by Lacey Black
“How did you get in here, Cynthia?” he asks, turning and looking at the tall woman who stands between us like an anvil.
“That nice woman downstairs let me up. When I explained who I was, she showed me to the elevator,” Cynthia says. “I’m sorry, I’ve been rude. My name is Cyn,” she adds while walking over to me, hand out. Sure, she drips with politeness now that Reid is here.
“You did not have permission to come up here, Cynthia. I’ll deal with Erica,” Reid fumes angrily.
“Oh, don’t be a bear, darling. She knew who I was.” Turning back to Reid, she says, “I was just telling the help here about how hard my fiancé is working.” She waves another dismissive hand in my direction, but it isn’t her reference to me that causes my blood to run cold through my veins. Reid doesn’t dispute her when she refers to him as her fiancé.
My stomach starts to drop to my knees as realization starts to set in. I struggle to find enough air in the room to fill my lungs, and I quickly turn away. Blinking back the tears that are threatening to fall, I keep my gaze locked on the wall of windows. The sun is setting and the lights of Vegas are bright with life.
Yet, I feel like I’m dying inside.
“Dani,” Reid starts, but I cut him off.
Turning back around I say, “Fiancé?” My words are clipped as I focus my fiery gaze on him.
“Of course I’m his fiancée. We’re to be married by the end of the year. We’ve been waiting so long for this moment, right, dear?” Cynthia asks as she walks back up to Reid.
“Cynthia. I need you to leave.”
“But, Reid, I thought we could enjoy an evening in tonight. We have so much catching up to do and so much planning to do for the wedding,” she says, her voice dripping with sugar.
“I said go,” he seethes. His hands are firmly positioned on his hips, and his steel gray eyes are focused solely on me.
“I don’t understand why I have to leave, darling,” she says while planting her feet firmly in place. She mimics Reid’s stance, tapping her designer heels on the polished hardwood floor.
“She’s right. I should leave,” I say as I turn to grab my satchel bag off the table.
“No.” Reid’s voice is firm. Final. “Cynthia, you are to leave immediately. If you want to see me again, please make an appointment with Carly.” His tone holds so much authority to it that no one dare argue. The way Cynthia opens her mouth I can tell she’s considering it. But then Reid trains those intense eyes on her, and she must think better of it.
Cynthia walks over and retrieves her purse before turning back to Reid. “I don’t know why you are pushing me away. We will be married within the next six months, so you better get this out of your system before then,” she says before turning and walking away. When she said “this,” she looked at me as if I was just a minor inconvenience she would get past.
Reid continues to stare at me until her heels retreat to the elevator and the door closes behind her. When the quiet around us threatens to swallow me whole, Reid turns and walks over to the wine. He pours a little in the second glass and retrieves a clean one from the cabinet. When he has two glasses filled, he approaches me and offers a glass. “Drink?” he asks.
What?!
“Excuse me?” I ask, not understanding how he can be standing before me, offering me wine, while sending his fiancée away temporarily. Who the hell is this man?
“Wine. You look like you need a drink,” he says. Still holding one glass out for me, he takes a heady drink from the other glass while keeping his eyes focused on me.
“No, I don’t want a drink, Reid. I want to know what the hell that was. Who was that woman? Is she really your fiancée?” I ask, happy that I actually got all of that out before crumbing. The way my vision blurs from oxygen loss, I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to speak at all, let alone ask the questions burning in the forefront of my mind.
Reid exhales loudly and closes his eyes. Turning around, he sets both glasses down on the counter. “Let’s go sit in the living room so we can talk,” he says. Dread bubbles to the surface. Why do I suddenly feel like I’m not going to like the outcome of this conversation?
Without saying a word, I follow Reid into his living room. “Do you need anything?” Reid asks, stalling no doubt.
“No, I don’t need anything. What I need are fucking answers, Reid.”
