a few hours and now my entire world, especially my sex life, was turned upside down.

It was pure torture being in the same bar with her all night, yet being so far away. I watched as she ate up the attention of every guy in there, fielding more in tips in two hours on a Wednesday than most of Alex's bartenders took home on an entire weekend night. I watched as she stole glances at me across the room, quickly darting her eyes when I caught her looking. I watched as those damn shorts would ride up so dangerously high that one wrong move and her entire ass would be on display. It was physically painful to keep myself from tossing my jacket at her, forcing her to cover up. She didn't belong in a place like this, especially dressed as she was. Not a girl like her. Not my Sadie.

It was even worse after I left the club. At least there, there was some distraction. All I could think about was her, how in love we used to be, and how fucking gorgeous she still was. She was a damn good liar, but I had always been able to see past her antics. She was hiding something. Something big. She said that she and Adam were in trouble, and that was about the only thing I believed. I just wasn't sure what kind of trouble she meant. It could be money problems, but I doubted it. I knew things were tight for them, but if she really needed the money as badly as she claimed, she could sell the house, or make Adam get a job. It was something else, and despite her stubborn-as-hell demeanor, I knew it was only a matter of time before I found out.

When I got to Brodo for my meeting the next morning, I was a wreck. I had slept about forty-five minutes last night and my father had called an emergency meeting. Apparently, he wasn't thrilled that our warehouse had been taken out of commission under my watch and now I was going to have to answer to him. He had wanted me to take things slow with this, but I had a feeling he would be singing a different tune this morning. Maybe the threat of our profits being down longer than we thought would light the fire he needed to unleash me and my guys. Herrera was slowly graduating from a nuisance to an actual problem that needed to be dealt with.

At least it was early enough in the day that I wouldn't have to deal with seeing Sadie again. I had seen enough of her in my dreams last night.

Alex got to the bar about the same time I did. We didn't conduct any of our business out of it, but it was a frequent meeting place for us.

"There he is." Alex started chuckling as he walked towards me. "I didn't get a chance to talk to you last night, how'd you like my surprise?"

"You're an asshole." I growled, narrowing my eyes at him. "A warning would have been nice."

"I would have thought you would be happy. Seeing her again after all this time. Her working in my bar." Alex grinned ear to ear. He knew exactly what he was doing.

"She's not going to be working here long, Alex. She's too good for this place, and you've got her parading her around like one of your usual loose cocktail waitresses." I rolled my eyes opening the door up for him.

"Don't you think I know that?" He arched an eyebrow at me. "I could tell something was up with her the second she walked in here claiming to be in need of a job. I just thought you'd want to see her around long enough to figure it out."

"Hmm." I grumbled. Maybe he was smarter than I was giving him credit for. He could see right through Sadie's story as well.

"Not to mention it got the reaction from you I was looking for." He chuckled, shutting the door behind us and pulling a few of the blinds closed as a precaution.

"Excuse me?"

"You can't hide your jealousy, bro. You still want her, and it's fucking killing you trying to deny it."

"Alex, I don't have the patience..."

"The only time in our lives I've ever seen you really happy was with her. She's the only person you've ever given a damn about, you and I both know that." He interrupted. "When she walked in here, I knew you'd have some dumb excuse for keeping yourself from her."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"The last eight years I've watched shape your entire life around this family, and this business, because you felt like you had to. Consider my hiring her as your permission to finally go after what you really want."

I rolled my eyes dramatically as we headed to the back room. "Let's get one thing straight. If I wanted to go after her, I wouldn't need your permission. And Sadie..."

"Sadie!" Alex's eyes widened as the door to the kitchen opened. In a flurry of dark brown hair and empty wine crates, Sadie came bursting into the room. Damn it. So much for avoiding her.

"Good morning!" She smiled, slightly out of breath. "You're out of chardonnay. I went down to try to find some to stock for tonight but there are only three bottles left."

"Shit." Alex ran his fingers through his hair. "I've been so busy keeping things running behind the bar that I totally forgot about ordering."

"No worries. I can run down the street and get some for tonight. We'll spin it like we're testing a new product and I bet you'll get a bunch of traffic."

Alex glared back and forth between the two of us. "That's actually a great idea. Here's my credit card. Get several cases and we'll offer it all weekend. Thanks Sadie."

"No problem." She blushed, meeting my eyes just briefly. I had to hand it to her, she sounded like she knew what she was talking about, that was for sure.

"We're having a meeting in the back. Did you happen to see if we had any extra bottles of the Buffalo Trace Whiskey?"

"I'll take a look and bring it back if I find anything." Her smile was tight, as if she were suddenly uncomfortable under my stare.

