“Stephan, I’m sorry. I—”
“No, let me finish. So maybe I don’t act like I know pain, but I do know pain. And for you, of all people to say those things to me, when you know me. I let you inside my life, inside my world, in a way I’ve never let another woman. I’ve opened up to you—” He stopped abruptly and took a deep breath, biting down on his bottom lip. “I wanted to be here for you, that’s all. That’s why I came. But you don’t need me. You don’t need anybody.”
“I’m sorry for what I said, but going our separate ways is for the best.”
He walked up and stood in front of her. “Got it. Step aside so I can leave.”
She stared up into whiskey-colored eyes devoid of emotion. “Stephan—”
“No need to say another word. We’re different. Step aside.” He averted his eyes from hers and stared at the wall beside the door as if he no longer wanted to look at her.
Roselle moved out of the way, and Stephan opened the door and walked out. She stood in the entry for a few minutes, numb.
Then, with a small cry, she rushed into her bedroom and fell onto the bed. She hugged her pillow, burying her face in its softness. Quiet sobs rocked her body.
Her Aunt Betty was gone for good. Stephan was gone.
She was really all alone now.
Seated at his desk, Stephan stared at his watch. He really wanted to skip this meeting with his mother, but when Sylvie Johnson called, you answered, and you showed up on time.
He shoved out of the chair and exited the office. In the main hallway, he avoided looking on the creatives side where Roselle worked. She was back in the office after being out for a week. He knew because, of course, he saw her this morning as they were both walking into the building. They took the elevator up with the rest of the employees and exited on their floor without a single word to each other. Like strangers. Like they hadn’t lain in his bed together, laughing and talking and making passionate love.
The memories refused to leave him. They remained in the background, constant, like white noise. Torturing him day and night.
The universe had done a great job of kicking his butt lately. Maybe this was its way of balancing things out after all the dirt he’d done and gotten away with.
The elevator opened, and Jayson came out wearing a suit and carrying a briefcase. He pulled up short. “Excuse me,” he said, sidestepping Stephan.
“Hey, Jayson.”
He turned around.
“Listen, I… I owe you an apology for what happened in the break room a while back. I should have never come at you like that about Roselle. I apologize for my behavior.”
A few seconds ticked by as Jayson stared at him in surprise. “Oh. That’s okay, man.”
“Nah, it’s not okay, and I know that. Do you accept my apology?”
“Sure. Thanks.” His face contained a mixture of surprise and confusion.
“Cool.” Since the elevator doors had closed, Stephan hit the button again. It was still on their floor, so they popped open, and he stepped into the cabin.
“Hey, Stephan. You, um… you want to go to lunch sometime?”
What was it about this dude and lunch?
Stephan held the doors open and was about to decline, but Jayson looked so anxious, he didn’t have the heart to turn him down. “Yeah, let’s do lunch some time.”
His face broke out into a wide grin. “Cool, man. All right, then.”
“But Jayson, do me a favor. None of your crass jokes, okay?”
“Oh no, man, I hear you. I’m done with all of that. I don’t do that anymore.”
Stephan doubted that, but he nodded. “Good to know. I’ll holler at you, and we’ll hook up, maybe later this week.”
“Yeah, yeah. Let me know when.”
Stephan stepped back and let the doors close. “I hope I don’t regret that,” he said to himself.
On the top floor, he walked into the reception area of his mother’s office.
“Hi, Inez.”
“Hi, Stephan. Go right in. She’s expecting you.”
“Thanks.”
Stephan knocked once and entered his mother’s office. She stood with her butt resting against the edge of her glass desk, arms folded, apparently waiting for him.
He walked slowly toward her. “You wanted to see me?”
Hands on her hips, Sylvie took several steps and came to stand directly in front of him. She glared at him through her glasses. “Are you sleeping with Roselle?”
The blunt question caught him off guard. “What? I—”
“You’re sleeping with her. That’s all I needed to know. Thank you.” She stalked to the other side of her desk.
“I’m not.” Not anymore.
“You’re lying. Did you really think I wouldn’t hear the rumors about you and her? Apparently, this has been going on for quite some time, right under my nose. We’re done here. Goodbye. Go back to work. I only needed confirmation that you’d broken our agreement. “
“Mother, it wasn’t much of an agreement. You made the rules, and I had to go along with them.”
“That’s the way life works. The person with the money makes the rules, which you have broken, I might add.” She picked up the phone.
“What are you doing?”
“Calling my attorney.”
“Wait!” Stephan yanked away the phone and slammed it back in the cradle. They stared at each other across the desk. “I screwed up, but she and I aren’t together anymore. She broke up with me.”
“Or you would still be sleeping with her?” Sylvie arched a brow.
Stephan nodded. “Yes,” he admitted reluctantly. No point in lying.
Sleeping with her. Laughing with her. Eating with her. Doing whatever she wanted because it was enough to spend time with her. He wanted to do everything with her and for her. He used to hate when people asked him for money or favors but learned he hated not being asked even more. He wanted to spoil Roselle and take care of her, but she wouldn’t let him.
