Ready to Fall (A Second Chance Bad Boy Next Door Romance)

by Anne Connor

  “No. I don’t admit that. God, Drew, you think you know everything.”

  “So you are saying there wasn’t yet another guy you were dating?”

  “No. I’m not saying that. I’m just saying that…”

  Her voice is small and meek. This woman drove me crazy, made me feel like I had an obligation to her. I was relieved when she broke off the engagement, in a way. I was angry, of course, that she had gone back to her piece-of-shit ex, but I had bigger things to deal with. This is just so much petty nonsense, and I don’t want to get wrapped up in it again.

  But I don’t want to see her in pain, either.

  She isn’t a bad person. Just confused, immature, and dramatic.

  “Come on. It’s okay.” I soften my tone. She must really be a mess if she’s coming to me instead of any of the girls in her social circle.

  Clarissa always had a lot of friends. Her level of beauty and wealth always attracted people.

  “What’s going on, C?”

  “Oh, God. I’m sorry that I’m coming to you like this.”

  “Just spill. You’re already here. Tell me what’s going on.”

  “Oh, God. It’s horrible.”

  She takes a tissue out of her oversized tote bag and sits down on the edge of the large fountain in the middle of the lobby. I sit down next to her, careful to give her space.

  I don’t want there to be any confusion about our relationship. I am just here for her as a friend.

  “What is so horrible?”

  She blots her eyes and blows her nose loudly into the tissue.

  “Well, you know how I was with Robert?”

  “Yeah. Thanks for reminding me.”

  “He left me! And that’s not all. Oh, God. It’s so embarrassing.”

  I want to tell her that I’m not at all surprised Robert left her. He had left her once before, and that type of guy doesn’t change.

  He’s an entitled, rich asshole. That kind of guy never changes.

  He was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. The chip on his shoulder developed later.

  He wasn’t born bad, but he certainly didn’t make any attempt to shake off all the trappings of having everything in life handed to him.

  “What else is it, Clarissa?”

  “Don’t rush me. Can’t you see that I’m a mess?”

  “Yes, I can see that.”

  I want to tell her that she brought this all upon herself. That she had a good thing with me, and that we could have had an acceptable life together.

  I really dodged a bullet with this one.

  “I don’t appreciate your sarcasm, Drew. For once, can’t you just let this be about me?”

  “Don’t worry, this is clearly all about you. If you’ll allow me to remind you, you dumped me. Right in the middle of the planning. And right in the middle of all the bullshit with my firm. I haven’t even had a chance to cancel the reservation for the rehearsal dinner yet.”

  “You haven’t?”

  She looks up at me, her green irises bright beneath her tears. A little bit of mascara is smudged beneath her eyes.

  “No. I haven’t. Honestly, it’s been the last thing on my mind.”

  “Well, what if...what if the wedding was back on?”

  “For real? This is why you came here?”

  “No,” she says as though she’s scolding herself. “No, not at all. But now with both Robert and Marcus out of the picture, I just didn’t know who else to talk to.”

  My blood runs cold at Marcus’s name. He is a real piece of crap guy. He grew up with me and Eric upstate. He’s some artist type, always trying to mooch off the next pretty rich girl who’ll fall for him, sucked in when he tells them that he wants to paint them in watercolor and post it on Instagram.

  He doesn’t offer anything to anyone. It’s all to get girls. He was the guy at the high school party who would bring his guitar along to play a ballad for the room and seduce whichever pretty thing happened to be around. He didn’t care who it was that he seduced, and he always lead the girls on.

  At least with me, they knew I didn’t want a relationship.

  Guys like him disgust me.

  “Marcus? Man Bun Marcus?”

  “No. He got rid of the man bun.”

  “Okay, so the artist formerly known as Man Bun Marcus.”

  She laughs, her eyes lighting up as she wipes away her tears from her cheeks.

  “Yes. Man Bun Marcus.”

  “I don’t think it’s funny. That man bun was a serious problem.”

  “You didn’t think it was cute?”

  “No.” I put my hands on my knees and get up. “Please forgive me if I didn’t find that douche bag’s man bun adorable.”

  Clarissa looks around the lobby before resting her eyes on mine.

  “Look,” I say, rubbing my forehead. “You don’t deserve that. You’re a good person. You’ll have it all figured out soon enough. What about being independent? Didn’t you say you wanted to be on your own for a while?”

  “Yeah. That’s what I really want. I don’t want Robert or Marcus or any of those other guys.”

  I don’t even want to ask what she means by those other guys.

  Because it doesn’t matter.

  Soon, I’ll have all of this crap behind me and I’ll be able to be with Molly.

  It doesn’t even matter that Clarissa broke off the engagement.

  Correction: it does matter. I’m thankful for it. And I’m mad for allowing myself to go so far down that path just because I thought it was the right thing to do.

  I won’t allow myself to do that again.

  Clarissa leans in to give me a hug. I happily embrace her.

  “Maybe we can be friends,” I say. “It seems that you are in the habit of remaining friends with your exes.”

  “Yeah, and look at how great that turned out,” she says sarcastically.

