S is for Second Chance

by Annie J. Rose

  I immediately took offense. “I didn’t sell you out, but that’s not what I need to talk to you about.”

  “Did he double-cross you? I knew it was a mistake to go into business with him.”

  “No, he didn’t do anything. He’s making sure you get rich again. Judging by the look of this place, you need it.”

  “Watch your mouth, young lady,” he growled.

  “I need to ask you something,” I said, feeling nauseous all over again.

  “What is it?” he asked, straightening his tie.

  “Three years ago, when you sent me to work for Devin, you told me it was because he stole a deal from you. You wanted me to get it back for you. Did you lie?”

  “Did I lie about what?” he asked.

  “You told me Devin stole that deal from you. Is that true?”

  He wouldn’t look at me. “In business, one man might think he owns the rights to something, when in fact, he doesn’t necessarily own it.”

  “That’s not an answer,” I told him, a sinking feeling in my gut. “Who orchestrated that deal?”

  He cleared his throat. “The company had put out feelers for an investor. I responded and was hoping to secure the deal for us.”

  “Hoping? You never actually had it?”

  He shrugged. “I would have had McKay not jumped in.”

  I closed my eyes. “You told me it was yours and Devin stole it out from under your nose! You lied to me! You had me go into his office and commit theft of proprietary information! You could have ruined my reputation in the field.”

  “We needed that cash infusion, Elly. Our company was going under fast. There was a string of bad investments, and we were going to lose everything.”

  I shook my head. “So, you thought the answer was to take from someone else? Devin secured that deal. He did the work, and you had me steal it all out from under him.”

  “Obviously he’s recovered just fine,” he spat.

  “That’s not the point,” I argued. “I did something horrible because you lied to me. You told me horrible things about him and what he supposedly did to you. Was any of it true?”

  He shrugged. “Devin is one of those arrogant pricks who thinks his shit doesn’t stink. He walks around like he’s a god. He deserved to get taken down a peg or two.”

  My eyes widened. “Why? Because he was more successful than you?”

  He slapped his hand on the desk. “Because I was a major player before his father and guys like him came along. They started outbidding me and promising more than I could keep up with. They drove me into the ground!”

  I got up and shook my head. “No, Dad. You did that all by yourself.”

  I walked out, ignoring whatever it was he was trying to say. I had nothing more to say to him. He was a despicable man. He was the liar and the cheat. He was the con man. I couldn’t believe I had been so naive to fall for his lies.

  I didn’t care that he’d lost the family fortune or the family business. I cared that he cost me what I was sure was my one shot at real happiness with Devin. How could I ever expect Devin to trust me? If I were in his shoes, I wouldn’t. I wouldn’t believe anything that came out of my mouth.

  My heart felt heavy as I walked along the sidewalk. Commuters in a hurry to get to wherever they were going jostled me back and forth. I barely felt it. I thought about Lizzy. Her own grandfather had stolen away a little piece of her life because he was a liar. It was so unfair. The sins of the father had certainly been visited upon us.

  I couldn’t claim complete innocence in the situation. I had willingly gone along with my father’s plan to steal information. It didn’t matter if I thought I was doing it to get even. Two wrongs didn’t make a right. I did owe Devin an apology, and I would have to find a way to tell him. If he would even give me the time of day.

  Chapter 27

  Devin

  I had been right to get out of town for a day or two. I felt refreshed and ready to tackle the Elly situation head-on. Wes had helped me put some perspective on the situation, and I realized I simply had to be the bigger man. I had to be willing to forgive all and move forward, or I would never get what I wanted.

  And I wanted Elly. I wanted her and Lizzy in my life. I knew I was risking my heart, but I had to talk to her. I had to know if she was willing to set aside the baggage that kept bringing us down and move forward with a future I was certain could be very good for both of us.

  If she was willing to hear me out, I wanted a promise that we would always be brutally honest with each other from that point on. No more secrets. No more lies. If she was willing to agree to that, we could figure out the rest. I had no doubt in my mind that we had a bond that was unlike anything other people felt. Maybe I was being arrogant, but I was confident what we had was special. I felt it every time we touched. I knew she had to feel it as well.

