Chapter 22

Oliver

“Are you serious?” Kyra cocked her eyebrow at me, running her finger around the rim of her water glass. She was on some new fitness regimen and had turned down the wine.

I nodded.

“Yeah, I am,” I replied with a shrug. “Is it that much of a surprise?”

“Does this poor, unsuspecting woman know you want to settle down with her?” she teased.

She was taking this better than I expected, but then, after Mona had practically chased her out of the office for me, this couldn’t have come as that much of a surprise.

“I think so,” I replied, relaxing. “And look, you know, I had a great time.”

“Save it.” She held her hand up. “No hard feelings, seriously. As long as you pick up the check.”

“Oh, I see how it is.” I said, laughing and finished up the scotch I’d ordered myself to take the edge off.

It was never easy breaking up with somebody, and I was more inclined to just let the relationship burn out on its own, but this time it was different. This time, I needed to tie up all my loose ends. This time, there was someone to end all the relationships for.

I waved the waiter over to pay, glad that this meeting had been relatively painless. Kyra was last on my list, and now that I had finished things with her, I felt a weight lift off my shoulders. Almost there.

“Can I ask who she is?” she asked as I handed the waiter my credit card.

“I can’t tell you,” I admitted.

“Well, just invite me to the wedding then.”

She got to her feet, and I did the same. She planted a quick kiss on my cheek.

“Thanks for making this easy,” I said into her ear.

“Thanks for paying for the drinks,” she said into mine, and with that, we parted ways.

I gave her a little time to get ahead of me before I followed her out of the bar where we’d agreed to meet and inhaled deeply the cool air outside. I felt free. Well, almost.

It had been two weeks since I set about ending all the friends-with-benefits and semi-dating situations I had going on with women across the city. I wanted to be with Mona and no one else, once and for all, and the only way I could do that was to make sure there was nothing that could get in the way of it.

All the women I had split with seemed to have taken things relatively well. I didn’t get any martinis tossed in my face, which I had to admit was a relief. Now, I was officially free and single, except for Mona.

She’d been a little distant in the last couple of weeks, now that I thought of it. I hadn’t put it down to much, considering her responsibilities had stepped up at work, but she was spending less time at my place and we spent most of our time together at the office these days. It wasn’t the most romantic setting, but at least I still got to see her.

She had been ill lately, dashing off to the bathroom fairly often. We hadn’t really had sex, apart from fooling around a few times. The two times she’d slept at my place, she’d flipped over and put her back to me, a far cry from the way she usually draped herself over my body while we were in bed together.

Maybe she was just feeling a little distant because we had less time to spend together? Well, when she found out what I’d done for her, that was going to change. I just had one more person to tell about us before I went to Mona and let her know what I’d done, so that we could be together publicly and officially.

I made my way back to the office, glad I’d had the scotch, even though it was barely past two. I knew meeting with Neil was going to be a nightmare, and I probably could have used another couple of drinks to get up the nerve to explain all of this to him.

Although, a slurring, hammered me wandering into that office to tell him that all the suspicions he’d had about me and Mona were true was hardly going to make things more palatable. I would just have to face up to what was happening like a man.

I arrived back at the office, walking from the bar nearby so I could sober up a little and go over in my head everything I wanted to say. The last thing I needed was to walk in there and trip over my words, coming across as a fool.

I needed to be calm, collected, and deliver the news to Neil in the least confrontational way possible. I knew that whatever I said, it was going to end in a fight, so I might as well at least approach the situation with a calm disposition.

I took the stairs up to Neil’s office, a decision that proved to be a mistake, as I wound up out of breath and red-faced as I waited outside his office while he finished up a phone call. I paced back and forth in an attempt to release all the nervous energy.

This was hellish. Of all the people to tell, I knew Neil was going to be the least understanding, and I was dreading his reaction.

The door opened, and Neil smiled at me warmly and gestured for me to come in.

“Sorry to keep you waiting.”

He sat down behind his desk and clasped his hands in front of him, looking at me expectantly.

“Now, what can I do for you? Is it about the Masterson thing? Are they having second thoughts? Because I thought about this, and-”

“No, it’s not about them,” I interrupted before he could get too far. “It’s something personal.”

“Okay. You need my advice?”

He cocked his head at me curiously and I shook my head.

“Your blessing.”

His face indicated he’d figured out what I was going to say next.

