“Roadside assistance. Do you have the number?”
“Yeah. I’m sure it’s in my contacts.”
“Do you want me to call them for you?”
“No, you’re busy. It’s okay. I’ll handle it. Thanks.”
I started scrolling through my disorganized contact list when Bryce texted me the number. I couldn’t help but grin. He always strived to make my life easier.
I nervously tapped my fingers against my steering wheel in tune to the horrible hold music that was blasting out of my phone. Around the ten-minute mark, I finally was able to speak to an overly cheerful human being. “Oh, Mrs. Reynolds, I’m so sorry to hear about your troubles! Don’t you worry one bit! I’m here to help! I’m going to send someone right over to help you! Before you know it you’ll be back on your way!”
I let out a sigh of relief. “Great,” I said as I glanced at the clock. “Do you know when he should get here?”
“Yes!” She exclaimed. I could hear her pounding on her keyboard in the background. “I’ve already dispatched the mechanic! He should be by to help you in an hour and a half.”
“An hour and a what?” I rubbed my forehead.
“A half! Is there anything else I can help you with?”
“Um, I hate to ask, but is there anyone else you can call? Anyone who can get here sooner? I’m already late for work.”
“I’m sorry, no. He’s our best bet. We’re very busy today. But if you need anything else, just give me a holler. Have a super splendid day!”
I called my office again. I had Mary transfer me to someone on my team. I explained I wasn’t sure if I’d make the meeting. In painstaking detail, I went over everything I needed them to do in order to try and impress the perspective client. After I had hung up the phone, I folded my arms across my steering wheel, buried my head in them, and sobbed.
Yes, I knew in the scheme of life, a little car trouble was nothing to cry over. At the moment I felt like my world was closing in around me. I was filled with guilt because I kissed Keith last night. I was raging against myself because I wasn’t able to stop thinking about the kiss and wanted another one. I felt horrible lying to Bryce about my quiet night at home. All in all, I pretty much hated myself.
I barely slept last night. As I got ready this morning, I realized all I wanted to do was go to work today and plunge into things. I figured the craziness of my office would distract me from the wild thoughts that kept creeping into my head. And if I were somehow able to score a new client maybe then I’d feel slightly better about myself.
My phone beeped alerting me to a new text message. I picked it up. It was Bryce asking me to call him.
I sniffed and dialed his number. I didn’t want him to know I was crying.
“How’s it going?” He asked.
“Okay,” I rubbed my nose with a tissue. “I’m just waiting,” I glanced at the clock again, realizing my pity party actually took up more time then I expected. “Someone should be here in about an hour.”
“Good. Where exactly are you? I can’t find you.”
“What do you mean?” I asked as I started craning my neck looking around.
“I just got on the Meadowbrook, and I don’t see you anywhere.”
“You came here? For me?” I felt my eyes fill with tears. I didn’t deserve a man like him.
“Of course I did.” I was able to hear the smile in his voice. “What did you think I would do? Just leave you stranded on the side of the road, alone?”
“But you were at work. You have patients.”
“So what? That’s the beauty of having associates. Dennis is covering for me. Tell me where you are.”
“You are the best! I love you, Bryce.”
“Yeah, I know. Now give me the name of the street.”
As I hung up the phone, I cried again. I should have known he’d come. He was always so good to me, and how did I repay him? I lied and kissed another man! I hated myself.
“What’s with the tears?” Bryce said to me as he walked up to the open window of my car quicker than I expected.
“I don’t’ know,” I replied as he walked around my car and sat down in the passenger seat. “I feel like a fool. I didn’t want to drag you away from work.”
He stroked my cheek gently, “Don’t worry about me, babe.”
I took a deep breath, “I had a big meeting, and I’m going to miss.” I glanced at the gold Movado on my wrist. Bryce gave it to me for my birthday when we were dating. “Did I mention the mechanic wasn’t going to get here for another hour?”
