Accidental Heartbreak (The Accidental Series, Book 2)

by Tina Martin

  Chapter 7

  Shayla settled at extended stay hotel, a few miles outside of Norfolk in the city of Chesapeake, Virginia two days later. Her room was equipped with a microwave, refrigerator, stove and a queen bed – not bad for a person trying to start over. It couldn’t compare to Carter’s beautiful home, and he had given her free reign in his place like she was part owner. But that’s the thing, it was his place. Not hers, never hers and he made that quite clear to her. So hotel or not, she had a place to live. The bed was comfortable, the space was clean and it was her room. She didn’t have to share it with anyone.

  Today, she started her first day at Zenadel Electronics. Her boss, Donovan Sharper, showed her to a cubicle and gave her a tour of the office, introduced her to the entire accounting department of twenty associates on the fourth floor of the building, and a few other people from different departments to which she would be interacting with the most. For the better part of the day, she shadowed a woman named Natasha Clayborn who gave her and overview of the accounting software program Zenadel used, as well as showed her where the mailroom was located. Natasha also took the liberty of taking Shayla to lunch and giving her a mini-tour of downtown Norfolk.

  At the end of the day, Donovan sauntered over to her cubicle to ask her out to dinner. Said he took all the newbies to dinner on their first day. He wanted to see if her new job was something she could see herself doing for the foreseeable future. He had hired a woman two months ago for the same position and she couldn’t handle the demand of the job, ended up quitting and thus put unnecessary strain on the other associates. He wanted to avoid that from happening again if at all possible.

  * * *

  Shayla she sat across from Donovan at the restaurant, wondering if he took all of his new hires out to dinner like he said. Donovan was very attractive, a brown-skinned, tall man, built like a linebacker. He didn’t look like the type of guy who would be stuck in an office all day, working a white collar gig but that’s what he was doing and according to Natasha, he was the best at it.

  “So, how was day one at Zenadel?” he asked, staring at her like this was job interview number two.

  Shayla interlocked her fingers and looked at him. ‘Um…it was different.” She hadn’t had a professional career in quite some time. It would take a while for her to get back into the swing of things, she knew. But once she learned her new position, she would be the best at it. And she wouldn’t quit like the woman he had hired before. She was determined to make it on her own and without any help from Carter.

  “Well, we’re going to take good care of you here. Our accounting department is a close-knit group. And they are all very professional people. I only hire the best.”

  Shayla glanced up at Donovan. The man was a looker with his milk chocolate skin and chiseled face. She felt nervous at the thought of being out to dinner with him, even if it was an innocent business dinner with her boss. She hadn’t been to dinner with a man since Carter and for some reason, she didn’t like the way it felt to be out with someone besides him. Dinner with Carter felt right. He was right. But apparently, he didn’t think she was right for him.

  “So where are you from, Shayla?”

  “Charlotte.”

  “Charlotte, North Carolina,” he sang, then took a sip of Merlot. “Beautiful city, isn’t it?”

  She watched Donovan take another sip of Merlot. He’d ordered a glass for her also and all she could think about as she smelled the aroma of wine floating in the air around her was Carter. She remembered him being extra cautious of her drinking alcohol when she was on medication, even taking it away from her at times. And still on medication, now for high blood pressure, she wouldn’t touch the wine.

  “So, you’ve been to Charlotte, huh?” she asked him.

  “Lived there for about five years.”

  “Really?”

  “Yep. I transferred here when this job became available. I didn’t want to leave Charlotte, but I couldn’t pass up this opportunity.”

  “That’s understandable.” Shayla took a sip of water.

  “But Norfolk isn’t bad. Not bad at all, and, I’m right here by the ocean, so that’s a plus.”

  “Yeah. It is.”

  Donovan looked at her as if examining her thoughts. “So I take it this job brought you here also.”

  The waitress walked over, took their orders and quickly walked away.

  Shayla was still pondering his statement. No, the job didn’t bring her here. A man was her motivating factor for moving here, but Donovan didn’t need to know all of that. So she looked up at him and said, “Yeah…if I could find a position like this in Charlotte, I’d still be there.”

  Donovan cracked a half smile. It was a lie and he knew it. He was shocked when he’d gotten a phone call from his old fraternity brother, Carter Williams, two days ago, asking him to look after Shayla while she was there. Carter didn’t give him any details about why he wanted Shayla to be monitored, and that peaked Donovan’s curiosity. Was Carter simply cashing in on a favor, or was there more? Donovan would try to find out without giving himself away.

  “So you moved here alone?” he asked her.

  “Yeah. It’s a good way of starting over, don’t you think?”

  “Starting over from what?”

  Shayla shrugged. “From being laid off and other personal stuff.” She wouldn’t go into any further details than that.

  Donovan nodded. “And what about your living arrangements…you find a nice place here?”

  “No…still looking. I’m at an extended stay hotel for the moment. I want to take my time and find a nice place…don’t wanna rush into anything.”

  “You shouldn’t be staying at a hotel. I’ve had several employees who were like yourself… moving from out of town and looking for apartments. In the interim, they stayed with me. I have several guest bedrooms at my house. You can have one if you like.”

