Mixed Emotions

by MIA HEINTZELMAN

  In his chair, Arnold leaned back and drummed his fingers on the table. “And may I ask what your ‘diligence’ resulted in?”

  “Indeed.” Mike gave a half-shrug. It was light-hearted teasing, but Mike enjoyed himself, nonetheless. His muscles relaxed, and he spoke boisterously,. “As it turns out I discovered you also met with Easton Investments with the intent to sell the Chessington building to them.”

  Arnold’s eyes went wide. Apparently, he wasn’t aware the information had leaked. Mike would have to give Kendra and her friend at Arnold Investments a special gift of thanks once this was all over and done with.

  On a deep inhale, Arnold shook his head and paled with shock as he attempted to explain the information away. “Let’s be honest, here. At the end of the day, this is just part of business. I wanted to make sure I was getting the best bang for my buck.” A self-righteous smirk appeared on his face. “You can’t fault me for that, now can you?”

  I most certainly can.

  Inside, Mike was cringing. He hated the expression bang for your buck. It sounded exactly like what Arnold was doing: trying to fuck them for a dollar. But Monroe Properties was not hanging out on a street corner dangling its goods for the first taker. Monroe Properties didn’t need his buck.

  “Trust me, I know exactly what you’re talking about, sir.” Mike lifted his chin and breathed an even sigh. “But, given this new information, it’s my duty to inform you Monroe Properties will no longer be pursuing any business ventures with Arnold Investments. As such, we are formally withdrawing our bid for the Chessington building. On behalf of the partners and myself, we thank you for your consideration and wish you the best in your future endeavors.”

  In the back of his mind, Zora’s face flashed before him. Her eyes sparkled as she gave him the thumbs-up for doing the right thing. Mike was riding high on a feeling of lightness and he couldn’t wait to get home to tell Zora all about his day.

  It hadn’t been the easiest thing, though.

  He watched as Arnold’s mouth fell open, but then he stilled Mike in place with his beady eyes.

  Ready for this whole scene to come to an end, Mike stood and extended his hand—finality drenched in the gesture. Arnold was slow to take it, and when he did, the handshake was weak and lingered for a moment too long as he met Mike’s eyes. The stare was meaningful. Like he knew something Mike didn’t.

  Arnold went poker-faced, gathering his belongings as he ambled toward the door, but Mike couldn’t dismiss the pregnant pause and the blank expression plastered on his weathered face.

  Sure enough, when he reached for the door handle, he pivoted back to Mike. “One more thing. Just a heads up, I’ve been doing a little digging, too. Seems Baker & Bronson is entertaining the addition of a certain promising attorney who makes it his business to oversee the checks and balances of his current employer. I don’t know about you, but it makes me wonder what both of those company’s policies are regarding loyalty.” One side of his mouth pulled up in a wicked grin. “Just a thought.”

  With his bomb drop, he tapped his head with his hand then saluted to the merits of one-upmanship.

  Fuck.

  Mike blinked, watching his form fade into the distance as he rounded the corner back to the lobby. A muscle in Mike’s jaw twitched. The thought of Arnold telling Everett about the interest from Baker & Bronson was sobering. What would Zora think after everything they were building based on honesty and trust?

  What am I going to do?

  He pinched the bridge of his nose.

  “Kendra, I’m working from home for the rest of the day.”

  Enough of keeping up this charade.

  Whether Everett was ready or not, Mike was going to put it all out there and ask his best friend to make it official—he was going to ask to be made partner.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Zora

  “Okay. I see you and Mike are all coupled up.” Oli hummed through the thin dressing room wall between them. “Girl, I am not mad at you, though. Domestic goddess is definitely a good look for you. Packing his lunch and your cute little movie nights… I’ll bet the sex is next level—“

  “I’m going to stop you right there,” Zora rolled her eyes even though Oli couldn’t see her. “Can we maybe not tell the whole world what’s going on in my life? In case you hadn’t noticed, we are not the only people in here.” There was a low grumble to the last words as she tried and failed to reason with her best friend.