Another loud exhale. “Fine. Almost a year ago, I was presented with insider information that Bravado Resorts was considering a change in leadership. It’s a massive company with a beautiful portfolio, and from the first moment I saw it, I wanted it. Jon set up the initial meeting, and I instantly knew that Bravado would be mine.
“We worked tirelessly for months, hell the better part of a year, to secure this deal. Every time we came close, Cruz would throw up another red flag and we’d find ourselves renegotiating.”
I’m doing everything I can to follow. This is about a business deal?
“Cruz presented me with an offer too good to pass up. It was exactly what we had been hoping for and more. The only catch -” he says, but stops. He seems to be struggling to say the words he’s trying to say.
“The only catch was what?” I ask, knowing that I’m not going to like this part. Not one bit. I can feel the way the air is sucked out of the room like some big vacuum.
“The only catch was that the company must always remain in his family. He had no sons, no nephews, no brothers. The only way to get it was through his daughter,” he says, not able to look at me suddenly. As I absorb his words, it’s probably a good thing that he isn’t looking at me. I’d hate for him to see how crushed I am from those few little words. How bad they hurt.
“So you are marrying his daughter,” I state. It’s not a question, really. I already know the answer.
Reid looks at me and I can see the angst in his eyes. I can see the battle raging, the heartache, and the sadness. Sure, I can see how difficult this is for him, but I can also recognize defeat when I see it.
“And this deal is already done?” I ask, looking for the confirming words. He wouldn’t be looking like death, and Cynthia wouldn’t have been in this apartment calling him her fiancé, if it wasn’t already done.
“I signed the papers the day you walked into my office. That’s why I was such a prick to you. I had just signed my life away and promised myself to another woman. For a company. For money.”
I’m not going to lie. His words slay. They hurt so bad, I’m afraid the sun might never shine again. “And there’s no way out of this contract?” I whisper, hating myself for sounding so small in this moment.
“No. It’s final.”
“And you’ve kept this from me the entire time?” I whisper, unable to mask the pain in my voice. His silence is the only answer I need.
Then that’s it. I need to get out of this room. I need to get out of this apartment and out of this building. I need to be as far away from Reid Hunter as humanly possible, because when I breakdown–and lord knows the breakdown is coming–I don’t want him to see it. I don’t want him to know how bad this is going to affect me. I don’t want him to see the devastation and destruction, the ruins left behind.
“I need to go,” I tell him, getting up and looking for the bag I dropped somewhere along the way.
“Don’t go,” he says, panic laced in his voice.
“Why? I can’t stay. You’re engaged, Reid. How could you have forgotten that one little detail? A month we’ve spent together getting to know each other. You’ve spent a month getting to know your son,” I tell him, suddenly sick with consideration on how this will affect Ryan.
“This affects nothing,” he says.
“How can you say that? This affects everything, Reid. But it won’t affect your relationship with Ryan. Don’t worry, I won’t keep him from you. You can see him as often as you’d like, I’ll make sure of it. I know he’ll love to stay with you on weekends still, when your schedule will allow. I won’t stand between you and your son,” I tel
l him, holding myself together the best I can. The only problem is the glue is starting to slip.
“I don’t want Ryan without you,” he says, the words both so sweet and excruciatingly bitter at the same time.
“You can’t have us both anymore. Ryan is all you have left.”
He looks defeated. His eyes look haunted suddenly as the realization sets in that our time together has come to an end. I can’t stay. I won’t be the other woman while he’s married to someone else. The only thing I can do is walk away with as much dignity as I can gather.
Grabbing my bag off the floor, I head towards the door. I have no idea how I actually manage to walk because my legs are numb and lifeless. Before I can call the elevator, I feel his presence behind me. His arms wrap around me one last time, and I’ll admit that I revel in the feel of his strong arms and the way his body molds to mine. One last time.
“I don’t want you to leave,” he whispers, his arms still firmly around me.
