I’m starting to get questioning looks from John, so I better ease up a bit. I make small talk with John about the project, but I can’t help myself, I have to know more. Shay has relaxed a little, but it’s time to put her back in the hot seat.
“So, are you originally from New York?” I ask her.
She rips the napkin out of her lap and slaps it on the empty plate in front of her, making the glasses and silverware bounce on the table. John and I are both surprised by her action and stare at her.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to do that. Mr. Wellington, you know perfectly well where I’m from, and there’s no use in hiding the fact anymore that we know each other. John, I’m afraid I can’t work on this project with you. Mr. Wellington and I share a history and I thought I could work with him, but it’s clear that I can’t. I’m truly sorry,” she says, gets up, grabs her purse, and walks out the door.
I guess I pushed a little too hard.
“Adrian, I don’t know what the hell just happened here and I don’t care what history the two of you share. I want her on this project. You either figure a way out to get her back, or I’ll pull the contract not only from her firm, but yours too. Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes, John. I’m sorry. I’ll talk to her and I’ll get her back on board,” I assure him.
“Good, I suggest you do that sooner rather than later. I expect the two of you in my office at eight A.M. sharp,” he says.
He gets up from the table and leaves the restaurant as well. Just then the waiter shows up with everyone’s meals. Shit, I guess I deserve that. Not only did I potentially fuck up the project, but now I get to pay for everyone’s meal that no one will eat.
Great, that’s just fucking great. How am I supposed to find her, get her to agree to work with me again, and all by eight o’clock tomorrow morning? I pay for the meals and leave the restaurant, trying to think of what I should do.
I pull out my cell and call Aiden. If anyone can help me find Shay, it’s him. He was a huge help in finding my sister, Amelia, after she was kidnapped. Just thinking about that whole situation sends ice running through my veins.
My sister was kidnapped by a crazy lunatic and almost died from a gunshot wound to the chest. If it weren’t for Aiden and Max, we would have lost not only Amelia, but Chloe too. Amelia’s husband, Kyle, and his twin sister, Chloe, had lost a patient and her baby in a delivery when they were first going through their residency program. The husband went psycho and kidnapped Chloe and held her for three years. When Kyle first got into a relationship with Amelia, the guy lost it even further and kidnapped Amelia to continue to punish Kyle. In the end the man ended up dead. But through all of that, it brought Max and Chloe together. As my thoughts run wild with the various different possible outcomes, Aiden’s, voice cuts them off.
“Hello?” Aiden answers.
“Aiden, I need your help. I need you to look up Shay Bradshaw and tell me her home address.”
“Hang on a second here. This isn’t the same Shay Bradshaw that was once Shay Wellington that you were once married to, is it? The same Shay Bradshaw you ran into last weekend at the pond, is it? The same Shay Bradshaw, that if the rest of the family knew I helped you find her, would disown me, is it? Never mind don’t answer. I’m not helping you and I don’t want to know anything about this. Nice hearing from you, I’ll talk to you later.”
“NO! Please don’t hang up. I’m in big trouble here. I need to find her and talk to her, or I’ll lose this high rise job. You have to help me, please. I’m begging you.”
I hear him sigh deeply, then the clicking noise of a keyboard.
A few silent agonizing minutes later he says, “Alright, I found a public record of a condo she recently purchased. I’ll text you the address, but I want nothing to do with this. I don’t know what you’ve gotten yourself into, but you’re on your own.”
“Got it brother, thanks, man. I owe you one,” I tell him.
“No, no you don’t. I have done nothing here. I will deny ever helping you,” he says and hangs up.
A few minutes later, true to his word, he texts me her home address.
I get in my truck and head to her condo. I chuckle when I pull up outside her door. I built these condos. The condo she’s living in, I built, what are the odds? I was such an ass to her. I’m afraid she’s going to slam the door in my face. There’s just too much at stake here. I have to get her to come back to this project. I take a deep breath and walk up to her door and knock twice softly. She said she’s taking care of her mother. I don’t want to disturb her.
Shay opens the door wearing pajamas and reading glasses. When did she get glasses? Fuck me, she looks like a sexy, naughty, librarian. Oh shit, down boy, now’s not the time for that kind of thinking. I swallow and pull myself together. Just as I do though, she throws the door closed. Just before it latches closed, I put my hand in the door.
“Look, I’m sorry alright. I really need to talk to you about this. Please, just hear me out,” I beg.
She turns around with tears in her eyes. She’s holding herself around her waist and looks like a wounded bird. Shit, I did that to her.
“Please, just leave me alone. Please, I beg you,” she whispers.
“Doll, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you cry. That’s the last thing on earth I’d ever want to do,” I say apologetically.
“Don’t ever call me that again,” she yells and immediately slaps her mouth closed with her hand.
“Shay, honey, who’s at the door?” her mother asks.
Mrs. B slowly walks out into the hallway with the aid of a walker.
“Nobody, Mom, I’ll just be outside for a few minutes,” she says, then walks out onto the porch shutting the door behind her.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to call you that, it just slipped out. Old times, you know. Is your mom alright? What happened?” I ask.
