I nodded, “I know.”
“And not one person thought to do this before now?” she asked and pointed to one of her stacks. “Why has no one done this yet?”
I shrugged, “She’s kept them a secret this entire time. I found out about it by accident. This is the first chance I’ve had to really dive into it all.”
“Don’t you have an entire team you can rope in to help you?”
I nodded, “Technically, yes. But I think they’re coming from someone within the company. So I'm going to try and discern what they mean on my own first, and then I can hopefully move on to who is sending them.
“Why don’t you do both at the same time?” Bella asked.
I raised a brow, “You’re widely overestimating my ability to multitask at the moment.”
She huffed a laugh, “Aren’t you supposed to be a big, bad Army Ranger?”
“Iwasone–past tense. Now, I’m an old veteran whose knees pop every time I walk down the stairs. My big, bad, Army days are behind me.”
“You’re saying you’ll stop threatening every man I go on a date with?” She asked with mock excitement.
I rolled my eyes, “Hell no. That isn’t the Army, that’s just me being your big brother. I’ll keep threatening them after I die. I’ll haunt those boys from the grave.”
This time, she let out a loud laugh… loud enough that I had a feeling a few family members in the house had awoken. “Well, Mr. Old-Veteran-Who-Will-Threaten-My-Future-Husband… let’s get back on task. I can help with the letters, even enlist those sisters of ours, and you can focus on ensuring that any new threats coming in are actually handled right. Plus, I can work twice as fast as you on these.”
“You’re really willing to sort through hundreds of letters, maybe even more, for me?” I asked, in shock. It wasn’t that I didn’t believe she would help… it was just strange that she could. When I had enlisted in the Army, my sisters were still kids. Bee didn't even remember me living at home. It was an adjustment that they were now grown women.
“A little bit for you, but also for Bec. Girls supporting girls, you know?”
I just stared at her, confused, and was starting to maybe understand Bec’s confusion whenever I spoke.
Bella smiled, “It’s a thing, I promise. Just trust me.”
Tilting my head and saying in a soft, sincere voice, one of the only true things I know... "I always have, and always will."
Chapter Thirteen
BEC
“Will you stop shaking your leg?” Alexandra asked me… again.
I did my best to stop it, but I was anxious as hell. After my fight with Rome earlier this week, he had been cold. Extremely cold. When we were in public, he turned on his usual persona, and played the perfect role of my boyfriend. The cameras ate us up, and he even signed an autograph for the sweetest little girlwho had been waiting just for him. According to her mom, she believed Rome was a real prince, which, to the world, he was.
When we were alone, it was a completely different story. Gone were his sarcastic remarks and smirks. He still treated me well. He continued to bring me coffee in the mornings and open my doors. On paper, he was a gentleman, but everything that made himRomewas gone.
I couldn’t believe it, but Imissedit… I missed him. For months, I had convinced myself that I had simply been tolerating Rome. That he was taking up too much space, too much of my time. I had believed that my life would be better off without him.
Damn, was I wrong. He was the one who had tolerated me this entire time. I had spent months complaining about him to his own face. I was disgusted with myself and my behavior.
Alexandra sighed and fully turned my way at our restaurant table. She and I sat side by side at the round table while we waited for the boys to arrive. I had wanted to cancel the double date Melissa had scheduled. Things were too off with Rome. I was in no mood to play it up for the cameras, but it was a necessary evil. If I wanted to continue to sway the board, I needed to play my role in this fiasco that was my life.
“Are you going to be like this all night?” Alexandra asked while twirling a piece of her blonde hair between her fingers.
“Potentially.” Which wasn’t great. While Rome could act his part perfectly, I couldn’t pretend. I felt on edge whenever in the same room as him.
I knew I had messed up. While I was initially angry with him for snapping at me earlier in that conversation, I later saw the truth of the matter. Rome had PTSD. I should have guessed it. He despised fireworks; I knew he had nightmares from various remarks he’d made, and he never talked about his time in the service. He didn’t talk about his work at all. He had spent acouple of years working with my brother every day, and I knew nothing about that time.
Maverick sauntered in through the restaurant doors. There was a horde of paparazzi outside the front doors and across the street, snapping photos through the restaurant windows. I had listened to Melissa’s advice and insisted on a table near the window. That was, at least, my claim for being the first one here.
In truth, I was readying myself to face Rome, trying to find the tiniest bit of control in what felt like a hurricane of emotions. That bit of control gave me some comfort.
