by K. A. Linde
He had slowly dismantled years of my service to the company in a matter of weeks. He’d made me look sloppy and like he was a better alternative to me. It was heartbreaking and also pissed me the hell off. Even if I were fired from this job, it would be over my dead body that they gave it to Owen.
My head was so far up in the clouds, I didn’t even notice that it was past five, and there was a knock at my door.
“Come in,” I called, shuffling papers around and then typing fiercely into the memo I’d been working on.
“Hey, Mor.”
My head snapped up. “Patrick.”
“I didn’t hear from you all weekend.”
“I know.”
“I called.”
“I know.”
“I left you a voice mail.”
“I got it.”
“Did you listen to it?”
“No,” I admitted.
He laughed softly. “Of course you didn’t. Were you doing this all weekend?”
“Yes.”
“You still have a job.”
“For now.”
“Can we talk?”
“What have we been doing this whole time?” I asked with emphasis on the snark.
“I couldn’t leave it the way we left things on Friday. I know you have a lot on your plate. I know you’re dealing with this contract issue. But I won’t let our relationship dissolve because of this.”
“Patrick, I have one week to make this all right,” I said, holding up one finger. “I have to prioritize that above all else.”
“I realize that. I don’t want to take away from your work. But I also want you to know that, when I suggested another company for this contract, it was a throwaway comment. I said it as if it were absurd to even consider someone like Escoe. I said they weren’t local or loyal or quality and that Wright Construction would always be the best. And I believe that. I might have made an error in wording, and I take responsibility for that, but I don’t want you to think that I would use or betray you. You mean too much to me for something like that.”
I sighed and let the stress of the weekend bury me for a second. There hadn’t been a moment in all this where it wasn’t attached to Patrick. The man I had wanted more than anything, except the CEO position. Now, it seemed both of the things I wanted were on the line.
I’d been harsh on Friday. I’d said some things I probably shouldn’t have. And, fuck it, I couldn’t catch a break here.
“I know this wasn’t all your fault, Patrick,” I told him, standing and looking up at him. “I’m sorry that I unloaded on you on Friday. That wasn’t fair to you.”
He startled, as if he had been expecting me to scream at him again. But I didn’t have the fire for it. I wasn’t angry with him. I didn’t have the energy for anger. I should have waited to talk to him after I figured this all out. But here we were.
“It’s okay.”
“It’s really not. Maybe Jensen is right. Maybe I do need to take a year off from dating while I’m CEO.”
“Morgan, that’s ridiculous.”
“Is it? I was a hundred percent dedicated to my work before we started dating, and now, I’m being investigated for a negative financial impact on the company. I clearly cannot accurately manage both. I can’t do this right now. I need to be married to my work. If I even have a job after Friday.”
“No, I don’t accept that,” Patrick said. “I don’t accept that you can’t juggle two things at once or that you need to take a year off from dating. I don’t accept that we can’t be together. We are better when we’re together. You are less stressed and more relaxed. You laugh more. You smile more. You have more fun.”
“Yeah, and I lose ten-year multimillion-dollar contracts, too.”
“You’re better when you’re with me.”
“Maybe,” I ventured.
“Life isn’t just your job.”
“That might be the case,” I said with a resigned sigh. “But, right now…it is. I wish there were another way. But, I really can’t do this. It would be easier for me if you left.”
“Morgan—”
“Please, Patrick. I have to reserve my strength for this problem. Don’t make this any harder than it has to be,” I said as my heart broke.
“I’m going to prove you wrong.”
“I hope you’re right.”
Patrick stepped around my desk and stood close to me. He placed a kiss on my forehead. “I’m not going to stop fighting for you. I’m going to figure this out.”
Then, he was gone. I collapsed forward into my chair at his absence and did the thing I hadn’t done all weekend. I cried.
Thirty
Patrick
Working was a lesson in self-control.
Trying to stay in my own lane and get my shit done while I worked only steps from Bailey’s office seemed impossible. I kept telling myself that I only had to make it through the end of the week, and then I wouldn’t have to deal with this again until the New Year.
In the meantime, I’d watch the clock tick and wait for the end of the day. Even though I wasn’t really doing shit at home. It felt empty without Morgan in it. So much had changed in my life, and going back to who I had been before her wasn’t an option.
I pushed away from my desk and stared at the ceiling. I was so fucking frustrated. I’d put everything on the line, and she’d walked. I hadn’t been lying when I said I’d keep fighting for her. I would. I was just terrified that she wasn’t going to change her mind. That, if she got fired, it would be the end of us for good. I couldn’t imagine her coming back from that.
“Am I interrupting something important?” Bailey said from the door.
I immediately straightened. “No. Deep in thought. Can I help you?”
“I was seeing how you were doing.”
“I’m fine. Why wouldn’t I be?” I kept a straight face. Of course, there were a million reasons I was not fine right now, but I wasn’t going to show that to her. I certainly wasn’t going to talk about Morgan.
“Just curious. I wasn’t sure if you knew what was going on at Wright right now.”
