Falling for Fate (Second Chance Book 2)

by Quinn, Caisey

  Dean battled the urge to pepper the woman with questions at rapid-fire speed.

  Fate owned shares of Harris Pharmaceutical? How in the ever-loving hell was that possible?

  “I’m Trevor Harris—Fate’s fiancé.”

  The cocky prick who’d been waiting at her door. Trevor Harris. No wonder he’d acted so superior. Maxwell Medical had made bid after bid on Harris. They had the business potential to become the next Johnson & Johnson. But the family-owned company controlled by a founding matriarch who held the reins with a tight fist had turned down every offer. Only family members were able to own shares of the ever-rising stock. Going public would’ve been the first thing Dean’s father would’ve insisted upon were he ever able to get his hands on the company. He figured it was probably best that they kept their fingers out of that particular pot. But with their New York expansion and rumors that Harris was going international soon, they were currently the competition.

  “You seem to be a woman of many talents, Regina. I’m glad you’re on our team.”

  She was cute, and quirky, and probably a little dangerous. He sincerely hoped his father never pissed her off.

  “Yes, well, someone has to keep the Maxwell men from self-ruin.”

  Dean grinned. “For the most part, I’m completely capable of taking care of myself. But thank you.”

  Regina rolled her eyes. “Whatever you say, dummyhead. I guess the next time you get a blow job on company property, I should wait for one of the twerps we pay minimum wage to watch the security videos to leak it to the media?”

  He didn’t know which part to respond to first—the fact that she knew what he and Fate had done in the garage or that she’d called him, a soon-to-be corporate-level financial officer, a dummyhead.

  “Stop gaping at me like that. I’ve engaged in some vehicular sex in my day. Just maybe try to find a better location next time. You’re lucky I saw the video before anyone else did.”

  Dean cleared his throat. “I suspect I should just start sending you chocolate and flowers on a regular basis to remain on your good side.”

  “Godiva and calla lilies. And you should. If you know what’s good for you, that is.”

  With that, she flounced out of the room and Dean shook his head as if that would clear it.

  He left the hospital mostly functioning on exhausted autopilot. He’d been bombarded with so much information over the past few hours, information that had drastically shifted his perspective on his life and the people in it. But the one thing he couldn’t process fully was Fate—who he was sufficiently irritated to learn that he now thought of as his Fate—and Harris.

  He’d spent the weekend in bed with her. He’d just had no idea that she was in bed with the enemy.

  “He asked about you.”

  “Who?” Fate sat up straighter on her bed.

  Monday had been sheer hell. Every person with a penis who’d spoken to her had somehow reminded her of Dean. Then she’d had the supreme pleasure of meeting with Trevor and his aunt and a conference room full of lawyers while she signed her shares of Harris Pharmaceutical back over to his family.

  Trevor had asked her to dinner repeatedly and his aunt had followed her to where she’d been waiting for the bus to finally go home after the longest day of her life.

  “He’s not a bad man,” Lindy Harris had told her. “Is the thought of giving him a second chance so unrealistic?”

  “I hate to be the one to tell you this, but he’s not a man at all. He’s a spoiled child in a man’s body who wants what he wants when he wants it. Sometimes that was me, and other times, it wasn’t. I like to think I can do a little better than that. Frankly, most women can and should. Perhaps you need to give him a second chance and remove the marriage condition. He has a great head for business but no sense of loyalty. Maybe work with him on that a bit—but for the sake of women everywhere, don’t force him to pick a bride at random to inherit his birthright.”

  Her words had rendered the domineering woman speechless, and thankfully, Fate’s bus had arrived to return her to the sanctuary free of exes she shared with Gwen.

  Until now. Now, all Gwen seemed to want to do was dissect everything that had happened with Dean.

  “You know who. The man who has you all mopey. The one you spent the weekend likely finding out just how flexible you could be with.”

  Fate pulled her covers and her knees up to her chest. “I overheard some people saying his dad had a heart attack yesterday.”

  Gwen nodded, taking a bite from the small cup of Ben & Jerry’s Cherry Garcia she held. She offered it to Fate, who declined with a shake of her head. “I heard that too. But I heard it was mild and he’s fine.”

