by Colt, Shyla
I step under the streamy spray and let it all out. It’s time to put this chapter behind me. He made it clear how he feels. His priority is with Alby. I can start the next stage of my life fresh, and won’t that be wonderful? No, it won’t. I stay in the shower until the water runs cool. After drying off, I fix my face and my attitude. He wants Personal Assistant Adora, that’s who he’ll get.
The door opens, and he jumps up from the desk against the far wall. “Adora.”
I arch an eyebrow. “I’m not royalty. You don’t have to stand when I enter the room. I’m going to get dressed and then start working on the new flight plans.”
“I don’t want to leave things like this.” He shoves his hand into his pockets.
“Like what, Weston? This is the way we’ve always been. This week was an unexpected left turn that we both decided to steer away from.” I shrug.
He shakes his head. “You’re mad.”
“I’m not mad.” I’m shattered.
“Then why are you talking to me like a robot?” He gestures toward me.
“I’m speaking to you like an employee to her boss.”
His face wrinkles like he tasted something bitter. “Don’t do this.”
You did it. My watch goes off. “You should freshen up. Breakfast is only thirty minutes from now.”
He looks at me, obviously torn between continuing our argument and his job, and points at me. “Don’t go anywhere.”
“Make up your mind. Do you want me to leave or don’t you?” I snap.
“Not before we talk.”
Oh, I’m done listening to you tell me what to do. “Tick. Tock.” I tap my watch, and he swears. Turning, he stomps into the bathroom. The bathroom door clicks shut, and I rush into action, slipping into a comfortable pair of joggers and a long T-shirt. I open my phone and find the next flight out of Heathrow. It’ll be a tight squeeze, but I can’t stay here another moment. I’d rather camp out in the airport overnight. I let him in, and he broke me. I was so stupid, reading too much into his actions. Closing my eyes, I rub my eyelids and hang my head. I can beat myself up from the comfort of my own home. I was going to wait for the right time to resign. Now there’s no reason for that.
Flight booked, I begin to pack, folding and separating soiled and clean clothes. West emerges with a towel slung low on his hips. I ignore him as he moves around, getting dressed.
“Won’t you even look at me?” he asks softly.
I meet his gaze coolly. “I’m looking at you.”
He hisses. “Adora.”
“What?” I place a hand on my hip.
His phone vibrates.
“Jesus Christ,” he growls, stalking over to the nightstand where he grabs his phone. “Of course he wants to get together before we met up,” he mumbles.
“You should go. Alby’s calling.”
He flinches. “We’ll talk when I get back.”
No, we really won’t.
“Take your key. I have souvenir shopping to tend to,” I say casually.
“Yeah. Okay.” He grabs his card off the dresser and casts a lingering glance at me before he leaves. I step into the bathroom, gather my toiletries, and add them to my suitcases. Removing the printed itinerary from my satchel, I place it on the bed along with my company credit card.
“Good-bye, Weston. I hope you find the happiness you seek.”
I call down to the front desk and order a car, explaining I need to catch an unexpected flight. Dragging my suitcase behind me, I place my key on the table and leave the past behind.
I STUMBLE INTO MY HOUSE nearly twenty-four hours later in a pair of over-sized sunglasses and clothes I’ve been in too long. My head aches thanks to lack of sleep and a little too much booze on the flight. I threw myself a pity party for one and wallowed in my misery, only for a short time. Hearing a clank from the kitchen, I freeze. My alarm beeps behind me, and I quickly reset it.
“Hello?” I call out.
“Sissy?” The voice belongs to the only person I want to talk to right now.
Dropping my bag, I rush forward. “Jenay?”
“You didn’t think I was going to let you go through this alone, did you?” she whispers, stepping from the kitchen with a carton of Ben & Jerry’s Marshmallow Swirl in hand.
Tears spill from my eyes, and I swipe them away. When she opens her arms, I step into them, grateful for her presence.
“What happened?” Jenay whispers.
“Everything and nothing,” I mumble. For a second, I was living my dream. In the next instant, I was crashing to Earth in a fiery blaze.
“Can you narrow that down a bit more?” Jenay huffs.
I stand up straight and meet her confused gaze. “Only if you hand over the goods.” After taking the carton and a spoon from her, I move to the couch.
“You said he didn’t feel the same in the text. I’m guessing you finally told him?” She sinks onto the couch beside me, and I pop the carton and take a giant spoonful.
“Sort of,” I say around a scoop of pure heaven.
“Adora.”
“It’s complicated.” I swallow. “The owner of Scott’s Software has a daughter name Priscila who has a serious crush on Weston. He’d been dodging her for months, but she wouldn’t take no for an answer.”
Jenay’s nostrils flare.
“Alby encouraged him to date her. Weston needed an out, so he told him he was already involved in a serious relationship.”
Her face falls. “Shit. He has a girlfriend even you didn’t know about?”
“Please,” I snicker, “I’m practically dating the girls he sees with all the dates I arrange and the flowers I send. No. Alby got it into his head that I was that girl. And we decided not to correct him, at least until after the trip.”
Her jaw dropped. “You didn’t.”
