by Jamie Knight
I found myself on my feet and heading towards the door. All of this still didn’t change the fact that Kane thought it was me.
“Please sit,” Kane finally said, breaking the silence and trying to stop me.
“I’ll stand.” I stopped and turned towards him. “I’m guessing you realize I didn’t steal the missing millions.”
He gave me a solemn nod.
“We realize. Linda wasn’t on our radar. She’s been with us for fifteen years. She was one of our first employees. What happened to you is my fault, Reese. I’ll never be able to apologize enough. You’re in this situation because of me.”
My lower lip wobbled, but I wouldn’t cry. I’d cried enough in the past few days to last me a lifetime.
“Why did she do it?” I asked. “Why did she single me out?”
“Years ago, after Sadie died—”
“Sadie?”
Pain filled his face, but he continued, “My fiancée. She was killed ten years ago. I should have told you about her from the get-go.”
“I agree, you should have.”
His fiancée’s death was the reason for the haunted pain I sometimes saw in his eyes. That was why he didn’t want love.
“Linda and I went on a few dates soon after Sadie died. I thought maybe she could fill the void inside me, but there was no chemistry between us. She was kind and always had a smile for me. Brought me meals and checked in on me often, but I wasn’t ready to date,” he said with a small shrug. “Things between us never went further than a couple of dinners. She made no secret that she wanted more.”
“Where do I come into this? Why did she single me out?”
“I think it’s obvious.”
Exhaustion weighed heavy on my shoulders.
“Maybe you need to spell it out for me.”
He blew out a long breath.
“She wanted to pay me back for, I guess, what she saw as rejecting her. She wanted to hurt you to hurt me. Turned out she’d been stealing from us for years, but hid her tracks well. So well that not even Ray saw her transgressions. She’s smart. Smarter than any of us gave her credit for.
“The first few years, she stole a couple of thousand every few months. Nothing that would be missed. Something that could be written off. But when you arrived and when she discovered you were my mentee, she knew it meant I wanted you and was ready to move on from Sadie. Jealousy and revenge made her set you up. And step up her thievery, since she didn’t want to be around me anymore, since I didn’t want to be with her and it was now obvious that I never would be.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose.
“And she admitted this?”
“Not all of it, but enough. She’s been arrested and will spend many years behind bars.”
“Why didn’t you have me arrested when you thought I was the one stealing from you?” I asked.
His lips twisted down as if he didn’t want to answer the question.
“Maybe I was hoping to be proved wrong.”
The anger that had been simmering inside me boiled over.
“Bull. Shit. You wanted to protect your pride. Don’t try to tell me you didn’t think it was me. The way you looked at me when you found me in your office showed me exactly what your opinion of me was.”
He held his hands out.
“I’m sorry, Reese. I understand if you can never forgive me. What I accused you of is unforgivable. Seeing you in my home office after hearing all the things they’d said you’d done… I saw red. I was in shock. I was wrong, and I’m sorry. You’ll never know how sorry I am.”
He came to me and fell to his knees.
“I love you, Reese. I don’t want to lose you; please tell me I haven’t lost you. Please. I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”
His pleading and sorrow-filled eyes almost broke me. Almost broke down the shield I’d erected the second I walked into his office.
I loved him so much it hurt, but there was no way I would let him, or any man, humiliate or doubt me the way he had, ever again.
I needed to stay strong. I wouldn’t bend, and I wouldn’t break. I held my hands in fists and looked him in the eyes.
“Thank you for saying all of that. I appreciate your honesty, but it’s too late. I can’t be with someone who would think me capable of such deceit. I don’t know what I’m going to do, but whatever it is, it’ll have nothing to do with McKenzie Tech. I never want to see you again. The second you accused me of stealing from you, you lost me.”
And with that, I walked out of his office. Somehow, from somewhere, I got the strength to do it without breaking down.
Melissa waited by the coffee bar.
“Leaving so soon?”
I turned towards her and glared.
“So, you’re my friend now?”
“I’ve always been your friend, Reese,” she said, with pleading eyes.
“Not when you thought I was stealing from Kane, you weren’t.”
“He’s my boss and my best friend. I’ll protect him no matter what. And things clearly weren’t as they seemed. Please sit. Let’s talk.”
She pulled a wooden chair out from the bar and gestured towards it.
“I’ve talked enough for one day,” I said.
I turned on my heel and walked quickly towards the elevator. Melissa didn’t try to stop me.
The faster I got away from McKenzie Technologies and these people, the better off I’d be. I didn’t want to be part of their world. I didn’t want to be part of their games.
Chapter Thirty-One
Kane
It had been three weeks since Reese had walked out of my life and those three weeks had been hell. Pure soul-destroying hell.
I’d thrown myself into work, had traveled when I didn’t have to, but nothing took my mind off her and thoughts of the asshole I’d been. I never should have accused her of something so horrible.
Reese was a good girl and a good employee, and she always had been. I should have seen through the evidence. I should have known it was Linda. Now, nothing would ever be the same.
