by Sienna Skye
“We didn’t ‘hook up’. It wasn’t like that. Not at all.”
He had this way of looking at you that made you feel like he was reading all your thoughts, your secrets.
“So, it was more.” Why did I feel like he was testing me with that statement?
“It was more.”
“Hmmm.”
“Hmmm…what?”
“Well, I’m just thinking that you would like it to still be more.”
“You are way off base. You have no idea about everything that went on.”
“Well, actually I think I do.”
“Jules told you?”
“Julia has three sessions a week with me. Trainers get to be like therapists, bartenders, hair stylists. People talk to us. It helps get out what is either keeping them from concentrating on their workout or it’s a catalyst driving them harder. Besides, we’re friends. She told me the story. I know you just recently found out about little miss.”
“Well, there’s your answer then. There is no way I want more. I can’t get over that she hid that from me.”
“Bullshit.”
“What the fuck?”
“Morgan, you and Hunter hired me for the physical knowledge I have from being a SEAL. But, there’s a lot more than just the physical aspect of that job. I have learned to read people, their body language, their tells. Do you want to know what I think?”
“Not really, but I have a feeling you are going to tell me anyway.”
“Good guess. I think you are not so much pissed that she hid the truth, you are pissed that she didn’t trust you enough to tell the truth. You are pissed at yourself for putting that doubt in her mind. You are pissed that you got played by your father. You came up with a plan and it bit you in the ass. Big time. You are scared because she has been able to live all this time without you. So you choose to hide behind your righteous indignation-”
“Righteous indignation?”
“Yep. It’s easier to put all that blame on her. You run around saying you can’t forgive and you’re done. But, you’re not. I saw you at Hunter’s barbeque, man. Your eyes never left her. You almost blew a gasket every time a man showed any interest in her. It’s all going to backfire on you. Men are going to want her and eventually one of them is going to catch her eye. So, I would get off your ass, Stone.”
He threw some cash on the bar for a tip and stood up. “I’ve backed off out of respect for you, but if you don’t make your move, I will make mine. Clock’s ticking.”
He walked off leaving me seething. Jackass thought he knew what the hell he was talking about. I wasn’t paying him to psychoanalyze. And what the fuck was all that “clock’s ticking” crap? I finished my drink while I considered adding a “no fraternizing with the clients” clause to the employee manual.
Chapter Thirty One
Julia
After my session with Trey on Tuesday morning, I headed over to the TechStone offices to see Morgan. I needed to make that trip down to Virginia. Before I even had a chance to talk to them about my move, I got a call that they wanted to speak to me about something important. I could very easily take Sophia with me, but I wanted to give Morgan time with her. I wasn’t going to go away for a couple of days without watching his reaction when I asked him.
As the elevator reached their floor, I had a moment of panic and sniffed myself. I probably should have thought about that sooner. I was a sweaty mess, but I didn’t think I smelled gross.
“Julia! Good morning. The boys are in Hunter’s office. Head right in.”
“Good morning, Irene. Thank you.”
“Knock. Knock.”
“Hey, kiddo.”
“Hey Jules. Where’s Sophia?”
“Callie grabbed her as soon as we hit the door. Sophia didn’t even give me a second glance. Am I interrupting anything?”
“Not really. Morgan was just about to lose an argument. I’m sure he won’t mind the interruption.”
Hunter made a move like he was going to walk forward to greet me. “Probably not advisable. I just came from the gym. Morgan, there’s something I want to ask you.”
“What is it?”
“I was wondering if you would feel comfortable taking Sophia for a few days. I need to head down to Virginia for a meeting with the magazine.”
“Are you meeting to discuss moving up here? I’ll help Morgan if he needs it.”
“I am planning on talking to them about that, but the magazine actually called the meeting with me.”
“Jules, you know I’d love to spend the time with her. When do you need this to happen?”
“Well I was wondering if you could take her tonight. I want to leave early tomorrow. My meeting is on Thursday. I could head back Thursday night if you need me to, if not, I will head back on Friday.”
“Friday is fine.”
“While I am there, I want to look into how to go about getting Sophia’s name changed to Stone. I’m assuming that is alright with you?”
“Of course, it’s alright. I absolutely want her to have my name. Just let me know whatever I need to do to make that happen.”
“Why are they calling you in for a meeting, Julia?”
“I have no idea. It’s all very hush hush. Seems to be a big deal, though.”
“Do you have an agent representing you?”
“Yeah, he’ll be there.”
“Good. If you need me for anything, let me know. I can be down there in a couple of hours.”
“How fast do you drive, Hunter?”
“The company has a jet.”
“You guys have a jet?”
“Yeah, do you want to take it down?”
I couldn’t help but laugh. They had a freaking jet. “I am fine driving but thank you.”
Chapter Thirty Two
Julia
First thing Thursday morning, I was in my office at Edge, when my agent walked in.
“Good morning, Oliver.”