  “Look, I have to go. But go home and get some rest.”

  “I will. The rest of my day is open.”

  Figures. A woman without a job and without any of her many boyfriends would be able to just drop everything and go home to relax on her couch with daytime talk shows and a glass of wine.

  “Alright, C. Take it easy.”

  She turns and walks past me, out the revolving doors of the lobby and into the summer air. She will be fine. She has enough to fall back on.

  Good riddance.

  I take my phone out of my pocket and start to go through the turnstile to make my way back up to the office. I need to talk to Molly as soon as possible, but Lee is walking toward me to leave the building as I’m about to go back upstairs.

  “I thought we already said goodbye,” I say, pausing before the turnstiles.

  “I had business in another office in the building. You know how fast these things happen.”

  “I certainly do.”

  “Look. I don’t get why you did what you did. It just seems like a strange strategy. But I respect it, because it’s clearly something you’re passionate about.”

  “It’s not a strategy, man. Not this time. It’s just the right thing to do.”

  He puts out his hand to shake mine.

  “It’s been good doing business with you.”

  “Drew?”

  I turn around and see Molly standing by the fountain.

  “That’s the girl from the picture,” Lee says, smiling. “Now I get it. You’re crazy, but I get it.”

  His phones rings and he walks away, shouting into the phone as I make my way over to Molly.

  “Hey, what are you doing here?”

  “I, um. I came by to talk to you.”

  “What’s going on?”

  I put my hands on her shoulders and start to move my hands down her arms, but she feels tense and cold.

  “I was going to come by to tell you that I saw something weird online about Clarissa.”

  “What was it?”

  I’m probably already aware of whatever Molly’s talking about.r />
  Clarissa was out with Robert. Clarissa was out with Marcus. Clarissa was out with Robert and Marcus.

  It could happen.

  “I...I wanted to tell you that I saw something about how she was with...two guys. I don’t know. I just saw her outside.”

  “Oh, yeah. She came by to talk. Listen, I really appreciate you coming up here to tell me. But we have more important things to deal with right now, Molly.”

  “Why the hell were you talking to Lee?”

  “It’s just a little business deal.”

  “A business deal? I thought he was interested in buying the building. And now you’re doing business with him?”

  I pull her in for a hug, but she still seems a little bit tense.

  Distant. Cold.

  “Why was Clarissa here?”

  There’s something strange in her tone. Something suspicious.

  “She just needed a shoulder to cry on,” I say.

  “She looked awfully happy when I saw her leaving just now.”

  The truth is starting to crystalize before me.

  “You don’t think I’m getting back with her or anything, do you?”

  Molly’s big brown eyes stare up at me.

  “I don’t know. Is that what you want?”

  “Molly. You’re mine now. There is no one else in the picture.”

  “Yeah. That’s what you keep saying. But she did look awfully happy. A little bit too happy.”

  “What do you want me to say? All of her friends are awful. I’m sure it was one of them who leaked the info about her cheating on me with two different guys to the media.”

  “So you were the only one she could talk to?”

  “I guess so. I guess I’m just that great of a guy.”

  “Yeah. You keep saying that. But all I know about you right now is that your ex looked awfully happy to be back in your arms, and you were shaking hands with someone who you yourself admitted wants to ruin the building.”

  “Wait, what?” I can’t believe she’s suggesting what I think she’s suggesting.

  “It looks like you just made a deal with the one person who could ruin the building.”

  Molly

  There has to be an explanation for this.

  As a reporter, I try to look at a story from all angles. I try not to take things at face value.

  Take the gossip blogs, for instance. They just post a picture of whatever celebrity is hot right now and has the unfortunate luck of leaving the house without makeup, just like the rest of us do every single day.

  And all the rags run is the picture. It’s superficial. It’s the definition of skin deep.

  There could be another explanation for everything I witnessed with Clarissa the day when I was out shopping, but then I got confirmation from Drew that it really was what it looked like.

  Now, I have two new pieces of information that I’ve learned first-hand.

  First, we have Drew hugging his ex. This is the same ex who I know is out and about with at least two other guys.

  Second, we have Drew shaking hands with some finance guy who I know for a fact wants to flip the building, and who I know Drew is already sparring with. It is just not adding up.

  “I know this is a cliche, but it’s not what it looks like,” Drew says, smiling.

  “You think this is all funny? A game? These are people’s lives you’re dealing with here, Drew.”

  “Okay, ma’am, I am going to have to ask you to calm down. Don’t make me call security on you.”

  “You really are unbelievable.” I turn away from him and try to hide my face. The sun outside is shining, but I feel like there is a lightning storm going off in my heart.

  “And what about you, Molly? Why don’t you try having a little faith in people. You’re all about listening to people and their stories. It’s what you’re passionate about. I know that’s why you wanted to be a journalist. But you’ve been skeptical about me and judged me from the moment I walked up to you in the bar. But guess what? It doesn’t matter what clothes I have on. It doesn’t matter how much money I have. You have to break down the wall you have around your heart.”