She wipes her tears away and says, “My mother isn’t your concern. What do you want Adrian?”
“I made a big mistake. I acted like an ass and now if I don’t get you back on board with the project, we’re both going to lose the contract.”
“He can’t do that. My boss will kill me. I thought I could just bow out of the job and Stewart would take it back over. The firm can’t lose this contract,” she says.
“We need to be back in John’s office tomorrow morning at eight if we want to keep the contract. I promise to be on my best behavior. We can do this, we both need this contract.”
I fully expect the wrath of Shay and to hear an ear full of an argument with all the reasons why she can’t and won’t work with me, but none come. She just stands there chewing on her bottom lip. That’s not the Shay I remember.
Shay
I can’t lose this contract for the firm. This is too big and I would be putting my job on the line. This is such a hard decision. I seriously don’t think I can work with Adrian and stay sane. But, really, what choice do I have?
“Alright, I’ll stay on the job. You need to agree to stay as far away from me as possible. I’ll do my job and you’ll do yours. When we need to work together, it has to be on a strictly professional level. You will not ask me any more probing questions about where I’ve been or what I’ve been doing. You will not mention our past to Stewart, or John, or anyone on the job site. And you will not call me Doll. If you break any of these rules, I will see to it that you are fired. Understand?”
“Sure, however you want it. I promise to be a good boy,” he says with a grin.
“God, none of that either. It’s not cute and you’re not funny,” I say, turn around, and head back into the house.
Just as I’m about to close the door, he grabs my hand.
“Shay, I…uh… I’m sorry about earlier. I didn’t mean to make you cry,” he says sincerely.
He again turns over my wrist and looks at my tattoo. This time though, I have on a short sleeve pajama top and he can see the whole thing.
“When did you get th
is tattoo and what does it say?” he asks in barely a whisper.
“That Mr. Wellington is a question. As per our agreement not even two minutes ago, you agreed not to ask me any more questions,” I say, pull my wrist out of his hand, and close the door leaving him on my porch.
I hear him on the other side of the door say, “Remember, eight A.M. sharp we both need to be in John’s office, alright?”
I didn’t sleep well last night at all. I got up grumpy and took it out on my mom. Then I felt guilty, so I made her a special breakfast to make myself feel better. It didn’t work. I still feel guilty. I get my things together, then prepare her a lunch and put it in the refrigerator, so all she has to do is take it out when she’s hungry. A traveling nurse stops by once a day Monday through Friday to check in on her. I make sure she’s taken all of her medication, then I’m out the door.
On the drive to John’s office, I again start having doubts that I can really work with Adrian. But, then again, it’s not like I have to see him every day. I don’t need to be at the job site full time like Adrian does. Perhaps, just maybe, I can pull this off.
I walk into John’s office and Adrian is already there. He stands and hands me a coffee. Nope, I can’t do this.
I start to turn around and walk back out when Adrian says, “It’s just coffee, Shay.”
“Since the two of you are both here, I take it you two have worked out your differences. Well, I’ve already talked to Stewart this morning and as unusual as it may seem, we’ve come to an agreement that Shay will be on the job site every day to ensure that everything goes according to plan. I’m paying a lot of money for this project and Stewart assures me that you both will be on board with this decision.”
“But…” I start to say.
There’s no way I can be on the job site and have to see Adrian every day!
“It’s not a problem at all John. You have my word. Shay and I will be completely professional. Won’t we Shay?” he asks.
“Uh…Yes, we will,” I find myself saying.
I just can’t do it. I can’t argue with them. It goes against everything I’ve worked so hard to become. I promised myself I wouldn’t be that person anymore. I don’t think I can do it though. I can’t come to work every day and look in Adrian’s eyes and wonder if our son or daughter would have had that same shade of blue that I adore so much. But, that’s something I’ll never know because of my own actions.
My eyes well with tears and I say, “If you’ll excuse me, I’ll be right back.”
Adrian comes rushing in the hallway after me. Can’t I just have a moment without him in my face?
“Why are you always reduced to tears? This isn’t the Shay I know.”
I feel it coming up and I can’t stop it. I try to count to ten. I try taking deep breaths, but nothing works. All these years of practicing calm behavior, and I’m reduced to anger in the matter of minutes being around Adrian.
“You don’t know me! You don’t know anything at all about me. You never did,” I shout.
“I don’t know you? Are you kidding me? I know you better than you know yourself. And need I remind you, you were the one who left me,” he has the nerve to say.
It’s as physical as an actual knife stabbing me in the heart. I literally take a step back and place my hand over my heart, it hurts that bad. No amount of will power can stop the tears that flow down my cheeks.
“Is everything alright out here?” John asks concerned.
“Everything is fine, let me know when the modular’s are set up at the site and I’ll have my things brought over,” I say, not breaking eye contact with Adrian.
With that, I turn and walk away.
“Doll,” I hear him call softly.
I stop mid-stride, close my eyes and wish I never had to move back to Seattle. I can’t even turn around. I feel the piercing stares from both Adrian and John on my back. I gather what dignity I have left and leave the building.