“I can’t stay,” I tell him. Taking a deep breath, I gather all of the courage I can muster, and turn in his arms. “I need you to do one last thing for me, Reid.”
“Anything,” he says, his eyes pleading with me to stay.
“I need you to walk away. I need you to let me go and never look back. I need you to forget everything. Every moment, every second we’ve shared, I need you to forget them. Because I’m not strong enough to walk away. So I need you to do it for me, for the both of us. I need this one last thing from you, please. Walk away.”
The tears are falling in earnest now, and I don’t do anything to stop them. Reid’s face is full of his own hurt. “I don’t want to,” he says; unshed tears gathering in his eyes.
“You have to. There’s no other way,” I whisper.
We stare at each other for what feels like a lifetime, but in reality, it’s probably only a few seconds. When Reid leans forward, rests his forehead against mine, and closes his eyes, I know this is it.
Goodbye.
“It was always you, Dani. Always. I love you.”
Closing my eyes, I feel the daggers of his words pierce my mangled heart with so much force that I know it’ll never be whole again. His lips press firmly against mine, but there’s no heat, no passion. It’s full of sadness. It’s a kiss of goodbye. It’s absolute.
I can’t even respond. His words weigh so heavily on me that I feel like I’m drowning in the darkness suddenly surrounding me. And as much as I want to hang on and pray he won’t let me go, Reid does what I asked him to do. He gives me this one final thing. The one thing I knew I wouldn’t be able to do myself.
He walks over to the elevator, gets on, and walks away.
Forever.
Chapter Twenty-Two – Hell On Earth
Reid
I have no idea how I actually make it outside. I don’t remember anything about the elevator ride down, nothing about walking through the lobby. As I stand outside, in front of the building I worked my entire life to achieve, all I can think about is the despair and angst in Dani’s eyes. A look that will haunt me for the rest of my life.
A look that I put there.
Suddenly, that big glass and steel building feels emptier than before I moved in.
“Reid?” Steven asks, walking up next to me on the sidewalk. I hold up my finger while digging my cell phone out of my suit jacket. Without saying a word, I dial Jon’s number.
“Hello?”
“Fire the receptionist in the lobby. I don’t want her to ever set foot in my building again,” I say to my right hand man.
“Done. Are you gonna tell me why?” he asks.
“She allowed Cynthia Cruz upstairs and into my apartment without notifying Carly.”
“Ahhh.”
“Take care of Human Resources for me,” I add.
“Consider it done,” Jon says moments before I hang up.
I start to walk down the sidewalk. Fuck, I have no clue where I’m going but I do know that I can’t be here when Dani comes downstairs. Everything good inside of me is telling me to turn around and go back to her. To take her in my arms and promise her it will be okay. But then reality sets in and I know that it won’t be. Nothing will ever be okay again.
“Reid,” Steven says behind me again. I stop, but don’t turn around. “Where are you going?” he asks, his voice filled with concern.
“I don’t know,” I whisper.
“Come on,” he says as he leads me towards the Town Car.
When I made plans to spend time with Dani in the apartment tonight, I gave Steven the night off. What he’s still doing here now is a mystery, but I’m thankful as fuck to have him here.
“You should be home,” I tell him as I slip down into the backseat.
After securing the door, Steven walks around and gets into the driver’s seat. “I was just heading there when I saw you getting off the elevator,” he says as he signals and pulls into traffic. “Where to?”
His question sits like a ton of bricks on my chest. Where to? That’s the question of the century, isn’t it? Like so many of the other questions heaved at me tonight, this one is one I can’t answer.
“I don’t know. Not home. Somewhere with alcohol,” I tell him, not even noticing the buildings we pass along the way.
Twenty minutes later, we pull up to a modest white home that I don’t recognize. Steven gets out of the vehicle and walks towards the front door. I’m left sitting there in the back seat of the car wondering where the hell we are, and why the hell he just left me here. When he uses a key from his pocket to unlock the front door, I finally have my answer. Slipping out of the back seat, I head towards the doorway that Steven just disappeared through.
