Claimed by the CEO & His Brother

Chapter 19

Danielle POV

With everything that had been going on I had forgotten what time of the year it was. I couldn't believe it was the week before Christmas. I was in slight panic mode because I hadn't gotten anything for Bryan yet. I needed to decide what to get him and also think of a way to shop without him knowing what I was up to.

I had no doubt that if he knew my intentions he would try to talk me out of it. There was no way I wasn't going to get him a present. I thought that I would be spending this Christmas alone but thanks to him I had someone to be with.

Due to my brainstorming I hatched a plan to get Bryan to take me shopping for him. I left my room in search of him. He was most likely in his office. He spent most of his free time there if he wasn't with me. He worked extremely hard so I wanted my gift to him to be special.

Finding him right where I thought he'd be I stood and watched him for a minute. He was so handsome sometimes he took my breath away. His dark, unruly hair and shadow of a beard gave him a wonderfully rugged look. Snapping out of my daze I saw that he still hadn't noticed me. Usually he heard me when I approached his office but tonight he was intently focused.

Whatever he was reading on his computer had him frowning. Puzzled I studied him a little longer. When he let out a sigh and rubbed his eyes I called out to him, "Bryan?" His eyes met mine. "Are you alright?"

He gave me a half smile then replied, "Yeah, I guess so."

"What is it?" I asked coming closer to him. I was in front of his desk now. He leaned back in his chair and stared at me a moment before answering.

"It's Brett," he said simply. My heart rate sped up at just the mention of his name. After the club incident Bryan had said we needed to be more careful so I hadn't gone anywhere besides to work with him. I hated that my life was being restricted because of Mr. Williams.

"What did he do?" I questioned.

A disbelieving look came on Bryan's face before he said, "Well, he's reached out to me and apologized again, not only to you but to me. He said that this time of the year makes me him realize what's important to him, which is his only remaining family, me." Bryan rolled his eyes as he said the last part. "Basically he's asking if he and I can spend the holiday together."

Feeling shocked at the news I whispered, "What did you tell him?"

"I haven't responded yet."

"Oh." I began wringing my hands worrying about Bryan's answer. Last week at the club he told me that he didn't believe his brother was genuine but he could change his mind. If Bryan wanted to give his brother a chance I would completely understand. That is his family and he's only known me for a little over 3 weeks. Maybe I would be spending Christmas alone after all.

I stood staring at the carpet as I contemplated what I might do if Bryan did end up deciding to be with his brother. This was going to be my first Christmas without my grandma and it would be even harder to deal with than Thanksgiving was. Christmas was her favorite holiday.

Disrupting my depressing thoughts I heard Bryan ask, "What are you thinking princess?"

I peeked at him and hesitated before answering. As if he sensed my miserable mood he opened his arms and softly said, "Come here." Forgetting about my plan to keep an emotional distance between us I eagerly drew closer to him and sat in his lap to obtain the comfort I needed.

Immediately I was enveloped in the warmth his large body offered. While I rested my head on his chest he wrapped his arms around me and placed his chin on top of my head. "Won't you tell me what's wrong angel?"