If you’d have asked her what the worst thing she could think of someone doing to someone else was, fabricating an entire lifewith someone in order to get a promotion wouldn’t even make it into her imagination.
She hated that she took a decent amount of satisfaction in the knowledge that The Devereux Group was in shambles.
She let out a sigh under her breath, which wouldn’t have been noticed except that the conversation around her had come to a stop.
Hallie, sitting next to her at the table, lifted her napkin from her lap and wiped her mouth before placing it gracefully next to her plate. Then, she took a much deeper, more punctuated sigh and said, “Oh, come on, guys. We can talk about it. We just need to put it out there, and I think we’ll all be better for it.”
All the hair on Brynn’s arms stood at attention, wondering how the next few minutes would play out. She couldn’t bear to make eye contact with anyone at the table, especially Sydney, who was sitting diagonally across from her. Instead, she looked at Reese, who wore an inscrutable look.
“Hallie…” Sydney cautioned, shooting her friend a glance before she looked at Reese.
There wasa lotof nonverbal communication happening. Brynn could tell at least that much, even if she didn’t know exactly what it all meant.
Strangely, given what it seemed like Hallie was about to do, she shot Brynn a playful smile, like it was another one of their private jokes, before looking back toward Reese and Sydney. Brynn had absolutely zero clue what was about to happen. “Weshouldtalk about it, really,” Hallie said seriously.
The whole room was deadly quiet except for the soft instrumental music floating from the speakers hidden in the walls.
Hallie put her palms down on the table. “Brynn’s better at managing the inn than Reese. Whew,” she said, letting out a deep breath before continuing. “It’s not a taboo thing to admit.I think, actually, that it’s good to say it out loud. I already feel better.” Hallie leaned back against her chair, like she was truly the embodiment of relief after holding in a secret for too long.
Brynn didn’t say anything, looking at Reese to see how she was going to take the comment. Her goal was never to overshadow anyone. Or make anyone look bad.Especiallynot Reese. And really, she didn’t even think what Hallie was saying was true. Sure, she’d memorized everything that Hallie had thrown her way, but there was no way that Reese could be even worse than she was at dealing with the guests. It was factually, scientifically impossible.
The tension in the moment broke when, suddenly, loud and full, Reese started laughing. Hallie joined in quickly, shooting Reese a charmingly guileless smile.
“Really, Hal?” Sydney deadpanned, but she looked more affectionate toward her best friend than anything as she tried to hold back a grin.
By the time Hallie found her voice again, she was wiping away tears. “God. I had to do that. This was killing me,” she said before her tone grew more earnest. “But seriously, we can all agree that everyone here except me has been, at times, taken for a ride by the unspeakable one. I hope that we can also agree, though, that not speaking his name gives him more power than he should have at this table. I refuse to sit with three incredible women and have our experience muted by a man that has a fucking pompadour.”
“You really do hate that hairstyle,” Sydney interjected at the same time she picked up her wineglass. She took a sip of the deep Italian red that Brynn had agreed to have with their dinner when Reese suggested it. She knew zero about wines.
“If it’s on Grant, definitely.” Hallie looked at Brynn then and added, “I’ve brought up this sticking point previously with Sydney, and yes, I do hate it. Like he’s a freaking peacock orsomething. I refuse to respect a man—don’t even get me started on dating one—who spends more time on his hair than I do.”
“What about a woman?” Sydney challenged, her voice light as she held her glass near her lips.
Hallie held her hands up in mock surrender. “Women are perfect and can do no wrong. I don’t make the rules. I would probably ask her if I could help; maybe brush it out for her,” Hallie said whimsically, carding her hand through her own hair, which she’d worn down tonight.
Brynn had thought about commenting on it earlier when they’d driven to Sydney and Reese’s together. But then she realized that it would probably be weird to give her boss a compliment like that. She’d read the employee conduct handbook very closely. Not that she’d be making an advance, but… it was better to be safe than sorry when it came to admiration of personal appearance.
But Hallie’s hair really did look so, so soft. And it had this natural wave to it once she’d taken it out of her ponytail. This was, coincidentally, the first time she’d seen Hallie in anything except her work uniform.
She snuck a look next to her, Hallie’s black jeans a great contrast to the emerald green sweater that she wore. It was a deep V-neck that Brynn herself could have never pulled off. She stuck with classics. Anything that had stood the test of time for at least the last century had the chance to be included in her wardrobe. Considering different style options was way too much for her brain to handle.
She had spent a lot of time studying color palettes one summer, though, so at least she had a cursory understanding of which tones played well together. Tonight, she’d selected a tan cashmere sweater and a pair of jeans with her favorite boots.
“More wine?” Reese asked, pulling her attention back to the table.
Brynn shook her head. She wasn’t a huge drinker, and by virtue of that, more than a glass or two, and she was on a different planet.
She had to hand it to Hallie, though, who’d succeeded impressively well in making everyone more comfortable. Brynn, who’d been looking between everyone for most of the night to try and get a sense of how she should best behave, leaned back in her chair and took a small sip of her almost empty glass, drinking it for enjoyment instead of to quell her unsteady nerves.
“And how is your extra free time going? Now that Brynn’s here to help manage the inn,” Sydney asked, eyeing Hallie as her vibrant smile turned a little wolfish. “Since we’re putting everyone’s lives on full display.”
Hallie’s mouth dropped open. “Sydney King. I didn’t expect this from you. Airing my personal business.” Again, Brynn didn’t know what was being alluded to, so she looked toward Sydney in the hopes that she’d clarify things.
Sydney tipped her head to the side and beamed a megawatt smile in Hallie’s direction. Grant must havereallywanted to work with her dad because Sydney was objectively gorgeous. What a bonehead.
“If you must know,” Hallie finally answered, “Brynn’s only been working the desk alone for three days. And people aren’t exactly champing at the bit to go on dates the week before Christmas. And,” she added, jutting her chin out, “you invited us to dinner, taking one of my possible free nights.”
“You’re right. This is on me. How could I have been so careless?” Sydney batted back sarcastically.
