“I knew I made the right choice being on Team Girl!” she cheers. “I should start a business guessing the gender of people’s babies. Like a psychic service.”
“You are one for one,” I grin at her. The lightheartedness of the conversation doesn’t last long. “I promise I was going to tell you, but we just told Alan and I wanted to get out of here before he tried to convince me to stay.”
“You know that he would,” she sighs. “Cassidy, I don’t want you to leave. Is that selfish?”
I shake my head before she continues.
“I mean, I have other friends. I have roommates, but you’re slowly becoming my best friend. I’ve enjoyed spending all this time with you lately and it’s going to feel really empty without you.”
“Aw, Noelle,” I coo, and then she wrinkles her nose, and I can’t help but laugh. I stop packing, abandoning the boxes as I walk over to where she sits on the couch. I sit next to her, leaning back and sighing. “If it makes you feel any better, I’m going to miss the hell out of you, too. You’re the first and probably only friend I’ve made since arriving in New York, unless you count Edward.”
“I don’t count Edward. He’s not having girls’ nights with you,” Noelle grins. “Promise you’ll be back? Even if it’s just for a visit? I want a chance to meet the baby that I spoke into existence.”
Before all of this, I considered making Noelle the godmother. I hadn’t run it by Oliver yet, and I hadn’t thought much about it lately. It seemed like a natural choice. Noelle has been there for me more than anybody else. She’s been my best friend; I can see that now. I don’t know if that even matters anymore, the Godmother thing, but I feel like now’s the time to bring it up.
“Actually, I was wondering something...” I trail off for a minute, finally making the decision to ask. “I don’t know if there’s a proper way to do this, but I just want to ask, Noelle, will you be the godmother of my daughter?”
Her eyes light up, the happiness clear on her face.
“Cassidy,” she says my name softly but then falls silent as if she’s trying to think of the right words to say. “Of course, I’ll be the godmother of your baby!”
She squeals, reaching her arms out and pulling me into a hug.
I happily hug her back. It’s a moment of normalcy, the last one I’ll be spending with the woman who became my best friend - quicker than I ever imagined she could.
We pull away from each other when we hear the sound of somebody clearing their throat. I look over to Oliver standing in the doorway. He’s smiling faintly to himself, looking at the two of us.
Noelle breaks the silence.
“Looks like you just can’t get rid of me,” she smirks up to him. “Guess who’s the godmother of your daughter? That’s right. Me.”
She says it proudly, clearly trying to worm her way underneath his skin in the most playful of ways.
I’ve never been paranoid about befriending one of Oliver’s exes, and I don’t think I should be. Especially not Noelle. She’s always been supportive of my choices in the relationship, offering an insight that’s valuable. Plus, we’re talking about Oliver Windsor. It would be hard as hell to live in New York and not befriend one of his exes.
He looks over at me, brow raised.
“We didn’t talk about that, did we?”
I smirk back. “I made an executive decision.”
“Allison’s going to be hurt.”
“Hopefully, she’ll get over it.”
Allison and I are not close. When I started working with the family, Allison was struggling mightily with everything that was going on. She was a mess. Our one real conversation was when she tried to convince me to leave her brother. Allison is insightful and fun. I hope to become closer to her in the future, but I hadn’t even thought about her being the godmother of our child.
Oliver shrugs.
“She will.”
He lets his gaze go back to Noelle and he smiles again.
“Welcome to the family, Noelle.”
“I didn’t need your approval, Windsor,” she says matter-of-factly before settling back on the couch. “Glad I have it though. It’s going to make this entire thing a whole lot easier.”
I sit back then, letting myself observe the scene in front of me. I look at the way the light shines through my office windows, how the room seems to be created just for me. I listen to Oliver and Noelle bicker back and forth, playful jabs at one another - more like friends than exes. I take in Noelle, someone who’s sure of herself and never backs down, who pairs every outfit with bombshell red lipstick that just works for her.
And then of course, I look at Oliver. I notice the way he looks right now. Carefree, playful...happy. I realize that I never got to see him like this often enough. A lot of our relationship involved stress, hiding our feelings, and trying to rebuild. I make a mental note that in the future I need to enjoy more moments like this with him. No matter what. I stare at him leaning against the wall, his muscles relaxed. He looks gorgeous.
This is a moment that I never, ever want to let go of.
I know that soon enough I’ll be back in this position.
All it takes is time, right?
Chapter Seventeen
My hands are shaking as I stand inside the airport, my bags surrounding my feet. The final piece to Oliver’s plan. I have to leave, just to be safe.
“I don’t know what will happen if they find out that I lied about all of it,” he tells me, leaning forward and pressing a kiss to my forehead. And then he reaches down to rest his hand over my stomach. “I can’t bear the idea of anything happening to you, or to Lucy.”
My heart races even more. We decided last night on a name just in case Oliver wouldn’t be able to be there for her birth. The very thought stirs emotions in me, mostly sorrow. It makes me want to hunch over and cry or vomit. Maybe both. He has to be there. I can’t do this alone.