  “I’ll need to make a stop at the toy store,” I told the driver.

  “Yes, sir,” he answered, pulling the car to a stop.

  “Ten minutes,” I said, jumping out and going inside.

  I knew exactly what I was looking for. I went directly to the aisle with all the stuffed animals. I smiled when I saw the teddy bears that were damn near as big as I was. Another time. For now, I needed something a bit more subdued. I found a beautiful, silky black bear with pink feet and a pink ribbon. It was perfect.

  I paid for the bear, already mentally picking out the other items I would be buying for my little girl once things were settled. I was going to spoil the hell out of her. She was going to be a spoiled little princess, and I didn’t give a shit who said otherwise.

  “Here,” I said when the driver pulled up to Tiffany’s.

  I caught his smile in the mirror. “Should I wait?”

  “Yes, I don’t think this will take long.”

  He chuckled. “You might want to take your time with this purchase.”

  I grinned. “I already know exactly what I want.”

  It took me less than thirty minutes to make my purchase. When I got back into the car, I gave him Elly’s address. I was nervous as hell. I had no idea if she would even agree to see me. I wasn’t even sure she was in town. Part of me had worried she would hop a plane and leave the city again.

  “Can you please let Elly Savage know Devin McKay is here to see her?” I asked the doorman.

  He gave me a look that made me wonder if he knew about our relationship. “Just a moment.”

  He walked to his small desk and picked up the phone. I waited, holding the cloth bag in my hand. If she refused to see me, I would have to get creative. I wasn’t going away until I got her to talk to me. I needed her to hear me out. I could hear the doorman speaking in a low voice, his back to me. I was beginning to lose hope when he turned to me and nodded. “You can go up.”

  “Thank you,” I breathed with a sigh of relief.

  I practically ran to the elevator, tapping my foot as it slowly climbed the floors. I wiped my sweaty palms on my legs, waiting for the elevator doors to open. I made my way down the hall and stared at the door. I hadn’t exactly rehearsed what I would say, but I wanted to make sure I said as much as I could before she booted me out.

  When she opened the door, all worries about her being angry with me faded. “Elly?” I asked, noticing the red puffy eyes and the telltale signs that she’d been crying.

  “What do you want, Devin?” she asked. Her voice was filled with resignation as if she expected me to kick her while she was down.

  “Can I come in?” I asked, worried to ask about why she was crying. She sighed and held open the door. “Fine.”

  The moment I was through the door, Lizzy ran to me, carrying the unicorn. She wrapped her arms around my legs, giving me her version of a hug. My heart practically melted. “Hi, Lizzy,” I said, patting her head. I couldn’t move out of fear I would knock her over.

  “Let’s go play,” Lizzy said.

  Lizzy let go of my legs and headed into the living room. Elly handed her a sippy
cup and settled her in on a blanket spread out on the floor. A strange cartoon was on that quickly captivated Lizzy’s attention.

  “Are you okay?” I asked Elly in a low voice.

  “I’m fine,” she answered without conviction. “Have a seat.”

  I sat down on the couch, my eyes going to Lizzy, who was stacking LEGOs together and watching TV at the same time.

  “Why are you here?” she asked.

  “I was hoping we could talk about a few things,” I told her.

  “I don’t want to fight with you anymore. I really just don’t have it in me.”

  “I don’t want to fight anymore either. I’ve had some time to think about things, and I know I absolutely want you and Lizzy in my life. I’ve realized I don’t want to lose you. Either of you.”

  She let out a big sigh. “This yo-yo thing is too hard. I hate the ups and downs. The ups are greats, but the downs are really awful.”

  I nodded. “I agree. I don’t want to fight. It does us no good. I’d like to try and work through our issues and move on from them.”

  “Is that even possible?” she asked. “You have some pretty strong feelings about things. I’m not saying I blame you, but I can’t change what’s already done.”

