As much as I wanted to take her right then and there, I couldn’t. After an intense make-out session like we were teenagers behind the bleachers, I got her into my car and drove her home, again much to her protest but with the promise of a second date tonight.

On Wednesdays I normally train at the gym, but I’ve fought with myself that it’s worth missing out on. Unfortunately for everyone I work with, it doesn’t place me in a very good headspace.

I rub my temples against the whiney voice of Kai’s PA. I don’t remember her voice being this high. “Remind me why you didn’t go with him again?” I ask her impatiently.

“I’m sorry, sir?”

“Kai. Why didn’t you go to England with him?”

She tosses her platinum blond hair over her shoulder and giggles. I cringe, I hate when women giggle unnecessarily. “He told me I was of better use here. Anything he needs me for I can do from here while helping you stay on schedule while Cleo is off this week.”

Right, I knew there was someone missing today. If Cleo was here the room would be silent. I continue to rub my temples.

“Can I get you some Advil?”

I sigh, anything to get her out of here for a few minutes. “Please, Tiffany.”

“Coming right up. I’ll be back in a minute.”

“Take your time.” Seriously.

I know I don’t need pain meds because there’s no actual pain there, it’s all in my head. A phantom pain. But even if there was, I wouldn’t take them on account of—

“Here you go, I brought extra so you can take two now and then another two in around four hours.” That was fast, I think this woman may be superhuman.

She passes over four round pills wrapped in a napkin and a glass of water before stepping back and placing her hands behind her back, smiling at me like a fucking puppy wanting me to throw her a bone.

“Thank you.” I place them in front of me on my desk. “Can you remind me of my schedule today before you leave.”

I make sure to enunciate the word leave so she knows that’s what she’s to do afterward.

“Sure.”

She starts talking but all I keep thinking is: this is why I hired Cleo.

Cleo has been with me for the best part of five years now. I hired her because she has a no-nonsense policy for putting up with people’s shit. She doesn’t need me to micromanage her and tell her what she needs to do. She comes into work every day and gets things done while keeping me on schedule. And she does all this without speaking to me more than necessary.

And yes, while that may seem cold again, it’s the way we work. I know Cleo came from nothing just like me. Everyone who works for this company has a background check, and if she were interviewed by anyone other than me, she wouldn’t have gotten the job.

She had no experience or many qualifications to show me, but what I did see in her was the same determination I’ve stared into every day in the mirror for the last seven years. She’s a fighter. One I was willing to hire on the spot because my gut told me she was the right fit.

I chose my assistant, whereas Kai let someone else choose his, ergo, he ended up with Tiffany.

“Mr. Reed?”

“Hmm?” I realize I haven't been paying any attention to her and immediately feel guilty. “That’s great, thank you. Why don’t you take an early lunch?”

Bright white teeth greet me. “Thank you, sir.”

She leaves and I sigh in relief when the door shuts behind her. It’s finally silent, but in the silence is a voice in the back of my head saying I shouldn’t be doing this. I can’t cope with being a CEO of a company. I don’t deserve any of this.

Pushing my chair back, I stare at the four pills in front of me as I lean my forearms on my knees. No matter how hard I try, my life is always trying to come full circle. It’s trying to remind me of where I came from and where I could so easily end up again.

My skin starts crawling the more I stare at them, so I stand and turn toward the window, bracing my forehead against the coolness of the glass.

You’re missing one training session and you knew Cleo was off this week, she gave you a month’s notice. Get ahold of yourself!

I turn to look at the pills, anger fizzling to the surface. I need them gone. I scrape them into the top drawer of my desk and as soon as I shut it on them, the raging storm in my head clears and the skies brighten, letting me sort through my thoughts one by one.

Cleo is away until Tuesday; I can handle that.

Kai will be back tomorrow to attend most of these meetings; he’s the face of the company and the best at dealing with everything. Then I can go back to being behind the scenes and getting this new gym up and running. We still have so much to do.

And then there’s Taylor. I can’t stop fucking thinking about her. It’s like she’s embedded herself into my psyche so bad that even when I’m not consciously thinking about her, I still find myself waiting for the chance to see her again.

So that leaves me with just one option: to cancel my training session and make good on this date. I know I’ll be okay. As soon as I’m with Taylor tonight at her place, nothing will seem to matter as much as it does right now.

My intercom beeps and I blow out a breath before pressing it. “Hello?”

“Hi, Mr. Reed, it’s Brooke from reception. There’s a girl on line one for you, she says she’s your niece.”

My mouth turns dry and I have to take a sip of the water Tiffany left before saying anything. “Okay. Thanks.”