  They’d spent the entire morning in Mike’s kitchen shooting pictures of the finished lunch dishes for the cookbook before eating way too much of the finished product then deciding to work it off with some minor retail therapy. At the time, catching up with Oli seemed like a good idea. Now that Oli was putting all of her business out on Front Street for any- and everyone to hear, Zora was questioning her own logic.

  The sound of Oli sucking her teeth echoed through the room. “Oh, I noticed. I just don’t care. It’s not like anybody in here knows who we’re talking about.”

  “Whatever. Just come out because…ugh. I can’t wear this.”

  Zora unlatched the door, walked out, and centered herself in the wall-length mirror then winced at her reflection. It was just dinner with Mike. Why did she have to get all dolled up? The man had seen her looking like death on a stick, coughing and hacking away in frumpy pajamas…and with no clothes at all. A frilly red dress wasn’t going to make any difference—even if did sort of make her ass look like an Olympic gymnast’s.

  “Yes. That is going to make all the difference.” Oli came out of her stall looking fierce in a deep purple bandage number that highlighted her perky boobs and fit like a second skin. “If you let me get my hands on your hair, and with a little bit of makeup…” she trailed off, but Zora filled in the blanks.

  She could have him eating out of the palm of her hands.

  That’s surely what would have come next, but that’s where Oli was wrong. There was no could about it. He’d already eaten—chocolate syrup, honey, and caramel drizzle—off the palms of her hands and other body parts. They were thoroughly enjoying every sweet second with each other. Even though she knew it was going to come back to bite her in the end, the whole throwing caution to the wind thing was doing wonders for both her libido and her complexion.

  “I see you thinking about it,” Oli said.

  Zora looked at her flushed, smitten expression in the mirror and dragged her hands slowly over the svelte curves of her body, remembering Mike’s warm deft hands on her this morning. Their skin was pressed firmly together. A slow, excruciating burn had pricked, pulsed and teased...

  A breath hitched in her throat.

  Still hung up on the memory, Zora grazed her teeth over the tip of her thumb.

  “Mmm. Mmm. Mmm. Now I know it’s good.”

  Zora rolled her eyes. “Shut up,” she said, trying and failing to bite back a shit-eating grin. She’d barely noticed that Oli stopped talking. Then, she looked up and past their reflections in the mirror.

  She saw a mass of loose, sunny blonde curls, and YouTube tutorial-perfect makeup attached to a dancer’s sculpted body.

  Kate.

  Of all the T.J. Maxx dressings rooms, in all the world, she walks into mine.

  Of course, she couldn’t be the type to smile awkwardly and keep walking because Zora didn’t have that kind of luck—any, apparently.

  “Hi,” Kate said, biting her bottom lip as she scrutinized Zora’s reflection in the mirror. “I wasn’t eavesdropping or anything. I just heard you guys talking, and I couldn’t help but overhear that you and Mike are together now.”

  Wow. She doesn’t beat around the bush.

  Zora smiled nervously and gave a noncommittal nod.

  What do you really want me to say here? Yes, we’re going at it like rabbits? I’m happier than I remember ever being? I’m not going to lie.

  Kate gave a half-smile and lowered her chin to her chest before meeting Zora’s eyes in the mirror again. They
were standing a few inches apart, close enough for Zora to smell her light floral perfume, but it was as if Kate couldn’t meet her gaze without the mirror as a buffer.

  “I’m…really happy for you guys,” Kate said in an even and soft tone. Zora wanted to find some kind of fault in her words, some hidden double meaning, if only to feel validated in feeling defensive, but it wasn’t there. Kate was genuine, and her voice was filled with the emotion.

  Silently, Zora scanned the half dozen or so hangers full of yoga pants and sport bras in Kate’s manicured hands. The woman was perfect—physically and, probably, mentally. She didn’t seem to have any screws loose or active vendettas. Apparently, they were going to engage in mature conversation without one of them going for the jugular or clawing for hair.

