Twelve Weeks (Serendipity series Book 2)

by Robin Edwards

  While I may have a drink with my friends occasionally, Sam hardly ever drinks, so I know he must really be upset. Watching as he pours an amber liquid into a glass tumbler, I feel my own patience running thin. How has he turned this on to me, making it seem like I’m bothering him?

  Sam is so stubborn at times, but this isn’t an issue I’m willing to shy away from as I tend to do in these situations. He needs to know how this is unacceptable, but it’s becoming clearer by the second that he is not willing to give an inch.

  It’s almost like he is refusing to tell her that he’s dating me like he’s embarrassed about our relationship just as his family appeared to look down their nose at me. Before I know it, that insecurity bubbles up and spills right out of my mouth.

  “What did your family say about me, Sam?” I ask, watching the blood drain from his face as his aggression fades, and instead he sips from the glass.

  “Is that what this is about?” He finally responds after a long delay, but he’s failed to answer the question, which only leads me to believe it must not have been a favorable response.

  “You don’t want to tell me?” I push.

  “What difference does it make, Jamie? I love you, and that’s all that should matter,” he reasons.

  “Are you seriously not going to tell me? How could they have a problem with me? I didn’t do anything wrong!” I yell, throwing my hands in the air.

  “They don’t have a problem with anything you did, babe. It’s just that you’re not from Sutton Hill,” he says as if that’s a reasonable explanation.

  “They don’t like me because I don’t live in your snotty neighborhood?” I repeat, hoping he can hear just how silly he sounds.

  “You don’t get it. They’re just really tight-knit,” he justifies their behavior, and I feel myself flying off the handle.

  “No, I don’t get it, Sam. You say you love me, so how could you be standing here defending such ridiculous behavior?” I question.

  “What do you want me to do, Jamie? They’re my family,” he roars before gulping the rest of his Whiskey.

  “I don’t know how much clearer I can be about this, Sam. I want you to tell them we’re together. I don’t want to be some secret or embarrassment,” I grit my teeth to lower my voice, fighting my urge to yell at the top of my lungs. It’s like speaking to a brick wall the way he refuses to see my point of view.

  “You’re not a secret. I just took you to meet my family, for Christ Sake!” He walks back towards his office, as I follow once again.

  “What family, Sam? Your sister who opened the door to look me up and down like a piece of trash? Or your brothers and mother who you refused to introduce me to?” I ask sarcastically.

  While I hadn’t said anything, I noticed that Sam chose to only introduce me to Alyssa, and from her warm reception, I can understand why. His mother knew I was there with him, yet she never did come to speak to me, and I thought it would be too pushy to introduce myself.

  Initially, I wasn’t sure whether his lack of an introduction was intentional, but from the look on his face, as he looks everywhere but in my eyes, I’m now sure it was done on purpose.

  “Jamie, listen. They’re just from a different world. To them, you not being from Sutton Hills is all they need to know,” he shrugs his shoulders like there’s nothing he can do.

  “Why did you even take me if you weren’t going to introduce me, Sam?” I ask, puzzled by both his behavior and explanation.

  “I thought that’s what you wanted,” he says, sitting back in his desk chair.

  “You thought I wanted to be taken to your family’s house and sit alone in a room while you flirt with your sister’s friends?” I can’t hide my sass.

  “What difference does it make if I love you?” He asks with wide eyes and a distressed tone.

  “Sam, how could I build a future with you knowing your family doesn’t want me around?” I simplify the problem.

  “This is stupid,” he scoffs.

  “No, what’s stupid is the fact that I’ve spent twelve weeks with someone who’s ashamed to introduce me to the people he loves, although you claim to love me,” I counter his insult.

  “I’m not doing this with you, Jamie. I have work to do,” he shakes his head, tapping his keyboard to waken the monitor.

  “Well, you let me know when you have time for me, Sam,” I announce loudly before storming out of the office.

  I hear the exasperated breath escape him as I make my way into the dining room, but he doesn’t so much as say a word. By the time I reach the front door, I realize he’s not even going to chase me and begin to question where I fall in his list of priorities.

  If this isn’t enough for him to stop working for twenty minutes, then what will be? Not to mention, he all but confirmed what I feared – his family doesn’t like me, and he thinks it’s okay. How can I imagine a future with someone knowing I’ll never be accepted by his family? Even more, he’s not even willing to profess his love to me.

  Settling into my car, I feel the tears stinging at the corners of my eyes, and know that this may very well be the last time I talk to Sam, because even still he’s yet to so much as come to the door. My hope forces me to sit there in his driveway for another five minutes, but he never comes.

  Chapter Fourteen

  SAM

  Watching Jamie leave was one of the most painful experiences of my life. While I knew I should’ve followed her out, I felt paralyzed by fear and helplessness. Never in my life did I want to lose her, but there was nothing I could do to explain the craziness of growing up in Sutton Hill.

  Jamie just didn’t get it – that neighborhood is more than a zip code, it’s a way of life. Parents start setting up potential unions before kids go to middle school. Everyone has an agenda, and nothing is ever as it seems.