My hand shakes as I reach for the phone, cursing up a storm as I pick it up and bring it to my ear. “Hello?” My heart pounds.

“Mom’s mad at you,” a muffled voice states.

“Kinz? Is that you?”

There’s a rustling over the line and her voice becomes clearer. “Unless you have any other nieces.”

I chuckle out of habit, it’s definitely Kinsey. “Your mom’s mad at me, huh?” I would be too.

“Yeah, so is Dad, but not as bad as my mom.”

I sigh. “I know, kiddo.”

She’s silent for a beat before saying, “Why didn’t you come for Thanksgiving?”

“I—”

“Or Christmas, or New Year.”

I rub my forehead. “I’ve been busy.”

“So have I, but I still made it back from college for the holidays. You live in the same city.”

Her upset tone breaks my heart. I’ve constantly put off going around to their place because I know how much of a disappointment I’ve been lately. All they’ve ever wanted was me back in their lives, but my sister kept pushing and pushing until one day I decided I couldn’t keep spiraling like I was without it effecting them. So I distanced myself.

“Are you still getting the money?”

She huffs. “I’m eighteen and I have more social skills than you, Uncle Z. Stop avoiding the hard questions and call Mom.” She pauses. “And, yes, I’m still getting the money. Thank you.”

I ignore her insistence to call her mom. “Good. Don’t tell your mother.”

I can practically hear her eye roll from here. “She’s not stupid, she knows I didn’t save up enough to buy that car on my own. That’s why Dad’s mad, that and because you won’t call.”

“I’ll call,” I tell her, although I wish I hadn’t because she’ll hold me to it.

“Please do, she misses you.” She clears her throat and I have to pull the phone away from my ear when she adds, “We all do. But I’ll be back in a few weeks to see the babies.”

I cringe knowing I haven’t been there for them all during this happy time. “I’d like to see you.” I make up my mind on the spot, penciling it in in my head. “I’d like to see you all.”

“Then do it.” She says it like it’s so easy for me, but she just thinks I’m a grumpy workaholic, she has no idea how her mom and me grew up.

“Anyway, I’ve gotta go, I have another class, but say hi to Kai for me.” She singsongs the last bit and I roll my eyes.

“You can’t have a teenage crush on my best friend, Kinz, it’s wrong. You’re only eighteen.”

“Nineteen in five months so that officially makes him only eight years and five months older than me. College boys are exactly that: boys.”

“And if any of them touch you, tell them they’ll have me to deal with.”

“Uncle Z! I’m an adult now.”

“Still sleep with Sammy the squirrel?” I take her silence as a strong yes. “Then I rest my case. Go get to class.”

“Fine. I’ll see you in a couple of weeks.”

I promise her I’ll be there to see her and hang up, my finger hovering over the buttons to call my sister but I can’t seem to do it. I hang up the phone again and stare at it, jumping when it rings.

“Hello?”

“Hey, man, why was your phone busy?”

I roll my eyes. “I’m at work, Kai, people call.”

He snorts his amusement. “Well, der, who was it?”

“Kinz.”

His tone brightens. “Yeah? How is she? Staying away from the boys?”

“She’d die if she heard you saying that. She’s still holding a flame for you.”

“Still? I’ll have to let her down gently.” He chuckles. “On second thought, it’ll pass, it’s only the second semester. She has plenty of time to get acquainted with other people.”

“Don’t even,” I grind out.

He laughs. “How you holding up anyway? The fort still intact?”

I roll my eyes. “Perfectly capable of taking care of our business while you’re away.”

“I know that, I was talking about you. You’re the fort in that scenario.”

“I’m fine, you don’t have to check up on me. What about you?” He doesn’t talk for a minute. “Kai?”

“I’m good. Look, I’m going to cut the bullshit and say what I called you for.”

“O-kayyy.”

I frown as he says, “I’m sorry about the other night. I had jet lag and I didn’t mean to insinuate you couldn’t choose your own woman or whatever.”

“What are you talking about?”

“The whole thing with Taylor. I forgive you for hanging up on me by the way, that was a dick move. I just think you need to be cautious.”

I grind my teeth together. “Taylor is none of your business.”

“What’s your deal, I’m trying to be nice and apologize.”

“I’m not talking about this over the phone, Kai. If you have something to say, we’ll talk when you get back tomorrow.” I know he wants to argue with me, it’s the way Kai is. He has to say his piece even if I don’t want to hear it.

But much to my surprise, he comes back with a surly, “Sure,” before making excuses that he has to go. And with it he takes the last of my patience. My mood just got a whole lot shittier.