My Sweet Seduction

Why Not?

Chapter 3

Emma’s POV

“Hey, babe, how’s the new store doing?” Brett asked.

Of course, his first call to me in almost a month would be to see how the new store was performing. He already had the numbers for it, so he already knew it was doing well. Over the past two months, my feelings for him have started to change. Concern over the thought of him cheating on me and the lack of communication between us weren’t doing him any favors.

The fact that he always liked to act like he was the one who was actually in charge was also grating on my nerves. He liked to believe he was my boss and that I worked for him. I won’t lie, it was starting to really irritate me. The time we’ve spent apart has been a real eye-opener. Things I used to excuse and downplay about how he treated me were no longer things I could ignore.

Brett had caught my eye with his boy-next-door good looks. He had brown hair and beautiful blue eyes. He was 6’0 tall and had an impressive build for not being a jock. He was a year older than I was, at 27 years old, but we had graduated together. He had taken a year off from college to earn money to come to the same college I went to after getting his associate's degree. He started at my college in his junior year. He couldn’t play sports to save his life, and his grades hadn’t been good enough to earn a scholarship.

He had been unreasonably angry when he found out that I had earned a full ride through scholarships. He felt that my family made too much money for me to win scholarships. I don’t know exactly how he was paying for college. He always ended up changing the subject when I asked him about how he managed to come up with the money. He wasn't working at the time, and his parents couldn't help him out. He would start berating me for getting my scholarships, and was rude and confrontational about it. He insisted I should have had my mother or grandparents pay for my college. Brett had even gone so far as to confront me in my junior year of college.

“The fact that you took scholarships in order to go to college is wrong. You took them away from someone more deserving to go to college, Emma. You took them away from someone who didn’t have the same resources. You don’t even realize how much that would have meant to someone who truly deserved to go. Your family could have easily paid for you to go, yet you still decided to take them,” he told me.

I worked my butt off to be the valedictorian of my class. That was years of hard work and studying, of me staying home instead of hanging out with friends. Only for him to stand there and diminish all my efforts. He dismissed the fact that I earned them all with my grades and extra-curricular activities. It was like my wanting to go to college was just a fluke, and anyone else would have been more deserving than me. It was true that my family could have paid for me to go, but they wanted me to earn it on my own.

My mother had done the same. She and my grandparents raised me to earn what I had. I didn’t expect anyone else to do it for me, and I put in the work. His comment had been a slap in the face to me, but he quickly backpedaled to try to clear things between us. Remembering his snide remarks about my family and their money had really upset me.

Now that I think about it, he had only calmed me down after giving me my first kiss that night. His arguments had failed, as had his excuses as to why he had been so upset. His kiss was nice, despite how inexperienced we both were. I had dreamed of the day I would finally receive it and had always thought it would be romantic, like in the movies. Instead, Brett used the kiss to stop our first argument. I should have realized that he was using me from the start, but I wanted to be with him.

“We sold out early, Brett, so I’m headed back to the hotel. Why? What’s up?” I asked. I was really trying to keep my irritation at him calling and wanting to discuss business out of my voice. This was just another example of realizing just how foolish I had been.

“I need to make a management change at our main store. I need your approval to be able to do that,” Brett replied.

“Why would we need to make any changes? Caitlin hasn’t mentioned any issues to me at her store. What’s going on?” I questioned.

That store was operating very well, and I trusted Caitlin. She has worked side by side with me since we opened that location. She was promoted to manager because I completely trusted her. I can’t be at three locations at once. The Managers that I put in place are responsible for keeping the ingredients a secret. They prep everything each day. I trusted Caitlin and Penny, who managed the second location. They ran both locations perfectly. There was no real reason at all to change my manager.

“I think we need someone with more vision in that position. Besides, Caitlin was disrespectful to me when I went there earlier today. She was rude to me while I was showing a group around the store. I think it would be for the best to make changes at both locations, actually, so everyone is all on the same page,” Brett replied.