“But we’re done, for good. I haven’t slept with anyone else in the company. I swear. Would you reconsider?”
“Why should I?”
“Because I’ve changed. I know you don’t believe me, but I have. Not only that, I actually like working here. It’s challenging, but I’m learning a lot. I want to stay in business development.”
“Marcus told me you’re working on expansion ideas for Brazil?”
“Yes. It’s a work in progress, but I’m almost finished.”
Sylvie sat down and studied him in silence. Stephan didn’t move, holding her gaze and silently praying for forgiveness.
“I’ll think about it,” she finally said. She lifted her iPad from the desk and swiveled in her chair so that she faced the window, away from Stephan.
That was her way of dismissing him, and he knew better than to argue or continue talking. He’d leave her alone. At least he’d managed to stop her from calling the attorney—for now.
He left the office in a worse mood than he arrived.
At this point, he wanted to go to sleep and never wake up.
Chapter 24
Stephan’s arm and leg muscles burned, but every time he thought about quitting, he did another lap. His head twisted to the side every so often to catch a breath as he sliced through the water in the Olympic-sized pool.
When he reached the far end, he doubled back again.
One more lap, he thought. Pushing his body to the limit meant less time thinking about Roselle.
He sluiced through the water with easygoing strokes, moving slower now that the strain of fatigue had entered his limbs. When he arrived at the other end, he looked up and saw his brother Reese and his cousin Malik, standing on the pavement. Malik was the son of their father’s half-brother. Big, bearded, and with copper skin, he worked as a metal sculptor and was currently in a relationship with one of Stephan’s good friends.
Heaving heavy breaths, he dropped his feet to the bottom of the pool and shoved
the swim goggles on top of his head. Smoothing excess water from his face, he looked up at them.
“Heard you got your heart broken,” Reese said.
The closeness of his family was a blessing but at times also a curse. There were very few secrets between them.
“Yeah, what of it?” Still panting, Stephan walked up the stairs and caught the towel Reese threw at him.
Malik sat down in one of the chairs lining the wall. He held a bottle of beer in each hand. “Heard you also risked the payout on your trust fund for some ass. You really take the cake.”
“Not just any ass. Ass that Mother warned him away from,” Reese said. “Looks like we’ll be getting our inheritance around the same time.”
Stephan quickly rubbed the towel over his head and body. “I’m glad the two of you are enjoying this so much,” he grumbled.
He took one of the bottles from Malik and swallowed a mouthful of beer. Then he plopped down in the chair at a right angle to Malik. Reese remained standing, one hand in his pocket, the other also holding a beer.
“So what happened?” his brother asked.
“We started seeing each other, and it ended,” Stephan said with a careless shrug.
“There’s more to it than that. I mean, Roselle isn’t exactly your type. I was kind of surprised when I heard the two of you were together.”
“What’s she like?” Malik asked.
“Kinda quiet, keeps to herself mostly, from what I’ve seen at work.”
“She’s also smart as hell and has a sense of humor once she opens up. And a smart mouth,” Stephan added with a faint smile.
There were times she definitely gave as good as she got, letting him know in a polite but firm way that he was getting out of hand. And thanks to her, he learned to appreciate his blessings and recognize there was more to life than sex and partying.
“So you like her like her?” Reese asked.
Stephan scowled at his brother. “What am I, twelve?”
Malik chuckled. “Since you don’t want to share your feelings, what happened?”
Stephan sighed. “Best I can guess, her great-aunt dying devastated her so much that she wants to be alone now. I don’t know. I don’t fully understand why she broke up with me, to be honest, but there’s nothing I can do about her decision. I don’t know how the hell to fix what happened.” He took another swig of the beer.
Reese and Malik looked at each other.
“Damn. Sounds like you really care about her,” Malik said.
There was silence for a while as Stephan stared at the bottle in his hand. “She’s special, no doubt. I liked spending time with her.” He shrugged.
Before her, he didn’t think about girlfriends, or getting married, and definitely not having a kid. Now, he couldn’t stop thinking about getting married and having kids. But not with just anyone. Only with her.
Roselle was that rare combination of sexy and sweet. He was almost certain she had no concept of the appeal she held, which made her dangerous. Women like her snuck up on you, and that’s exactly what had happened to him, and he’d fallen in love with her. He couldn’t admit that to Malik and Reese yet. His love for her was personal and painfully embarrassing now that she’d ended their relationship.
“Are you sure she ended the relationship for good, or does she need time alone for a while to process what happened?” Malik asked.
“We’re done. She won’t have anything to do with me,” Stephan said with resignation. No point in deluding himself. The finality in her words left no room for optimism that they’d get back together.
Quiet again for a while. Neither Reese nor Malik knew what to say to cheer him up. In all honesty, nothing they said could cheer him up, but having them listen eased the burden of his thoughts.
“Maybe there’s nothing you can do about your relationship with her, but you might be able to salvage your screwup with Mother. Have you thought about talking to Father?” Reese asked.
“Yes.” He’d considered throwing himself on his father’s mercy because he was the only person capable of changing his mother’s mind after she’d made a decision. But that meant getting a lecture from his father, and on top of everything else he was going through with Roselle, he wasn’t in the mood to hear about all the mistakes he’d made and how he should do better and wasn’t living up to his full potential.
