Mia peered into his office. “Treat’s on line two for you.”
“Thanks.” He picked up the phone. “Treat, how are you?” He hadn’t seen Treat since he and Max announced their engagement a few weeks earlier.
“Great, and you?” Treat’s voice was comforting, familiar.
“Better than ever. What’s up?”
“Max and I are coming into town tomorrow. I’m sorry for the short notice, but I’ve got a business thing, and I thought if you’re free, you could meet with Max about her wedding gown.”
“Sure, whatever you need. When?”
Mia peeked into his office and he waved her in.
“I’ll be done with my meeting around four, and we can meet anytime after that,” Treat answered.
Josh covered the receiver. “What’s on my plate tomorrow evening?” he asked Mia.
“Nothing. I already cleared it for Treat.” She beamed.
Josh thought about Riley and wondered if Treat would mind if he brought her along. He turned his attention back to their call.
“You already cleared my schedule with Mia?”
“Hey, you’re a busy man, and so am I.” Treat laughed.
“It’s cool. Actually, it’s a big help. Do you mind if I bring Riley along? I’d love to hear her thoughts about Max’s dress.” Josh watched Mia raise her eyebrows. He covered the receiver again. “Did you need something else, Mia?”
“Just to let you know that Claudia is beyond evil today. I thought you might like to know.”
His nerves twitched just thinking about Claudia treating Riley badly. It was one thing to allow her to remain as an employee out of loyalty and another to allow her to abuse his sense of loyalty and do harm to others. Is my relationship with Peter worth this? If only it were that easy to decipher. In the fashion industry, someone like Peter could make or break a designer’s career, and vice versa.
“Oh, and don’t forget,” Mia added, “you have a seven-o’clock conference call tonight. Do you need me to be here?”
Shit. He made a mental note to have a stern talk with Claudia and to delay his date with Riley. “No, I can handle it. Thanks, Mia.” He watched her leave the office.
“How’s it going with Riley working for you?” Treat asked.
He knew his brother well enough to hear the silent question carefully wrapped within the verbal one, and he chose to ignore it. “She’s doing a great job.”
“And?”
“What makes you think there’s an and?” Damn it. He’d never been able to pull the wool over Treat’s eyes. He didn’t know why he expected to now.
“Josh, you brought her to Dad’s for lunch six weeks ago. You’ve never brought a single woman to Dad’s for anything. Am I to believe that you were just being nice by bringing her to lunch because she’s from our hometown?”
Josh leaned back in his chair. He’d spent years watching Treat in action. His brother owned resorts all over the world; he charmed some of the smartest businessmen into deals no one else would ever be able to secure. Josh had learned a lot about negotiations and manipulation from him, and now he couldn’t come up with a single sentence to waylay his brother’s inquiry.
“That would be nice, yeah,” Josh said with a smile.
“Yeah, okay, so we’ll pretend. You’re still young. You have time to figure these things out.”
Josh rolled his eyes. “Okay, fine. Let’s cut to the chase. Riley and I just started dating. Yesterday.”
“Yesterday? Wow, you did well. She’s been in New York for a week and you held back a whole six days.”
“Ha-ha,” Josh said. “It wasn’t my plan to date her when I brought her here. It just kind of happened. And I like her. A lot.”
“Wait a second. Josh, you just admitted to dating someone. You haven’t admitted to a single goddamned date in six years. Which takes this dating situation to a whole new level. You know that, don’t you?”
Shit. He really was losing his grip when it came to all things Riley. Josh never talked about his personal life with Treat or anyone else. He’d been photographed with models and celebrities, and he’d never once opened his mouth to the media or to his family about the depth, or lack thereof, in his relationships with any of them. What the hell was he doing? And why did it feel so good to talk about her?
“Treat, can we keep this just between us?”
“You know Max will be there to discuss the dress, right?” Treat pointed out.
“Between the three of us, then? Seriously. Riley wants to keep it on the down low for professional reasons.”
