by Ali Parker
Every time I looked at Candice, her face was pulled further down into a deep frown. My head spun until I made myself dizzy.
What happened back there? Did Deborah say something? Did Leslie?
I told myself it was impossible. Deborah would never admit our connection, especially not to Candice. And Leslie, despite her obvious suspicious, didn’t know a thing.
Gripping the steering wheel, I forced myself to stay calm. Whatever was bothering Candice probably had nothing to do with Romeo Rebound.
I stared through the windshield and focused on the road. Cars whizzed by, whipping in front of us and then darting to the side. New York traffic was good for one thing and one thing only, a distraction.
I barely had time to worry about Candice until we made it back across town. We inched closer to Candice’s apartment, and I chanced a glance at her.
Her brown eyes shone as the city lights poured in through the window. They were bright, but no happiness graced their irises. She glared out the window as if the sidewalk had personally offended her.
My stomach tightened painfully.
I held onto the steering wheel with one hand and wrenched the other off one finger at a time. I was shaking so badly, I tightened my hand into a fist to relax. Candice didn’t notice.
It took me a minute to work up the courage to speak. With a deep breath, I blinked hard and looked over at Candice again. Her anger made me cower, but I pushed forward. Whatever was going on, I had to know.
“Hey.” I reached for her hand, but she pulled it away with a sharp jerk. “What’s wrong? What happened?”
We pulled into the parking garage, and my question fell into a silent void. Candice stared pointedly through the windshield without a single glance in my direction.
Whipping into a parking space, I put the car in park and turned to face her. She ignored me and twisted around in her seat. With a forced smile, she reached back to touch Paisley’s hand.
“Bye, kiddo,” she said gently, a deep sadness coating her voice.
“When are we gonna play again?” Paisley asked sleepily.
Candice’s face fell. “I don’t know.” She cleared her throat. “You can ask your daddy about that later, okay?”
“Okay!” Paisley smiled.
Without looking at me, Candice pushed the car door open and stepped out. She started walking away, not even a glance over her shoulder.
“Stay here,” I told Paisley. “I’ll be right back.”
Paisley nodded, leaning her head against the seat. I climbed out of the car and ran after Candice. She hadn’t made it far when I reached her.
“Hey.” I grabbed her arm and spun her around to face me. “What the hell is going on?”
Candice wrenched her arm away from me. “Nothing.”
“Come on.” I reached for her, but she took a step back. “I thought you hated lies.”
“Ha!” Candice threw her head back. When her eyes met mine, they were narrowed with rage. “Are you seriously lecturing me about lying?”
A maniacal glint flashed through Candice’s brown eyes. She took a step forward, her entire body trembling with anger.
“How dare you?” she hissed. “Did you really think I was that stupid or just that desperate?”
“Candice, I …” I shook my head and stepped away from her. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Yes, you do!” she screamed. “I can see it on your face! You know. Just stop lying! Please.”
Candice’s voice echoed through the parking garage. I glanced nervously back at my car. Paisley was still resting in the back seat, her eyes closed. Breathing out a sigh of relief, I turned back to Candice.
“Worried she’ll hear us?” Candice snapped. “Is she even really your daughter?! Or is she a hired actress? Are you going to drop her off to her real parents after you leave?”
“She’s mine,” I said lamely. “She’s my daughter.”
“Great.” Candice threw her hands up. “At least one thing about you is real.”
“It’s not like that.” My head spun, a thousand explanations speeding through my mind. “I mean, it’s complicated.”
“Complicated?” Candice spat. “Well, why don’t you explain it to me, and I’ll try to keep up.”
I took a deep breath and ran my fingers through my hair. Clenching it in my fist, I tried to regain control. The ground seemed to spin wildly beneath my feet.
“The company I work for is called Romeo Rebound.” I dropped my hand. “My boss is Beatrice Cantone, and yes, your mother hired me to go out with you.”
Candice’s eyes fell closed. She took a step back, stumbling as if she’d been hit. The truth hurt to hear, even though she already knew it.
“Your mother wanted me to woo you,” I said slowly. “To take you out a few times and then get you to invite me to the company banquet.”
“That’s what this is about?” Her eyes flew open. “The fucking banquet?”
“Yes.” I nodded, trying to keep my emotions in check. “She thought you needed a man on your arm.”
Candice put one hand over her mouth and turned away from me. Her shoulders trembled. More than anything, I wanted to reach out to her, to take her into my arms and erase the last two hours.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “I can’t—”
“The coffee shop?” She whipped back around. “When we met? That was a setup?”
My head dropped. “Yes.”
“Oh my god.”
I looked up to see Candice holding her stomach. Her face was contorted, her nose pinched like she was going to be sick.
“I’m sorry,” I said again. “But Candice, you have to know, my feelings for you have always been real.”
Candice jerked her head back, her eyes narrowing into slits. She took a tiny step away from me, her head slowly sliding from side to side.
“Don’t.” She held her hand up. “You don’t get to do that. Not now. Not after lying to me for weeks.”
“I was doing my job,” I said desperately. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t care about you. I never expected it to happen. The first rule of being a Romeo is never fall for a client, but I did! I fell for you and I—”
“Shut up!”