Oliver walked over and sat in the chair across from my desk. He was watching me carefully and for a moment I became uncertain about the future of my employment status. “Do you have any idea why this meeting was called?”
“Not a clue. Patrick said it was a big deal. Wipe that look off of your face, Julia. It is highly unlikely they would be letting you go. You have an incredible following which is growing like crazy from all the social media push.”
That helped me relax a bit. “Then why are you looking at me like that?”
“Because my girlfriend got some while she was gone.” He smirked as if he dared me to deny it. “You’ve got that just fucked glow about you.”
“Still?”
“Ha! Knew it. Who did you wrap those pretty legs around? Or were you riding that cowboy?”
“Cowboy? In Jersey?”
He waved his hand in the air. “Whatever. Spill.”
“Actually, it was up against a wall.”
“When my girl does it, she does it right. So where did this happen?”
“Ummm…at my brother’s wedding reception.”
He laughed and slammed his hand down so hard on the arm of the chair I jumped. “Scandalous. I love it. Was he tall, dark, and handsome? Please tell me he was.”
“Tall, dark hair, but green eyes. And yes, handsome. Sinfully hot, actually.”
“Do. Not. Tell. Me. You fucked your baby daddy?”
“Okay, I won’t tell you.”
“Two questions. First, was it as good as you remembered?”
“Better. But maybe only because it had been so long.”
“Doubtful. Second question. Did he know he is your baby daddy when you two were reuniting?”
“Not then, but he does now.”
“How did that go?”
“Okay, I guess. I mean he is thrilled to death to be a father. But, let’s just say that there won’t be any more reuniting. He’s civil. Even friendly maybe. But, he can’t forgive me for what I did.”
“He’s hurt. He’ll get over it.”
“Not enough to ever want to be with me again.”
“Is that what you want? For you guys to be together?”
“I never stopped wanting it. And now that I know the whole story…” I proceeded to fill him in on everything that happened. Oliver was one of the few people who knew who Morgan was and that he was Sophia’s father. He never passed any judgment and Sophia loved her Uncle Oliver. Both Oliver and his boyfriend Luke were great with her and she ate up their attention.
“Sweetheart, your life is like some Lifetime movie.”
“Yeah, but the girl is not going to end up with the guy at the end of this one. I did go on a date the other night. With Kyle.”
His eyebrows wrinkled as he ran through names in his head. “Your brother’s friend. Hunter, not Morgan. California surfer boy looks. Breakfast for dinner.”
I laughed. “That’s him. I will never doubt if you pay attention to my stories.”
“How did that go?”
“It was very nice. Dinner and a movie.” Then as if someone were listening, I lowered my voice. “We kissed for a while.”
He mockingly copied my low voice. “It’s perfectly acceptable to kiss someone. This isn’t the dark ages.” Then in a normal tone he continued. “So you had a good time.”
“Yes…”
“I hear a ‘but’ in there.”
“He is totally someone I could enjoy going out with again.”
“If you weren’t in love with Morgan.”
“Yeah that. And Kyle said it, too. He said that he could tell I still had feelings for Morgan and he thought I should see if there was anything still there.”
“But you don’t think there is.”
“No, I don’t. I have to go on with my life, Oliver. I don’t want to end up some crazy old cat lady pining away for what could have been.”
“First of all, you are not a cat person. Second, you are far too spectacular for that to happen. Third, I wouldn’t let it happen to you. It’s a bad look.” I tossed my stress ball at him which he caught with ease.
“You know, a while back I felt that Jace and I were going in that direction. We talked about it. He said he would handle Morgan if we got together. Of course, at that time we both thought that Morgan just dumped me so he wouldn’t be tied down and could mess around. I never told Jace about Sophia because I didn’t want to put him in the middle with information like that.”
“Does Jace know now?”
“Not yet. I am meeting him for breakfast tomorrow before I head back.”
Patrick popped his head in then. “We are meeting in the conference room in five minutes.”
I took a seat at the conference table. There were people I knew from the magazine, but there were two people who I had never seen before. Even when I was introduced to them, it was by name only and their names did not ring any bells. I started to tap out a rhythm on my thigh. Oliver put his hand briefly over mine. His code to remind me to breathe and everything was going to be fine.
Patrick smiled at me. “Julia, I know you mentioned to me this morning about wanting to move back to New Jersey and writing your column from there.”
“Yes, I do.”
“The timing couldn’t be more perfect for what is being proposed here today.”
“I’m listening.”
He then introduced the two unfamiliar men as representatives from Your Wake Up Call, a nationally syndicated morning show based out of New York City.
“Your Wake Up Call has expressed interest in doing a live Ask Nikki segment.”
Holy crap! National television?
I brought my attention to the two men sitting across from me.
“How would the segment work?”
“You would be fielding questions from live callers. Prescreened of course.”
“I am a assuming you are familiar with the nature of the majority of the questions I receive. I am not quite sure how that will work with morning television.”
