But hearing her dismiss the very people his company depended on made him question how much he’d mistaken shared ambition for shared values.
He took a slow breath.
“Then perhaps we want different things.”
Vanessa stared at him.
“Are you breaking up with me because of a stranger?”
“No,” Brandon answered. “I’m asking myself why I needed a stranger to point out what I’d been ignoring.”
She looked toward the ballroom entrance.
“I’m going home.”
He nodded.
“I’ll arrange a car.”
She gave a sharp laugh.
“What happened to your sports car?”
“I can take it back tomorrow.”
She stared at him.
For the first time that evening, she seemed uncertain whether the man in front of her was the person she’d imagined.
And Brandon wasn’t sure he wanted to keep pretending he was.
Vanessa left the mansion shortly before the formal announcement.
She refused Brandon’s offer to arrange transportation and ordered a car through her phone instead.
As she walked toward the entrance, she passed the same valet she’d mocked earlier.
He was helping an elderly guest into a vehicle.
Vanessa glanced at him, then looked away.
She hadn’t apologized to Daniel beyond the hurried words she’d offered after learning his identity.
She hadn’t apologized to the valet at all.
Brandon watched her leave.
Then he returned to the ballroom.
Graham was standing near the stage, checking the microphone with the event coordinator.
When he saw Brandon, he gestured for him to come closer.
“Everything all right?”
Brandon hesitated.
“Not exactly.”