  “Thanks,” Zora said.

  But, there was something still niggling at Zora. Why did things even end between Mike and Kate? One second they’d been good, and then, just like that, it was over. Clean break. No explanations. Not that Zora should question it, but why not Kate? If this gorgeous woman wasn’t enough for him… Why am I?

  “I just…” Kate swallowed, and the sight of her glistening eyes in the reflection rattled something loose in Zora. Kate was hurt, and here Zora was picking out dresses for a date with the same man who’d caused her pain, thinking she was lucky somehow. All these years, Zora had front row seats to the show—Mike and his magic revolving door of women.

  Dammit.

  It was like coming inside from the darkness, and her eyes slowly adjusted to the light. Realization flooded in from every direction.

  She wasn’t lucky.

  She was just next in line to be dismissed.

  In that moment, Zora couldn’t breathe. Her throat closed, and her heartbeat raced. It sounded like a sledgehammer slamming against steel. She blinked and blinked, but she wasn’t seeing clearly.

  “Zo?” Oli’s face came flying into her line of vision, magnified and blurred. Her voice was too loud. “You good? Oh shit, you don’t look so good. Let me grab my purse.”

  As soon as Oli ran off, Zora stumbled backwards into the wall.

  “Whoa,” Kate mumbled as she steadied Zora against the wall, helping to lower her to the floor. She tilted her head and studied Zora for a second. “I think she’s dehydrated. How much water did you drink today?”

  “N-not much,” Zora managed. She was still shell-shocked. Why was Kate here?

  Why is she helping me?

  Everything about Kate was soft and real. The wild strands of hair in her face and her pale blue eyes reminded Zora of the calm of the ocean. She seemed genuinely nice and thoughtful. If she didn’t need to keep her distance based solely on Kate’s status as an ex, Zora would totally be friends with this woman.

  “I didn’t get much sleep,” Zora added and immediately wished she could slurp the words back in.

  I’ll bet the sex is next level.

  Kate had definitely heard every word.

  Gah, I’m such an asshole.

  “It’s fine. I’m fine,” Zora said, the words drawing together into a jumbled mess. She struggled to get to her feet, wobbling as she did. “Uh…thank you for your help.” She cleared her throat in an attempt to be more poised than she felt. “We have to be going.”

  Zora eyed Oli hoping she would catch the hint, but Oli cocked her head and the crease between her brows deepened.

  As one of my oldest, dearest friends, why can’t you for once read my mind? I’m fucking losing it over here.

  Oli bobbed her head and puckered her bottom lip in a knowing smirk. “So you’re wearing this out of the store, or did you want to take it off first and maybe pay for it? I don’t know…maybe let the cashier put it in a cute plastic bag for you? I won’t do crime because I, for one, cannot do the time.”

  Breathe. Do not kill your best friend.

  Zora refused to fall apart with Kate sitting courtside. There was no way in hell she was going to ask Kate what happened between her and Mike.

  Annoyed, Zora flashed Oli a death stare before turning to Kate. “It was nice seeing you, and thanks for your help.” Still in the dress, she lifted her chin and pulled back her shoulders as she calmly walked into her dressing room, picked up her clothes, shoes, and purse, and padded barefoot past Oli. “I’ll meet you at the register.”

  Zora yanked the tag off the red dress and handed it to the cashier along with her credit card. “I’ll still take a bag, though, for my clothes.”

  While the guy rang her up, Oli bypassed the other five people waiting and made her way to the register with Zora. “We’re together.” She flashed a quick smile at the cashier and set her dress on the counter before meeting Zora’s glare. “I’ll Venmo you or something, but, are we going to talk about what happened back there in the dressing room, or what?”

  “Can we just get out of this store?” Kate could be checking out at any minute.

  Apparently, the answer was no.

  Judging by Oli’s smirk, the chances of her letting this one slide for now was slim to none. Fine.

  “It’s a sign.”

