He’d let her mistake arrogance for confidence.
And he’d benefited from it until the person on the receiving end turned out to be his prospective boss.
“Yes,” he said.
Vanessa blinked.
“What?”
“I was afraid of losing an opportunity when I realized who Daniel was. That’s why I challenged you.”
She stared at him.
“That’s supposed to make me feel better?”
“No.”
He rubbed his forehead.
“I should have said something when you mocked the valet. I should have said something when you started deciding who looked wealthy enough to attend a party.”
Vanessa stepped back.
“Are you seriously blaming me for everything?”
“No. I’m taking responsibility for what I did.”
She looked toward the ballroom.
“Brandon, people are going to hear about this.”
“They probably already have.”
“Then we need to fix it.”
He waited.
She lowered her voice.
“You can tell Graham I was joking. Then I’ll apologize to Daniel, and we can forget the whole thing.”
Brandon stared at her.
“You want me to lie?”
“I want you to protect your career!”
“By telling the new CEO that you were joking about having security remove him?”
Vanessa looked away.
“He’ll believe you if you act confident.”
Brandon studied her.
The expensive dress she’d bought for the evening.
The careful makeup.