Last night, Ray had talked me into going to the Dark Club with him, but not even the sight of writhing, half-naked girls gave me a hankering. They weren’t Reese. They didn’t have her smile, her ass, her tits, or her wicked sense of humor. So, I left quickly.
She’d moved out of her apartment, and I didn’t know where she’d gone. There were no social media updates, no Facebook or Instagram photos. No one I sent looking for her could find her and all her work friends kept silent. Something I could respect.
“Are you going to keep this pity party up all night?” Ray asked, sitting on a barstool beside me. “You need to find her or get over her.”
I shifted my weight and straightened my tux jacket. We were at McKenzie Tech’s charity ball. The one I had asked Reese to help me plan.
It was supposed to be our big reveal—the night when we officially announced our status as a couple. Now, I was here alone.
I leaned into the bar and picked up my glass of whiskey. With a subtle twist of the glass, I swirled the amber colored liquid and watched it cling to its container. This was my third or fourth drink.
“I’ve been trying to find her. She doesn’t want to be found,” I snapped and took a sip.
The whiskey burned a bit as I swallowed. The pain felt good.
I waved my hand at the bartender for him to refill my glass and he did.
Ray eyed me—obviously judging my increasingly drunken state, but he didn’t say anything to me. And that was why we were friends.
Melissa crossed towards us quickly, her black heels clicking on the ivory tile of the ballroom floor. She stopped short when she saw me hunched over the bar. She gave Ray a look and they seemed to have a silent conversation. I ignored them both.
We had rented one of the fancier hotels in the city and had it professionally decorated. Flowers lined the tables, silver streamers hung from the roof; it was all exquisitely done, and people seemed to
be enjoying themselves, but I found it hard to care.
Melissa frowned at me.
“Kane?”
I glared at her, silently urging her to get to the point or leave me alone.
“Ashton is here,” her voice hitched with worry. “He’s looking for you.”
She nervously pulled at the fabric of her dress. It was blue, similar to one I had had Reese try on for me. My breath shook with the memory and I closed my eyes for a second.
When I opened them again, I was calm and collected. It was time to reassure my friend and business partner that everything was okay, when it clearly wasn’t.
“Fine,” I told my PA, “let’s get this over with.”
I crossed the ballroom with Ray and Melissa following at my heels. Ray and I straightened our tuxes and Melissa soothed her dress. By the time we found Ashton we looked perfectly put together.
Ashton was also dressed to the nines in an expensive tux. Unsurprisingly, he was alone. I knew he dated or found women to warm his bed, but it was unusual for Ash to commit to anything, much less a relationship. He liked to only depend on himself. I was lucky he agreed to connect our businesses.
“Ash!” I greeted him with a smile and held out my hand.
He took it and smiled back. His shake was firm and commanding.
He had been in much better spirits, ever since Ray had informed him that we had caught the embezzler and gotten the money back. He didn’t go into details about who had done it or who we thought had done it. And Ash didn’t seem to care, as long as the matter was fixed.
“Kane,” he said. “This is a wonderful event. I’m pleased to see McKenzie Tech doing such good work. You know how much I enjoy giving to charities.”
“Of course, and I assume that you approve of the choice of charity tonight?” I asked.
Ashton laughed.
“Who’s going to say no to puppies and kittens?” He raised one eyebrow at me. “I assume this was your new lady’s idea?”
My breath caught, and I couldn’t find any words. I had forgotten that I promised Ash that I would introduce him to Reese tonight.
Melissa stepped up and took Ash’s arm.
“Would you like a drink, Mr. Smith?” she asked, ever the perfect hostess.
Ashton smiled at her briefly, but he didn’t miss my earlier reaction.
“Melissa. Ray. Why don’t you two give me and Kane a second, please?”
He kept his eyes on me.
“Let us old friends catch up.”
It was an order in the guise of a suggestion.
Ray took Melissa’s arm and led her over to the dance floor.
I opened my mouth to reassure Ash, but found that I just couldn’t make myself smile or say anything. He sighed, draped an arm over my shoulders, and led me back to the bar. It was a direction I was happy to go in—my whiskey was waiting for me, and I greatly needed it.
“So, she left you,” he stated.
I didn’t argue.
“Did you deserve it?”
I nodded, unable to deny the truth.
“I thought she was the one stealing money,” I admitted, “but it was a set up. I messed up bad, Ash.”
He nodded and took a seat on one of the barstools.
“And you apologized?”
“Yes. She just doesn’t trust me anymore.”
I hunched my shoulders.
“She quit and went into hiding.”
“I see.”
He looked over at the bartender and ordered a scotch. We stood in silence until his drink came and he took a sip. “I’m sorry, Kane. I know it is soon and the merger just went through, but I could cover for you for a bit—if you need to take a vacation or something.”
I sat down on the stool next to him.
“Thank you, Ash. I don’t know what to do. I don’t feel right without her.”
We sat in companionable silence, sipping our drinks, and watching people dance. Ray had left Melissa with her boyfriend and was now dancing with Eileen from accounting.
