Chapter Thirty-Nine
Josh
Six months had passed since I’d gotten the news that I’d won, and they had by far been the best six months of my life. Reagan and I had immediately started dating, and she’d also joined the team on a more permanent basis. There was no way that I wanted her to stop working with me just because we were now going out. I had hoped it wouldn’t ruin our relationship, but I was happy to see that, if anything, it had just gotten stronger. We didn’t have to hide it anymore, but we still maintained a sense of professionalism when we were at work together. Except for those nights when we found ourselves in the office alone, that is. I’d figured out the cleaning lady’s hours of work, so we knew when we had enough time to enjoy the office together. I still kept a bottle of brandy in my desk drawer for those moments. I was walking around the golf course now with Kason, and the two of us were talking about how different my life was now.
“So, is this your longest relationship?” he asked.
I chuckled. It probably didn’t say much for me that my longest relationship was six months, but I had just never met anyone that I wanted to be with for longer than that. I usually got bored within the first few weeks of meeting someone. But I just didn’t get bored of Reagan at all. Every day I learned something new about her, and every day I found myself wanting to know more and more. This had never happened to me before. It was good to know that something like this really existed. I had often thought that people were just making it up to make themselves feel better. As it turned out, love was real, and it was wonderful.
“I hate to admit it, but yes. This is my longest relationship. Who knew that I would’ve met someone at work? It all happened so quickly too. One minute I was saying how I wasn’t interested in relationships, and the next I was falling in love with my employee.”
“And I think it’s done a lot of good for your public image. Remember how I always used to tell you that you would do better in your career if you were married? Well, I wasn’t entirely wrong. But it wasn’t so much marriage as the idea of someone in power being in love. Everyone wants to believe in it. It’s done you good.”
I laughed. “I remember that. I used to think that you were wrong, but you’re right. People have responded so well to Reagan and I being together. How about you? Things going well? You look happy. In fact, you look happier than usual. Has something happened?”
“I wasn’t sure if I should say anything but I can’t really help myself. Yeah, something has happened. I have a date tonight.”
I turned to look at him in surprise. That was the last thing I had expected him to say. I had no idea that he was even looking for anyone, given all he’d been through lately.. I thought he’d be staying clear of women for a lot longer. I was getting ready to launch into why I thought it was a bad idea, but first I needed to establish who he was going out with and why he was doing it.
“A date? Really? With who?” I said as casually as possible. I hated telling people what to do, but I really wanted to make sure that Kason didn’t get into trouble again. I couldn’t stand to see him go through the pain all over again.
“The cleaning lady.”
“What? You’re kidding me!” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I was horrified. I was just about to tell him that he had lost it mind when I saw a smile playing on his face.
He burst out laughing before I had the chance to say anything. “Yeah, I’m just kidding. But it was worth doing that just for the look on your face.”
“You almost gave me a heart attack. So you don’t have a date?”
“I do. But just not with the cleaning lady.”
“Oh, you’re so infuriating! With who?” I demanded. I could see that he was vastly enjoying this little game he was playing with me.
“With Linda,” he said and smiled.
“Linda? Linda as in your ex-wife Linda? Or have you met someone else that just happens to share the same name? Because that would be crazy.”
He grinned. “Linda as in my ex-wife. We’ve kept in touch. Mostly with me going on and on about how much I messed up. I kept asking her out, and she kept saying no. She finally agreed to go for coffee with me last week, and it went so well. We spent most of our time laughing at how stupid we had both been. She told me that I wasn’t the only one in the wrong and that she should’ve tried harder with the relationship too. It had been a marriage of convenience for both of us, and neither one of us wanted to admit that we were actually well-suited for each other. It was so good to see her again, Josh. And she looked incredible. I finally managed to get her to agree to go on a proper date with her. I’m taking her out for dinner, and we’re going to talk things through.”
“That is absolutely amazing, Kason. You know I’ve always liked her.”
“I know. I should’ve listened to you from the start. Anyway, we’ll see what happens. I don’t want to get my hopes up. But you want to know what’s funny?”
“What’s that?”
“We’re still married. I’ve just been calling her my ex-wife. We never did get around to getting that divorce. Which sort of makes me think that we both realized that deep down neither of us wanted to get divorced. I mean, all this time and none of us really pushed for those papers to be signed. So I’m basically going on a date with my wife.”
I laughed. “That’s hilarious. But seriously, Kason, this is great news. She’s a great girl. I’ve always really liked her. And I always thought that the two of you were perfect for each other. It used to drive me crazy that you didn’t see that yourself. Hold on to her if you can.”
“I’m going to try. I have a new relationship goal now.”
“What’s that?”
“My new goal is to be more like you and Reagan.”
I chuckled. “Who would’ve thought that one day you’d want to be like me when it came to relationships? That’s a huge compliment, actually. Yeah, I’m very lucky. Reagan is amazing. I swear, I just don’t get enough of her. I have never once thought that I wanted a break from her. In fact, I just don’t feel right when she’s not near me. I’ve never felt this way before about anyone. Of course, it doesn’t harm that she’s so damn good looking. Six months down the line and the two of us are almost inseparable.”
Kason laughed and pointed to Reagan who had just come out of the woods after going to retrieve her ball. She had been gone for quite some time so that ball must’ve been pretty far in. “You don’t say,” he said and grinned. It was the first time that I had brought Reagan to play golf with us, and I had been worried that Kason would’ve been unhappy. But the three of us had gotten along great, and it had been a fun day so far. I was glad to see that the two of them got along so well. It would’ve been a real blow if my girlfriend and my best friend didn’t get along.
“I found it!” Reagan said, and we all burst out laughing. Reagan had been so good the first time she’d played golf that I thought she was a natural. Turns out she wasn’t that good at all, and that it really had been beginners luck.
“I thought you were supposed to be good at this game,” Kason said to her.
She chuckled. “Same here. I only played that one time with Josh, months ago. I’m sure I was a lot better the first time around. But it’s okay; I’m more than happy to just drive around on the golf cart. That is much better than actually playing golf.”
I smiled affectionately at Reagan and then looked at Kason. “You know, you should maybe bring Linda around next time too. Think she’d like it?”
Kason grinned. “I have a feeling she’ll be on the golf cart with Reagan more than anything else. But yeah, it’s a good idea.”
After a full day out on the golf course, we all made our way to the clubhouse for something to eat. We placed our orders and then Reagan said she was going to the bar to buy us all a round of beers. The moment she was out of earshot, Kason turned to me.
“You’ve got a good thing going with this one,” he said. “Don’t let her go.”
I looked out at Reagan, who looked impossibly cute in her golfing ensemble, and smiled. “Oh trust me, I won’t.”