CHANCE
My assistant knew I had a woman in my life. How could she not? I asked her to find me the number of a florist last week—I couldn’t tell her to send flowers to Megan Grimes from me considering who was the big boss—and I always walked in the office with my phone in hand and a stupidly lovesick expression on my face. Most of the past week I had spent my lunch breaks in my office, on the phone with Megan or I disappeared without letting on where I would be going. I had never made a mystery of what I did in my life, not to my assistant anyway, but this time was different.
Megan thought I was still holding onto our secret because I was scared of telling her brother, but I was starting to believe it was partially wrong. What we had was precious and keeping the world away ensured that nothing disrupted it.
“Mr. Atwood?’’
My assistant's voice snapped me to attention, interrupting me from blankly staring at the numbers on my computer.
“Yes?’’ I leaned back in my large chair and rubbed my forehead.
“Mr. Grimes is asking for you in his office.’’
That stopped me from reaching for the files next to my keyboard. “What’s the reason for this meeting?’’
My assistant’s eyebrows disappear behind her freshly cut bangs and her thick-framed glasses enlarged her widening eyes. I’ve never asked before why Mathis asked for me. Usually, I’d get up, snatch my iPad with all our current numbers stocked there and swagger to his large corner office with a winning smile on my face and a few words thrown around at employees walking by.
But things were different now.
For one, just this morning I left Megan’s bed while she was naked and freshly fucked. If Mathis knew…
So, maybe I was still a little worried about how my best friends would react.
“Uh, I don’t know, sir. I could call his assistant—‘’
“No, it’s fine. I’ll wrap this up quickly and head over there. Thank you.’’
She nodded and turned around, glancing back at me over her shoulder, before she sat at her desk just outside my office. I made a point to leave the door open whenever I wasn’t on a conference call. At this moment, I regretted my policy and wished to kick closed my door without leaving my desk, just so I could have a few seconds to take deep breaths before I went to meet with Mathis.
Gathering my composure, I tugged on my tie and stood up. In one jerky movement, I closed my suit jacket and grabbed my iPad. Slowly, I walked out of my office without a look for my assistant and made my way to Mathis' office.
At least, if I lost my job, I had enough money invested to take care of myself and my parents for the foreseeable future. And I had something far more important; a woman who made me happy, the kind of happy that made you light and gave another dimension to everything in your life. I must keep that in mind.
On that last thought, I saluted Mathis’ assistant with a nod and knocked on his office door. His muffled voice told me to come in so with a last deep breath and a tight grip on the iPad, I pushed the door open and stepped in.
“I’ve known you to be faster,’’ he said without looking up from his laptop.
I couldn’t read him. That was the issue with him. You could never read the man. He's been different ever since Lila and he found their way a few months ago, but he was still the Mathis Grimes that had employees and business partners shaking in their boots.
“I was in the middle of the quarterly plan for—‘’
“Yeah, yeah.’’ He waved at the seats in front of his desk and looked up. “Take a sit.’’
I cleared my throat and said a silent prayer in case I was about to expire. “What’s up?’’
“I heard something very interesting this morning.’’ His dark eyes bore a hole into me. Fuck.
“Okay.’’ I shook my head and shut up, determined to wait for him to say something instead of blurting everything before I knew what it was truly about. Maybe I was overreacting.
“My wife was on the phone with my sister and I heard her mention you. Care to explain it?’’
I’m dead. “How would I know? It’s not like I was in the room.’’ I forced a pitiful laugh out.
His eyes narrowed. “Don’t fucking play me, Chance. You don’t want to be on my bad side.’’
Under his harsh glare, I fought not to slouch. There was nothing I could do. I was cornered and either I was a man and came clean, or I ran. Megan wasn’t the kind of woman you ran from and I was past this. She had me, and Mathis Grimes, as scary cold as he could be at times, wouldn’t chase me away.
“What do you want me to say, Mathis?’’
“The truth, for a start.’’ He drilled a staccato rhythm on the top of the gleaming surface of his desk with his fingers. “I knew there was something different, but I would have never thought you’d fuck my sister behind my back.’’
“Hey!’’ I glared right back and threw the iPad on the chair next to mine. “Have a little more respect for Megan.’’
“You’re talking about respect?’’ He raged and pointed at me. His jaw was locked and he looked pale, just like he always was when anger consumed him. “You went behind my back and seduced my sister!’’
“What would you have said if I went to you and told you I was interested in her?’’
“Fuck no.’’
