Tender is the Nerd (7 page)

Frazer had to be rattled because he nearly collided with Garrett, who was also headed down to Tony’s office for the meeting. “Hey, Upton.” Frazer’s tone was light and breezy. His armor was back on. “I hate to tell you, but your music sounds like crap.”

“No, it doesn’t.” Garrett turned to Rylan. “You like it, right?”

“Reminds me of the score from
Jaws,
dude.”

“That’s a good thing! It’s a great movie! By the way, nice whiskers. A little trimming and they’ll look almost as good as mine.” He stroked his beard, which was shorter and more elegant than Rylan’s.

“It’d look a damn sight better,” Rylan said. “Which is why I’m not gonna manicure it. I’d show you up.”

Garrett laughed. “Yeah, you always were a hairy sonuvabitch. So Frazer, what’s with this new tablet Apple’s working on? Think it’ll fly?”

As Frazer launched into a hardware discussion with Garrett, Rylan dropped back and followed them down the hall. He should be organizing his thoughts for the meeting, but instead he was trying to figure a way out of the mess that he, Frazer and Miranda had created.

Frazer might or might not still love Miranda, but at the very least his ego was badly bruised. Remedying that wouldn’t be easy. If Frazer learned that his personality hadn’t meshed with Miranda’s but Rylan’s had, that could make everything worse.

Over the weekend he’d convinced himself that his involvement with Miranda wouldn’t bother Frazer. The guy had put on an excellent performance as the ex-lover who was perfectly happy being friends, instead. It was all a lie.

Rylan had said that he would continue seeing Miranda, but carrying on a romance under Frazer’s nose seemed cruel. It wasn’t fair to Garrett and Tony, either. No wonder fraternizing with coworkers was considered a dicey proposition. The potential for strained relationships could inhibit productivity and destroy team spirit.

But it wasn’t only the office situation that would be affected. When he really cared for a woman, he took her to see his folks. If his mom had expected Miranda and Frazer to end up together she might not welcome the woman who’d dumped her son. On the drive in this morning he’d been sure that moving in with Miranda was the right thing to do. And it was . . . for the two of them.

But they weren’t on that remote island they’d talked about after breakfast. Instead of being alone in paradise, they were surrounded by family members, friends and coworkers. Each one had a stake in this relationship, and to his surprise, Frazer might have the biggest stake of all.

T
hroughout the meeting
in Tony’s office, Miranda kept an eye on Frazer and Rylan. Obviously they’d talked about her during their conversation this morning and just as obviously the discussion hadn’t gone well. She could read Rylan better than Frazer, but even Frazer seemed more on edge than she’d ever seen him.

Fortunately everyone including Frazer was excited about Rylan’s progress on the app. Rylan gave her credit for teaching him about the wonders of veggies, which was nice, but his praise was a touch too effusive. Tony and HR director Charlotte Wingate exchanged a look. Not surprising since they had recently fallen madly in love and had probably picked up on Rylan’s poorly disguised adoration.

Tony and Charlotte had signed the personal relationship document a couple of weeks ago. Miranda wondered if Rylan was still eager to do the same. The tension between him and his brother might have changed that plan.

If so, she’d do whatever she could to support Rylan. She never wanted to come between those two. She was already worried about whether she’d be accepted by their mother after breaking up with one son and now becoming involved with the other one. Most moms wouldn’t be keen on that kind of drama and Joanna Krause, she who never got visibly upset, would be particularly averse to it.

Rylan’s praise had drawn attention from another person, one who made Miranda’s skin crawl. Blake Pearson kept looking at her with the insolence of a man who only saw women as instruments of his pleasure. From the day they’d met his gaze had initially focused on her chest before moving to her face.

When he’d had an opportunity to feel her up, he’d taken it. She loathed the man. He was very blond and very rich. He didn’t need to work, but his father had apparently insisted that he put in some hours and make himself part of the team. In exchange his father had invested millions in BMUS.

When Rylan had finished demonstrating the features of the app, Tony gave him a quick thumbs-up. “Well done, compadre. How soon do you think you can wrap it up?”

“A few days, a week at most. I’ve turned the corner.”

Miranda loved hearing the pride in his voice. She might have helped him along, but he’d done the heavy lifting. She’d seen firsthand the dedication he brought to the project. BMUS was lucky to have him.

“Great.” Tony had been leaning against the front of his desk for the presentation and the rest of them had created an informal cluster around the screen Tony kept in his office. “I’ll tell the investors we’re getting close. That will excite them. Frazer, you’re up next to test the app on all the available devices.”

“Can’t wait.” Frazer glanced at Rylan. “Awesome job, little brother.”

Miranda winced. If only Frazer hadn’t felt it necessary to add
little
to his compliment. Then again, he’d probably been doing it most of his life, at least since he began speaking in complete sentences.

But Rylan didn’t seem to notice the slight. He grinned at Frazer. “Thanks.”

