I look up at him. “Yeah. Let’s go home.”
Not one moment is silent or awkward as Cade leans down to kiss me, gathers my discarded clothes, helps me slip them back on, and pulls me back into his arms once I’m fully dressed. It’s as if we can’t get enough.
As we step into the night, neither of us says it. We don’t need to.
We’re already home.
Chapter Thirty-Five
“Ho-ly shit, Turner.”
If my head weren’t already sore from the stress of the last twelve hours, I’d probably bang it against my desk. Instead, I pluck the thick, dark hairs that seemingly appeared on my chin overnight as I came up with a game plan for how to move forward now that I’m officially with Cade.
“Really, Andy? I bare my soul to you, and that’s all you have to say?”
Finally, his incessant pacing across my office stops, but he’s rubbing his temples like the sides of a genie’s bottle. “Sorry, but holy shit. I just found out that you and Cade Owens, your client, were friends in college. You share a best friend. And then after three years of friendship, you were close to dating but he didn’t come back during the offseason, leaving you heartbroken. I feel likeholy shitis the only reasonable response!”
Telling the whole story probably wasn’t necessary, but I’d needed to tell someone I trust.
“I never said I was heartbroken,” I grumble.
Andy gives me look that calls me a liar in three different languages. “And you had no clue he requested you to be his agent until you heard it in the meeting in front of everyone, but you felt like you had to say yes because Trevor was out for blood.”
A text from Delilah chimes on my phone as I say, “That’s correct.”
“And, now you want to be with him, which means?”
“I have to tell Trevor.” I swallow hard. “Today.”
“Why?”
My nose wrinkles. “Why what?”
“Why do you have to tell him?” He moves to the tiny window that overlooks the parking lot and presses his fist against it. “It’s admirable as hell that you want to, but you know what he’s going to say. He’s going to be a total dick about it.”
“I know, but it’s something I have to do. It wasn’t a one-night stand, Andy.” I’m lost in the memories of last night. The promises. The care. The certainty. “If I want to do this the right way, I need to be upfront and honest. Even if it hurts.”
His skepticism doesn’t wane. “I get it, but I know how much you care about your job.”
“I do.” I smile. “I always will. I’ll still be an agent, and I’ll still have my clients, but I’m doing what makes me happy. Being with Cade makes me happy.”
That seems to break through Andy’s worry. His shoulders finally fall as he sinks into the plush seat across from me. “Wow. I’ve never heard you use the h-word in the office before.”
Orange and pink beads roll beneath my fingers as I play with the wrist strap from Cade. The happiness I get from success will forever be different from the happiness I get from hanging out with The Quartet, taking a bubble bath, and spending time with Cade. I haven’t been this happy in years, even knowing the crap that’s going to follow the announcement.
Andy sighs. “I guess I’m just frustrated for you because it’s not fair. Men date their clients all the time in sports, music, and television. Hell, Winston married his client, and they have four kids now.”
“Women don’t get that kind of grace.”
“Are you still going to be his agent?”
I shake my head. “I don’t want to be his girlfriend and make contract decisions for him. I may not have breached the code of ethics yet, but that totally would.”
He snorts. “Once again. Men do it.”
He’s right, but the decision has already been made, and I have to be okay with the fact that not everybody will be happy. I preach to my clients about prioritizing themselves and their happiness but never take my own advice. Work has dominated my life for long enough; it’s time to add some space for the things that bring me joy.
Andy reaches across the desk and pats my hand. We haven’t been friends for long, but the moment I walked into my office this morning, I dialed his desk phone.
