Catching Haley (Falling for Bentley Book 2)
Page 20
We both hugged and laughed, and then I started to head off to my room.
“Muff-diver?” Liz called.
I turned around. “Yeah?”
“I love you and I’m gonna miss you.”
“Yeah, I know. I’m gonna miss you, too.” I could see tears floating in Liz’s eyes. “We knew this was coming, Liz.”
“I know. It’s just—”
“Liz, stop. I’m too hungover to handle this crying shit. This is what you’re supposed to be doing. With my new job, it’s not like I’ll be here anyway. I’ll be on the road more than I’ll be at home. Just wait and see—this is a wonderful thing.”
HOW IN THE hell does my head hurt more after napping than it did when I first got up this morning? I made my way into the kitchen ordering a greasy cheese pizza and grabbed a glass out of the cupboard. As I waited for the water to get cold, I noticed a note on the counter.
K,
Thought you could use an energy drink. LOL.
Heading to Brad’s. Catch you later this week.
When you are coming home from Chicago?
Kick some ass while you are there.
Make me proud.
—L
Not only had she thought of me, hence the energy drink, but she had also managed to make fun of me. Bitch!
Just as I closed the door to the pizza delivery guy, I heard my phone chirp.
Derek: Where the hell are you?
Me: At home. Why?
Derek: Family dinner.
Me: LOL. Forgot. Sorry.
Before the message could even get to Derek, my phone started ringing, and I quickly answered it.
“Get your ass over here,” growled Derek.
“Sorry, dude. Not gonna happen. I got a greasy cheese pizza sitting in front of me.”
“How dare you leave me alone with them?”
“Actually, brother, it’s very easy to do.” I grabbed my first slice of heaven.
“Kirsten, come on!”
“Derek, I’m hungover as fuck, and I have a shitload to do before I head out to Chicago.”
“Chicago?”
“Yeah. I got the senior negotiating position,” I whispered.
“Really? That’s great!”
“Thanks, big brother.”
“I’ll be over in a few to celebrate.” I could hear muffling, “Mom, I gotta go. Kirsten needs some big brother time. She had a rough weekend. Yeah, I’ll tell her.”
“Fucker!” I seethed.
My brother laughed. “Yeah, next time, you won’t forget about family dinner.” Derek was quiet for a minute, which always made me nervous. “Kirsten—”
“Yeah?”
“Mom knows about Liz and Brad getting engaged.”
“Great,” I breathed.
“I tried to smooth things over on this end.”
“Thanks for trying, Derek. I appreciate it.”
“See you in a few.”
AFTER I PUT my paper plate in the garbage, I was just grabbing a cold beer out of the fridge when I heard a knock on the door, which meant I had to grab two.
As my brother walked in, I tossed him his beer.
“Thanks.”
“No worries.” I flopped on the couch and stretched out, letting out a big belch.
“Nice, sister. Real ladylike,” Derek said as he lifted my legs, so he could also sit on the couch beside me.
“Shut up. My house.”
“So, how are ya doing with Liz’s engagement?”
“Am I that transparent?”
“Nope,” he flipped his index finger between us, “twin thing.”
“I think it’s great. Really, I do. I’m just gonna miss the shit out of her. We’ve been inseparable for such a long time. It’s gonna be lonely around here.”
Derek brought me in for a one-armed hug. “No worries. I’ll make sure that’ll never happen.”
“As much as you are a pain in my ass, I’m glad that you are my brother.”
“What do you say we watch a movie or something?”
“I can’t. I gotta pack for Chicago. I leave tomorrow morning at eight to catch my flight.”
“Do you need a ride to the airport?”
“Nah. The company is sending over a car.”
Derek got off the couch and started rummaging through my kitchen.
“Brother, what are you looking for?”
“A paper plate.”
“Why? Just eat out of the pizza box.”
“You sure?”
I looked at my brother like he had two heads. “Who are you? And what have you done to my brother?”
He tipped his head back and laughed.
“When you’re done, just put everything in the trash.”
I went into my bedroom and opened up my suitcase. There was Drew’s T-shirt from the last trip I had taken. I just stared at it, not realizing that a tear was slipping down my cheek.
“Kirsten?”