Well, he wouldn’t notice it, Miranda realized. He’d been hearing that subtle putdown all his life, too. Frazer was a brilliant engineer and an expert hardware analyst. But he needed to acknowledge that his brother was brilliant, too.

After the meeting it turned out to be very convenient to follow Frazer into his office.

He appeared startled to turn around and see her standing there. “Hey, Miranda. What’s up?” He adjusted the fit of his glasses.

“I’m not sure I’ve ever properly thanked you for recommending me for this job.”

“You were the obvious choice.”

“Maybe, but if you’d been a petty person who holds grudges you wouldn’t have done it.”

“I don’t hold grudges.”

“I know. You’ve so even-tempered. That’s admirable.”

“Thanks.” He picked up a pen from his desk and started fiddling with it. That wasn’t a Frazer thing to do.

She realized with some surprise that he was nervous and she was making him that way. But she needed to have her say. “I want you to know something. I never in a million years would have thought a relationship would develop between Rylan and me.”

“That makes two of us.”

“He fought it. We both did, out of loyalty to you.”

His breath caught.

“We both respect you and love you. At the meeting today I made a decision. I want to be with Rylan. I think the two of us have a shot, but if I’m going to drive a wedge between brothers who are devoted to each other . . .“ She paused. This was hard to say, but she refused to cause a major rift in their family. “I’ll bow out.”

“You’d do that?’

“Absolutely. I’ll be a tough sell to your mom, anyway. Tearing apart a family to satisfy my own selfish needs doesn’t appeal to me in the least.”

He appeared shaken, which definitely wasn’t Frazer’s normal setting. Maybe it was the light reflecting off his glasses, but he also looked . . . ashamed? Surely not. This was Frazer, the man who never admitted to being wrong.

He cleared his throat. “I may have underestimated you.”

“It happens.”

He took a deep breath. “For the record, and not that it will make any difference now, but why did you break up with me?”

She was astonished that he’d ask. He hadn’t when she’d told him it was over, but that fit his personality. Questioning her decision might mean digging under the surface of their relationship and he’d never shown an interest in doing that. He’d stoically accepted her decision and acted as if he was perfectly fine with it.

She chose her words carefully. “When I met you I was young enough to want a man who liked being in control, both of himself and of me. But I grew up.” She looked into the clear blue eyes she knew so well. “I wanted more autonomy.”

“You could have said that.”

“I didn’t have the words, Frazer. I only knew that your way of relating to the world wasn’t right for me.”

“Rylan’s different.”

“Yes.”

He turned away from her and rested his palms on the desk. “This is who I am, who I’ve always been.”

She walked over and laid her hand on his shoulder. He shivered. “You make it sound as if nothing will ever change. My hope is that someday you’ll find a woman with the patience to burrow under the castle walls and touch your heart. I never could.”

He turned to face her. “You came damned close.”

“I wasn’t the one. She’s out there somewhere and please don’t settle for a woman that’s as self-contained as you are. You need someone who will shake you up, someone who refuses to be intimidated by your stern approach to life.”

He gave her a crooked smile. “You make me sound dull as dust.”

“You’re not! You have so much to offer! Find someone who will inspire you to let loose.”

“I’m not sure there is such a person.” He gazed into her eyes. Then he reached up and gently stroked a finger over her chin. “He gave you whisker burn.”

“Yeah, he did.”

“I was always careful to shave before I kissed you.”

“I know.”

“That’s the point you’re trying to make, isn’t it? I’m too careful, too rigid.”

“Which is fine if that makes you happy. I could be wrong, but I don’t think you’re happy.”

He swallowed. “I saw the look in your eyes when you and Rylan walked in this morning. You were sparkling with happiness. Glowing with it. When you were with me . . . I don’t remember you ever being so joyful. I’m . . . I’m not sure I know how to make a woman feel that way.”

“Sure you do. You just have to find the right woman.” Rising on tiptoe, she brushed her lips over his. “You can have it all, Frazer.”

“
What the hell
?”

She whirled around as Rylan stormed into the room, eyes blazing. “Rylan! Hang on! Nothing’s going –”

“Step aside, Miranda, so I can knock this asshole into next week.” Wrenching off his glasses, he threw them on a nearby chair. “Is that why you told me not to get involved with her? So you could move in?” He danced on his toes, fists clenched. “Better take off those pricey glasses, dirt-bag, unless you want them smashed into your miserable, lying face!”

“Stop it!” Miranda grabbed his arm. “I followed him into his office. I started the conversation. If you want to be mad at someone, be mad at me!”

“No, be mad at me.” Frazer took her by the shoulders and set her aside. Judging by the ease with which he did it, he also made regular visits to the batting cage. Tossing his glasses on the desk, he raised his fists and began to circle. “Go for it, Ry. Game on.”

“
No
!” Miranda started forward, determined to prevent the fight by getting between the two men. But strong arms pulled her out of the room and into the hall. She turned and discovered that Tony had grabbed her around the waist. “You need to stop this!”

