14. Putting On A Show

"Ifeel foolish going in together," Lilian said on Tuesday morning.

"Why?" he asked when they got out of his taxi. They'd gotten back to his condo yesterday afternoon after spending a great few days in the Hamptons with West and Abby.

Braylon was thrilled that Lilian and Abby got along well enough that the two girls went downtown shopping without him and West.

He was going to protest, but then West had lifted his eyebrow at him, telling him to let it play out.

It was a good thing that his girlfriend and his brother's girlfriend got along. He was sure Abby was helping ease Lilian into the fact they were a normal family. Just one with eight siblings and a lot of wealth.

The fact Lilian had told him how much fun she'd had when they got back to his place had helped. He'd convinced her to stay one more night and they were arriving at the coffee shop next to their building together while she picked up the weekly drinks for her boss and a few others.

In his mind, it was perfect because her ring was gone and he didn't want her to get another one. Not something cheap and not his style.

Braylon wasn't sure why he was thinking that but couldn't push it from his mind.

He walked to the door and opened it, then held it for her. It was their normal time and the place was packed as always. Heads turned when they entered today, as they didn't normally at the same time. In his mind, it'd show they were together the night before for this to happen if there was any doubt.

They waited in line. "So do you think you'd want to go back there again?" he asked. He wasn't one to throw names around and wouldn't say they were in the Hamptons. His brother liked his solitude out there and he'd never take it away.

"It was great," she said. "I can understand why they spend more time there than here."

It's like she got it. Not to say West and Abby by name.

"Would you go back there with me alone sometime?" he asked.

"You can?" she asked, frowning.

He laughed. "There are a lot of places available to me and the family any time we want."

"Oh," she said.

Maybe this wasn't a great conversation to be having with someone that should be his fiancée but not as many were listening as he'd thought. Just eyes.

She put her order in, he did the same. Then she swiped a card and signed. He'd noticed her name on it. When they went to take a seat he said, "Do you have a corporate card?"

"Not yet," she said. "I've got to hand in the receipts and they reimburse me with my paycheck."

"So it's compounding on your credit card if you don't pay it off in full?" That wasn't right in his eyes.

If they were going to turn her into a gopher it shouldn't be at her expense.

"It's fine," she said. "When I realized this was happening I opened a card only for this. I put nothing else on it but work expenses and I get reimbursed before the bill is due. But I don't have a lot of debt. I didn't want to move here with that. I pay everything off each month that I charge. I just have student loans, but they aren't high. I got a lot of aid."

"We did too," he said. "With my father being in the service and then all the kids and little income. Big brother cleared that all up for us when he could. The younger ones don't know what it is like to have loans for anything."

He still wondered if that wasn't smart of his brother to do, but then told himself it wasn't his concern. It's not like West paid their credit card bills for them. Everyone had to work part-time jobs during breaks. West didn't care what they did, but it had to be something.

"Not everyone is lucky that way," she said, smiling.

He reached for her left hand, bare of her ring, brought it to his mouth and gave her knuckles a kiss.

Yeah, he was putting on a show, but he felt the urge to do it just the same.

Lilian laughed and shook her head. The server brought their drinks over and Braylon carried her tray while she carried his one drink.

When they got into the building, he went to the stairs with her. Might as well walk her in also. There would be more that would notice the ring missing there, but they'd hear he came in with her when he never had before.

"Do you want me to carry these to your desk?" he asked when she opened the front door.

"No," she said, rolling her eyes. "I've got it and I'm not sure you'd be allowed back there."

"Then give me a kiss," he said. "Maybe we can get lunch."

"Let me know," she said. "You've got a busier schedule than me."

"Not always," he said, winking. He got his coffee out of her hand and then moved to the elevator and got in.

They were packed in like always, him moving to the back since he'd be the last stop. It thinned out before he got there and it was only employees on his floor but not many this early.

West was still in the Hamptons with Abby. He'd be in later after he dropped Abby off at the airport. Laken was out of town. He knew he'd have to call his mother and tell her soon though.

He could put it off or do it now while it was quiet. His mother would be up. Might as well get it over with since Lilian said she was going to talk to her sister tonight.

He shut his door and pulled his phone out, hit the button for his mother and sat back to wait.