  There is no way I’m staying with you, Shayla thought to herself. No freakin’ way. “That’s very generous of you, Mr. Sharper—”

  “Please, call me Donovan.”

  “Okay…Donovan…I appreciate the offer, but I’m fine where I am. Plus, it won’t take me long to find a place.”

  “Okay, but just know the offer is on the table. In the meantime, I’ll be glad to go apartment hunting with you…show you were all the good neighborhoods are.”

  “That would be nice.”

  Once the food arrived, they were quietly eating for a moment. Donovan felt his phone vibrate and when he checked the display, he noticed it was Carter calling again. Donovan was so busy showing Shayla around the office and attending a few meetings during the day, he missed a call from Carter this morning, too. He was dying to know why the infamous Carter Williams had an interest in this woman. Were they involved? Who was she to him? He slid his phone into the breast pocket of his shirt and returned his attention back to Shayla.

  “You have family back in Charlotte?” he asked her.

  “Nope.” She dabbed the corners of her mouth with a white, cloth napkin. “Just a few friends.”

  As a high executive at Zenadel, Donovan knew it was inappropriate to ask her about her love life. And it was really none of his business who she was dating, or if she’d been one of Carter’s victims. From his association with the man, Donovan knew Carter was a notorious player. And now he wondered if that’s why she left Charlotte? And if so, why was Carter so interested in her well-being when he could care less about any other woman he’d encountered? He wasn’t the type to chase women. It was quite the opposite.

  “Well, you got a friend here, now.” He winked at her. “I’m usually always tied up at the office, but if you need anything, don’t hesitate to call me whether at work or after business hours.”

  “Okay. I appreciate that,” Shayla said then finished her meal.

  The two parted ways after dinner and Shayla drove straight to the hotel. And she sat there, in the car because she couldn’t bring herself to get out an
d spend another night alone with her thoughts. She felt herself become emotional and before she felt the first tears leave her eyes, she took some tissue from her purse, wondering when this sadness would go away.

  Chapter 8

  September 2010

  Shayla was amazed at how fast the week went by. When she first moved, she thought it would drag on forever because of what she’d left behind. So it came as a relief that her life was going well and with no drama. Norfolk was a new beginning, but she couldn’t lie to herself. She thought about Carter often. He hadn’t tried to call her, not that she expected him too, but he was the man who pretended to be interested in her well being, her health, making sure she took her medication. She could clearly see now that it was all a fraud. If the man really cared for her, he wouldn’t have let her leave Charlotte in the first place. Right?

  Still, she couldn’t deny that she missed him a great deal although she didn’t miss the drama and games he played with her heart. That part of her life was over.

  Remembering some pointers she learned from Dr. Westbrook, she took up a few hobbies to keep herself busy. A busy person didn’t have time to sit around and dwell on the failings, tragedies and misfortunes in their life. So every morning before work, she walked a mile or two to clear her head. On Saturday mornings, she signed up to be a volunteer at a local library, reading books to five-year-olds.

  She found herself there today, sitting on a big red cube, reading to a group of ten kids who were sitting in a circle around her. The story was about a little girl who wanted to be star. “There once was a little girl who wanted to be a…” She paused, turned the book to the kids, showed them the picture of a yellow star and they all blurted out, “Star!”

  Shayla smiled. There was something refreshing about working with children. The joy of them – those cute, adorable little faces who had not a care in the world – had a way of making her forget their troubles. She looked at the book and continued reading. “She loved to play dress up and try on her mom’s…”

  “Shoes!” the children blurted out when she turned the book their way.

  “She brushed her hair and put on a pretty…”

  “Hat!” they clamored.

  Shayla smiled and continued, “Then she sung her favorite song as loud as she could. The end.”

  “Yay,” the kids crooned, clapping their little hands.

  “Read us another one,” one little girl said.

  “Sorry, sweetie,” Shayla told her. “That’s all for today.”

  “Aw,” they whined a harmonious whimper.

  “But come back next Saturday, and I’ll read more, okay?”

  “Yay!” they cheered again, then scrambled to their parents.

  Shayla stacked the ten books she’d read and turned them in to the librarian. Then she went to lunch alone and returned to her hotel room for a nap.

  * * *

  When she finally got up, it was six in the evening. Having overslept, she missed the window of opportunity to go apartment shopping. She eased off the bed, dug her fingers in her hair to shake some life into it, then grabbed her purse and headed out the door for dinner. It would be another lonely, boring dinner and that bothered her, not because she would be in a restaurant full of people who would watch her eat by herself, but because she would be thinking about Carter while she ate, imagining he was sitting across from her with that dazzling white smile of his.

  At the restaurant, she found herself doing just that. She was in a daze, holding the fork in her hand, staring out the window, watching the rain spot and string down the glass. She wondered what Carter was doing at this very moment.

  “You look like you could use some cheering up.”

  She turned her head in the direction of the familiar voice and saw Donovan standing there, in a black suit like he’d just left the office. “What are you doing here?” she asked him.

  “This is one of my favorite spots. I’m surprised you found it. Most out-of-towners don’t know about this place.”