“I know,” I say, looking up at him.
This stings so much more than I imagined it would. I thought this goodbye would be easy because it’s not really a goodbye. It’s a ‘see you later.’ It’s a promise that once all of this blows over, we’ll be reunited. All I need to do is lay low for a little bit. I just have to walk for now.
My mother’s aware that I’m coming home, she just doesn’t quite know why. I’m still not entirely sure what I’m going to tell her, but I’ll have the plane ride to figure it out.
“I’ll be in touch when I can,” he says, twirling a stray piece of my hair around his index finger. “I don’t know if he’ll have my phone tapped, just to be sure that I’m not playing some game with him. But, everything’s going to be okay.”
I don’t question who ‘he’ is, knowing he’s referring to Alan.
This is a dangerous game we’re playing. If Alan finds out that his son is lying to him, Oliver will lose everything. I can’t dwell on that though; I can’t dwell on the idea that things could be bad. I just have to hope for the best.
I look into this man’s eyes and I realize that I found so much more than I ever expected during my time in New York. I found the love of my life. All the challenges, the drama, the fights. It was all worth it, knowing I love him more than I have ever loved anyone else. Now that we’re having a daughter together, I look forward to us watching her grow up together.
I know we will. Looking up at him, I throw my arms around his neck. There’s no more time for talking or for worry. These are the last moments I’ll spend with the man that I love for God knows how long. I don’t want to think about the future. I just want to think about now.
I’ll have plenty of time to worry about the future while I’m in Georgia.
Oliver’s arms wrap around my waist, pulling me flush against him. I savor the contact, the feeling of his body against mine. I can feel how solid he is beneath his shirt and I’m going to miss waking up to that comfort. Our lips press together, and all is right in the world.
I think kisses are often described in cl
ichés and I know that I’m guilty of the same. But there are no words to describe how it feels when we kiss this time. A bittersweet moment, expressing feelings that will go unspoken for an undetermined period of time. I try to let the kiss linger for as long as possible, so I’ll forever remember the feeling of his lips on mine. It’s not something I think that I’ll forget easily, but I worry.
When our lips part, neither one of us tries to pull away. We stay pressed together, holding each other. I let my forehead rest against his chest, listening to the beating of his heart. We don’t speak as Oliver just holds me during those moments.
Finally, I take a step back. I’m reluctant to do so, even this small step away from him has my heart aching. He reaches out for my hand so I can’t go too far.
“Cassidy,” he says my name softly, “I love you. I love you so much. You take care of yourself and our daughter, alright? I promise everything is going to be okay.”
And once again, I believe him. I believe in this man way more than I should.
“I know,” I tell him softly, looking at our hands, and I give his hand a squeeze. “I love you, Oliver. I’ll be waiting for you.”
I pause, looking down at my stomach.
“We’ll be waiting for you.”
He lets go of my hand and puts both on my stomach. My baby bump is growing now, appearing much clearer now that I’m further along. He squats down so he’s face-to-face with the bump.
“I love you, Lucy,” he says, leaning forward and pressing a kiss to it, through my shirt. “I’ll be there soon. Don’t give your mother too much trouble, and you wait for me, okay?”
He kisses my belly again before standing up.
I never imagined I’d see this soft side in Oliver and I adore it. I love seeing him like this. This time as we part, I realize that we don’t have anything to say. There’s nothing unspoken between us any longer.
And I know that this isn’t goodbye. I know that in my heart I’ll see Oliver again. I love this man too much. We’re attached now. Without a single word left to exchange, I turn and walk towards the plane.
I’m not sad - not as sad as I imagined I would be. I’m proud. Proud that he’s grown enough to make this choice, to put me ahead of his own wants and needs. I’m leaving New York knowing that soon enough we’ll be together again. All I have to do is believe in him.
And I do. More than I’ve ever believed in anything.
THE END
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Boss’s Second Chance
Fake Love Rich Boss Series
Book 3
By: Sloane Peterson
Boss’s Second Chance
Chapter One
Oliver
Three years ago, I made the biggest mistake of my life. I’m not usually the type to exaggerate about things, so when I say it was the biggest mistake of my life, I truly mean it. I let the love of my life get on a plane and leave. I let her walk away, thinking it was for the best, thinking that it would all work out for the better. But it didn’t. And now I have to live with that.
To understand where I’m coming from, starting from the beginning is probably the best course of action. My father started a publishing company when he was a few years younger than I currently am. You don’t start a company without stepping on a few toes, and to really secure his place with money, fame and power, he befriended some not so nice people.
These people have kept him in power. He has used them to take down his enemies. He has used them to keep his competition in place. It started off with simple bribes, small threats...and then it grew.
I was clueless about this secret world that my father was a part of growing up. All I knew was that my family had money and fame, that we were different. I thought I was special because of all the hard work my father had put in over the years. I never realized how wrong I was.