I smirk. “Except, I did.” It’s nice to be able to shock her.
Jenay puts her head in her hand. “That had to be torturous.”
“It wasn’t. That’s what screwed my head up. Us together felt so right, sis. He was attentive and commanding in a way I didn’t know I liked. I didn’t have to worry about anything.” I close my eyes, thinking of his soft hands and the way he held me to him. “He was always touching me, almost as if he couldn’t help himself.
She places a gentle hand on my arm. “So, what happened?”
“Things took a sexual turn.”
“Please tell me you didn’t sleep with him,” Jenay whispers.
“I did. And it was the best I’ve ever had.”
“Jesus.” She bites the inside of her cheek. “Was he big?”
“Massive.”
“Ha! I knew it.” Jenay cackles. “This all sounds good. Where did it go wrong?”
“When Alby called him into a meeting and gave him an ultimatum,” I mumble, still angry at the swift dismissal.
“What kind?”
I shake my head. “He didn’t say, but I can read between the lines. It was date Priscila and seal the deal or lose your chance to lead the company. I can’t blame him for choosing the business.”
“Bullshit. That’s just gross.” Jenay wrinkles her nose.
“He didn’t propose it,” I remind her weakly.
“No, but he’s going along with it. Who’d want to work for someone like that?” Jenay sneers.
“If he takes over the company, he could change whatever he wanted.” I want to believe the best of the man I’d given so much of my time and care to.
“And you still defend him?” Jenay admonishes.
My shoulders fall. “I’m just playing devil’s advocate. I told him, you know. That for me, the past couple of days were real.”
“And what did he say?”
“He looked scared, Je.” My heart squeezes. “When he tried to ask me about it, I shut down. I didn’t want to hear him let me down easy. I’m such a coward.”
“Hey. There is nothing wrong with doing what’s best for you. Being stranded there in a room with him w
as a very vulnerable place for you to be in.”
“I’m not going back, Jenay. I’m typing up my resignation letter. I can’t be there with him and pretend like I’m not in love with him.”
“Shit.” She covers her mouth with her hand. “You admitted it.”
I close my eyes. “Nothing else hurts like this.”
“Oh, honey, I’m sorry. What do you want to do?” Jenay grabs my hand.
“Forget that any of this ever happened,” I say honestly.
She purses her lips. “I won’t push you, but we both know if you don’t deal with things, they tend to resurface.”
“I have a ton of work to do on the book I was contracted for.”
She sighs. “Okay. But first, you need to shower and sleep. I’ll be here for a couple more days.”
“Thank you,” I whisper.
“You know I always have your back. I’m sorry it didn’t work out the way you wanted it to.”
“Yeah,” my voice cracks, “me too.”
Buzz. Buzz. My phone vibrates in my pocket. I pull it out and roll my eyes at Weston’s name.
“He’s calling you?”
“Has been since he found out I left.”
“What did he say?”
I shrug. “I don’t know. I’m not ready to talk to him.”
“At least let him know you arrived here safely, Adora.” Jenay snatches the phone from me and texts a quick message. “I told him you arrived safely, and you’d contact him when you were ready to talk.”
I give a hollow laugh. “I hope he doesn’t hold his breath.”
WESTON
I can’t believe she fucking left. I’m furious. I pace back and forth, spearing my fingers through my hair. I haven’t talked to her in over twenty-four hours. Priscila is mooning at me, and Alby is a smug little prick. I want to smash his face in. I’m trapped. I grab the tumbler of whiskey and sling it across the room. The shattering of the glass is pleasant, but it’s not nearly enough. This is not happiness. All this time, I thought of Adora is my compass. The instrument that kept me flying straight. In the end, she was my heart. I open another whiskey and shoot it directly from the bottle. Sliding down the wall, I take out my phone and call the one person I know I can count on when shit hits the fan.
Closing my eyes, I wait.
“Weston? Do you know what time it is?” the snarly voice asks.
“Dad. I think I really fucked up.”
“Are you drunk? Where are you?”
“In a hotel room in London. She’s gone, Dad. I let her think I cared more about money than her, and I love her. But I didn’t know it.”
“Jesus, kid. You’re a damn mess.”
“What’s going on?” my mother asks in the background.
“Our son is showing just how much he’s like his old man.”
“Great. I’ll brew coffee. ’Cause I get the feeling it’s going to be a long night.” Her wry tone makes me smile despite the hopeless situation.
“Alby is going to take everything I’ve worked for away if I don’t go along with him.”
“The hell he is. What does he want you to do, West? I told you I didn’t like the cut of his jib. He’s one slippery bastard.”
“I know. I think I have for a while. I just ... I wanted you to be proud of me,” I admit. Growing up in the long shadow he cast had done a number on my self-esteem.
“Hell, we’re already proud of you, kid. Why would you think otherwise?”
“You were never interested in what I was working on. You only wanted me to come back and work for Rebel.”
“Rebel is the legacy I built for you. It’s not going to do me any good when I’m in the ground. I wanted to see you at the helm because I knew you could handle it. I always hoped eventually you’d want to come back and run it. But I stopped pushing for that when I saw how upset you got when I mentioned it.”