They made a pretty good couple; Ray was one of the few men in the room who was taller than Eileen’s six feet tall frame. I watched them have fun and looked sadly at the other couples. When the song ended, Ray drifted back towards us.
My eyes caught on Sloane and her narrow, haughty face. She was coming our way as well, in a tight silver dress; a bright grin plastered to her lips. She held out her slim hand to Ashton.
“Hello, Mr. Smith. I’m Sloane. Would you care to dance?”
Ash’s eyebrows went up in surprise at Sloane’s forward nature. He sifted to look at me briefly and I mouthed the word No, just to give him a quick warning about Sloane—she wasn’t someone he wanted to get involved with or even just hook up with.
He gave a slight nod, took her hand, and led her to the dance floor.
Ray took Ash’s seat. He was nervous and jittery.
“Relax, Ray.”
I took another sip of whiskey.
“Ash and I are fine.”
“It’s not that. Oh. Eileen is going to kill me.”
He frowned and fidgeted some more.
I wanted to grab him by the lapels and shake him.
“What’s going on?”
“I know where Reese is.”
My breath caught. I turned to face Ray and poked him in the chest with a finger.
“What do you mean you know where she is? Tell me now before I punch your pretty-boy face.”
“Eileen and Sloane will kill me.”
“Who cares! What do they have to do with this?” I snapped. “Out with it.”
“Let’s just say Eileen and I have been getting quite friendly. She’s friends with Sloane, who is not the ice queen she pretends to be. I just overheard them talking, and Sloane is helping Reese.”
“Sloane hates Reese.”
“They seem to have buried the hatchet. Sloane’s been staying at her father’s house, and Reese has been staying at her apartment in town.”
Unconsciously, my hand curled into a fist, but I wouldn’t punch him.
“You’re a bastard, you know that? You could have asked Eileen sooner. For weeks now, you’ve watched me drown my sorrows in enough alcohol to drown a sailor.”
“Jesus. Talk about self-pity.”
“If you weren’t my best friend, I’d fucking cut your dick off.”
“After tonight, I have a feeling Sloane will do that for you.”
He pushed me off the bar stool.
“Why are you still here? Go get your girl.”
I nodded and stumbled towards the door.
That was an excellent suggestion.
And it was all I could think of doing now that I knew where she was.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Reese
I would never be able to thank Sloane enough for letting me stay at her plush, midtown apartment. When I stepped out of the elevator after walking out on Kane, Sloane had been waiting for me in the lobby and had offered me a place to lie low for a few weeks.
She said she felt sorry for me and that I didn’t deserve what Linda and Simon had put me through. That part of the blame was hers because of the rumors she’d intentionally spread about me. It was the closest thing I’d ever get to an apology from her and that was okay.
I took her up on the offer, and for the past three weeks, I’d been hiding out at her apartment while she was staying at her father’s. It was a little like being on vacation or on the run.
While I was laying on her plush suede couch looking over at the park, I could pretend I was someone else for a bit. Someone who didn’t just lose the love of her life.
I didn’t go online, and I didn’t talk to anyone. I didn’t even Google Kane—as hard as that was. I didn’t give a crap about anything.
Every day, I simply went through the motions. I woke up, I sometimes showered, and I lived on takeout. I hadn’t cried in a few days, which was progress.
I couldn’t hide out at Sloane’s forever and I would have to
find an apartment soon. I needed to start looking for another job, get back to the real world and get on with life.
One thing was for sure, though— it would be a cold day in hell before I ever fell in love again.
Before I moved into Sloane’s, I’d packed up all my good luck charms and threw them in the garbage—including my star pendant. It was about time I relied on myself for my own luck, which meant all of my talismans and superstitions had to go.
It was hard, letting go of the past and things I relied on to give me comfort, but I had to. If I wanted to move on, something that had happened in college could no longer dictate my everyday decisions.
When I did get up the courage to go out, I walked under ladders. I stopped throwing salt over my shoulders. I stopped asking the universe to send good luck my way, and I no longer wore my pendant, but that didn’t stop me reaching for it every now and again.
But I kind of liked my new way of life. It was freeing—liberating.
I loved Kane, God how I loved him, and it would be a long time before I stopped loving him, if ever. But time healed wounds, or maybe time just made them more bearable.
A knock sounded at the door and I sat up on the couch.
It was probably Sloane.
For all her faults, she allowed me my privacy and didn’t barge in whenever she felt like it.
Tonight, I would tell her I was moving out and that she could have her home back. For a spoiled princess, she was quite nice, sometimes.
I pulled the door open.
“You know you can come in without knocking. It’s your apartment…”
My words faltered when I saw that it wasn’t Sloane standing there.
It was Kane.
He looked as tired as I felt. His eyes were bloodshot, and more stubble than usual covered his jaw. He was in a tux, but it was wrinkled and creased. In fact, he looked wretched.
My instinct was to pull him into my arms and to tell him I loved him, but when I went to do that, my heart ached, reminding me of all the pain he’d caused me— all of the accusations he’d thrown my way.