  Even our family barbeques are more like networking events than fun times. All anyone wants to know is how well you did next quarter and what improvements you made to your house since their last visit.

  The women set up endless play dates to gossip about each other, sharing who is have trouble in their marriages, or scandalous details about affairs. It’s like a soap opera, and while I don’t mind introducing Jamie to all of them, I don’t want her to be a part of their sick world.

  I like knowing she doesn’t value those things and never want that to change. This entire day, I thought I’d done everything right – and then she shows up and throws me for a complete loop with all this talk about me being ashamed of her. I’ve never taken another woman to a family function in my life, but that means nothing.

  Shaking my head, I still struggle to understand her problem with Tasha. Sure, she was flirting like the desperate woman she is, but if I wanted Tasha, I would’ve had her long ago. It’s not like she’s hard to find or seduce. She’s been throwing herself at me at every function for the past decade.

  I guess when I put it that way, I realize why Jamie could’ve been upset, but it really wasn’t a big deal. I told her the truth, and she seemed to be fine before we fell asleep last night.

  Just when I felt like I had everything under control, it all ravels apart, and I feel drained from her explosion. I’ve never seen her so upset, and hate to be the reason she felt so bad.

  Glancing around the office, I debate going after her, but what will I say? I could show up at her house with roses, maybe some candy, hoping she just lets it go.

  I love Jamie, and she knows that. All this other stuff is irrelevant, including my family. I wish she could just understand that her idea of us is different from the reality.

  Alyssa is my closest sibling, and I made sure to introduce her. My brothers don’t care who I date, which was the only reason I didn’t bring her over to meet them. If we’d been together and seen them, I wouldn’t have hidden her, but going out of my way to drag her into a crowd of men just seemed silly.

  I can admit that Nikki was a bitch to her, but what she did
n’t know was that she was that way with everyone. My mother would have only been worse, and that’s the reason I held off leaving her alone with her.

  With a deep sigh, I decided to focus on the mounting work, knowing I can talk to Jamie later, even tomorrow at work if I must. After receiving a new product order, I have a bit of a distribution disaster to handle, and with two heavy shipments scheduled for delivery in the morning, I can’t put the solution off another minute.

  The evening passes slowly as I churn out one report after another, calling drivers and warehouse managers to ensure their preparation for the change in shipments.

  It’s after midnight when I finally leave my office, exhausted and hungry. Looking through the refrigerator, I notice the leftover cupcakes Jamie brought by earlier in the week, and debate calling her.

  Noticing how late it is, I figure I’ll just see her at work tomorrow. We try to avoid each other, hoping not to give the employees anything to talk out, but maybe I’ll take her out to lunch.

  Relationships are foreign to me. I told her that from the beginning, but she just doesn’t seem keen to give me any breaks. Sometimes I feel like Jamie expects too much from me, but there’s nothing I can do except live up to her expectations.

  If I can run two companies at the same time, I can fix a little argument with the woman I love. And Jamie is absolutely the girl of my dreams. Everything about her is just what I want, it’s funny that she can’t see how crazy I am for her.

  All this time, I’ve thought she was trying to play it cool and not show me how much she cares for me because she was closed off, but now I’m beginning to see that she doubts my reciprocation of those feelings.

  Sleep comes fast that night, after a hot shower and a few minutes of sports news. My last thought before drifting off is to make sure I don’t spend too many more nights like this. It’s bad enough not to have Jamie in the bed with me, but not being on good terms with her is even worse. Tossing and turning, I decided to get my girl back as soon as possible.

  Chapter Fifteen

  JAMIE

  It’s been over two weeks since I stomped out of Sam’s house, and he has yet to contact me since. I thought he would have at least sent a text message but, nothing. Calling myself playing hard to get, I worked from home for a few days, avoiding any office interactions, and ever since I returned, he’s either been in meetings all day or out of the office.

  Now, he’s on the other side of the country, and I only know that because I sneaked a peek at his schedule, desperate to know anything about him.

  This just isn’t how I saw us ending, but the writing is evident on the wall. I made my demands and grievances clear, but he didn’t care enough to change anything. Sam was stuck in his ways, and apparently, I wasn’t as high on his priority list as I thought.

  Every night I fight the urge to call and see what he’s doing, but then I wonder what I’ll even say. Is there a way to act like none of this happened? I can’t see that playing out, and he isn’t interested in fixing it because if he was, he’d call.

  Just then, my phone rings and my stomach flutters hoping it’s Sam. Instead, it’s Lisa, and I feel a ping of guilt when disappointment washes over me.

  “Hey Best Friend!” I answer excitedly to make up for my lack of enthusiasm, although Lisa has no idea.

  “You’re coming out with me!” She blurts out.

  “Not this again,” I sigh, tired of her constant pleas for me to party with her.

  “Jamie, seriously. How long are you going to mope around about him?” She asks concerned.

  “Is that what I’ve been doing? Moping?” I ask in horror. I never wanted to be one of those girls that can’t seem to get over a guy.

  “Well, what would you call it?” She shoots back quickly.