“I don’t think so.”

“But look at them!” She stared in horror as Rylan’s fist connected with Frazer’s nose and blood spurted out. Then Frazer landed a punch that sent Rylan staggering against the desk. “They’re trying to kill each other!”

“Not really.” Garrett stood in the hallway along with the rest of the staff as the fight raged on. “Tony’s right. We should let them go at it. This has been coming for a long time.”

“That makes no sense.” She winced at the sound of fists meeting flesh. “They’re fighting over me!”

“My guess is they’re fighting over a lot more than that.” Garrett glanced at Tony. “Am I right?”

“Oh, yeah. You may be the catalyst, Miranda, but according to Rylan they haven’t had a good fight since they were kids, and their mother ended that one before they could finish it. After that Frazer decided fighting was beneath him.”

Dulcie wiggled her way through the crowd. “Well, he sure is fighting, now! I didn’t know he could throw a punch.”

“Oh, he could always do that,” Garrett said. “Remember when he bought that punching bag sophomore year, Tony? “

“I do. Hanging that thing from the ceiling of the dorm room was an engineering miracle.”

“Ruined the ceiling,” Garrett said. “Nearly got us all kicked out.”

“But what if they hurt each other?” Miranda couldn’t believe everyone was standing around making conversation as if they’d come to watch a boxing match.

“Right!” Eyes wide with alarm, Dulcie glanced at her. “What if Rylan knocks out one of Frazer’s teeth?”

“Or Frazer breaks Rylan’s jaw?” She shuddered as they crashed into a wooden chair and it splintered.

“I’m more worried about the equipment,” Garrett said. “But I’ve noticed they’re avoiding it, which means they’re not a couple of raging bulls. If a laptop gets crunched it might be time to wade in there.”

Tony crossed his arms. “But it’ll be better if we don’t have to.” He looked over at Charlotte. “Speaking from an HR standpoint, what’s your opinion?”

She shook her head. “When it comes to testosterone-fueled conflicts, I got nuthin.”

“No worries.” Garrett unfolded his arms. “They’re winding down and nobody’s dead yet.”

“I think you’re being way too cavalier about this,” Miranda said.

But Garrett’s assessment was accurate. The guys had apparently exhausted themselves by hammering on each other. Breathing hard, they stood about three feet apart but neither seemed inclined to resume the fight.

They were both spattered with blood from Frazer’s nose, and Rylan’s left eye was turning purple. The shoulder seam of his plaid shirt was ripped and Frazer’s lip was bleeding, too.

She didn’t have much experience with fights so she didn’t know what to expect now that it appeared to be over. Then she heard something she’d never expected. Rylan started laughing. Even more bizarre, so did Frazer.

She’d had enough. “You two are
insane
.” Stalking into the room, she glared at them. “Look at you two idiots! You have blood all over you, one has a shiner and the other could have a busted nose. Plus you’ve trashed this office!”

Rylan raised a finger. “
But
, no computers were harmed in the making of this epic fight. That’s all that matters, right, bro?”

“Exactly.” Frazer grinned and his lip bled some more. “We saved the equipment.”

She glanced from one to the other and couldn’t believe what she was seeing. They were a mess, but they looked
happy
. There was no other word to describe it. “So everything’s okay, now that you’ve pounded on each other?”

“I think so.” Rylan surveyed his brother. “You okay?”

Frazer nodded. “I’m good.” He turned toward Miranda. “We both needed a reboot.”

“But all you did was fight.” Miranda couldn’t figure it out. “You didn’t discuss anything.”

“Don’t really need to,” Frazer said. “Ry knows I wouldn’t steal his girl.”

“Yeah, I do. I just . . . it’s like he said. We needed a reboot.”

Maybe she wasn’t meant to understand the mysterious ways of guy communication. Apparently it could involve fists and bloody noses. “If you say so. I think you’re both nuts.”

“That, too.” Frazer held her gaze. “By the way, thanks.”

“You’re welcome.” She wasn’t positive what he was thanking her for, but she had an idea and recapping their earlier conversation didn’t seem like a good move.

“All right, everybody,” Tony called out. “Back to work. Except our gladiators. Dulcie, I’d like you to drive them to Urgent Care to make sure nothing’s seriously damaged.”

Miranda gave Rylan a quick kiss on the cheek before he left. She would have loved to drive both him and Frazer, but Dulcie was probably a better choice. For one thing, Dulcie seemed delighted with the assignment. For another, although the threat of a romantic triangle had been literally busted up, Miranda wouldn’t believe everything was fine until she’d talked privately with Rylan.

On her way back down the hall she noticed Blake coming out of Rylan’s office with a laptop under his arm. Thinking back on it, she didn’t remember seeing him standing around with the others during the fight. Strange.

He glanced at her as they passed each other. “Fight’s over, I guess.”

“Yep.” She knew Tony wanted them all to be cordial to Blake, although she found it difficult. “Dulcie’s taking them to Urgent Care.”