“It’s about her, isn’t it?”

He leaned forward, his voice dropping to a low, venomous tone that made me jerk back in surprise.

“Mona?”

“Yeah, it’s about her,” I admitted, ignoring my natural urge to deny it. “I want to be with her.”

“Oh, you do?”

He threw his hands in the air in frustration, the movement sudden enough to make me jerk back with surprise. “I thought you promised me nothing was going to happen with the two of you.”

I pressed my hands together, trying to center myself.

“Yeah, I did, and I’m sorry I lied to you,” I said as I met his gaze steadily. “But things change. Things changed between us.”

“When did this start? Was it London?” he asked me angrily. “I knew something was different, but I didn’t want to make assumptions, not when you told me on the fucking phone that nothing was going to happen.”

“Yeah, it started in London,” I admitted firmly. “We slept together, and we kept doing it when we came back.”

“I’m surprised you were able to keep it quiet for so long.”

“We wanted to make sure it was sustainable,” I replied, choosing my words carefully.

“Oh, same as it was with Jeannie?” he shot back. “You do remember what happened with her, don’t you?”

“Of course I do,” I assured him, “but it’s different.”

“Yeah, I don’t see how it is.” he spat, getting to his feet and pacing back and forth. “Because to me, it looks like you just fucked your secretary again, after promising me you wouldn’t.”

“I know, I know.”

I ran my hands over my face, hiding briefly before I dove back into it.

I wasn’t used to arguing with Neil. We usually found ourselves on the same team, and being set against him was awkward and uncomfortable.

“So what’s different this time?” he demanded, regarding me with incredulity. “Explain it to me, because I can’t figure it out.”

“Jeannie wanted something more than I could give her,” I explained, as calmly as I could. “You know I wasn’t looking for that with her. That’s why she got obsessed, because she thought I was.”

“And you’re looking for that now? With Mona?” Neil raised his eyebrows.

“I know how it sounds,” I admitted.

“Yeah, you should,” he shot back, sharply. “Do you remember we had to practically bribe her to convince her not to file a harassment suit against us? Do you remember? Because I sure as fuck do. Do you have any idea how bad it could be if Mona decides she wants to pull the same thing?”

“She isn’t going to, Neil, I promise.”

I tried to assure him, but I knew I wasn’t being as forthright as I needed to be.

“And how exactly are you so sure of that? We had to get a restraining order against Jeannie, lest you forget. I had a hard enough time keeping that out of the papers. If you try and pull this shit again-”

“I’m not pulling any shit,” I finally snapped back at him. “I’m…I’m in love with her, alright?”

The words hung in the air between us, heavy and thick with meaning. Neil stared at me for a moment, his mouth hanging slightly open.

“Are you kidding me?” he asked, and I wasn’t sure if it was resignation or indignation in his voice.

“No, I’m not,” I replied, shaking my head.

I was as surprised as he was at the words coming out of my mouth. I hadn’t even thought about that before now, but there it was. I’d said it aloud, and it felt right. Of course I was in love with her.

I swallowed and got to my feet so I could look Neil in the eye.

“I want to be with her, Neil, and I’m doing you the favor of letting you know before someone else does, okay? We’re together now. That’s the end of it.”

“Holy shit, Oliver.”

He shook his head and took a seat, as though he couldn’t believe the words coming out of my mouth.

“You’re sure you are in love with her?”

“I think so.” I nodded, then swiftly corrected myself. “I know so.”

“Fuck.” He shook his head. “Well… I can’t do much to stop you then, can I?”

“Nope,” I agreed, and he looked to the wedding band on his finger.

He’d been married for what felt like forever now, and I wondered if he was thinking back to when he had first fallen for Jennifer, how certain he’d been.

He sighed heavily.

“Get out of here,” he said, waving his hand. “Out! I need some time to think.”

“About what?”

“About how we’re going to spin this in the press.”

He looked up at me out of the corner of his eye and I could see the beginnings of a grin appearing on his lips.

“Thanks, Neil,” I said, and I knew that was all that needed to be said on the matter.

I headed down the corridor and back into the elevator. If it hadn’t been full of people, I would have pulled a freeze-frame air-punch, because all of this felt unreal.

I made my way back to my office and glanced at the door that divided Mona’s office from mine, smiling fondly.

Now that Neil was out of the way, there was nothing keeping us from being together for real, at last.