“Come here,” he said as he held out his left arm. I scooted over to him. He wrapped his arms around me and gave me a small kiss on the top of my head. “You worry too much.”
I laughed, “Part of my charm.”
“Very true. I know. Here,” he reached into his pocket and handed me his car keys. “Take my car. Go to work and land the client. I’ll wait here for the mechanic.”
I put the keys down on the seat. “I can’t do that to you.” I squeezed his leg.
“Why not? There’s no sense in both of us sitting here waiting. Besides, I am way better with cars.”
“Rub it in, big shot. But…”
“But nothing. My morning was light today, and Dennis is covering for me. I’ve got a lot of emails to catch up on anyway. I’ll get some work done and you can go score a new client. It’s a win, win for all.”
I sucked back a fresh wave of tears and gazed into my husband’s eyes. “How did I ever get so lucky to have you?”
“By being you.” Then he kissed me.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CECELIA
“I swear to God!” Anna stormed into my office. Her face was beet red, and she was shaking her head.
“What’s wrong now?” I asked as I rubbed the back of my neck. I loved Anna to pieces, but sometimes she did tend to be a bit of a drama queen.
She tilted her head to the side, “I guess from your calm demeanor you didn’t see the email yet.”
“No,” I answered as I reached for my mouse.
“Don’t bother. I figured since you didn’t call me in a panic you didn’t get to it yet.” She handed me a piece of paper. “So I printed it out for you. Seriously, Cee! What’s wrong with you? You sure have a talent for landing the most difficult clients ever! Here I thought I was your friend, but now I think you may have it in for me! Are you trying to get me a one-way pass into a mental asylum?”
Anna plopped down in one of my guest chairs and continued her rant, “We finally got McGrevor out of our hair, and now we have to deal with the likes of Clarence Mitchel? I really wish Bryce had left you stranded on the side of the road with your flat tire. Maybe then, his highness would have picked a different branding agency.” She thrust the printout at me, “Just look at his demands! And he was so condescending to the team.”
I scanned the email and like Anna’s my blood started to boil. I couldn’t believe the words on the page “How dare he say if Tracey had more ass fat than brains? Did she see this?”
“Of course she did. She burst into tears when she read it. I managed to calm her down. She’ll be fine, I promised her I would pull her off the account. She made such a fuss; I doubt I’ll be able to get anyone to replace her. It looks like I’m going to have to handle everything on my own. No one from my team wants to touch this account. It’s a mess. We’ve only been working with him for about two weeks and he already has the staff walking on eggshells. I really think we need to set him straight, now. I don’t want to make the same mistakes we did with McGrevor. We waited for way to long to rein him in. I’m afraid if we don’t get Clarence in line we may have some of the staff walk.”
I rubbed my head. “I’ve got to agree with you on that one.”
Anna flashed me a huge smile, “And since he seemed to have taken a liking to you, I think you should be the one to call.”
I picked up a paperclip and tossed it at her. “Seriously. I stand up to one clown of a client, and
now I have to do all your dirty work for you? Sometimes you are such a wuss.”
Anna smirked, “I can’t help it. I can’t match your talent. You’re so much better at being a hard ass, although I did surprise myself last time.”
“True that! Okay, I’ll make you a deal. I’ll start off the conversation, but Tracey works for you. You need to lay the foundation as to how we have to work together, okay.”
“Deal.”
Anna closed my office door and walked around my desk, so she was able to stand directly next to me. I put the phone on speaker and dialed Clarence’s number. His direct line rang four times and then went to voicemail.
“Hi, Clarence,” I said in a clipped and strong tone. “It’s Cecelia Reynolds. I’m here with Annabel O’Conner. We went over the email you sent a little while ago. It is imperative we talk to you today, as soon as possible. You can reach me on my direct line or you can contact Annabel directly. Her extension is 515. Again, it is very important we speak today,” I paused as my cell phone beeped alerting me to a new text, I scanned it and smiled as I continued, “Okay, love you.”