“Better swallow that pride, or it’ll be another year, maybe two, before you get the money out of that trust.”
“Yeah,” Stephan said with a resigned sigh. His brother was right, but he simply hadn’t been motivated to act.
“Of all the people to sleep with, you chose one of her most valued employees.”
Stephan gritted his teeth, barely refraining from crushing the cup on the table as he sat across from his father, Oscar. He’d taken the morning off to meet him at a local coffee shop. His statement reminded Stephan of why he hadn’t wanted to talk to him in the first place.
“You’re almost thirty. You need to start acting like an adult and appreciate what you have. There are plenty of people less fortunate.”
“I know,” Stephan said in an even tone.
He tried to keep the anger out of his eyes as he looked across the table at his father. They had the same fair complexion, but his father’s face was round and because of his biracial heritage, had looser curls on his head which he sometimes let grow along with his facial hair, much to his mother’s dismay. Sylvie must have recently sent him to the spa because his face was clean-shaven and he had a fresh haircut.
“Do you really know?” Oscar sighed.
“You’re not going to believe this, but being with Roselle wasn’t about being immature or impulsive. I really care about her or believe me, I wouldn’t have risked so much for her.”
Oscar’s eyes narrowed. “I want to believe you.”
“Then believe me.”
“Why should I? Based on your track record, all you care about is self-gratification. Why should I convince your mother that this time, you’re genuinely sorry and you’ll change? Maybe she’s right. Maybe you’re not ready to handle that kind of money.”
“I am ready.”
“What have you done to prove it?”
Stephan laughed bitterly and swallowed hard. What he couldn’t admit to his brother and cousin yesterday, he was about to admit to his father. Laying bare his feelings, opening up and allowing himself to be vulnerable in front of another person, terrified him. He actually became nauseous, but this was part of being an adult, wasn’t it? Doing and saying what made you uncomfortable.
“I’ve gone in to work every day, on time, I’m learning everything I can, and I’m working on a project to expand Mother’s line in Brazil.” He sighed. “Aside from that, Roselle consumes me. She is more important to me than any other woman I’ve ever been involved with. So important that I was willing to risk it all. And I’d do it again. I love her, and if that doesn’t prove to you that she’s important to me, then I don’t know what will.”
A frown creased Oscar’s brow, and he kept his gaze on Stephan as if trying to figure out if he was being sincere or merely feeding him a line. Stephan understood the skepticism. In the past, he hadn’t always been honest. He hadn’t always made the right decisions.
He wanted the money, no doubt. But if he had to choose again between his inheritance and being with Roselle, his decision would be the same. He’d pick Roselle every time.
“You really love this woman?” Oscar asked.
“Yes,” Stephan replied without hesitation.
Oscar remained quiet, once again staring at his son to determine the truthfulness of his words. “All right, Stephan. I don’t think you’d lie about something like that, and I’m sorry the relationship didn’t work. Loving someone is one of the highest highs in the world, but when your love isn’t reciprocated, it can be one of the lowest lows.”
“No kidding. She let me know in no uncertain terms how she feels about me. I want to blame it on her aunt’s
passing, but I’m not so sure.” Stephan turned his cup in a circle on the table.
“Hurt people hurt people. Give her time. She’s emotional right now.”
“Nah, we’re done.”
“How can you be done? You said you love her. Listen, your mother and I made the mistake of walking away from each other and not working on our relationship. Big mistake. You and this young woman still have a chance. You had an argument, that’s all.”
Stephan shook his head. “The difference is, you and mother loved each other, but neither of you would admit it. I love her, but she doesn’t care about me. She believes I’m some empty-headed rich jerk without a care in the world.”
“You don’t know that.”
“She told me.”
His father didn’t have an answer for that.
“I don’t want to talk about Roselle anymore. Let’s talk about something else.”
“All right, about the situation with your inheritance, I’ll talk to your mother and see what I can do, but I’m not making any promises.”
Stephan let out a relieved breath. “Thanks.”
Oscar waved away the appreciation. “Don’t thank me yet. I’m not totally convinced I’m doing the right thing. That’s her money, not mine. She can do whatever she wants with it, and considering her financial and business acumen is unmatched by anyone else I know, I’m inclined to agree with her decision, but I do sense a change in you. I’ll give her my opinion and ask her not to take January first completely off the table, for now. In the coming months, I’d like to see if the changes I’m seeing continue.”
“They will. I promise,” Stephan said.
Instead of leaving, Stephan and Oscar sat and talked, which included a conversation about Stephan’s work at SJ Brands. Oscar quizzed him about the day-to-day business, and he opened up about what he liked and disliked about the job so far. It was the first time in a long time that they’d had a conversation about anything substantive, and Stephan acknowledged this was another missing piece of the puzzle of his life that was getting snapped into place. The father-son relationship had become strained over the years because of him and his personal resentment, but he’d missed the long talks with his father. They’d fallen off after his parents divorced and his father moved to Florida.
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