Brody’s face went neutral and stony. If there was a hint of emotion in his eyes over her being upset, he hid it away. “I’m sorry that upsets you. You know that I—”
“I know,” she interrupted. “You’re the Great and Powerful Oz. The man behind the curtain that no one ever sees. Except me. And it doesn’t matter that I see a man who is beautiful both inside and out. That I see a man who is caring and funny. The world will forever be deprived of him.”
Brody pursed his lips but didn’t respond to the compliments or the complaints. With a sigh, he shook his head and turned back to the subject he was more comfortable with—work. “I have a virtual meeting with the marketing director at one-thirty. Hold my calls until after the meeting is over.”
Sam nodded and he went back into his office. She was so frustrated with him, she wanted to shake his shoulders and scream. Not because he was afraid of people’s reactions in public. Not because he wasn’t willing to do it for her. But because he continued to hide himself away despite how unhappy it made him. That’s what really made her crazy.
Those damn scars were a prison all their own. The security measures were a backup plan in case someone was brave enough to try to get close. If Sam could get close enough to Brody’s father, she would throttle him with her bare hands for what he had done.
There had to be a way to make Brody more comfortable in his own skin. He’d mentioned how he’d traveled as a teenager to see a specialist about reconstructing his face. That was fifteen years ago. Certainly there had been enough medical advances in the past few years to make a difference. It’s not like he needed insurance approval for treatment. He had enough money to do what needed to be done.
She opened an internet window and started searching for skin reconstruction treatments. She scanned through one article after another, site after site. After a few dead ends, she found a fairly promising site for a plastic surgeon in New York City. He was using cutting edge laser technology and other methods. The before and after pictures in his photo gallery were stunning. The results weren’t flawless, but they were far better than she had ever imagined. It made her wonder if Brody even knew these kinds of advances had been made in reconstruction technology.
She glanced briefly at the doctor’s phone number on the computer screen and a shot of panic rushed through her. Her cell phone. Sam dashed over to her purse and searched through it, but it wasn’t there. She checked the pockets of her jacket, but they were empty. She’d left it at the deli. Hopefully it was still there and someone hadn’t stolen it.
Sam pressed the intercom button. “I have to run back to the deli. I left my cell phone.” She didn’t wait for his reply, leaping out of her chair and rushing down to the lobby.
* * *
Brody had spent the past hour sitting in his office and feeling like crap. He hadn’t said anything to Sam, but he could see the pain and disappointment in her face when they spoke about her friend. She wanted him to be like any other man. To do things most couples did. But that wasn’t a possibility. She knew that from the beginning. And yet, she’d hoped for more.
So did he.
He reached out to grab the gift-wrapped box he’d left sitting on the edge of his desk. It was a gold necklace with a sun pendant. The rays of the sun were multiple hues of yellow, white and rose-colored gold. The center was a yellow diamond. Sam was his personal sunshine, and the necklace was the perfect way to thank her for it. He’d ordered it before they left for the trip and Peggy had left it in his home office when he returned.
He’d wanted to give it to Sam several times today, but the timing hadn’t been right. He didn’t want to give it to her when she was upset. But maybe now was a good time. He could leave it on her desk while she was across the street.
Brody rounded her desk and left the box just to the side of her keyboard. His hand brushed the mouse as he moved away and the screensaver turned off, revealing her web browser.
He felt sick to his stomach when he saw the pictures on her screen. Instead of email or briefing charts, it was page after page of burn reconstruction photos. He clicked back through her search history at a variety of sites, all focused on the latest methods of “fixing” him.
Brody felt the anger of betrayal begin to swirl in his gut. He didn’t know why he was so surprised to find this. She was Daddy’s Little Fixer, right? She fixed everything else, why wouldn’t she want to fix Brody? She’d only played to his ego that night at dinner when she told him she didn’t see anything about him that needed fixing.