Read Until I Break for Free Online Page B

huffs breathlessly. He looks like a walking advertisement
for a heart attack.
    “Dr. Simmons, it’s good to see you.”
    Dr. Simmons smiles and pumps Alec’s hand, his
eyes drifting over to settle on me. They twinkle with mischief.
    “Ah, now I see the trick to getting the
elusive Mr. Brand out for the night. Put a beautiful woman on his
arm.”
    “What won’t a man do for a night with a
beautiful woman?” Alec says amicably, smiling blandly at the
doctor.
    “A good question, my boy.” The doctor laughs
heartily, as though Alec just made a great joke.
    “Dr. Simmons, meet Ms. Samantha Jansen.”
    “A pleasure, my dear.”
    I smile politely and nod. “Sir.”
    Dr. Simmons turns back to Alec. “Helps with
the boredom, am I right?” He elbows Alec in the ribs and laughs an
inordinately boisterous laugh again. “I’m sure you’ve been to your
share of these things, what with your father being in the
business.”
    Alec nods, but says nothing. I wait anxiously
for the good doctor to reveal another tidbit about Alec Brand. When
he doesn’t, I make an inquiry, trying to keep it as light and
nonchalant as possible.
    “Your father’s in medicine?” I ask.
    Before Alec can answer, Dr. Simmons chimes
in. “Oh yes. One of the most brilliant minds in the field.”
    I nod, tucking away the tiny piece of
information in the pitifully empty mental file labeled Alec
Brand.
    “It was a pleasure seeing you again, Dr.
Simmons,” Alec says abruptly as he places his hand in the small of
my back. “Samantha, shall we?”
    I’m puzzled by his curt response to Dr.
Simmons. Puzzled, but very curious. Does he not want his business
associate giving away any more details of his life? Does he not
like him for some reason? Why the hasty departure?
    Rather than ask any questions, I nod and
smile politely at Dr. Simmons.
    “It was nice to meet you, sir.”
    “Likewise,” he says in his gruff voice,
seeming a bit more subdued now. If I had to guess, Dr. Simmons is
probably accustomed to people sucking up to him. Although Alec was
polite, he certainly wasn’t unduly impressed or too keen on making
more conversation with the doctor. Just another facet of Alec’s
personality that reminds me of Mason.
    Stop doing that, I chastise as Alec
guides me off in the opposite direction.
    I’m distracted by the voice in my head, so
the question gets out before I can stop it. “So your father is in
medicine?”
    “Yes,” he replies.
    “I’m surprised I haven’t seen you before
then. My father is a neurosurgeon.”
    Alec doesn’t even glance down at me as he
answers. He just keeps moving us through the crowd, his answers
still short and clipped.
    “My father is out west.”
    “Oh. So you’re not from around here?”
    “No.”
    “But you work here now, right?”
    “I have an office here, yes.”
    “What kind of office?”
    “Consulting.”
    He doesn’t hesitate to give me the answer, so
I don’t doubt that it’s true. But it only serves to spawn more
questions.
    Consulting? What kind of consulting? It must
be something in the medical field for him to be at a function like
this. That or he’s some kind of rich big-wig donator. That’s not
entirely out of the question considering that he has a tailor-made
tuxedo on hand and he drives a Range Rover.
    The questions keep coming, but at least they
stay inside my head. I get the feeling by the firm set of his mouth
that he isn’t enjoying my interrogation nearly as much as I am.
    “What k—”
    Alec comes to a sudden stop and turns toward
me.
    “This really isn’t necessary, you know.”
    “What isn’t necessary?”
    “Knowing every detail of each other’s life. I
already know everything I need to know about you for what I have in
mind. I don’t want you to be confused about what’s going to happen
between us.” I’m disappointed that he doesn’t want to know me and
doesn’t want me to know him, but I don’t have time to consider it
before he takes a step toward me.