Two of Rawlings’ suits flank the elevator, stiff and menacing.
“Morning, gentlemen,” I tell them cheerfully.
They glare in unison and I chuckle, until I see her, and the sound lodges in my airways. Through the glass walls of her office, I spot Jackie a few feet away…but she’s not alone.
Who thefuckis that guy standing so close to her? With flowers?!
I’m so distracted that Michelle’s timid hello goes over my head. I barely notice her hopping up from her chair until she’s already following me.
“I’ll let her know you’re—”
“It’s alright, Shells,” I cut in, flashing her my most convincing smile, even as I lie through my teeth. She blushes, clearly flustered, and I lean in just enough to soften my tone. “She’s expecting me.”
She’s not. And I shouldn’t care, but the longer I stare, the more something putrid takes the place of the worry I’d been wrestling with minutes ago.
“Oh, Adam, by the way,” Michelle touches my elbow. “Thanks for the book. It… helped.”
Before I barrel into Jackie’s office, I stop. Actually look at her. She told me about her brother. About his condition, how she and her parents take care of him. It was obvious it was taking a toll on her.
“Anytime,” I say quietly. “If you want to talk, we can always grab a drink.”
She gives me a small smile and nods. It strikes me, not for the first time, that I’ve gotten closer to Jackie’s assistant this past year. Yet my “conversation” at the engagement dinner amounted to the most words her boss has said to me in that same stretch of time.
Three feet forward, I’m at the threshold. Frozen.
They’re so absorbed in each other they don’t see me. The guy is her height, dark hair, trim, pinstriped suit. The type of man her mother probably prayed Jackie would end up with. My polar opposite.
He’s cradling her face, murmuring. Like he has the fucking right to touch her like that.
For a split second, I consider turning around and leaving.
His words cut through the roar of blood rushing in my ears.
“Come back with me,” he pleads. “You can run another company in London. Hell, I think my father would probably hand you the keys to his business over me.” His thumbs caress Jackie’s cheekbones with such tenderness that my insides twist violently. “And I’ll keep you safe.”
This fancy suit thinks he could give her the comfort and safety she needs. I’m rooted on the spot, unable to focus on anything other than his hands on Jackie.
I’ve paraded my dates in front of her for years, trying to prove I’ve moved on. That I don’t need her. Never once did I consider what it would feel like to see her with someone else. Turns out it’s like my ribs just caved in.
They have history. This much is clear, and the realization is another punch in the gut.
Jackie smiles, anchoring her palm on his wrists, too comfortable with his presence. “I’m good, I promise.”
He leans in, resting his forehead against hers.
“Don’t you miss us? We were so perfect together.”
So, this is the guy she fell into bed with after she left me behind? While I was here, breaking apart, losing my damn mind, trying to understand how I could’ve misread her that badly.
“Will, I told you—”
I can’t listen anymore. I knock hard on the glass door. Loud enough that Jackie jumps back, and the sound of people working on their computers behind me comes to a halt.
I wanted her to feel embarrassed, to shake off his embrace, but instead she turns back to him. “We’ll talk about it tonight, OK?”
He levels me with a cool gaze, hand extended. “Hello there. William Errington, pleasure.”
I won’t let this pompous Brit intimidate me. My handshake is firm, perhaps more forceful than necessary. “Adam Erickson.”
