Get Her Back: A Billionaire Second Chance Romance

by Maxine Storm

  But I wondered how much it really mattered to me now. It's true it was something I had focused on for so long. I had spent many sleepless times planning things, considering the possibilities, thinking of what could go wrong and how to counter it, how to defend what I had and leverage my current assets and skills.

  Yet that was all done before Michelle entered my life again. That was before I was reminded of how I used to feel and the dreams that I had of starting a family. As much as I loved my business and my employees, it was a different kind of relationship compared to the one Michelle and I once had, and now seemed to be having again. It's like you could divide my life into a pre and post Michelle era. That's how much she mattered to me and affected me. It was so significant that I could only understand the past in light of her being with me here now. Like all that was happening now, all that lead up to it, was ultimately a gift I had been long preparing for her. I realized how lucky I was for all this. I was so lucky to have her.

  As much as I wanted to go over to her now, kiss her neck, smell her skin, taste her gorgeous lips and hold her with my body against the wall... as much as I wanted all of that and couldn't stop thinking about it...

  My word was my bond, and I had to go to the meeting, otherwise my reputation would take a hit from being a no-show. I knew that my presence was needed to give the plan and its presentation the best chance. I knew it was my conviction and my confidence in this idea and my abilities that would ultimately close the sale. Connections can only get you so far - in the end you have to seal the deal. You're the one that has to perform and take that first stop. Do it right, and the people you need will follow you.

  But I didn't want to freak Michelle out though or bother her too much, or make her feel the pressure I was under, so I just left a small note for her on her nightstand saying I'd be back soon. I wanted to leave telling the whole thing to her as a wonderful surprise when I got back - once I had the great news of the deal being completed and that we were now ready to go full speed on the marketing - the part I was happy to leave to her. I let Marsha know I'd be away for a few days and I took the plane a short distance away, knowing I'd be back soon with something incredible - especially for Michelle.

  Chapter 23 - Michelle

  It had been a week since I last heard from Brent.

  The first day, I could understand.

  The second, I still could understand, but I was losing patience.

  The third day, though, of radio silence, I was getting seriously frustrated.

  The fourth day - that was when I could feel the old cracks in my heart that I naively thought were being repaired - finally broke loose again.

  And after that, it was just hell.

  To disappear on me, with just some hastily scribbled note left on my nightstand?

  That's might have been OK if he were running to the grocery store.

  But to disappear?

  I bit my lip and I was reminded of our last days together in high school.

  It was happening all over again.

  He had built me up just like he had before. And when I was in the way?

  Bye. Gone.

  Thrown off to the side of the road.

  And what made it worse was how this was again just like the past.

  I didn't bring it up once, except on our dinner date here at the Capital - where he'd seemed oblivious.

  But I had sent him a letter right after we had graduated high school. I hand wrote it, telling him how I really had felt. How it was the pressure and scolding from my mother that prevented me from opening up to him in the way that I had secretly wanted to. It had hurt to write that letter. But write it I did. And I had sent it to him, hoping he would reply. It was like my message in a bottle.

  But he never replied. He never did.

  And I brought it up at the dinner date, wondering if he had remembered. He clearly had not.

  Well, I had thought, maybe he had changed. Despite that mistake, he had changed.

  And it really looked like he did! I was believing he did. I believed it until now when he disappeared on his 'business trip.'

  Was I taken again for a fool, I wondered?

  It felt like I got punched in the stomach just thinking that. But I couldn't avoid it anymore.

  I wondered how many 'business trips' he had gone on. And if were to stay together, how many more he would go on. He and all his 'business partners' in other cities. It made me sick to think I was just one of his girls like that. I guess he had gotten bored. He had just gotten bored of me, and how I felt about it didn't matter.

  Why else wouldn't he reply? Why the radio silence?

  I paced back and forth in my room. My fists were balled up and my nails were digging into my skin.

  I picked up the phone and called Marsha.

  "Marsha," I said, "I'm leaving."

  "What?" she exclaimed. "Honey, what's wrong?"

  "Brent. He's not responding. I guess I'm not of any importance to him. My mistake."

  Marsha was silent on the other line.

  "Michelle, stay there," she said, and then she hung up the phone.

  No, I thought to myself, I'm not 'staying here.' I'm not going to stay here like I'm some plaything of Brent, to be left behind or carried along as he chooses. I was worth more than that. And I don't know if they both played me like a fool, and if Marsha was in on it, running interference for Brent, buttering me up like I mattered. I didn't care anymore. I just wanted out. I wanted to get away. And this time, it didn't matter where the hell I'd go, as long as it wasn't here, as long as it wasn't near him. Near Brent.

  I hurriedly packed my bag and lugged it behind me. I was getting out.

  ***

  "Wait, Michelle!" said a voice as I was about to exit the Capital.

  I turned around and saw Marsha running after me.

  "No," I said back to her, "I'm leaving. I'm gone. I'm not some toy."

  "It's not like that, dear," said Marsha.

  "Then where is Brent?" I asked, with venom. "Where is he?"

  Marsha shook her head slowly.

  "Michelle, honey, I don't know," she conceded. "I don't know. I've been trying to reach him, too."