I gasped and brought my hand up to my mouth. I quickly rushed to hang up the phone and managed to knock it to the ground in my panic. As I placed it back on my desk and stared at Anna who looked like a deer caught in headlights. “Oh my God!” I begged her, “Anna, please tell me I didn’t do what I think I just did.”
Anna put her hand against her forehead and shook her head slowly. “I wish I could.”
I jumped up from my desk and started to pace around my office. “Oh my God!” I whispered. Then louder I repeated, “Oh my God! How could I have done that? What is he going to think? Is there a way to erase a voicemail?”
Anna crinkled her face like she just sucked a lemon, “I don’t think so.”
I turned to face the wall and knocked my head against it. “How could I have done that? Why the hell did I let myself get distracted? Shit! Now I look like a complete fool.”
Anna walked over to me and started to rub my back, “Look on the bright side. Maybe if he thinks you love him, he’ll go easier on us.”
I turned around to face her, “Yeah, right.”
“I doubt it too. But you can’t say I didn’t try.” Her tone changed and became very stern. She pointed at my chair. “Sit down, Cecelia. We need to talk. Now.”
As I made my way back to my desk, I tried to avoid her gaze as she sat down opposite me.
“What’s going on? I didn’t read the text, I swear. I was standing right by your phone. I saw the text came from Keith.”
My voice was barely a whisper, “Oh, shit.”
“You can say that again. So, answer me. What is going on?”
“Honestly, I don’t know.” I shook my head. “I don’t know what is wrong with me and I don’t know what I am doing.”
“Talk to me.”
“I can’t. I don’t want to involve you. I don’t want to put you in the middle. Cole and Bryce are really good friends, remember?”
“Yea, but you are my best friend. I want to help you. Come on, Cee. Let me in.”
I put my hair in a messy ponytail and glanced at the framed picture on the side of my desk. It was a candid shot of Bryce and me, taken at our wedding. He had so much love in his eyes. He still did.
“I’ve been sort of seeing Keith.”
“What does sort of mean?”
“Well, remember the night you went to the Crohn’s fashion show with your mom and the guys took the kids to the Yankee game? I didn’t have a quiet night home with a chick-lit book like I told Bryce. I ended up having dinner with Keith.” I nervously cracked my knuckles, “We’ve had lunch two times since, and we’ve been texting. A lot.”
“Oh, Cecelia. Have you… You know… done anything?”
“No!” I exclaimed and sat up straight in my chair. “Of course not.”
Anna let out a slow breath. She was clearly relieved. “Well, that’s a bit of good news.”
“Well… I did kiss him.”
Anna’s eyes were fixated on me. If she stared at me any harder, I’d have a hole in my skull. “Did you kiss him once or more than once?”
I rubbed my face. “More than once, but that’s all I’ve done. Really, I swear! And it’s all I will do. I would never do anything else.”
Anna got up and started pacing around my office. “You say it like kissing him was no big deal. What is wrong with you? I can’t believe you did this! How could you? Bryce would die if he knew! What were you thinking?”
“I don’t know.” I started to cry. “Oh, Anna. I don’t think I’m thinking. I’m just acting. I can’t help it. It feels so natural to be with him again. It’s weird. So many years have passed but, when we are together, it feels like it always did. “We kid around. We laugh so much. He’s so easy to talk to. Everything is simple and natural.”
“Don’t you realize, you can’t just be friends with him? Clearly, by kissing him, you’ve already moved out of the friend zone. What is wrong with you? You’re playing with fire, and people are going to get hurt.”
“I don’t want to hurt Bryce.” I said honestly.
“You may not want to but what do you think you are doing? I,f he knew what was going on, he’d be devastated.” She pointed at me, “And you know it. He’s not the only one who’ll get hurt. I’m worried about you too. You’re setting yourself up for heartache and sadness if you keep this up. This is a game you can’t win.”
I opened my mouth to speak. Anna cut me off.