  “That’s good,” Fate said quietly.

  She knew what she and Dean had shared was over and done with, but she didn’t like to think of him or his handsy father hurting. She knew what it was like to sit in a hospital waiting room alone, wondering if your parent was going to make it. A part of her wished he’d called her so that she could have sat there with him, been a shoulder to lean on if needed.

  “Maybe you should call him,” Gwen suggested. “At least to check in on his dad. You spent the weekend together. I think you’re allowed to be concerned without it looking overly stalkerish or desperate. Plus, he was the one who stopped me when I was getting a coffee in the lobby after work. He asked if you had left yet.”

  “What’d you tell him?”

  Gwen took another bite, leaving Fate anxious as she waited. “I told him you had a prior engagement with Trevor Harris that you had to handle but that you’d be back tomorrow, ready for a fresh start.”

  “Jesus. Tell me you didn’t.”

  Gwen smirked a little. “I might have. See what I did there though? He needs to understand that it’s in the past—that you’ve done all that you can to put it behind you and you’re ready to move on.”

  Was she? She wasn’t sure.

  Dean had made her feel so many things over the weekend, things she couldn’t have imagined or even explained before him. But when he’d left, cold and angry, that had been a brand of pain she didn’t care to take any additional hits of.

  Once Gwen left her alone in her room, Fate used her phone to catch up on voicemails and emails. Her mother had called from The Second Chance Ranch and left a few messages. Fate checked the time. It wasn’t yet eight p.m., so she figured it was okay to call the facility.

  After speaking with a receptionist named Celeste, Fate was transferred to her mother.

  “Oh, baby. I’ve missed your voice so much.”

  Fate’s heart thudded a little harder at the sudden burst of robust emotion. “I miss you too, Mom. How are things going there?”

  “They’re going well. As well as they can be when you’re in rehab, I suppose. Oh! Did I tell you who checked in?”

  Fate settled into her bed, preparing for a long conversation. “No, ma’am. Who?”

  “Oh…crap. Hang on. His name will come to me. He’s in that band that’s been on the news. Vance? Vance Random?”

  “Van Ransom? From Hostage for Ransom?” Fate had seen a few stories online about him trashing tour buses and hotel rooms. She wasn’t sure how she felt about his being in the same facility as her mom.

  “That’s him. He’s here under a pseudonym, but everyone’s been talking about him. He’s a handsome one, too. A few more tattoos than I think you’d like, but if you want, I could slip him your number.”

  An image of Dean’s intricate half-sleeve over his left shoulder came to mind. “Um, thanks, but I’m good. And I bet he’d prefer if you didn’t go around mentioning to people that he’s there. It’s kind of a private issue.”

  “I’m not ashamed of being here. He shouldn’t be either. Everyone needs a little help sometimes. But I’ll keep a lid on it, promise. I can’t even imagine the kind of pressure he has to deal with—in the public eye all the time.”

  “I can’t imagine either.”

  “Enough about me.
How are things going with you, baby? How’s the new job?”

  “Everything’s good. I’ve been busy, but you know, good busy.”

  “Met any handsome fellas?”

  Fate groaned. It was always about men with her mom, it seemed. “There’s a ‘no intracompany dating’ policy. So no.”

  Her mom laughed. “I see. Well, I didn’t ask if you’d met any at work, specifically. Judging from your response, I’m betting you did.”

  Fate sighed. Her mom was miles away in Dallas. It wasn’t like she was going to tell on her. “Maybe. There’s this one. I thought it was…something. But he’s not interested in anything complicated, and Trevor showed up and kind of ruined any hopes I had of keeping things simple.”

  The line was quiet so long that Fate checked to see if they’d been disconnected.

  “Mom?”

  “Oh my darling, Fate. Did what Trevor did do this to you or did I?”

  Fate scoffed loudly. “Do what to me?”

  Her mother’s voice was soft and hesitant—two words Fate had never used to describe her mother before. She spoke carefully, as if unearthing some worldly secret. “Any time two people are attracted to each other or have any type of mutual feelings for one another, it can be a lot of different things. But the one thing it can never be is simple.”