She answered on the second ring. "Braylon. What's wrong? You never call me first and not this early. I hope something didn't happen to West."

Of course she'd think that. "No," he said. "He'll be in soon. He's at the Hamptons with Abby. Laken, Foster and I were there this weekend too. I got back yesterday."

"Oh," his mother said. "You all don't normally go there. Especially if Abby is visiting."

Because they liked to give their brother the time to be with his girlfriend.

"There was a reason," he said. "I'm dating someone. You know Laken. She wanted to meet her and I figured it might be best to do it as a group."

"You're dating someone and introduced her to your siblings?" his mother asked.

"Did I stutter or slur my words?"

"Don't be funny or cute," his mother said, laughing. "I'm just asking for clarification. Maybe you're pranking me."

"No prank," he said. "It's the truth. I've been seeing Lilian for over a month."

"And how did you meet?" his mother asked.

This was where he had to decide if he was going to be truthful or not. If he lied, one of his siblings might slip and it could come out later.

His mother might get a kick out of it.

Well," he said. "There were these guys bugging her at the coffee shop."

He explained it all to his mother. From the time he'd noticed her to when he stepped in and then later when they had lunch and she was "caught" by a coworker.

"You always did like to be just like your brother," his mother said.

He frowned over that. He might have looked up to West his whole life, but he didn't always like to be compared to him either.

"I guess," he said. "This is a little different though."

"Yes and no," his mother said. "So you are actually dating and this isn't some make believe thing?"

"We are dating," he said. "Nothing is fake about it. She's going to tell her sister this week."

"Tell me about her," his mother said. "I want to hear it from you and not your siblings."

"I don't know all that much about her past. Well, probably the same as she knows about ours."

He told his mother about Lilian moving from Lake Placid and having lived with her older sister for years. Having two older brothers whom it didn't seem she talked to often and no relationship with her mother.

"I always feel sorry for parents whose children don't talk to them."

"She doesn't talk much about it and I don't feel right asking. I assume she'll tell me if she wants to."

"Once she trusts you," his mother said. "I bet it helped being around Abby this weekend."

"It did. They got along great and even went shopping together on Sunday."

"I can tell by your voice you're annoyed over that," his mother said, laughing.

"It's not like we get to spend that much time together. Maybe I wanted to be with her."

"You have to learn to share," his mother said. "I'd think you'd know how to with all your siblings."

"I can share and never had a problem with it," he said. "But when it comes to time with the woman I barely get to see, I'm selfish."

"It sounds it. What are you doing for Thanksgiving?"

He should have figured his mother would bring that up. "I don't know yet. She's going home. She already bought her plane ticket. She's not going to cancel that."

"Will you go if you're invited?" his mother asked. "We always get together on that holiday."

He let out a sigh. "We do, but you had us all there this summer when we don't normally do it so if I can skip out this year on Thanksgiving without too much guilt on my shoulders, that would be nice."

There was silence on the other end. "Fine. If you're invited, but I expect you home for Christmas and Lilian with you."

He didn't want to comment that he didn't know what was going on that far in advance. If he had his way, he'd have Lilian in North Carolina with him, but he couldn't speak for her. He didn't know how much time she got off either.

Though taking the jet would cut that worry back. It wasn't that far to fly, just a few hours. Less than a lot of people travel by car.

"I'll keep you posted," he said. "But I've got to get to work."

"Bye, Braylon," his mother said. "And thanks for calling me directly. I'd be upset if I heard it from someone else first."

"I know you would have."

He hung up and looked up to see Thomas standing there. He'd been looking out the window when he was talking to his mother.

"Now that you're done with your personal call," Thomas said. "We've got things we need to take care of. I know when West isn't around, you tend to be more casual."

He wanted to grind his teeth over that comment. "Considering I worked this weekend with West, I'd hardly say I was slacking off anywhere. Are we meeting in your office or the conference room?"

Thomas never came to his office to meet, only to give him shit.

"My office," Thomas said and walked out. Thomas never liked it when Braylon talked back and said he'd been with West working all weekend. It just proved that Thomas wasn't included in those meetings and, for the guy who was the VP of the legal division, it irked him to not be included.

Good, maybe his boss knew how it felt.