“I care about you more than anything.” I blurted out before I lost my chance. “More than my job. It’s Paisley and you. Candice, that’s all I care about now, okay? Please. You have to believe me.”
“Why should I ever believe anything you say?” Candice demanded. “All you’ve done is lie.”
“I had to.” I dropped my eyes to the ground. “I didn’t have a choice. It’s my job. I couldn’t just say no.”
“Fine.” Candice snapped. “Then, what about after?”
I blinked, my head rising just enough to look at her. “After?”
“You say you fell for me, right?” Her eyes widened. She took a threatening step forward. “So, why not then? Why not come clean? Tell me everything?”
“I ...” My only explanation was shit, and I knew it. But I had to try anyway. “Fear. Candice, it was in the contract that I couldn’t tell you anything. If I violated the terms, I would have been fired.”
“And that’s what mattered?” Her brown eyes swam with tears. “Your job?”
“I was scared to lose you.” My voice was barely above a whisper. “I was terrified you’d walk away, and everything, all of this, would just be meaningless.”
“Well.” Candice sniffed. “You were right.”
She turned on her heel and left me staring after her, a small tear rolling down my cheek.
Chapter 30
Candice
I didn’t sleep that night. Tossing and turning, I tangled my bedsheets around my body until I could barely move. I kicked them to the floor. Giving up on sleep, I marched down the hall to my study. After working through the night, I was the first person in the building on Thursday morning. The halls were silent, deserted as I made my way to my office.
Our cleaning co
mpany had been by the night before. A fresh trash bag was set in the trash can beside my desk, and a smell of lemon antiseptic lingered in the air.
Wrinkling my nose, I slid behind my desk and fired up my computer. I didn’t want to waste a single second of the day.
It was nine o’clock before I looked up. Kendra knocked softly on my door, her eyes darting nervously around the office. I held up one finger, silently telling her to remain silent. Tapping away on the keyboard, I sent off an email and cleared my throat.
“Yes?” I asked, leaning back in my chair. “What is it?”
“Flower delivery,” Kendra said. She stood back to let a delivery boy inside. His face was entirely obscured by a gigantic array of roses.
“What the …?”
I blinked and slowly got to my feet. Kendra signed for the flowers as the boy set them carefully on my desk. He nodded and hurried away.
“Who are they from?” Kendra asked, excited.
My stomach dropped. I had a feeling I knew exactly who the flowers were from. Just thinking his name was too much.
“No one,” I snapped. With one hand, I shoved the flowers off my desk. They landed with a crash in the trash can, crumpling into a heap of petals and stems.
“But—”
At my expression, she inched backward, slipping out of the office without a word.
The second she was gone, I collapsed back on my chair. My head fell into my hands, the lack of sleep finally catching up with me.
When I looked up again, my office swam in my blurry vision. I blinked hard and rubbed my eyes, pressing my fingertips against the lids until I saw stars.
“Hey.” A soft voice claimed my attention.
I jerked my head up, blinking furiously. Leslie was standing in my doorway, a half-smile cocked on her face. When she saw my eyes, she sighed and hurried forward. She walked around my desk and crouched down in front of me.
“Talk to me,” she said. “What happened after you left last night?”
“It doesn’t matter.” I waved her away and turned back to my computer.
Leslie stayed put for a second before rising to her feet and walking slowly back around the desk. She lowered herself onto her usual chair and stared at me, her gray eyes burning a hole in the side of my face.
The last thing I wanted to do was talk. Everything with Ryan was too fresh. I couldn’t even make sense of it myself. How could I explain it to my sister?
“Candice.”
I ignored her and focused on my computer. A spreadsheet of this month’s sales blinked back at me without holding my attention. I barely saw the numbers in front of me.
“I can’t,” I said without looking up. “Not yet, Leslie.”
“Okay.” Leslie held her hands up in surrender. “Then, I’ll talk. You just listen, okay?”
Hesitating, I glanced at her out of the corner of my eye. She stared back, unblinking and eternally patient.
“Okay.”
Leslie cleared her throat and sat forward. “I talked to Mom last night.”
That got my attention. I jerked my head around. A sharp pain shot through my neck, but I didn’t care.
“She admitted everything,” Leslie said. “And she knows you know.”
My throat was dry. “What did she say?” I asked, my voice weak.
Sighing, Leslie sat back in the chair. She rolled her eyes to the ceiling and hesitated. When her eyes met mine, they were full of pity.
“Okay.” I held my hand up before she could speak. “I want to hear about Mom, but that look on your face? The one that’s silently calling me pathetic? Get rid of it, or I’ll kick you out of my office.”
“I’m not—”
“You are,” I snapped. “And I’m not having it, Leslie. Not today.”
“Fine.” Leslie agreed. “I’m just worried about you.”
I ignored her. “What did Mom say?”
“Nothing good.” Leslie shook her head, frustrated. “She got Ryan’s name from some woman named Adelaide. I guess her daughter used him a few months ago after a particularly rough breakup.”
“So, it’s true then?” I asked. “The company he works for, it’s real?”