  “Of course it can be. If two people simply agree to keep it that way.”

  Again, her mother’s response was cautious. “No, baby. I’m sorry, but no. You can plan and agree and negotiate until you are blue in the face, but love isn’t a business transaction. The heart has a mind of its own. Believe me. I’ve had mine broken enough times to know.”

  Fate let out a harsh sound without meaning to. “Well whose fault is that?”

  She wanted the words back as soon as they’d escaped. The sharp breath her mother sucked in felt as if it had been stolen from her own lungs.

  “Oh God, Mama. I’m sorry. I swear I didn’t mean it like that.” She hung her head, using the hand not holding the phone to prop her forehead on.

  “It’s okay,” her mother said evenly. “I can see how it looks. You must think I’m a complete idiot. You with your fancy job and your New York life.”

  “Mama. Please. Stop. I’m sorry. I don’t think you’re an idiot at all.”

  “I might not be college educated like you, and I might love blindly with my whole heart, Fate, but I can tell you this much—I don’t regret it. I hate that you’ve paid a price for the way I am—hence why I’m here and I want to get my addiction under control. But as far as love goes, I promised myself a long time ago I’d never let anyone make me afraid to love. So I’m not.”

  Her mother spoke with such conviction that it brought tears to Fate’s eyes even though she wasn’t entirely certain why.

  “Good for you, Mama. And I mean that. You’ve always been the most loving, giving, kindhearted person, and I wish I could be more like you in that way.” Fate had to work to get her words out over the thick knot of emotion constricting her throat.

  “What about you, baby? Did the way I am make you afraid to love? Did Trevor?”

  Tears that had pooled in her eyes began to overflow. “I don’t… I don’t really know. I think it’s the combination. I saw what men did to you and I swore I’d never let that happen to me. Then it did and I…”

  And she’d tried to keep her heart out of it. But sitting on those steps after Dean had told her they were done… That wasn’t her head that was hurting and she knew it. Her mother was right. Her heart had a mind of its own.

  “Listen to me, baby. I know you probably see me as weak. Because no matter how many times I got screwed over, I kept going back for more. But I want you to understand something. Are you listening, sweetheart?”

  Sweetheart. How many times had Dean called her that over the weekend? The pain pricked her already leaking eyes.

  “Yes, ma’am,” she choked out. “I’m listening.”

  “The easy thing to do is shut everyone out, Fate. The hard thing, the brave thing, is to risk it all and open your heart to possibility. Trevor did what he did, and one day, he will regret it. It might be as an old man on his deathbed, but he will. I am so sorry I wasn’t there for you when that happened. But you can’t let what he did change you, darling. You have to be brave.” Her mother took a deep breath and continued. “Don’t close yourself in all alone, because believe me, there is a man out there who will know what he has when he’s holding you. There will be one who won’t let go no matter what. Don’t be afraid to fall in love, Fate. It’s the most magical thing we’re capable of.”

  A wall she’d spent most of her life building around her heart crumbled at her mother’s words.

  Fate could barely speak through her tears. “I don’t want to hurt anymore. I don’t want it to hurt.”

  It didn’t matter what she wanted or didn’t want. It hurt. It all hurt down deep into her bones. Feeling like she’d come second to her mother’s addictions, seeing Trevor with Melissa, Dean’s cold, hard stare when he’d said that they were done. Dean hadn’t called to tell her how the HR meeting had gone and it was unlikely he’d ever call. She’d held it all at a distance, kept her wall up to keep from feeling the pain. But that had been a mistake, because now, she felt everything at once.

  “I know. Shh, sweetheart. I know. It gets better. I promise. You are so very strong, much stronger than you know. You are going to be just fine.”

  Her mother repeated the soothing words until Fate had cried herself out. Wiping at her eyes, she caught her breath and clutched the phone, wishing very much for the ability to hug her mom.

  “I owe you an apology—a couple apologies.”

  “No, sweetheart, you don’t. You never have to say you’re sorry to me for anything. Because that is the beauty of love.”