  “So tell me. Why were you talking to Lee? You told me yourself that he was going to screw up the building. You told me yourself that he and his firm are up to something.”

  “This is the girl I fell in love with. The girl who asks questions. The girl who doesn’t take things at face value. I was talking to Lee because, actually, I bought the building.”

  I spin around to face Drew.

  “You...bought the building? The building?”

  “Yes. I bought the building, okay?”

  “And do you have amazing plans for it? Knock down a bunch of walls? Get everyone out?”

  “I have plans. But it’s not what you think.”

  “Then why don’t you tell me what I think, Drew?”

  I sit down at the fountain and take a deep breath. So Drew bought the building. Not a big deal. He bought me that beer flight. He bought the building. All in the same week. Whatevs. No biggie.

  “I bought the building precisely because I didn’t want to happen what you feared would happen. I’m sorry I scared you there for a minute. But Lee is out of the picture. And as a bonus, I got the whole mess with the lawsuit straightened out, too. That’s what we call a two-fer.”

  I want to stand up and run away, but I feel like my legs won’t work if I try. It’s the same feeling I had when Drew first hit on me at the bar, the first time he came into my apartment to check on my leaky sink, the first time he told me I needed to get some real food into my refrigerator. It’s all been so mundane, the things he’s done for me, but so extraordinary at the same time, because he’s Drew Anderson.

  “A two-fer? Is that a real estate term?”

  “No, babe.” He sits down next to me and tucks my hair behind my ears. I guess it got a little messed up when I was busy ranting and raving like a madwoman in the lobby of his building. “That’s just when two really good things happen at once. It doesn’t have to be only in real estate.”

  “I know, Drew. I was playing around. I know what a two-fer is.”

  “Then I guess we’re finally talking the same language, no? I guess we really do have some common ground, after all.”

  “Yeah.” My heart will not shut up again. I can’t take it. I can feel people looking at us as he looks down at me and puts his hand under my chin to guide my mouth to his. He kisses me sweetly. It’s electrifying, and I don’t want it to stop.

  “So I guess you aren’t the super of the building anymore, huh? Am I ever going to see you after the paperwork goes through and you’re the new owner?”

  “Well, you’re right. I’m not the super anymore. There’s always been a regular building super, and I think he’s about to come back from vacation in a couple of days.”

  “So it’s back to your island, right?”

  “No, Molly. I plan on being a very involved owner.”

  Drew

  One Month Later

  “This can’t take too long. I have more important places to be than here with you fine gentlemen.”

  I put my attache case down on the table in the large conference room, where Eric, O’Malley, Lee and the other firm’s partners are already gathered.

  “How nice of you to join us,” O’Malley quips, not bothering to stand up. “But we won’t trouble you for too long.”

  The sun pours through the windows. It’s the opposite of the day when I first learned about the lawsuit. On that day, Clarissa had dumped me. On that day, the fate of my and Eric’s firm was unclear.

  Today, I have a little surprise for Molly.

  Today, Lee and the other firm are relinquishing their claim to the land we were sparring over, and we’ll finally be able to start building out the space like we planned months ago.

  But that’s not even my top priority anymore. Right now, my top priority is my mom’s house. I have a showing this afternoon, and I have to get up there
to meet potential buyers.

  “I’ll start,” Lee says, standing up. “As you know, my clients had a stake in the land in question. However, upon reviewing the contracts and agreements with the seller, they have decided to drop their claim. It just makes the most sense for all parties involved. They have other projects in the pipeline, and they’ve decided to move on from this one.”

  “This is all a formality,” Eric says. “Why don’t you announce to everyone what really happened?”

  He’s so full of shit. This whole time, he was a nervous wreck over the whole thing.

  I really did come through when I needed to this time, didn’t I?

  My brother needs a dose of confidence. He should have known this would end in our favor. He just has a tendency to assume to worst.

  I should stop boasting. I have my mind set on bigger things, anyway.

  I rise to shake Lee’s hand.

  “We will definitely be in touch. It was great working with you on this.”

  The men file out of the room and Eric slaps the air.

  “That’s what I’m fucking talking about!”

  “Oh, really, sonny?” O’Malley says, gathering up some papers on the table and shoving them into his attache. “If I recall correctly, a few weeks ago you had no idea how this whole thing would turn out. It’s thanks to your brother’s ingenuity that the whole thing worked out in your favor.”

  “Nah. I knew we would win.”

  “Okay, okay,” O’Malley says dismissively.

  I’ll let Eric have his time to celebrate. There will be more lawsuits, anyway, and maybe I’ll remind him later of how he acted during this one.

  The door opens and Sarah appears in the doorway.

  “Drew? Molly is here to see you.”

  “I’m coming!”

  I jog out of my office and into the reception area.

  “You two know each other, don’t you?”

  “Yes, we do, but it’s not because you’re so good at introducing people. But I already feel like I know her,” Sarah says, smiling at Molly. “You’ve said so many good things about her.”

  “About me? So you do like me, huh?” Molly teases.

  “To what can I owe this lovely pop-in?”

  “Can we chat for a second?” she asks.