I close my eyes. I got it all twisted up in my head. Dad and I never communicated well, and my mother was always focused on this charity or that one, trying to uphold the family name and standards. Her father had been a wealthy socialite who demanded perfection and never quite agreed with her marriage to my father. It left me a little lost and wondering where my place in the world was.
“Your mother and I made a lot of mistakes when you were growing up, Weston. We were so worried about your future, we forgot to live in the present. You spent too much time alone or with other people raising you.” He sighs. “I’m sorry about that.” His apology is sobering. He never says the ‘s’ word. “I know I can’t go back and change the past, but I’d like to move forward together. Whatever pickle you’ve landed in, we can work past it. But first, you have to tell me what’s going on.”
Like a dam with a leak, I pour everything out.
“West, you can’t stay there. You know that, don’t you, son? If he gets away with this, what’s to stop him from doing the same thing with another issue?”
“Nothing,” I croak.
“You’d be selling yourself into some sort of slavery.”
“But everything I’ve given to the company—”
“Will look damn good in a resume, or ...” The line goes silent.
“Dad?”
“May even be the experience you need to open your own company. Or a branch of Rebel. You said Scott likes working with you, right?”
“Dad, I couldn’t steal a client.” The idea lit a dangerous spark. I’d love to see the expression on Alby’s face if that happened.
“From what I’m hearing, he’s never going to be a client. You need to walk away from this with your hands clean.”
I rub the back of my neck. “Alby would tie me up with litigations.”
“What he’s trying to force you to do is illegal as hell.”
“Yes, but it’s my word against his.”
“Not if you have proof.” I can hear the wheels in my Dad’s head turning. “I have a plan. Just hang in there a few more days, kid. We’ll get you out from under that asshole’s thumb. Do you think you can stomach the role you’re playing a little longer?”
“Yes.” A light is shining at the end of the tunnel. I’m not alone anymore.
“All right, here’s what we’re going to do ...”
I listen intently, growing more confident with each minute that we can pull this off.
“Now the other part you’ll need your mother for. I’m good at helping the guy get the girl, not keeping her.”
“Yeah, you’re lucky you’re cute,” Mom’s voice comes over the line. “Wes, honey, I heard the conversation you had with your dad. Who is this mystery woman?”
“Adora.”
“Your personal assistant?”
“Yes.”
“You can transfer one-hundred dollars to my bank account in the morning,” my mom says.
“It was his assistant?” Dad asks in the background.
“Mom! You were betting?”
“The way that girl put up with you and whipped you into shape, it had to be more than duty,” Mom says.
“I was doing fine before she was hired.”
“If by fine you mean running around like a chicken with its head cut off, and forgetting major events, sure.”
“Am I the only one who didn’t realize?”
“Sounds like maybe she still doesn’t know,” Mom says gently.
“God. She must think I’m a scum bucket.”
“Yes. But once the truth comes out, that’ll change. What you need to focus on is how best to grovel.”
“Grovel?” I sneer.
“On your hands and knees. Saying it with flowers and candy.”
“Mom, I know what the word means.”
“You did a real number on her. Proving you mean what you say is going to be hell. Women forgive, but we never forget.”
Groaning, I knock my head against the wall.
“Let’s start by talking about her favorite things.” My mother is way too cheerful for the time of morning and the topic at hand. It�
�s a sign of how much I love Adora that I listen to everything she says and answer her questions with ease. I know her because she’s one of my closest friends. One of my only friends since I haven’t had much time over recent years to keep in touch.
I won’t lose you, Adora.
“IF YOU’LL EXCUSE ME.” I rise from the bench where I’d been speaking with Priscila after lunch.
“Can I speak with you, sir?” I ask Alby.
“Certainly.” Alby smiles as he looks over at Priscila, who waves.
“I trust you and Ms. Scott are getting along?”
“Very well,” I agree.
“Good. Good. Why don’t we grab a drink at the bar?”
“I’d prefer a more private location.”
“Oh. Do you have news?”
“More like questions.”
“I see. We can head to my room then since I have the suite.”
I follow him from the busy hotel halls to his swanky room. My palms are slick with sweat. Shoving my hand into my pocket, I pray this will go smoothly.
“What did you wish to talk to me about?”
“I wanted to talk about the ownership you promised me.”
“That’s after you close the deal, my boy.”
“Yes, but how do you think I should go about it?”
Alby chuckles. “Continue taking my advice. Court his daughter. You win her heart, you’ll win that merger for us. He’ll want to make sure she’s taken care of. So you better turn up the charm and make her believe it’s love. You did the right thing by sending your assistant home. She’s fun, but she has nothing to offer you.”
My jaw ticks. I hum.
“Ah. You’re still thinking about her?” Alby sighs. “Once you’ve married and settled, if you’re discreet enough, a mistress wouldn’t be out of the question.
I want to vomit all over the expensive wooden table. I’m not ignorant to the ways of the world, but hearing it discussed so casually doesn’t sit well with me.
“You can have one on each coast.” He chuckles.
“Don’t you think Priscila will know the difference?”