“Why are you talking to me about this, Bailey?”
She leaned her hip against the doorframe. “I want to know what they’re up to.”
“And why would I know that?”
“Because you’re dating the CEO.”
“If I didn’t make it explicitly clear last time, I have no interest in discussing my personal life at work. So, even if I knew what Morgan was up to, I wouldn’t tell you.”
“So, she’s up to something,” Bailey said, fishing.
“If she is, then you should be worried.”
Bailey scoffed. “Why’s that?”
“Because, when Morgan sets her mind to something, she always wins. Always.”
“Yeah. I’m sure. Just tell her to stop trying to go over my head.”
“I’m not going to tell her anything.”
“Well then, I’m going to go over her head again,” she said under her breath.
“What does that even mean?”
“Nothing. This whole thing is a nightmare.”
“You know that there’s no one over Morgan’s head at Wright Construction?”
“Yeah,” she said, waving it off. “Just frustrated.”
Did she want me to sympathize with her? Because I didn’t. She had purposely gone behind Morgan’s back and given the contract to someone else. And, now, she was saying that she was going to go over Morgan’s head. Seriously, what did that even mean? Jensen? Or the board of directors? I didn’t even know.
What I did know was that Bailey was clearly outmatched. Even if I wasn’t head over heels for Morgan, I was confident that she could take down someone like Bailey blindfolded with her hands behind her back. I hoped she could do it by Friday.
“Why did you do it, Bailey?” I asked before she left.
“Do what?”
“Why did you give the contract to Escoe Industrial? You and I bo
th know it’s not because of my offhand comment.”
She shrugged. “It was a smart move.”
“Really? You’re this frustrated, and it was the smart move?”
“The Wrights have a monopoly on the university. There’s no reason that someone else shouldn’t get a share of the pie, and if that means we get the work done a little cheaper, then that seems fair to me.”
“You get what you pay for.”
“Well, you would say that.”
“You’re the one who asked for my opinion.”
“It was enlightening.”
I watched her retreating back with disdain. It wasn’t that her argument was illogical. It just wasn’t the right decision to make. Not just because of the Wrights, but because their company was better. She should want to be working with cutting-edge technology and innovative design. She should want everything that Wright had to offer.
And, still…my head was stuck on her one statement.
Go over Morgan’s head…again.
Did that mean she’d done that once before?
My gut told me that I shouldn’t ignore this. I texted Jensen to see if he was free, left work, and then drove out to his new architecture firm. His assistant let me go back to his office.
“Hey, Patrick,” Jensen said, standing from his desk and shaking my hand.
“Hey, man.”
“What’s up? Your text sounded urgent.”
“I’m not exactly sure. I’m worried about Morgan.”
Jensen frowned. “Yeah. We all are. I heard what happened at the ribbon-cutting.”
“Uh, yeah. That sucked. It wasn’t much better when I tried to talk to her this week. Didn’t help that you told her to take a year off from dating, and now, she thinks she should listen to you.”
“That’s not what I said—or at least—it’s not what I meant.”
“Well, this is Morgan. She took it literally.”
Jensen sighed. “Yeah. I was playing the big-brother bit a little seriously, I guess. I want her to be happy. If she’s happy with you, then great.”
“Right now, she’s not happy with anyone.”
“Not even herself it seems.”
“Especially not herself,” I clarified.
“Sounds right. I’m doing what I can to help her with this contract. I wish that I could do more.”
“That’s kind of why I’m here. You know that my boss is Bailey.”
“Right. I heard that.”
“Well, she said something kind of strange to me today at the office. She was pissed, I guess, that Morgan was going over her head to try to get this worked out.”
“I think it’s perfectly reasonable that she’s doing that,” Jensen said. “If she needs to get it done right, then she needs to talk to someone else.”
“I’m not arguing that point. I know Morgan will do what she has to do. She always does. The weird thing is that Bailey said that she’d go over Morgan’s head again.”
Jensen paused. “There’s no one over Morgan’s head.”
“That’s what I said. So, do we think that means that she met with someone else at Wright? I thought maybe that was you?”
“No. I haven’t met with her. I’m only on the board anyway. I’m not over the CEO.”
“Right. So, unless she’s spoken to the board, I don’t know who else she would be referring to, but it seemed suspicious.”
“I’ll look into it. Another thing to add to the list.”
“I bet you thought, when you left the company, you wouldn’t be dealing with this kind of stuff.”
Jensen laughed and shook his head. “This was why I waited so long to leave. I didn’t want to dump everything at Morgan’s feet. But, at some point, the training wheels had to come off. I knew she was ready, but even I couldn’t have anticipated something like this happening.”
“I don’t think anyone did. She’s had so many problems with the company that she never had when she was CFO.”
“Yeah. It’s a different ball game. I think that, if this had happened to me, it would have been swept under the rug. I’d been successful for so long there. Maybe if I’d waited through the end of the year, we wouldn’t be in this position.”
“Well, this isn’t your fault. And Morgan will work it out.”