  “That what? You need to drink more water or that I don’t have a hot man waiting for me at home and I’m still getting this dress because it’s $9.99? You don’t just pass up a deal like this.”

  Zora sighed. “Agreed. But how are Kate and I here at the exact same time? Were we looking at the same woman? Explain why Mike would end things with her. She’s perfect.” She put her credit card back into her wallet.

  “Um, no. You of all people should know you don’t judge a book by its cover. All that…“ She fanned her open hands in front of her face in a circular washing motion. “It’s decoration. A good trip to Ulta or Sephora will do it for any woman, but what’s going on in her noggin, that’s a completely different story. She could be a crazed lunatic or a jealous psycho. Who knows?”

  The cashier breathed loudly and both of their eyes shot to him.

  “If you could just sign here, you’re all set.” He pointed to the signature pad with the stylus strung to a long cord.

  Zora signed and pressed the okay button. “Do you know why they broke up?” Zora asked Oli. “With the whole setup and everything, you must know something.”

  “Ahem.”

  Again, Zora and Oli were interrupted by the cashier.

  His shoulders slumped and his head sort of hung to the side like she was the customer he’d dreaded all day but knew was coming in one form or another. “Would you like your receipt by email or printed?”

  “Lord have mercy.” Zora jolted around and tapped the stylus on the email button then waited for the screen to clear back to the landing page. She could feel her face screw into a twisted grimace when she turned back to him. “Is there anything else?”

  The guy flashed a tight smile and shook his head as he pushed a button to illuminate his register number two sign.

  Together, Zora and Oli walked out of the automatic doors into the cool afternoon air. Really, her anger was misdirected. She was irritated Oli wouldn’t say more. Angry with Mike for making her feel so insecure. She was most angry with herself for allowing things between her and Mike to escalate so quickly to the point she was already losing herself. He was all she thought about. This was exactly what she hadn’t wanted.

  She was more than this thing between them.

  Zora lifted a questioning brow at Oli, still waiting for her answer. Childishly, she refused to speak first, but the instant Oli opened her mouth, a loud ping sounded in the air.

  “It’s not me. That’s your phone,” Oli rested her hands on her hips and waited expectantly while Zora scrolled through to the message. “Well? Who was that?”

  “The builder. My house is going to be finished earlier than they thought. My closing date got moved up to April 10th.”

  If Zora hadn’t attuned herself with the signs of fate before, she did now. She should be ecstatic. She was getting exactly what she wanted. A house. Independence. Space. Staying with Mike was always te
mporary, but somehow the idea of moving out and adding space between them felt final, like an ending. This small change in direction made her feel like they were on a downhill slope.

  Now, more than ever, she needed to know what happened with Mike and Kate. Zora’s future with him depended on it.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Mike

  Mike scrubbed his hands over his face as an emptiness settled in the pit of his stomach.

  “Look who it is!” Everett’s cheerful voice bellowed and thundered throughout the cab of Mike’s car.

  “Hey. How’s it going out there? Is the water nice?” It was a shitty dig and Mike knew it. Everett and Sophia were no more telling the truth about being in Bali than he was about Arnold and declining the Chessington building purchase. Still, it hardened his chest a bit about asking for what he deserved.

  It was now or never.

  “Listen, Ev. I don’t mean to call in the middle of your trip, but I need to give you the rundown on the meeting with Arnold. I, uh…didn’t go through with the deal.”

  The resulting silence went straight to Mike’s chest as he waited. Then it thickened until he heard Everett exhale his frustrations.

  “I see.”

  “I know I should have called you first, but Kendra and I did some digging after Arnold delayed the meeting by a week. We found out he had Easton Investments on the calendar the same day. He used our offer to hedge his bet and see if they would beat it, but they must not have been able to match because he showed up today.”

  Everett sighed, but Mike kept going.

  “I was sure he would cancel, but he came. Late, but he was there, smug and pompous like he had this thing in the bag. I just…I knew it wasn't the best purchase for the company. I couldn’t in good conscience let the company build such a risky partnership.”