“Exactly!’’ I yelled back and clamped my lips when I realized how loud we just were. Silence weighted as we stared at each other, anger potent. I trembled and my hands were closed tight into fists in my lap. If Mathis’ desk weren’t here, I’d probably have him by the collar. I'd probably be sporting a bruised eye with how murderous he looked, though. “She’s an adult, Mathis. She knows what she’s doing.’’
“She doesn’t know you like I do.’’ His cold voice iced me to my bones. It was the tone he had always used, but he’s been mellowing for a while. You'd never have guessed it by the look of him at this very moment. “You don’t want to settle down and be with a woman for the long run. My sister is not like your other women.’’
“Don’t you think I don’t know that? And come on, I would never treat your sister that way. Shit, do you really think so little of me after all these years?’’
“Yesterday I would have said I’d never think you’d fuck my sister.’’
I shook my head and jumped to my feet. It was useless to try and have a chat with him. The man was a fortress and had always been for as long as I’ve known him. “How do you want to do this? Should I present you with my resignation letter?’'
That seemed to take him aback. He leaned further into his office chair and eyed me a long time without saying a word. On a lesser man, it would probably push them to fidget, but I stood tall, iPad in hand again and eyes steady.
“And what about Megan?’’
“I’d sooner resign than give up on her, but that’s not what you want to hear.’’ I chuckled darkly. “Your sister is an amazing woman and I won’t give up on her because you want me to. I have nothing to prove to you because, in the end, she’s the one I have to prove that I can be the forever kind of man she deserves.’’
I turned around and walked briskly to the door when Mathis stopped me.
“Chance.’’ I turned around and waited. “I expect you to come back to work first thing tomorrow. Take the rest of the day off and think hard about what you’re doing. This is friendly advice because if you fuck up my sister’s heart, I’m going to end you. Friendship or not.’’
I swallowed thickly and nodded before I left his office. Fear and doubts overwhelmed me.
***
MEGAN
I waited another ten minutes, and when I didn’t get a message back or a call, I put my phone away in my purse.
I stared around the little cafe where Chance was supposed to join me twenty minutes ago. The establishment was tiny with under ten small tables and knickknacks on colorful shelves on the brick walls, but it offered the kind of intimacy and coziness I enjoyed. Chance had seemed to enjoy the place when I brought him here the other day.
Uneasiness settled in my belly and I didn’t feel like swallowing another sip of my mocha.
How long did you have to wait to admit that the man you’re waiting for stood you up? Twenty minutes?
I was about to hit the thirty minutes mark. That in itself wouldn’t be so bad if Chance answered my messages or my phone call. I knew he was a busy man with important responsibilities at work, but this wasn’t like him.
Or maybe it was, but I hadn’t been experiencing that side of him yet.
“Would you like another mocha?’’
I glanced up and noticed the young barista with a pixie haircut and friendly smile standing there. That smile did me in.
My eyes prickled and my heart lurched in my chest. Slowly, I shook my head and clamped my trembling lips together. I’d rather avoid speaking a word. I was afraid it would only end on a sob.
“Oh!’’ The barista’s smile vanished. “Is everything alright?’’
I took a deep cleansing breath and nodded feebly. “Yes.’’ My choked voice negated my affirmation, but I wouldn’t let my stupid heart get the better of me once more. “I guess I’m not used to disappointment just yet.’’
She put a gentle hand on my shoulder. “Maybe he’ll come.’’
Mortified, I watched as she went to another client tucked in a corner reading a newspaper. I must have been quite the sight, feverishly texting and calling.
I wondered if Chance even cared how it made me feel to be publicly stood up. Probably not. After all, maybe he didn’t know how to give me the brush off. But I didn’t get it. This morning, he left my place reluctantly. He looked like he was perfectly fine with how we were together and it’s not like he didn’t text me over his lunch break.
What happened?
Distractedly, I stood up, shouldered my purse and dropped my jacket on my forearms. With a mumbled goodbye I left the cafe and walked in the sunny afternoon, ready to go home and watch an episode or two of Gilmore Girls to comfort myself before I would get to the bottom of things.
I swore to myself I wouldn’t let things go by without taking action again and I wouldn’t.
Chance Atwood might be my weakness and my heart might still turn to mush because of him, but I wouldn’t let him trample all over it.
I was familiar with pain. It had been a fixture in my family ever since Max died twenty years ago and there was nothing to do about it, but there were pains you could do something about.
Letting a man mistreat me wasn’t something I could do nothing about.
That was the kind of pain I could deal with.