“She does or you do?” Treat pried.
“She does. I was ready to tell everyone, but she doesn’t want to be seen as sleeping her way to a career, and I don’t blame her.”
“Wait. You were ready to go public after one date?” Treat asked.
Josh hadn’t thought of it that way. Had it really been just one date? He felt so close to her already. From the moment Rex had asked him to look at Riley’s portfolio, the feelings Josh had had for her all those years growing up came rushing back. He’d been drawn to her again, like he’d been waiting for her his whole life and never realized it. Everything about being with her was different—better—than with any other woman. That’s why I was so ready to shout it from the rooftops after the play. Because it’s Riley. “Yeah, I guess I was,” he admitted. “I don’t know what it is about her, Treat, but she makes me happy. Happier than I’ve been in years.”
Treat laughed. “I never thought I’d hear those words from your lips, bro. I’m happy for you. Who’da thought you’d end up with a girl from our little hometown? Wait till Dad hears this. He’ll be in hog heaven, making all sorts of plans for you to move back home again.”
“Not happening,” Josh said, and just in case, he added, “Promise me, Treat, not a word to Dad or anyone else. This is Riley’s choice to keep things hush-hush. I respect her wishes, and I’d like you to as well.”
“Josh.” Treat used his most serious tone, and Josh pictured his dark eyes narrowed, his brows pulled together, and his arms crossed over his broad chest. “Riley might be okay with this, but are you? Rex and Jade tried to keep their relationship a secret, and it was really stressful for both of them. Are you sure this is the best route for a relationship you might want to build a future on?”
Being seven years older, Treat had always stepped in with sound advice. Josh had been thinking about the same thing, and he didn’t know the answer.
“If we tell everyone, she could go through hell on the career front. She’ll get hurt more than I will. People expect me to date anyone I want. Hell, they’d probably applaud me for dating a newbie employee. People are so effed up. But Riley? They’ll tear her down and rip her to shreds.” His chest tightened. “She’ll be tagged as the girl who slept her way to the top, and she’ll run the risk of not being taken seriously. There is no easy answer, but I do think I’d rather be uncomfortable than have her being hurt from every angle.” He ran his hand through his hair, hoping Treat might see an avenue that he hadn’t. “Treat, what would you do?”
“Whew, that’s a tough one. I guess you’re doing the right thing. Small-town girl in a new city, cutthroat business. There’s no easy way around this. Even if you date for a year, and she gets a promotion in that time period, she’s still going to be tagged as that girl.” Treat laughed. “Bro, you really know how to come out of the closet, don’t you? First you say nothing, and when you finally do come clean, you do it with the most difficult situation you could possibly get involved in.”
“Tell me about it.”
“Riley’s a nice girl. Jade speaks very highly of her, and Jade and Max have gotten really close since she and Rex got together. So, my best piece of advice is to be sure of whatever it is you want before taking it public. You’re a Braden. You can weather any storm. But women, they’re different. Even the tough ones are sensitive. They care about what people think far more than we do, and Riley’s bound to get caught in some crossfire that she’s unable to handle.”
“Yeah, I know. Thanks, Treat. Hey, does seven work for you tomorrow?”
“Yeah, seven’s fine. Should we meet you at your place?”
My place? Josh realized that he was already thinking of wherever Riley was as where he would be. He really was moving fast. Hell, it was what it was, and he had no intention of changing it. But as long as Riley wanted to keep their relationship a secret, she wouldn’t be staying at his place, and they’d have to show up at the restaurant separately so they didn’t give the impression of being on a date. That meant no touching, no holding hands, no…Damn it. This was going to be hell.
“Do you care where we eat?” Josh asked.
“Never, why?” Treat answered.
“Riley is staying at Savannah’s until she finds an apartment. Why don’t we have dinner there? I can whip something up, or have something delivered, and then the stress of being seen together is out of the picture.”