  “Well, I have a lot of time on my hands, so…”

  “Mind if I join you?”

  After a long pause, Shayla gestured for him to sit.

  Donovan smirked, then sat down across from her.

  “You worked today?” she inquired.

  “Yep...didn’t do much, though. I had a meeting and some reports I needed to get done.” Donovan watched her turn towards the window again, watching the rain. “Why do you look so sad?”

  She looked at him like she was surprised he’d asked the question. “Just have a lot on my mind. I still need to find a place and—”

  “Speaking of finding a place, when are we going apartment hunting?”

  “I don’t know,” Shayla said. Albeit she needed one, an apartment would be something that would give her roots in Norfolk and she wasn’t ready for that. “I don’t want to take up your time.”

  “I don’t mind. How about one day next week? Maybe Friday evening?”

  Shayla thought hard about it. She didn’t want to spend much time with her boss, but now that he’d joined her for dinner…

  “Think about it and let me know by Monday so I can make sure I don’t plan anything, okay?” he told her.

  Shayla nodded.

  Donovan ordered a fish platter and dug in right away, especially since Shayla was done with her dinner. To keep her from leaving, he insisted she try the cheesecake. Said it was to die for and the best in the area. His plan worked.

  “So what did you do today?” he asked, but he already knew she was at the library. He followed her there before he went to the office.

  “Not much of anything.”

  He gave her an inquisitive glare. “No?”

  “Um…nope. Oh, wait. I did go to the library to read to a group of kids this morning.”

  “That’s admirable. You like children?”

  “Yeah…always wanted some of my own, but…”

  “Just never happened, huh?”

  “Gotta find the right man, first. I’m a first-comes-love, then-comes-marriage type of girl.”

  “Okay,” Donovan said with a smile on his face. He could respect that, but he knew Carter definitely was not that type of man. At least he didn’t used to be.

  “What about you? You like children?” Shayla asked.

  “Yeah. I have a son. He’s five.” Donovan wiped his hands, took his wallet from his back pocket, pulled out a picture of his son and handed it to her.

  “Aw…he’s cute. Looks just like you,” she commented.

  “That’s what everyone says.” Donovan took a sip of water.

  “What’s his name?” she asked, handing the picture back to him.

  “He’s a junior, named after me…my wife’s idea.”

  Shayla hadn’t realized he was married until now. She glanced at his ring finger to see if he was wearing a band and sure enough… “I didn’t know you were married.” She told him, not that she was hitting on him or anything. She just stated it.

  “I was married. My wife died giving birth to our son.”

  “Oh, no.” Shayla grimaced. “I’m so sorry to hear that.”

  “It’s okay. It was rough the few years after it happened, losing my wife and instantly becoming a single father, but five years later, I think I’m finally ready to move on.”

  “Well, good for you.” She turned her head towards the window again. It was beginning to rain harder and she wondered if it would let up before it was time to leave.

  “It’s weird because I never thought I wanted to get married again but I miss the married life. Being a bachelor takes a toll on a man.”

  “How so?”

  “It’s draining…the amount of attention I get from women…makes me wonder what happened to the days when men had to almost beg to go out with a woman. Now, women are more aggressive. Call me old-fashioned, but I like to be the chaser, not the chasee.”

  “I think that’s the way it should be.”

  He smiled and nodded. A woman with so
me common sense, finally. “So where are your folks from?”

  “My Mother passed when I was very young and I never knew my father. Why do you ask?”

  “Your last name…the spelling of it isn’t that common and I know a few Kline’s.”

  “They live here?”

  “Near here…in Virginia Beach.”

  The waitress brought over a slice of cheesecake, dripping with strawberry sauce and decorated with the biggest, juiciest strawberries Shayla had ever seen. The single slice was so huge, it could be cut into four smaller slices that would equate to normal serving sizes.

  Donovan watched her dig the fork in it, then tasted a chunk of it. “Good, right?”

  “It’s delicious, but there’s no way I can eat it all.”

  “I’ll eat the rest,” he told her.

  After a few more bites, Shayla placed her fork on the table and stretched her arms up in the air. The rain had calmed down considerably to a misting and this was her out. “Well, I’m tired and sleepy so I’m gonna head out.”

  “You can’t leave yet. I haven’t had any cheesecake.”

  Shayla smiled.

  “Give me ten minutes,” Donovan mumbled through chewing a piece of fish. “Ten minutes.”

  “Okay.” She watched him eat, then with her right elbow on the table, she balled a fist, leaned her head against it and looked out the window.

  Donovan wiped his mouth and took a sip of water. “So what are you really doing here, Shayla?”

  “I told you…starting over.”

  “From what?”

  “Um…” Shayla smiled and frowned at the same time. It would be so unprofessional to start spilling her guts to him about all of her problems, but she supposed she could tell him a little. “There was this guy. I thought he had feelings for me the same way I had for him, but come to find out, he was seeing someone else.”

  Donovan shook his head. That’s the Carter he remembered all right. “Well, I’m sure you’ll have no problem finding someone who’ll respect you, love you and take care of you like you deserve,” he said like he wanted the job.