Until I ended up caught in the same vicious cycle. My father started to act through me. He had me commanding things and I ended up getting lost in the power. I understand why my father went the route that he did. Because power is addictive. Once you get a taste of it...it’s so hard to let it go. You want to keep it, savor it, at any cost possible.
Twice now, that taste of power has cost me the woman that I love. This time, my child as well. I ended up in over my head and now I’m drowning in the waves of my choices. I’m drowning in the misery that I caused myself, and likely many others.
I’m so far in the deep end that I don’t know how to get out.
Despite claiming he would step down from his position in the company after being acquitted for a murder that I caused, my father never did. He has remained in power. I think it’s because he has nothing if he doesn’t have the company under his fingertips. My sister is living all the way on the West Coast, his last wife divorced him, and our relationship is rocky at best. Windsor Publishing is all that he has.
I step through the doors of the building, greeted by the white marble tiles of the lobby, the jungle of plants in the center, and the like-new black leather chairs. The lobby of the building is full of people chatting, speaking of business deals, and happy hours later.
People stop to stare as I enter the room, something I used to enjoy. I used to love being the center of attention. It’s unexplainable how powerful one feels in that situation. Now, I wish they’d look at anything but me.
Nobody speaks. The receptionist sitting behind the desk, an older woman with a mahogany brown ponytail doesn’t even smile in my direction. I give her the same attention that she gives me as I step into the elevator.
Instead of stepping into a leadership role, like I was promised when I stepped up the first time, I’ve become just a pretty face. My father uses me to make deals and to keep the authors happy. I’m just the face, saying whatever he wants me to.
The elevator ‘dings’ and I step out, facing the door of my father’s office.
I used to admire the man. I used to want to be just like him. That admiration turned into indifference, which quickly turned into hatred. I hate this man for his influence over me. I hate myself for falling for his twists and lies again and again. I hate that I ever trusted him.
His assistant is sitting at her desk by his door, blonde hair in a bun, pen cap between red lips as she stares down at a desk calendar. I clear my throat, warning her of my approach.
“Good morning, Noelle!” I greet her.
Noelle looks up from the desk, taking the pen cap from her lips and placing it on the desk.
She hates me.
She has every right to.
She doesn’t even hate me because of our past fling, the one where I left her high and dry without so much of a warning. She hates me because I made her best friend leave. She hates me for likely the same reasons I hate myself.
I haven’t tried to salvage a relationship between the two of us. I don’t see a point in doing so, knowing that there’s a more valuable relationship that I could save. I just don’t know how to. I don’t even know where to start.
She blinks in my direction, finally opening her mouth to speak.
“Oliver,” is all she says.
“Is my father in?”
She nods, takes her eyes off of me, and goes back to looking over the desk calendar.
I don’t bother her any further, stepping forward to knock on my father’s office door.
After the second knock, he calls out.
“Come in.”
So I push it open and enter. The office hasn’t changed in all of the years that I’ve been coming to it. It’s like he’s never seen the need to change any of it up. He looks up from the stack of papers on his desk, eying me up.
“Are you ready for your meeting today, Oliver? Jordan Lindsey is an important contract for us. I can’t risk you messing it u
p.”
Like I would. I know better.
I take a seat in one of the leather chairs across from his desk.
“I’m ready. I’ve already reviewed our issues with the contract and figured out exactly how to bypass them. Jordan will be signed by the end of the day.”
He looks at me, hard. His grey eyes remind me of looking into a mirror. They’re stormy, like a midnight sea. Unreadable.
“Good,” is all he says.
I wait for something else. I wait for him to tell me about how important signing Jordan is for us, to go on a tirade about it like he usually does. Instead, he’s just silent.
That makes me feel more uncomfortable than his rants do. Silence means something is on his mind, and that’s never a good thing.
Deciding against sitting in silence, I stand and turn to leave the room. That’s when he stops me, speaking again to break the silence.
“Oliver?”
“Yes?” I slowly turn to look at him.
“I trust you.”
I don’t know why he does.
The meeting with Jordan goes as well as I hoped it would. She signs the contract, officially becoming Windsor Publishing’s newest author. Her book, originally self-published, broke site records when it launched. Windsor wanted a piece of that, and I secured it for us.
I want to celebrate. Maybe if I had made different choices in the past, I could. If I had made all of the right choices, I would be heading home to my family, telling them to get ready because we’re going out to dinner tonight.
Cassidy would be my wife by now. I would take her and our daughter, who is now 3 years old, out on the town, wherever they wanted. Maybe I’d take them shopping because this is a moment to celebrate. It’s a big win for the company, which is a big win for us.
I’m alone. They’re somewhere else and all I have is myself.
I know I could ask almost any woman to accompany me out for a meal. All I’d have to do is say a few words and I would be able to worm my way into her bed and find comfort in not spending the night alone. I should know, I’ve done that many times before. It was practically how I lived before Cassidy walked into my office.
Fake Love Rich Boss Series Page 30