  “I just didn’t think this was it. Like, this can’t be how we break up, can it?” I ask myself more than Lisa.

  “Jamie, even if he did call you, he’s made it clear that he’s not going to introduce you to his family, and that’s a deal breaker for you. Who wants to be the secret love of someone’s life? You deserve better than that,” she encourages me, and I feel a spark of confidence for the first time in a long time.

  Lisa is right. Sam could call, and I would be happy to forget our argument, but the issues will remain. He is embarrassed by me, just because of where I live and where I’m from, and I can’t change either.

  I thought he was different, but I was wrong. And, there’s no way I’m settling for being his love at home. I already hide my relationship at work, there’s no way I’m pretending on the weekends too.

  “Where do you want to go?” I finally ask Lisa and she yelps with excitement.

  “There’s this music festival downtown. And I have someone I want to introduce you to, so wear something cute,” she grins so hard I can hear it through the phone.

  “You can’t be serious, Lisa,” I argue, not ready to date.

  “You’re too young and too hot to sit around waiting for anyone, Jamie. Besides, how long did he think you would sit on the market? He should know who he’s dealing with,” she giggles before hanging up.

  After a few weeks of sulking, I clean up nice, ready to go out and see what the city has to offer since Sam has obviously given up on what we had.

  Chapter Sixteen

  SAM

  Sitting in another boring meeting, I stop myself from looking at my watch again, knowing that it’s been no more than ten minutes since I checked it last. My schedule has been all over the place since I set up this new distribution chain.

  In the past two weeks, I can count the times I’ve slept in my own bed on the one hand. Going from one city to the next, I’m finally finishing what should be the last of visits.

  Of course, I could have delegated this task to someone else, but truthfully, I wanted to get away for a while. It was hard to see Jamie in the office, knowing she’s upset with me. How long does she plan on acting like I don’t exist?

  I’ve thought about calling her, but every time I scroll through my phone I wonder why she hasn’t called me, and then I think it’s probably because she’s still mad. I never want to see her the way she was during the fight at my house.

  Thinking I would fix it the next day, my plan fell through the cracks when she failed to show up to work. After three days in a row, I checked her schedule to see she was working from home, a blatant attempt to avoid me.

  Respecting her space, I’ve been keeping my distance, even leaving the office for these trips so she wouldn’t have to worry about running into me, because I know if I feared it, she must too. I’m the boss, so I can change my schedule how I see fit, she was left to the discretion of her boss.

  “What do you think, Mr. Ellis?” A younger man asks from across the table.

  “Please, call me Sam,” I smile, deflecting from his question since I have no idea what they’ve been talking about.

  I hate when people call me by my last name. That’s my dad’s name, and it always reminds me how I’ll never be all that he was. It’s in times like these when I miss him most, and not because of the increase in business, but more so to help me with my woman problems.

  My evening ends with another night of room service – steak, a baked potato, and creamed spinach. I’ve just rolled the tray out into the hallway when I decide to lounge on the sofa for a few minutes before getting ready for bed.

  Boredom strikes, and I scroll through my social media, half paying attention to the game on television when my stomach sinks at the photo on my iPhone.

  Jamie is wearing a yellow halter top that makes her tits look amazing. Her left shoulder is exposed, as well as her subtle abs. Glancing at her face, she looks like she’s having a good time, her eyes are bright, and her pink lips are curled upwards in a beautiful smile.

  What makes my breath catch in my throat is the guy standing beside her, with his hand wrapped around, gripping her exposed waist. He’s looking down at her with ad
miration as she smiles for the camera.

  My teeth clench together even tighter when I read the caption – “This guy <3”.

  What the hell does she think she’s doing? It’s only been a few weeks, why would she be out with someone else? It just doesn’t make any sense. Jamie hasn’t so much as called me, so I never thought we were broken up.

  I knew we weren’t on great terms, but I thought she would at least give me the decency of a phone call before going out with someone else. The anger begins to slowly brew in my chest, just thinking of another man touching her sets me off, and I find myself over-analyzing the photo for what feels like an hour.

  Unfortunately, there’s not much more for me to investigate, although I stay up until the early hours of the morning looking through every photo she has.

  Taking my time, I go through her photos, remembering each one that was taken with me, although I’ve asked her not to post pictures of me online. Even our time together is time apart, now that I think about it. She has no proof of us dating at all, and my profile is even worse.

  The few pictures I do have posted are all from work functions, but I only use my social media for business purposes, so I like to keep it professional. Jamie would tease me about not being any fun, but now I wonder if she thought it was another way I was hiding her.

  My mind struggles to see her point of view, but I can’t push aside the anger. She’s made me out to look like a fool. Last month I took her to my family home, and today she’s out with some loser with his arm wrapped around her? Jamie knows what type of life I lead, and how important my reputation is, but it seems she may need a reminder, and I’m happy to give it to her. Knowing I’ll be flying home in the morning, I decided against calling her, but I’m making it a point to confront her about this nonsense she’s got going on. If she wanted to get my attention, she’s got it!