  Fate stifled her remaining sniffles. “Do they visiting days there? Could I come see you sometime soon?”

  “Sundays. You can come any Sunday you like, Fate. I can’t wait to see you.”

  A shudder of leftover emotion swelled and rolled through her. “Ditto, Mom.”

  Two weeks. He’d made it two full weeks without seeing her. It hadn’t even been difficult. His dad had made the announcement the previous Friday and Dean had been moved into his new office that Monday.

  Daniel Dean Maxwell Senior was taking an early retirement as CEO of Maxwell Medical. There was still the formality of the board voting in a few weeks, but he’d nominated his son to serve in the interim until the final decision was made. Keaton was taking James Tenor’s job instead, and Dean suddenly felt as if the Earth had begun to spin a little faster.

  Mostly what he felt was the ache of going home each night alone with only work to keep him company. A button-down oxford shirt and a sweater of his hung on the empty side of his closet. He hadn’t washed them because they still held the scent of Fate and the ocean. Keaton would’ve called him the world’s biggest pussy. Dean kind of agreed.

  He’d tried several times to make it down to the floor she worked on in hopes of seeing her. Using paperwork he could’ve emailed to Keaton as a ruse, he’d attempted to bump into her more than once. The first time, she’d been out to lunch with Gwen, and the second, the entire marketing team had been in a meeting with Pierson.

  The third time was the most enlightening.

  Gwen was in Keaton’s office—doing things Dean didn’t even want to think about on his former desk—when he knocked.

  “Just a moment.”

  Dean ignored his friend and barged in. Gwen was in the process of buttoning her blouse. He turned away to give her some privacy.

  “Sorry. Thought you were alone in here, Slade.”

  “Yes, well, had to christen the desk and all. Though I assume you’ve done that already.”

  Dean shook his head and cleared his throat. “Anyway. I came here to see about getting your signature on this—”

  “Oh give it a rest. You’re the fucking CEO, Maxwell. You shouldn’t ever have to lea
ve your fancy corner office except to piss. You came down here to see her. I know it. Gwen knows it. Hell, Fate probably knows it. So stop being such a limp dick and go out there and talk to her.”

  “College roommates or not, I could fire your ass.”

  Keaton nodded. “Yeah, but then who would tell you when you were being a jackass?

  Gwen smirked at them both. “I could do it. If you fire him, feel free to promote me to CFO.”

  “Noted,” Dean said with a raised eyebrow at his friend.

  “Anyway, I’ll sign your nonsense. But after this, please send the good-looking assistant down.”

  “Regina is not interested in you. Besides, I think you have your hands full as it is.”

  Gwen scoffed. “I’ve seen your assistant and she’d kick Keaton’s ass from here to Fifth Avenue. I kind of want to be her when I grow up.”

  Regina had turned out to be the one good thing in his life. She had now turned down his father’s third marriage proposal, but he had a feeling dear old Dad was eventually going to woo her away and into early retirement with him. Since his father’s heart attack, he was seemingly a changed man. He wanted to see the world and he planned to take Regina with him. Fortunately for Dean, she was hell-bent on helping him settle into his new role first.

  Dean handed the papers over and turned to exit what had once been his office. “Well, I guess I’ll leave you two to breaking company policies. Feel free to get some actual work done while you’re at it.”

  “Dean.” Gwen said his name in a soft, feminine way that reminded him painfully of Fate. He angled around to see what she needed. “She’s been through a lot. I know she can be kind of closed off and that she hasn’t told you about what happened with her ex-fiancé, but you should talk to her. Give her a chance to explain.”

  He did his best to feign a nonchalant shrug. “It’s really none of my business. Besides, she knows where to find me.”

  Keaton snorted out a laugh. “Yeah. Down here stalking her.”

  Gwen smacked him on the back of the head.

  “Look, some people just aren’t cut out for keeping things casual. You two seem to be handling it well, and I used to be pretty great at it myself. But I don’t know… Maybe my dad’s heart attack or being promoted and all that comes with it or…something. Just feels like I’m getting a little old for the whole thing.”