Inside, the house is warm and inviting. There are pictures on the walls, knick-knacks on most flat surfaces, and well-worn, comfortable looking furniture. It smells clean with hints of fresh bread and apples. Seeing light filter through a doorway at the end of the hall, I head that way in search of Steven.
“Pick your poison,” Steven says, motioning towards a decent display of alcohol in a cabinet behind a wooden desk. I point to a familiar bottle and watch as he pours several fingers into two glasses.
Taking the seat across from his desk, Steven surprises me when he comes around and takes the seat beside me. “Spill,” he directs as he hands me a glass.
After a sip of strong bourbon, I look over at my driver, seeing him–really seeing him–for the first time. Gone is the professionally dressed man who caters to my every need and chauffeurs me around town. In his place is a man with his leg casually slung over the other leg, and sparkling eyes. He looks as comfortable as the old furniture in the living room. The wrinkles around his eyes hold worry, but he appears calm and happy. I can see how easily he slips into a cozy form of tranquility when he’s home. He’s at peace.
“What happened after I took Dani upstairs?” he asks, breaking the spell I slipped into.
I breathe another deep sigh and a large gulp of bourbon before I begin. “When I finished the conference call, Shannon, the temp who’s filling in for Carly while she’s on her honeymoon, was already gone. I knew Dani was going to be there, so I turned off all the lights and headed upstairs. When the elevator opened, Cynthia was there. She was telling Dani all about the contract. Fuck, she thought she was the hired help,” I mutter, still unable to fully process what went down tonight.
“I take it you hadn’t told Dani about the deal with Cruz?” Steven asks with no accusation in his tone.
“No. Honestly, I never really thought about it too much. When I was with her, everything just sort of faded away. The bad day, the business deals, the hours of monotonous phone calls, it all just disappeared. The only time I ever really thought of the Bravado deal was when someone brought it up, and Dani wasn’t anywhere near.”
“So what happened when you told her?”
“You mean how did she take the news that I’m contractually obligated to wed another woman? About as well as you can imagine,” I mum
ble before taking another drink.
“What next?”
“Nothing. Nothing happens. The deal goes on as planned, and I’ll be a married man by the end of the year. If I’m lucky, I’ll still get to spend time with my son when I can. She promised she wouldn’t keep him from me,” I respond and even to my own ears, my voice sounds monotone.
When the quiet seconds turn into uncomfortable minutes, I turn to face one of my only real friends in this world. “Really? That’s it?” he asks, the question evident in his eyes. They’re not accusing or angry, just concerned. It’s as if he can’t understand what I’m saying.
“That’s it. I signed the deal. I’ve wanted Bravado from the minute I laid eyes on that company. I’ve waited my entire adult life for a deal like this to come along, and I’m not about to let it slip through my fingers now. I’ve worked too hard to lose this deal now,” I defend.
“The deal. That’s all that matters?” he asks, perplexed.
“What else is there?” Clearly my friend isn’t listening to me.
“Your life!” Steven’s outburst startles me, and I damn near drop my glass. After taking a few deep breaths himself, Steven faces me squarely. “Let me ask you this, Reid. Do you love Cynthia?”
I don’t even have to answer that question. The look I give him is glacial.
“Exactly. Now, do you love Dani?”
I don’t have to answer him on this one either. I know the answer, and so does he.
“Deals are broken all the time, Reid. Contracts are renegotiated, penalties are paid. There’s always a way out. The question for you now is this: Do you want to find a way out? Is your business still the most important thing to you? Profiting and getting ahead? Is that what you want for the rest of your life?”
I watch as Steven drains the rest of his glass and sets it on the corner of his desk, not even bothering to wait for my answer to his question. “The door across the hall is the guest bedroom. Help yourself to anything you want, and let me know if there’s anything you need. We’ll head into the office around seven,” he says before turning and heading towards the door.