The Baker's Man

Uncharted Territory

Odette rushed into her office as the phone rang, she quickly picked it up hoping that it was the call she had been waiting for.

"Hey Bright Eyes you have a visitor, but he doesn't have an appointment," Lydia said. "He says he's your brother." Odette let out a groan of aggravation, of all days why did Rodney choose today to show up.

"I'll be right down." She said before ending the call. Odette grabbed her cell phone and purse before heading for the elevator. As she rode down to the main floor, her mind raced with the possible reason as to what prompted her brother's sudden visit. Odette froze in her tracks when she saw Rodney leaned against the security desk flirting with Lydia. Odette was happy to see her brother looking well, but a part of her wanted to punch him in the face after all of the heartaches he put her through. When Rodney noticed her, his face lit up.

"Hey, Squeak." He said in his usual soft-spoken manner. It was the first time Odette had laid eyes on her brother in over three years. She had thought about what she would say or how she would react when she saw him, but now none of it seemed to be the right response.

"Hi, Rodney." She said softly as she tried to keep her voice from wavering. The sudden rush of emotions was beginning to get the best of her. Tears began to pool in her eyes as Rodney took a step towards her. Before she could think of her next move, Rodney embraced her. The dam had broken, and a flood of tears fell from Odette's eyes as she hugged her brother.

Elijah walked into the building slightly irritated at the fact that Odette hadn't returned his calls. They were scheduled to leave for Paris within an hour, and they needed to leave as soon as possible. He heard Odette's laugh echo through the floor and immediately turned his head in her direction. He saw her talking to a tall, dark skinned man. The way she looked up at him, her eyes sparkling with delight, made him feel a slight twinge of jealousy. He immediately wanted to know who the man was and what he was doing around his Ducky. Odette noticed Elijah right away a hint of fear flashed in her eyes as she stepped towards him.

Elijah locked eyes with the man as they both studied each other while Odette had an internal panic attack. This was not the way she wanted Elijah and Rodney to meet. She couldn't even remember if she had mentioned to Elijah that she had a brother.

"Hey Ducky are you ready?" he asked as Odette rushed into his arms.

"Um yeah, I'm ready. But, I have someone I want you to meet first." She said guiding him over to Rodney who was watching their every move.

"Elijah this is my brother Rodney." She said with a nervous laugh. "Rodney this is Elijah my boss and— "

"—her boyfriend, it's nice to meet you," Elijah said cutting Odette off as he shook Rodney's hand.

"Mom told me you were dating someone from work, she didn't say it was your boss." He said still holding on to Elijah's hand. Odette's eyes darted from Elijah to Rodney, she could smell the testosterone in the air. The last thing she needed was for her boyfriend and her brother to start fighting in the lobby. The men continued to stare each other down, Odette was expecting for one of them to start snarling soon.

"Odette, you never told me that you had a brother—" Elijah said as he wrapped a protective arm around her waist. "— Why?"

"Rodney's been away for a while, and he just came back to give me my graduation present." She said shaking the charm bracelet on her wrist. Elijah eyeballed the bracelet on her wrist, and a part of him wanted to snatch it off of her. He had heard all about Rodney from Evangeline and knew that Odette would only end up broken hearted again if she fell for his tricks.