HIDE

EPISODE 20 - BACK TO HIM.

As soon as the day broke, Brandon got ready and drove in a fast with furious style to the office. Anyone who might have met him on the way would have assumed that it was a life or death situation. An emergency even. He was boiling with anger. Ready to explode at anyone who dared to cross his path in an unruly manner. He was a landmine waiting to be stepped on so that he would go off.

The reception room outside Wilson’s office looked the same: intimidatingly fancy and intimidatingly quiet, as if people were afraid to breathe wrong.

Becky smiled in obvious relief when she saw him. “I’m so glad you are back!” she said, half-whispering for some reason, as if Wilson had a super hearing and could hear them through the closed door. “Brenda was so sure you wouldn’t return, but I hoped she was wrong.”

“Why?” Brandon said, dropping a kiss on her cheek and studying her. “How are you? You look tired.”

Becky sighed, glancing at the closed door warily. “I am tired. He’s been in a mood lately.”

“Isn’t he always?” Brandon said with a snort.

Wincing, Becky shook her head. “He’s been worse. Or we just got used to him being nicer.”

Brandon looked at her incredulously.

Becky chuckled, tucking a stray lock of her hair behind her ear. “I know you don’t believe me, but he really was nicer when you were around. Less harsh. More relaxed.”

“Right, he just took out his bad temper on me,” Brandon said, rolling his eyes with a smile.

She raised her eyebrows. “Well, he certainly took out his temper on both is recent PA, but it didn’t seem to help. The last left in tears yesterday, literally. I’ve never seen a grown woman wail the way she did yesterday.”

Brandon scrunched up his nose, unconvinced. He still didn’t buy that Wilson could somehow be more horrible than he had been with him. “It doesn’t matter,” he said. “I’m not here to stay.”

Her face fell.

Brandon refused to feel guilty about it. “I just want to talk to him for a moment.”

She frowned, glancing uncertainly at the door. “He’s busy. He has a meeting with the media head now.”

“You know what? I don’t care,” Brandon said. “That’s the perk of not being his employee-s***h-personal slave anymore. I don’t have to shake in my coat every time powerful and rich frowns. He’s not the boss of me.”

He strode confidently toward the door, ignoring Becky’s feeble protests. Except, his confidence seemed to evaporate the moment he opened the door and was pinned under the heavy gaze of those black eyes.

Brandon swallowed. He tried to summon the anger he’d felt just a few moments ago, but his thoughts kept scattering, the familiar urge to please this man creeping back. It was utterly disgusting.

Someone coughed a little, and Brandon wrenched his eyes away from Wilson’s.

He stared at the portly man, feeling his confidence and purpose come back now that he wasn’t looking at him anymore. “Hello, Mr. Anderson. How are you? Would you mind stepping out of the room while I talk to him?”

Stephen glanced helplessly at Wilson.

Wilson said nothing, looking at Brandon with a strange expression. There was a hint of irritation there, definitely, but apart from that, it was hard to tell.

“Leave,” he said, at last, still looking at Brandon.

Brandon didn’t move, knowing the order wasn’t for him. It was somewhat satisfying how well he could still read this man and know the difference between Wilson being a jerk toward him and toward someone else.

It seemed Stephen wasn’t as well versed in the authoritative language as Brandon was. He looked between Brandon and Wilson, his uncertainty obvious.

Brandon took pity on him. “He’s addressing you,” he clarified.

When Wilson didn’t deny that, Stephen hurried toward the door so fast it surprised Brandon. The guy must have been in better shape than he looked. The door shut behind Stephen with a soft click, and silence fell upon the room.

Since he didn’t have any excuse not to look at him anymore, Brandon met Wilson’s eyes again and tried to give him his angriest look. He was angry, dammit. He was here to tell Wilson exactly what he thought of him. But all that came out of his mouth was, “you asshole, what did I ever do?”

When Wilson just tilted his head slightly, Brandon glared at him. “Why did you do that?”

The asshole quirked a dark eyebrow. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Brandon clenched his fists. “You made them all reject me,” he ground out. “All my job applications. All fifteen of them. Don’t tell me you had nothing to do with it.”

The second eyebrow joined the first. A condescending smile touched Wilson’s lips. It didn’t touch his eyes. He truly looked like a nightmare. A creepy man with eyes as black as hell.

“I’m flattered you think I’m domineering, but I’m not,” Wilson said mildly, his soft voice completely at odds with the hard, intense look in his eyes. “People search for jobs for months and months. Maybe you simply weren’t qualified for the jobs you have applied for.”

Brandon’s nails dug into his laps. “I was qualified for those jobs. I was overqualified for some of them. But apparently, despite the glowing recommendation letter you gave me, I’m not even good enough for the job of a Studio Manager. Amazing, isn’t it?”

“It does seem a little strange,” Wilson said.

Was that amusement in his voice? It figured that the d**k would derive amusement from someone’s misery.

Brandon glowered at him. “How did you do it?”

Wilson shrugged.

“Why did you do it?” Brandon said. “I didn’t think you were that spiteful. I thought even you wouldn’t stoop so low.”

“I was simply making a point.”

Brandon laughed. “And what point is that? Please enlighten me.”

“I didn’t say you could go. Until I say so, no one is allowed to leave this company.”