I didn’t want to face my brother and tell him the truth, so I told him another kind of truth. “I’m good. I just need an Advil. I’m a little sore from last night’s hook-up.” I turned and walked into the bathroom.
“Fuck, Kirsten, that’s gross.”
Before I knew it, my brother had me in a headlock.
“Derek, stop it!” I tried to wiggle myself away from him. “Derek, cut it out!”
“Not until you tell me why you lied.”
“I’m not lying!”
Now, my asshat brother was giving me a wet willy.
“Yuck, Derek!”
“Say it. Say, ‘I have never had sex.’ Say it.”
“Brother, I have never had sex…”
Finally, he let me out of the headlock, and I walked over to the other side of the bed.
“That I have never enjoyed.” I stuck my tongue out at him. “What? Don’t look at me like that. Why is it okay for you to have random sex and not me?”
“Because I have a penis,” he clarified.
“Well, big brother, as of three weeks ago, I now own a penis, too.”
Derek’s eyes got really big, and they instantly dropped to my crotch.
I covered it up with my hands. “Stop looking at me there! I was figuratively speaking, asshole.”
“Phew. You had me a little worried there. I thought I’d have to break my own rules and put your ass in the team locker-room to remind you that you have different body parts.”
“Well, big brother…I accept that challenge,” I replied with a huge grin.
“You would. Problem is that you are off-limits to everyone on the team and all of my friends.”
I could feel my face instantly drop as tears began forming in my eyes.
“Hey?” Derek said.
I looked up at him.
“I’m fine. My period must be coming soon.”
“On that note, I’m O-U-T!” Derek called as he walked away before shutting the front door.
Feeling exhausted, I was just about to head to bed when my phone rang.
“Hello?” I answered.
“Hi, Kirsten. This is Reid Wildburg from Wildburg Enterprise. Sorry for calling so late.”
“No worries, Reid. How are you?”
“I’m great.”
“And your beautiful wife?”
“Lovely as ever. Thank you for asking. She’ll be pleased that you think kindly of her.”
“How could I not after the beautiful gift basket she sent following our last negotiation?”
“I see my wife made you happy. Maybe it’s enough for you to consider another negotiation?”
I laughed. “Reid, is that why you are phoning? And here I thought you just liked the sound of my voice.”
Reid laughed at the other end. “You got me.”
“A shabby businessman such as yourself should not be so transparent,” I joked.
“But that is why I hired the best poker face I know.”
“Thank you, Reid. That means a lot to me.”
“I need yo
u to oversee a shipping yard I want to invest in. The problem is that they are asking for three million dollars more than what it is worth, and they don’t want to work around it.”
“To be honest, Reid, I accepted the senior negotiating position last week, and tomorrow will be my first day. I’m flying out to Chicago in the morning.”
“That’s great, Kirsten. It’s about time those men finally figured out what great talent you bring to the table.”
“The thing is—”
“Please. I’m begging you. Can you fit me in next week?” Reid asked.
“Let me take a look at my calendar. Just give me a second.” I pulled up my calendar on my phone and checked my schedule for the next week. “I can only spare you twenty-four hours on Wednesday.”
“Great. That’s fine. I’ll take it. Thank you so much, Kirsten. I’ll let the wife know. I’m sure she’ll plan dinner.”
“Yes, I’m looking forward to seeing you both again. Please email me everything that I need to know and work out, and I’ll call you later with a plan.”
“Kirsten, is there any way that I can sway you to come work on my team?”
“Probably not, Reid. I really like this company. If anything changes though, you’ll be the first to know.”
“We’ll see…we’ll see.” Reid challenged.
“Good night, Reid.”
“Thanks again.”
Even though I knew I shouldn’t take on any extra work with my new position, I couldn’t say no to the one person who had taken a big leap of faith on me when I’d walked in the door, fresh out of college. When everyone else had said, “No, we’d like someone with more experience,” Reid had said, “Kirsten, you take the lead.” I remembered just standing there with my mouth hanging open. I would never forget that moment for as long as I lived.
Want to find out what happens next?
You know you want to…
The Game, Kirsten Backhard is available on Amazon now.
Purchase your copy HERE
Book Two is about Kirsten’s titillating twin who will grab your attention the moment he steps out of the penalty box.
—Watch for it in 2015—