"Thanks Sadie." Alex shot her a grin and headed back to the meeting room, leaving the two of us alone.

Sadie turned quickly, scanning the shelves for what Alex had requested.

"How was your first night?" I stuffed my hands in my pockets, pacing towards the bar.

"Not too bad." Her back was turned to me as if she was afraid to face me. Was it possible she felt the same sexual tension between us?

"Good. Dante give you any more trouble?" I slipped behind the bar and leaned against it, keeping my eyes locked on her as she moved. She was going to have to try a hell of a lot harder to get rid of me.

"Avoided me the entire night." She said with a small laugh. "I guess I have you to thank for that."

Sadie stood on her tiptoes, trying to reach for a bottle on the top shelf. Try as she might, she was a few inches too short. Slipping behind her, I leaned up and grasped the bottle, our bodies brushing gently against each other as I did. Years of memories and feelings washed over me with that small touch, and for a brief moment, I considered what Alex had said.

"You don't have to thank me for anything." I whispered. Her body tensed beneath me.

What the fuck was I doing? I couldn't put myself in this position with her. Anything between us was worlds past. I couldn't go there. Not now anyway.

"Is this what Alex was looking for?" My voice was panicky as I backed away from her, darting my eyes to the bottle in my hand.

Sadie nodded, still stunned by our connection.

"Great. I'll see you later." I turned on my heals and nearly sprinted towards the meeting room, not able to get away from her fast enough. This was a fucking disaster. Why did I lose every bit of collection and cool that I had the second she looked at me with those big doe eyes? I was a mafia leader, hardened by this life over the last several years, and yet here I was, letting Sadie manipulate me without her even trying.

I nearly slammed the door behind me when I got into the safety of the meeting room. I let out a sigh of relief, but it was only a small reprieve because the ruckus I made had drawn the attention of both Alex and my father who were already sitting at the table.

"Where's the fire?" My dad looked at me suspiciously.

"I guess you could consider old flames of fire." Alex chuckled, clearly amused with himself. Right now, I wanted to strangle him just to get him to shut up.

"Old flames?" My dad arched his eyebrow.

"Oh, Alex didn't tell you?" I smirked. Two could play Alex's game. "Your son hired Sadie Sorento as his bartender."

My dad frowned, looking back-and-forth between the two of us. "One of you better start explaining."

"There is nothing to explain, dad." Alex backtracked. "Sadie is back in town, and she needed a job."

"What happened to her job in Denver?"

"Apparently, she still has it, but they need some extra money. And how did she put it... wants to earn it the honest way." I let out a sharp laugh.

My dad looked completely blindsided. "I want to come back to this discussion, but first, I need to know what's going on at the factory."

I let out a heavy sigh. "Herrera found mold or something. Some stupid shit he could use to close us down. He's trying to squeeze us so we make a mistake."

"I think it's time to get rid of him." Alex hardened, having my back.

"This isn't some oppositional gang leader we're talking about, boys. This is a federal agent. I know you want to take care of this as fast as possible, but we need to let it play out."

"How far are we going to let him interfere before we put a stop to it?" I hissed. I was hoping this would've been enough, but clearly not.

"You need to be patient, Brandon. That's the first rule of being a Don." He chastised. "Herrera is going to give you your opening, and that's when you strike. But not until then. You play by his game, you let him think he has the upper hand, and that's when we move."

"And in the meantime?"

"In the meantime, you push product just the way you have been. He's miles away from anything to do with our guns. Post the men displaced from the factory at a secondary location to draw his attention elsewhere. All I care about is keeping him away from the eastern block."

"Fine." I agreed reluctantly.

"And Alex, pick up some extra security at the club. If Herrera has people sniffing around, we better not be blindsided by it."

"Yes sir."

"I know this isn't what you want to hear, Brandon, but here's a difference between being aggressive, and impulsive."

"Got it." I said dismissively.

"Now, let's get back to Sadie. What exactly did she tell you?"

"That she and Adam are in some kind of trouble, and needed money." I said, my mood souring by the second.

"And Adam isn't with her?"

Alex shook his head. "She said he's back home in school."

"What kind of trouble?"

"I don't know." I shook my head. "But it can't be good if she felt desperate enough to come crawling back here."

"And do you believe it's about money?"

"What I believe is that she is full of shit. I just can't prove it yet." I leaned back in my chair, folding my hands behind my head.

"Interesting." My dad chewed on his lip, mulling over this latest development. "Bring her by the house for dinner tomorrow. I want to feel her out myself."

That was certainly going to be easier said than done.

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