Chapter 4
Adrian
I just don’t know what to think. Why is she reduced to tears all the time? She isn’t that same spitfire I knew so well. She’s right. I don’t know her anymore. But she’s not the only one who’s changed. I’m not that same hot-headed jock I used to be either. Although so far, I’m not showing her the new and improved adult that I am.
By the end of the week, the job site is all set up. I have my office set up in my trailer and my guys are all here working. I just finish organizing all the designs when there’s a soft knock on the door. The door opens and in walks Shay.
“I um…I was told to come see you about where to set up my office,” she says.
“I assumed that you would bring in your own trailer on the lot and set it up in there,” I answer her.
“This isn't usually in my job description, to be on a job site every day. My office is downtown. I don’t have a modular trailer.”
“Well, I don’t have an extra trailer. I guess you’ll have to share mine,” I tell her with that all too telling half grin.
She stands just inside the doorway and literally hangs her head in defeat. I walk up to her and stand just inches in front of her. I place my hand on her arm and she jumps. She still smells like the same woman I knew and loved all those years ago. It still feels right to touch her, to be close to her. I take another step closer and you can feel the crackle of electricity in the room. Our chemistry was always explosive.
She looks up into my eyes and instantly her own fill with those damn tears again. It breaks my heart to see her cry.
I move closer and nuzzle my nose in the side of her hair and whisper, “Why do you cry so easily? You’re not the same woman I knew all those years ago. Where’d the fire in your eyes go? What happened to you? Who took that firecracker spirit of yours?”
She turns her head to the side away from me, plasters her hands palm down on the wall behind her and squeezes her eyes closed as more tears fall down her face. If she could will herself to dissolve into the wall behind her, I think she would. With my finger, I gently pull her chin to me and place a soft, warm kiss on her salty lips. At first she doesn’t return the kiss, then whimpers and forms those perfect lips to mine. A loud knock on the door startles her as a worker opens the door. She peels herself from the wall and slides around the door outside, walks down the steps, gets in her car, and drives off.
It’s been several hours and Shay still hasn’t returned. I had a desk brought in my trailer and placed it facing mine across the room. I just don’t get it. I don’t get her at all. She’s the one who left me and she’s the one upset. Then I had to go and kiss her. What the hell did I kiss her for? But, damn did it still feel right. All these years of being angry and not knowing why she left, and what the fuck did I do? I kiss her. If I’m honest with myself, I actually never stopped loving her. She’s so different though. She’s been wounded deep by someone. Her spirit’s been broken and I intend to find out by who.
The door opens and Shay enters carrying armloads of scrolled up plans. I quickly rush over to her and take half of her load. She eyes the desk on the other side of the room and sighs.
“I hope this is alright, this is all I have for you,” I tell her and place her work on her desk.
“It’s fine, thank you,” she replies and places the rest of her things on the desk, then immediately gets to work organizing everything. I take a seat at my desk and just watch her. She glances up through her eyelashes and sighs as she continues to work. I’ve never seen her in action, working. She’s meticulous with her plans and whatever other projects she brought in. She glances through her eyelashes again. “What? Why are you staring at me? Don’t you have something else to do, like out there? Somewhere else that’s not in here?” she says and gestures to the closed trailer door.
She pinches her lips closed, as if she regrets saying it.
“Probably,” I reply simply.
“Look, about before. That can’t happen again,” she says and looks me directly in the eyes.
“I can’t help that people come in here. I have an open door policy. Anyone can just walk in at any moment,” I say, fully knowing that’s not what she’s talking about.
“You know that’s not what I meant. You can’t kiss me again, understand?”
The door opens again, a worker pokes his head in and says, “Adrian, we’ve got a problem, you need to come and take a look at.”
I get up and walk to the door, turn around, look her straight in the eyes and say, “That, Doll, I can’t promise you,” and close the door behind me with a wink.
And for the first time, I consider changing that open door policy.
By the time I return to the trailer, she’s gone home for the day. I know I shouldn’t, but I think I’ll drive by her condo on the way home. I know I’m asking for trouble, but I’m so drawn to her. It’s like her presence is calling to me like a mythical Greek siren.
As I pull up in front of her condo, I see her sitting on the front porch bent over with her head buried in her hands in her lap. I only intended on driving by, but I can’t leave knowing she’s like this.
The second I close the door to my truck she pops her head up and immediately stands, turns around and heads for her front door.
“Shay, wait. I just want to talk. I promise. That’s all I want to do. Just talk. I won’t do anything else,” I say and reach her before she gets to the door.
I grab her arm and turn her around to face me. She’s not crying this time, but I can see the turmoil written all over her face and those eyes of hers. My God, her eyes, they’re filled with white, hot, searing devastation. It sends a burning sensation to my hand, and I instantly let go of her arm. It was like I was given a brief glimpse of whatever pain and anguish she’s trying so hard to hide from me. She has something so deep, so agonizing, and it’s buried so deep, not even I can read exactly what it is. It’s so monstrous, that it starts to consume me. I can’t tear my eyes from hers.
Shay
Running Into Love - The Complete Box Set Page 37