“Romeo Rebound or some shit.” Leslie waved her hand. “It sounds like a den for the permanently desperate if you ask me.”
She had a point. I couldn’t imagine paying someone to help me through a breakup.
“Girls pay for that?” I shook my head. “God.”
“Apparently,” Leslie said. “But according to Mom, she was the first mother to grace the halls of the Romeo office.”
“Of course, she was.”
Leslie watched me closely, waiting for a sign that I was about to break. I didn’t. Instead, I cleared my throat and glanced at the flowers still sitting in my trash can. Leslie followed my gaze, a look of understanding dawning on her face.
“Those from him?” she asked. I nodded. “Have you heard from him today? Has he called?”
“After last night,” I said. “He’d have to be pretty fucking stupid to call me.”
Leslie was itching to ask for details. Her entire body vibrated with need. Turning back to my computer, I tried to focus on work, but it was no use. My mind was too full. My stomach rolled painfully, nausea washing over me.
“Candice,” Leslie began, her voice gentle. “What did he say? Last night, I mean.”
Shaking my head, I spun my chair around to face the window. Leslie watched me. I could feel her eyes on me even as I stared out at the city.
Ryan was somewhere out there. And Paisley. Both probably wondering if they would ever see me again.
“He admitted it.” I shrugged. “He works at that Romeo place. For a woman named Beatrice. Mom went in and hired him. Just like that.”
“Fucking asshole,” Leslie hissed. “How could someone do that? I mean, at least his other clients hired him themselves, you know? But you?”
“He couldn’t tell me,” I said simply. “It was against the contract Mom made him sign. If he told me anything, he would have been fired.”
“So?” Leslie demanded.
I shook my head and turned back around to face her. She was glaring into the distance, angrier even than me.
“It’s not worth getting upset,” I said. “Ryan is out of my life. For good.”
Leslie’s face fell. Her gray eyes darkened sadly.
“What?” I demanded.
“Nothing.” She shook her head. “It’s just …”
She fell silent, once again staring off into space. I waited for her to continue but she didn’t. My patience was wearing thin.
“Leslie,” I snapped. “Spit it out.”
“He seemed to really care about you,” Leslie whispered.
“Well, he doesn’t.”
Leslie nodded, but I knew she was thinking something. I could practically hear the wheels turning inside her brain.
“It doesn’t make sense,” she said.
“What doesn’t?”
“The way he looked at you.” Leslie frowned. “I mean, I knew something was off, you know? The way he and Mom kept glancing at each other. It was obvious.”
“Not to me,” I whispered.
Leslie paused, sympathetic. “I’m sorry,” she said. “In your defense, you were distracted.”
“Yeah.”
“But even with all of that,” Leslie said. “I could tell he really liked you. Even though I was suspicious, even though I knew something was off, I could still tell.”
I hated myself for wanting to believe her. It didn’t matter if Ryan’s feelings for me were real. We were over. Done. Forever.
“He likes you,” Leslie said. “I’m sure of that.”
“Yeah,” I scoffed. “That’s what he said too.”
“What?”
Immediately, I regretted opening my mouth. Leslie pounced, jumping forward, her eyes flitting to the flowers in the trash.
“Those weren’t just apology flowers,” she said wisely. “He’s tryi
ng to get you back.”
I laughed. “Back? I was never his.”
“Candice.” Leslie ducked her head, looking up at me from beneath her eyelashes. “You’re angry. You have every right. But come on. You can’t deny that you feel something for him.”
“How can I?” I demanded. “Everything between us was a lie.”
“Are you sure about that?”
Ryan’s face flashed in my memory. Standing in the parking garage, he’d looked so hurt. The pain was evident in every line of his face. He wanted me to believe him, to forgive him, to trust him again.
“It doesn’t matter,” I said, more to myself than Leslie. “I can never be with him. Not now.”
“Why not?”
I stared blankly. “Are you serious?”
“Yes.” Leslie stood up. “You can’t tell me you don’t like him, Candice.”
“That doesn’t—”
“You could forgive him,” she said bluntly. “You know the truth now. The two of you can move forward and see where—”
“Enough.” Glaring, I got to my feet and marched across the room. I pulled open my office door and twisted my neck around to face Kendra. “Get me the sample covers for the next issue. Now.”
Kendra nodded, and I stepped back inside my office.
“Candice,” Leslie began.
“Stop,” I snapped, rounding on her. “Ryan didn’t just lie to me, Leslie. He used his daughter to gain my affection and sympathy. He manipulated me and deceived me and … Why am I even explaining this to you? You, of all people, should be on my side!”
“I am on your side.”
“Yeah.” I snorted. “Sure seems like it.”
Before Leslie could argue, Kendra pulled open the door and hurried to my desk. She laid two mock-up covers of Smart Cosmetics Magazine down in front of me.
“Need anything else?” she asked.
“No.” I forced a smile. “Thank you, Kendra.”
“My pleasure.”
She left me alone with my sister, who was still staring at me with a somewhat accusatory look. I ignored her and examined the covers, carefully raking my eyes over every detail.
“Answer me this,” Leslie said.
“Les …”
“Could you love him?”