Sixteen

Jensen

Patrick hadn’t stopped laughing at me for a solid ten minutes. If I were a violent man, I would have put my fist through his face a long while ago. Instead, I waited patiently for him to chill the fuck out. Austin would be here in about twenty minutes, and Patrick needed to get his shit together before then.

It was bad enough that Morgan knew about what had happened with Emery. I didn’t want Austin to know anything. Morgan and I, at least, were on the same page. We always had been; it didn’t matter that she was seven years younger than me. For a long time, everyone had thought she and Landon were twins, but they couldn’t have been further apart as far as personalities went. And, sometimes, I thought it was scary how much she and I were on the same wavelength.

So, at least I knew she wasn’t going to run to Landon to try to make things right. I just had to figure out what I was going to do. Because texting Emery all week and getting radio silence had clearly not been working out well for me.

And I should have just left her alone. That was what I’d said I wanted even if it was a lie. It just wasn’t smart to bring her into all of my baggage. Yet I couldn’t stop thinking about her. And texting her. And I was considering showing up at her sister’s house with a boom box and waiting until she came outside.

No, I probably wouldn’t do that last one. That only worked in the movies.

“Tell me again that the girl from the wedding is Landon’s ex-girlfriend. It’s funnier every time you say it,” Patrick said.

I stared back at him with a look of deep disinterest. “How about we skip that part?”

“Okay, okay,” Patrick said. He straightened up and wiped a tear from his eye. “I’m just imagining you striking out now. I’ve seen you pick up more girls than most famous athletes.”

“I didn’t strike out,” I told him through gritted teeth.

“Yeah, y’all fucked, and then she straight fucked with your head. What were you thinking, man?”

“I was thinking that things were too complicated with Emery already,” I told him honestly. I leaned back against the door to my office with a weary expression. Things were too complicated. Much too complicated. Yet part of me didn’t give two fucks. We’d had an amazing night, and then I’d slept through the night. Both things were nothing short of a miracle in my world.

“Complicated?” Patrick asked. He poured out two shots of top-shelf bourbon. The liquid made a glub, glub, glub sound as it flowed out of the crystal decanter. “Shit’s not complicated, Jensen. You like her. That’s why you’re freaking out.”

“That would be a problem,” I told him.

Patrick shook his head and passed me a shot. He held his up in the air. “The problem is with your head, man. Get in good while you can. You don’t know if things will go south, and stressing about it will only ruin it. Enjoy it while it lasts.”

We each tipped back the shot of bourbon, and Patrick stood from the desk. He grinned with a boyish look. He never thought too hard or long on his own problems. It was why he and Austin were still bachelors and hadn’t had serious girlfriends since college.

I hated to tell him that I did know that things would go south. It was a guarantee with me considering my past. I hated thinking that I liked Emery because I didn’t want to hurt her. And, if she actually got to know me, it would be inevitable.

“Y’all ready?” Morgan asked, appearing from around the corner of my office.

She was decked out in a shimmery red cocktail dress with her dark hair curled, nearly reaching to her waist. Her eyes shot to Patrick. We were both sporting the standard-issue tuxedo. Her look said one thing and one thing only. And I wished she and Patrick would fuck it out or move on already.

Not that I was one to talk right at this moment.

“Yeah. Austin?” I asked.

Austin walked into the office a second later, carrying another bottle of bourbon. It was half-empty, and in his eyes, I could see that he was already drunk. All-too familiar at this point. As much as I needled him about it, I did fucking worry about him becoming the alcoholic that our father had been.

“Good to go, bro,” Austin said. He held up the bottle, as if in a toast.

“Let’s get upstairs then,” I told them.

We all walked out of my office and down the hall to the elevator that led to the top floor of the Wright Construction building. It was a massive high-rise downtown that overlooked the Texas Tech campus. The restaurant at the top had a panoramic view of the skyline and some of the best food in town. We held business dinners up here and hosted parties, and every year, it was the spot for the annual Wright Construction office Christmas party.

Already, the room was full of the corporate staff who worked in the business below. People were dressed in their best cocktail attire, leaving behind their business suits for dress clothes. It was like seeing the office come to life once every year. Even Mick in accounting had dressed up, and he was acting like he was having a good time. He was the most curmudgeonly old man I’d ever encountered.

The line at the bar was the biggest attraction, and soon, the buffet would open up. We had the food catered every year as a thank-you that went with the year-end bonuses.

I shook hands and said my fair share of hellos as we moved through the crowd, heading toward the DJ that was currently playing Christmas music. It was my mission to make sure I knew each person on the team. Ever since my father had died and I’d taken over the company, my life had been almost entirely about work. The few exceptions still lived in New York and hadn’t exactly worked out as I’d expected. Work was always reliable.

As I greeted people, my eyes sought out one person. Heidi. She was Emery’s best friend. She would know what to make of the whole situation. And, though I had never had a conversation with Heidi that wasn’t about work, considering the array of men falling at her feet, I thought maybe she would understand where I was coming from on this one.

But I never found her.

And then I was quickly ushered up to the DJ and handed a microphone.

Here goes nothing.

“Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention?” I said.

Slowly, the voices died down, and faces turned to stare up at me at the front of the room. My eyes roamed the room, trying to pick out Heidi in the crowd.

“I don’t want to take up too much of your time. I just wanted to say thank you so much for all that you do for this company. Every single person in this room is integral to the development and continual progress of Wright Construction.”

A few people in the back clapped, and then everyone joined in, applauding their own accomplishments.

“Additionally, I wanted to make you all aware that, as of next week, Wright Construction will merge with the Tarman Corporation headquartered in Austin.”

There were loud whispers all around as everyone tried to figure out what that would mean for them.

“Wright Construction is purchasing the company to continue to grow and expand in and out of Texas.”

I was about to say something else when a figure appeared at the back of the room. It was as if a spotlight were being held over Emery’s body, revealing her to me. She looked stunning in a tightfitting black dress. And, for a moment, I was completely frozen in place. All thoughts of letting her leave for her own good disappeared. I was not going to let that woman walk away from me.

I could feel her eyes on me from across the room. She smirked like she fucking knew what she was doing to me. And it only made me want her more.

“Jensen,” Morgan muttered, nudging me.

“Um…yes. Right. More details regarding that will follow,” I said into the microphone. I’d completely lost my train of thought. “Now, more booze! Enjoy!”

I handed the microphone back to the DJ and turned to go find Emery, but Morgan blocked my way.

“More booze? Enjoy?” she asked in dismay. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

“Something else is on my mind.”

“Jensen, you didn’t even tell them that we weren’t downsizing here. You didn’t tell them what the merger meant or that we’d be getting new employees from Tarman.”

“Then, you tell them, Morgan,” I told her.

My eyes drifted over her head to try to find Emery again, but she was gone. It was as if she had come to me like a vision in that moment and had since disappeared.

“What?” Morgan asked, staggered. “You want me to address the crowd?”

“You’re a Wright, are you not? You know just as much about the merger as I do.”

“But, Jensen…” she whispered.

I smiled and bumped her shoulder. “I have faith in you.”

“Wait, where are you going?” she asked as I moved away from her.

“To make another mistake,” I told her before melting into the crowd.