Jensen nodded. “I know she will. But I’m the fixer of the family. I’m the one who is supposed to hold everything together. From where I am right now, there’s little I can do for her, and I don’t like the feeling.”
“That makes two of us,” I told him.
“I know she’s giving you shit right now, but I’m glad that she has you. And I respect you for coming to me about this thing with your boss. I know you’re caught between a rock and a hard place.”
“Something like that. I want to fix this shit, so I can get back to my life. So, how are we going to fix it, Jensen?”
He nodded at me in approval. “Okay…this is what we’re going to do.”
Thirty-One
Morgan
“How did you coax me into doing this again?” I asked Steph as we walked into a bridal shop downtown.
“I told you that, if you didn’t come shopping with me, I would pick out the most hideous dress imaginable and make you wear it.”
“Oh, right. What makes you think I’d wear it?”
Steph chuckled. “Because you don’t back out of anything.”
“Unfortunately, true,” I grumbled. “How are you here right now anyway? Don’t you have to be at work?”
“Actually,” she said with a sly grin, “I haven’t announced it yet, but I’m going on tour after the wedding.”
“Oh my God! Steph! That’s incredible. How did that happen?”
“Thanks. It kind of came out of nowhere. One of those insane stories that you don’t believe actually happened. I was singing something in the freaking grocery store, and a guy approached me. I thought he was a skeez, but he turned out to be the real deal. I’m going to play as the opener for his band.”
“Wow! I cannot even believe that happened. I’m so happy for you. Your life is so awesome.”
“I know! It so is. I’m ready to quit waitressing and playing local gigs. I’m not getting my hopes up, but I’d rather be living my dream than sitting at home, wondering what could have been.”
“What does Thomas think?” I asked as I shifted through a million shades and styles of bridesmaid dresses.
“He’s so happy. Also…worried. And I don’t blame him. He’s a planner and headstrong and all that. And he’ll miss me.”
“Of course he will.”
“But he’s supportive. He believes in me. You know, when you find someone like that, it’s important to hold on to them.” Steph gave me a knowing look.
“Why do I feel like the conversation has switched to me?” I muttered.
“Probably because you broke up with my brother.”
“Right.” I became suddenly very interested in the burgundy taffeta dress in my hand. “What about this one?”
Steph rolled her eyes. “As if you’re getting away from this conversation that easily.”
“It was worth a try.”
“I don’t understand how this happened. You’ve liked Patrick forever, Mor. Like, literally forever. And ever.”
“I get it. I know.”
“I thought your obsession was kind of ridiculous and pretty gross, but I let you have your little thing.”
I laughed. “You would think that. Though I don’t know how you can talk after sleeping with Austin.”
Steph shot me a sheepish look. “Uh, yeah…about that.”
“Whatever,” I said, waving my hand. “Ancient history.”
“You’re changing the subject again!”
“I’m adept at that.”
Steph poked me in the side. “Well, cut it out. I don’t want to deal with CEO Morgan right now. I’d like to talk to my friend about my brother for a minute.”
I shelved the dress I’d been looking at and tu
rned back to face Steph. “There’s only one of me, you know. I can’t switch it on and off like a lightbulb.”
“Sure, you can.”
“And, anyway, separating Patrick from work right now is pretty difficult.”
“I heard.”
“I had one ambush this week. I really wasn’t looking forward to a second.”
Steph dramatically rolled her eyes. “As if this is an ambush. You knew I was going to ask you about Patrick when we hung out. Calm your tits, woman.”
I laughed a real full-bellied laugh. It had been a while since that happened. “God, I missed you. Can you move back into town? I feel like less of a loner when you’re here.”
“Going on tour, remember?”
“Right. Coming through Lubbock?”
She snorted. “Yeah, right. We’ll be in Dallas. You can fly the private jet out to see me.”
“Done.”
“Now, talk to me,” Steph said. She turned back to the dresses and started throwing ones she’d picked out into my arms. “You have one hiccup with work, and suddenly, you’re giving up on your relationship? That doesn’t sound like you.”
“It’s more than a hiccup. I might be fired.”
“Okay, well, worst-case scenario, you get fired. What do you do then?”
I shuddered. “I am not even considering that.”
She passed me a pink monstrosity. “Consider it. Say, by Friday, you’re no longer CEO of Wright Construction. You’re still sitting on a trust fund most people would kill for, and you have marketable skills that you could get a job anywhere you wanted. Would it suck? Sure. You’d earned this position, and it was short-lived. Now, imagine that life alone. You have your family, but wouldn’t you rather have someone there who loved you?”
I saw the picture Steph was painting, and it wasn’t a pretty one. I didn’t want to end up alone. But I wasn’t even thirty yet. I could find someone else. But this was Patrick. I’d liked him longer than I could remember and wanted this so bad for so long.
Logically, I knew that I shouldn’t let my work interfere with that. But the situation I was in was not logical. It was fucking stupid. An error I should be able to fix. An error that never should have even occurred.