  I rolled my eyes.

  "Well that's great, huh?" I asked sarcastically. "So he didn't let you in on this 'business trip' either? He must be really living it up this time."

  "It's not like that, Michelle," Marsha said. "Brent would never do that to you, to us."

  I wanted to believe her, but I couldn't right now. I was past that point. I heard the sound of another private jet taking off and it made me think of Brent. He was just like those planes, he wanted to leave and go wherever he wanted, whenever he wanted, like he wasn't tied to anything. It was a shame I only understood that now, and let myself be strung along again.

  "Bye, Marsha," I said, turning from her and walking back down the stairs.

  "Michelle, you don't understand. It's probably just something he got tied up in at the meeting," Marsha said.

  "No," I said, "I do understand. That's the problem, I finally understand."

  I stepped into the ride-sharing cab I had called from one my apps - I didn't want to bother using one of the phones at the Capital, since I didn't want anything to do with that place anymore. I shut the door and said goodbye. Goodbye to the Capital, goodbye to Marsha, to Brent, and the past.

  ***

  I found myself sitting on the sand at the far end of the beach, no one around me, nothing to disturb me, no sounds but the cleansing tide going in and out and the call of gulls.

  I didn't have anywhere to go. I had nothing to look forward to now. I only had the beach here to calm me and keep me company.

  There was no point to try to contact Brent. It was like just throwing a message in a bottle into the ocean right here. Who knows where it'd end up. And it's not like he would check. He didn't care.

  I thought back to my time at the Capital. It was too good to be true at points. I shouldn't have thought that I deserved that
happiness. Because in the end it only lead to disappointment. Had my mom been right all along? I thought maybe Brent was the exception. Brent wasn't like the other men. And my mom would always say that he was. Just wait, Michelle, she would say.

  And I suppose I did wait. And it seemed to prove her right.

  But there was no man that compared to him. There was no other person who I had been with that compared to Brent. I wouldn't be the same after this. I'd be carrying this wound forever, some part of me being left behind on this beach and sucked in by the waves, never to return. I wouldn't be that Michelle any longer. There'd be no point to get into any relationship after this, except perhaps to forget what happened, to distract myself. And that's not what I really wanted deep down.

  I closed my eyes and laid down on the sand. The tears rolled out of my eyes and fell into the sand, only to evaporate, leaving nothing. And that's how I felt. Like nothing.

  I was lying there, just trying to forget, just trying to forget the pain and the hurt and the betrayal. The sun was setting now and I didn't know where I was going to go, and I didn't care. The sun was setting just like my life. This chapter was coming to a close, and I was going to tear it up. It was over. I shut my eyes tight and tried to be still, to disappear.

  "Michelle!" called out a voice. I turned to my right and saw a muscular figure running towards me.

  Brent.

  No.

  Not him.

  I didn't want to see him. I didn't want to hear him. I didn't want to be near him.

  "Michelle!" he called out again while getting closer. There was only the rocks to my left and trees behind me. There were only the waves in front.

  There was nothing here, now. Only Brent and myself.

  Brent finally reached me.

  Sweat was covering his face and he had sweat through his dress shirt. But I turned away from him. I didn't want to look at him.

  "Michelle," Brent said, "what are you doing here?"

  I didn't respond. I didn't want to talk to him.

  "Michelle!" Brent said. "What's going on?"

  "What do you care?" I exploded. I turned around."You don't care about me at all! I was just in your way before you dashed off to one of your 'business meetings'. Sorry I got in your way!"

  "Michelle," Brent said, "it's not like that at all."

  "Oh, it isn't, huh?" I questioned. "Then why did you just disappear on me?"

  Brent put his hand on his head.

  "Damn it," Brent said, "I'm sorry about that. Michelle, truly, I am. I only thought the meeting was going to be a day or so. But the other business people started arguing and arguing. They were trying to change the vision just to suit them. They were ganging up. But I fought back, I had to fight for the vision. And then they got paranoid. We had to hash things out with no contact to the outside world. Everyone suspected everyone else was a mole, that they'd leak the key details to someone on the outside, who'd take the information and run and develop their own plan. They wanted a bigger cut of the pie, more than they deserved and worked for. It's like we were in jury duty, forming our verdict in isolation from society. It just kept going, Michelle, but I couldn't stop. Every time I thought about stopping, I thought about you. I was doing it for you. And finally, I was able to convince everyone to follow my plan. It's going to happen."

  "Well," I said sarcastically, "I'm glad that all worked out for you. Sorry I was such a distraction."

  "No," Brent said, "there's more. When I got to the Capital. Marsha explained to me that you had left. And that hurt. That killed me. That's when it threw everything I was just doing at the meeting into question. Because I realized it meant nothing, it was worthless, if I didn't have you in my life. Michelle, you're the one that I want and live for. I'm putting that business aside to be with you. I spent years working on it, planning on it, but you know what? One look into your eyes, and I see how little it means compared to you."

  The tears began flowing again. My heart kept seizing and my stomach was twisted into knots. I wanted to hold Brent but I couldn't yet, I still had a doubt.