“Now don’t get me wrong. I am no expert on love or relationships, and while on the outside you and Bryce seem like a perfect couple, I really don’t know what goes on behind closed doors. I only know what you or he tells me. Based on everything that’s happened these past few months I now understand you don’t tell me everything.” She looked down at her lap, unsuccessfully trying to mask the hurt.
“Oh, Anna.”
She shook her head and waved her hand, “It is what it is. Yes, it hurts me, but it’s okay. It’s your life, after all. If you want to keep your feelings and actions private, you have every right to. I wish you felt differently, but you are entitled to feel whatever way you like. Cecelia,” she reached over and squeezed my hand. “Only you know what’s in your heart. You’re the only one who knows who you really love. Of course, I want your heart to be with Bryce, for his and the twin’s sake. I won’t kid myself. You may love Keith more. If you do, while I hate to say it, you should be with him, not Bryce. You can’t have it both ways, Cee. You can’t live a happy life of matrimony and keep seeing Keith on the sly. Bryce isn’t stupid. He will figure out soon enough something is wrong. People always do. Look at what happened with my mother.” Anna wiped a tear away. “It kills me knowing she lived years knowing my dad was carrying on with his co-worker. His affair destroyed her. I often wonder what she would have been like if circumstances were different.”
“This isn’t like what happened with your dad, Anna.” I tried to rationalize.
“You are wrong, Cecelia. Every affair is the same. You’re sneaking around, lying, and cheating. You are making a mockery out of your marriage. Bryce has always been an amazing guy. He’d do anything for you, and you know it. You can’t keep this up. You can’t keep lying to him. It just isn’t right.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
KEITH
Coffee tasted better when you were sitting outside staring at the roaring waves of an ocean. Renting a house on the beach this summer, by far, was one of the best decisions I had ever made. I wish I had done it sooner. Sure, I was still working in the city most of the week, but knowing I was coming home to paradise made me feel so much calmer and relaxed.
To get back to the beach house, each evening I had to travel across a small drawbridge which led to the barrier island. As I neared the top and saw the ocean in the distance and smelled the fresh salty air, I felt all the tension leave my body. More than just the atmosphere, I would bet my last dollar the positive change
in my disposition had to do with the fact Cecelia was once again a part of my life.
When I think of all the wasted years, that I focused only on the law, I got so angry with myself. At least now, finally, I was trying to live a little of my life. I know it was pathetic it took my friend’s death to help me discover the joy of living, but it is what it is.
The days have been passing so quickly. In some ways, I felt like a kid who was dreading returning to elementary school after a carefree summer of chasing fireflies. I knew my time here was limited, so I was making a conscious effort to make the most of it. I decided to take the day off. Walter has been pestering me to spend another day with him playing golf, but driving to the North Shore country club was the complete opposite way I wanted to spend the day.
I opened the sliding glass door on the second-floor balcony and walked downstairs to the kitchen. I refilled my cup with coffee and grabbed my iPhone from the white Silestone counter. I walked out the back door, made a right. A few steps later I was standing alongside the beach. I put my coffee cup down on the wooden fence, pulled my phone out of my back pocket, and took a picture of the empty beach, which I promptly texted to her. It was only seven o’clock in the morning, so I was pretty sure she didn’t leave for work yet.
Me: You need to be here today… It’s already 85 and sunny. Take a vacation day!
She replied quickly.
Cecelia: I wish. Soak up the sun for me!
I quickly fired back.
Me: Don’t say no. Come over! It is going to be a scorcher!
Cecelia: I know I have work… Besides going to the beach with you NOT a good idea…
I swallowed hard.
Me: U R right. Not a good idea - GREAT idea! Come on! Beach is private & quiet. I know you want to…
And then there was not another message for three hours… Finally, right about the same time I was going to give up on hearing anything further from her, my phone chirped.
Plan Cee (Secrets, Lies, and Second Chances Book 2) Page 13