A Beauty Uncovered (Secrets of Eden 2)

The printer had run out of both toner and paper over the past few days. When he finally found the replacements in the credenza, he’d only had a brief moment of glory before the machine started to jam. The printer was currently in about twenty-three different pieces, scattered across the floor. He’d stayed at work until after midnight, certain he could fix it. Until he realized he couldn’t. And he wasn’t able to put it back together, either.

He was as big of a mess as the rest of the place. Despite not having a drop of coffee, he hadn’t slept more than three hours at a time in the week since Sam left. He hadn’t shaved. Instead of his immaculately pressed suits, he was wearing a T-shirt and jeans. It was all he had clean without asking someone to drop off and pick up his dry cleaning. Peggy only handled his everyday clothes, and he’d been too stubborn to ask for help.

Agnes could only stare at him with her arms overflowing with office mail he couldn’t pick up. In a huff, she dumped the mail at her feet and planted her hands on her hips. “Brody Eden, is that a bloodstain I see on the wall? What is going on here? What happened to Samantha?”

This was the moment Brody had been dreading. From the second he’d called security and slammed down the phone, he’d regretted every word he said to Sam in anger. He’d lifted weights for nearly an hour to burn off his emotional maelstrom, and when he was calm again, he knew for certain that he was a first-class jerk. Agnes would no doubt confirm his suspicions and not mince words to do it.

“She’s…gone.”

“Why? Did she quit? I told you to be nice to her, Brody. No one appreciates being barked at all the time.”

“No, she didn’t quit. I fired her.”

Agnes’s fingers twitched. He could tell she was itching to grab him by the ear and drag him to a chair where he would spill his guts. He would save her, and his ear, the trouble. “We had a disagreement.”

“About?” Her brows rose expectantly. “Don’t make me drag every word out of you, Brody. What did you fight about?”

Brody sighed. “She wanted me to go see a doctor in New York that does facial reconstructions. He specializes in burn treatment.”

“And this made you angry because…?”

Agnes was going to make him say the words that he dreaded out loud. There was no way around it. If he lied, she would know. “Because I am in love with her, and I thought she was happy with me the way I am.”

Agnes’s expression softened at his use of the L word. “It sounds as though you two had an eventful month while I was away.” She looked around the room with a resigned sigh. “Give me an hour to deal with this mess. I’ll go get us some breakfast, stop by the dry cleaner and then we’ll sit down and finish this conversation, okay?”

“Okay.” Brody was a successful, powerful man, but he knew when to step back and let Agnes run the show. Right now, he’d proven he couldn’t do it without her.

“While I’m gone, why don’t you clean up in the bathroom, shave and perk yourself up?”

Brody’s office had its own bathroom, complete with a shower stall that he used after his workouts. He nodded at Agnes like an obedient child and disappeared into his office. By the time he stepped out of his bathroom, there was a black suit and red dress shirt hanging on the door, still in the bag from the cleaners. Slipping into his usual clothes made him feel more normal and confident again. As did the scent of warm coffee.

The aroma lured him out to Agnes’s area. She truly was a miracle worker. The trash was gone, the mail was sorted and there was a new, fully assembled printer on the credenza.

She was sitting in the guest area that had never actually been used. Brody had put the couch, chairs and coffee table there because the space was big enough and it seemed like the thing to do. But since no one came to this floor, it was more like a museum piece.

On the glass coffee table were two steaming cups of coffee and two breakfast croissants wrapped in deli paper.

Agnes patted the chair beside her. “You’re looking much better.”

“Thank you for dealing with the mess, Agnes.”

She opened a packet of sugar, dumped it into her cup and took a tentative sip. “From the sounds of it, there’s still more to clean up. What exactly happened between you and Sam?”

Brody slumped into his seat and reached for the coffee. It was hot, scalding his mouth, but he didn’t care. He needed it desperately to think straight. “She’s the most amazing woman I’ve ever met. She is beautiful and stubborn and gentle. She wasn’t afraid of me at all. At least, she didn’t back down if she was. She looked me in the eye without the slightest hint of revulsion.” He shook his head and took another sip. “For some reason she thought I was handsome.”