“We are very much aware. We have been following your column for quite some time and this has been discussed in detail. We will prescreen as we said, and we will make a disclaimer at the beginning of each segment so parents can make sure children aren’t in the room and those with more delicate sensibilities are forewarned. Of course, there is always someone in the booth with their finger on the dump button. The truth of the matter is we are looking to switch things up a bit, make the show edgier.”
“With the help of my followers, I can certainly accomplish that. How often would these segments be airing?”
“Once a week to start. If the ratings show a positive result, we may wish to increase the frequency.”
Oliver jumped in. “I’m assuming you have some numbers for us to review.”
Oh yeah, right. They were going to pay me for this. The gentleman who had been quiet this whole time slid a piece of paper over to Oliver who looked at it and then showed it to me. It was a lot more than I thought they would offer for a once a week segment.
“My client and I will need to discuss this. When are you looking to start airing?”
“We understand it is somewhat short notice, but we would like to start in four weeks. Our goal is to entice viewership before the fall season.”
“So, you would need an answer soon.”
“How does Monday morning sound?”
“I believe that is doable. Gentlemen, I will be in touch.” This is why I had Oliver. I would have jumped in and said yes.
After everyone left, Oliver and I reviewed their proposal.
“I want to do it, Oliver.”
“I know you do. You would have probably said yes if they offered you an iced tea lemonade and some snacks.”
“It’s more money that I would have imagined they would offer.”
“It’s lower than they expect to have to pay. It’s a negotiation tactic. Let me do what I do and see what I can get you.” He stood up to leave.
“I really want this job, Oliver.”
“You’ll get it Julia. Have a little faith in me.”
Oliver called me early Friday morning with their counter offer. He had been correct when he said they were anticipating paying more. My eyes almost popped out of my head when I heard their offer. I told Oliver to accept and I headed off to meet Jace for breakfast.
We met in the restaurant lobby and were seated quickly. I planned to just come out and tell Jace. He had been a huge part of why I was able to get through my breakup and move. We had become even closer over the past few years. I waited until the waitress took our orders and poured our coffee.
“Jace, there is something I need to tell you. Something that I kept from you.”
“That you have been secretly in love with me for years?”
“Well besides that.”
“Let’s have it.”
After a few seconds of trying to figure out what to say, I took my phone out and scrolled through to find a picture of Sophia. I handed the phone over to Jace who looked at the picture and then up at me.
“You and Morgan have a daughter.” It wasn’t a question. It was true when people said she was the perfect mix of the two of us.
I nodded my head.
“I was overseas in the later months of your pregnancy.” Again, it wasn’t a question.
“Yes. You left before I started to show and came back after she was born.”
“Did you know you were pregnant when you left Jersey?”
“No, not until weeks later.” I told him the whole story. Damn, I was tired of telling it already. After I was done, he looked at me carefully.
“Is that why you never let it get any further with us?”
“Yes,” I whispered. “Jace, I couldn’t tell you and put you in the middle of my mess and I wouldn’t start a relationship with you with that kind of secret between us.”
He seemed to think about that for a moment before shaking his head. “Are you and Morgan back together now?”
“No. He can’t forgive me. We get along for S
ophia’s sake.”
“Sophia? You named her after his Mom. He told you he can’t forgive you?”
“Yes. He feels betrayed. He’s angry. That’s tough to get past.”
“But not impossible. I know him and I know you. You are both good people. Good people who made some screwed up decisions with the cards you were dealt. You got over him breaking it off with you because you understood the reasons behind it. It’s not much different than what you did.”
“No, it’s a lot different. I kept his child from him.”
“You kept a child from him because you thought he had written her off. I’m not saying it wasn’t a shitty thing to do, Jules. But I know you weren’t doing it to be malicious. He’ll see that. And more importantly, I think you need to see that about yourself.”
I didn’t have the same faith Jace did. I still loved Morgan, but I couldn’t see how we could ever come back from the web of lies we had been entangled in.
We spent the rest of breakfast catching up. We talked about Hunter’s wedding and the TV show. I hugged him goodbye and made him promise to come back home for a visit.
I leaned against my car to call Morgan and let him know I was on my way back.
“Everything go alright with your meeting? Did you talk about writing your column from here?”
“The meeting went better than I expected and it won’t be a problem to relocate. I will talk to you and Hunter about it when I get home. I just wanted to let you know I was heading back to pick up Sophia.”
“I won’t let her know yet. The phone calls and FaceTime haven’t been cutting it. She has only asked about seven hundred times when you are coming home.”
“I’ll let you know when I am close. You can tell her then.”
“Sounds good. Drive carefully.”
“Will do. Bye Morgan. Love you.” As soon as the words left my mouth, I froze. There was as much silence coming from Morgan’s end of the phone and then suddenly he spoke.
“I’ll see you when you get back, Julia.”
It was at that moment I finally accepted that he was done with me. It wasn’t even so much that he didn’t tell me he loved me back. He called me Julia. When had he ever done that?