  "But you never replied," I said, "you never replied long ago. I can't forget that."

  "Replied?" Brent said, "what didn't I reply to?"

  "You know," I said dismissively. "You know - don't try to pretend."

  "Michelle, I swear I don't."

  I looked at Brent and saw the honesty in his eyes. I didn't want to have my heart finally smashed to bits, but I decided to try one more time.

  "After graduating high school, I wrote you a letter," I said. "It was about how I felt, and how I wanted to be with you. But you never replied. I was going to let it go, but I can't now. How could you read that and just ignore me, Brent? How could you treat me like that?"

  Brent staggered, took a few steps toward the ocean and regained his balance. He put his hands on his head. He turned back to me.

  "Damn him!" he said. "Damn that man!"

  "Brent?" I asked, scared of his sudden anger.

  "Michelle, now I understand. When I had returned home, after working for a bit after graduating, I asked if there had been anything left for me. My father said there were only same 'stupid letters from your stupid friends' and he pointed to them all torn up on the floor. I was being kicked out of the house."

  Brent walked up to me and took my hand and held it over his heart.

  "Michelle, he never wanted to see me happy. And he must have read your letter, and saw that contrary to what he thought, someone out there had loved me. Someone out thee thought I had value. And he hated that, because he hated me, and hated the world. And he wanted to deny me any chance of happiness. But I have moved on from him. He doesn't bother me. His memory doesn't bother me. And he won't take away what I have with you. No one will take away what I have with you!"

  I could feel Brent's heart beating through his shirt. He held my cheek and I saw the intensity in his eyes and the look of care he had for me. I knew then and there that he was telling the truth, and that his care for me knew no bounds.

  "Michelle," Brent said, "I will never give up on you. Truly, I love you. I love you more than anything and anyone."

  I felt my heart pounding and I held Brent tightly to keep myself from falling. The tears were rolling out of my eyes like an avalanche and were melding into the sweat of his body.

  "Brent," I said, now my deepest self speaking, "Brent, I love you too!"

  Brent held me tightly and kissed me deeply. I closed my eyes as our lips were locked against each others'. We continued to kiss as we both sat down on the sand, and then I lied down with Brent over me.

  "Michelle," Brent said, "I want you now."

  He took off his shirt and his rippling muscles glistened in the glow of the sunset. He lifted up my skirt and I felt his hardness against my opening and I shivered. He locked his eyes with mine as he slowly pressed himself inside, I shook as he took me, inch by inch, his eyes conveying his unrelenting passion towards me.

  I wrapped my arms around his back and gripped him tightly as he rocked himself inside of me, the pleasure rolling along my body, more and more intensely, until I bit his shoulder to stifle my moaning.

  "Let it out, Michelle" Brent commanded, "I want to hear you."

  His words gave me the permission at last to feel like I could be like this - a sexual being who is worthy of love, and I felt myself being sent over the edge as I moaned, my hips shaking from the orgasm Brent so dominantly drew from deep within me. Brent continued to thrust himself inside me until I saw his abs clenching and a low guttural moan leave his lips as his hips shook inside me and he filled myself up with his gift.

  He collapsed on top of me and I ran my hands up and down his back.

  "Michelle," he said, smiling, "I love you."

  I cradled his face and knew this was the man for me, the only one.

  "I love you too, Brent."

  Epilogue

  1 year later.

  "What's the big surprise?" I asked. Brent was covering my eyes as he lea
d me up to the balcony of The Capital.

  "I can't tell you," Brent said, "otherwise it wouldn't be a surprise."

  "Well, duh," I said, "I do know that. Usually people use blindfolds for this kind of thing, though."

  "Well," said Brent, "I like to save the blindfolds for other more intimate occasions."

  I could feel my face getting red at his naughty words.

  "You're blushing," Brent said.

  "How can you tell? You can't see my face?" I was the one walking in front with his hands cupped over my eyes.

  "No," said Brent, "you're the one who can't see, that's why this is going to be such an incredible surprise."

  "Fine," I said, impatiently, "fine, fine. Let's go."

  We entered the balcony and I felt the heat from the sun and the breeze tickle my skin.

  Brent led me further in and let go of his hands.

  "Your big surprise is... the balcony?" I asked, puzzled.

  "No," Brent said. "Look up."

  Suddenly I heard the sound of planes roaring through the sky, echoing through the balcony.

  They were flying in lines, twirling, doing daring dodges and dips, and I finally started to see what was being revealed.

  Letters were being written out in their exhaust and my heart started racing.

  W-I-L-L-Y-O-U-M-A-R-R-Y-M-E-?

  I turned to Brent and saw his eyes on me with a big smile on his face.

  I wrapped my arms around him and kissed him.

  "Brent, of course. Of course!"

  Brent lifted me up and held me tightly.

  "Michelle, I'm the luckiest guy in the world," he said.

  "Congratulations, you two," said a voice behind us.

  It was Marsha holding champagne.

  "Marsha!" I said.

  "Well Ms. Stevenson," Marsha said, with a wink, "shall we have a drink?"

  "Of course," I said, "please!"

  Marsha poured out champagne for the three of us, and we found ourselves raising our glasses.