“Same page? What are you trying to say, Brett?” I asked. The question in my tone was clear.

“I think it would be better to keep both businesses in the family. My sister should run the second location in Marietta, and your sister should run the one downtown,” He replied.

He was speaking to me in a cajoling tone, trying to get me to bend to his request. He knew I couldn’t stand his sister, or mine. He always used this tone when he was trying to coax me, but there’s no way he could ever talk me into doing what he had just asked. He already knows that, as I didn't like his sister or mine. Brett really thinks that he can do whatever he wants, and I’ll just agree to it. He’s tried to suggest this before, right after the second store opened. I rejected his idea then, just like I’m about to reject it now.

“First of all, Noel's my half-sister, and she hates me. I don’t want her working for either of my stores. But you never answered my question, Brett. You said the same page, what do you mean by that?” I asked.

“Your sister came with me to the store today as she wanted to get the recipe for your banana pudding. She wanted to make it for your father, for his upcoming birthday. Caitlin flatly refused to give it to her or me and then asked us to leave. I’m your fiancé, Emma, the CFO of the company. I'm her boss, and she still disrespected me like that. I don't understand what your issue with Noel is; she's your sister. Surely you can’t just stand by and allow us to both be disrespected like that,” Brett snapped out.

“The recipes are locked up, per my orders, Brett. Caitlin was correct to refuse to give out that recipe. I created that recipe myself, and it belongs to me. If I wanted Noel to have it, she would. She has my number and could have called to ask me for it herself,” I replied.

I already knew that was not something she would do. Noel hates me and blames me for what happened when we were babies. I've had suspicions about her and Brett. He’s never told me how they met, but it sure as heck wasn’t through me. I have a strong suspicion that Noel is the one that he’s seeing behind my back, but I'm praying that I'm wrong.

He knows I can’t stand her. I have no connection to her, her mother, or my Dad. I swear that if she is the one he’s messing around with, I will make sure Brett is fired immediately. This is just like Noel, using others to try to get her way. She can’t even cook, so why does she want that recipe? It's just for her to flex, I'm sure. It can’t be for anything good.

“I know that you don’t like her, Emma. But Noel hasn’t done anything wrong to you. Your father was the one who destroyed his relationship with your mother and you. Noel is innocent in all of this,” Brett started to say.

“You know exactly why I don’t like Noel and her mother. I don’t come around my father because of them. I agree that it was his own actions that destroyed our family, and I’ve let them go. They need to stay away from me. I won’t be giving any of them the recipe. Noel can buy her father some banana pudding from the store. She doesn't need the recipe. I will not be replacing Caitlin or Penny at their stores. Stop encouraging Noel to reach out to me. I don't want to have anything to do with her. Whatever reason you have for wanting us to get along is never going to pan out. Leave my manager and their teams alone. They earned the positions they’re in, and I trust them. I don’t trust Noel or Gail. The answer is no, Brett, don’t bring this subject up again,” I replied.

“You didn’t even stop to consider it, Emma. Why can’t you give either of them a shot at the positions? Noel sincerely wants to get to know you better,” Brett’s tone rose in anger.

“Noel has never in her life wanted to get to know me, and she has made that abundantly clear on numerous occasions. Her mother made sure of that. Now that I’m successful, they suddenly want to be friends? They didn’t have any time to spend with me for the last 25 years, so don’t hold it against me if I don’t want to be around them for the next 25 years. That seems fair to me,” I responded.

“Why can’t you have a little faith in me, Emma? Don’t you even care what I think?” he whined, twisting things in an effort to try to guilt me.

“Caitlin and Penny will be staying in their positions. Do not hire Gail or Noel for any reason. Neither of them is qualified to work at my stores. That’s my final word on the subject,” I replied.

“Fine, do what you wantEmma. But don’t blame me if everything falls apart,” Brett snarled before hanging up on me.

Dealing with Brett was draining. I hope the investigators get what I need so I can cut him loose with no guilt.