  “I know. I don’t want to rehash all that. I want us to be open and honest from this point on. I want the two of us to figure out a relationship.”

  She didn’t look convinced. “What does that even look like?”

  “I don’t know. I was hoping we could work that out together.”

  She wrinkled her nose. “Why would you want to bother? We always bring each other so much frustration.”

  I smiled. “I think that frustration means we care. We wouldn’t get so aggravated if we didn’t care.”

  She smiled. “I suppose that’s true.”

  “I can still remember the first time I laid eyes on you. You were a fresh-faced intern fresh out of college and ready to conquer the world. I saw those baby blues, and I was smitten. When I’m thinking about you and some of the stuff we’ve been through, I think of you as my kryptonite.”

  She laughed, a soft tinkling sound. “Kryptonite? Is that supposed to be a compliment?”

  I shrugged. “Yes and no. You have the power to cripple me. I can brush anyone else off, but with you, I care. I care about what you think of me. I want to be a man you can want to be with. I want to be good enough for you, for her.”

  “You are good enough. It’s me who has the flaws.”

  “I have wanted you from the very moment I saw you,” I told her. “I told myself I couldn’t have you, but it didn’t stop me from wanting you. That night in my office was one of the best nights in my life. I knew then I wanted to be with you.”

  She scoffed. “Until you found out who I was.”

  “Honestly, even after everything came out, I still wanted you. The last three years I’ve dreamed about you every night. I haven’t been with another woman since you. There is no other woman who compares to you. You are the gold standard in my eyes. You are the one I want to be with. Our differences are there, and we do have some stuff to work out, but it will be worth it.”

  She didn’t look convinced. “There’s so much baggage. How can we ever really get over that?”

  “We will if we try. I know we can be good together. We can be good for each other.”

  “I don’t know,” she said, chewing on her lower lip. Her eyes moved to our daughter happily playing. “Look at me,” she said, turning her eyes back to me. “I’m a mess. I can’t be like this. It isn’t good for her to see me like this.”

  “I don’t want you to be sad,” I told her, fighting the urge to touch her. “I’ll do everything in my power to keep you from being sad.”

  She rubbed a hand over her face. “This is not what I was expecting.”

  “Good. I like to keep you guessing.”

  “I like when things are good between us,” she finally said.

  “Then it’s settled,” I said, slapping a hand on my thigh. “We’ll make things good between us.”

  “As if it’s that easy,” she groaned.

  “It isn’t easy, but we have to try. It isn’t just us we have to think about.” I looked at Lizzy and smiled. “She needs her parents to be happy. It would be great if we could be happy together and give her the life she deserves. No matter what, I’m here to stay. I’m not abandoning either of you.”

  She was quiet for several seconds. I felt like I was losing her in that moment. Panic welled inside me. I had to do something and fast. I couldn’t lose her.

  “Elly, I’m sorry. I treated you harshly. I shouldn’t have. I let my own hurt get the best of me. I shouldn’t have spoken to you the way I did. No matter what transpired between us, you didn’t deserve to be disrespected that way.”

  “Please, don’t apologize,” she whispered.

  My heart pounded in my chest. I sensed she was about to tell me it was too little, too late. I didn’t know what else to say or do to make her understand I could be the man she needed. I could take care of her and Lizzy. I would always treat them well.

  “Wait,” I said. “Don’t make a decision right now. Please, think about it. I know things are still a little raw from our last fight. Don’t decide when you’re obviously still upset about that. Please, give it a day, two, whatever it takes. I’ll wait. I’m not going anywhere. If you go back to California, I’ll follow you. I need you, Elly. I don’t know how else to say it. I need you and our daughter in my life.”

  Her hands were in her lap, nervously twisting. I thought about getting up and leaving before she could say whatever it was she was trying to put together. If I didn’t hear her shoot me down, that meant I still had a chance as far as I was concerned.

  “I’ll go.” I jumped to my feet. “I’ll call you tomorrow and we can talk then.”

  “Devin, wait,” she said, stopping me from my hasty exit. “Please, sit. There’s something I need to say.”

  I sighed and flopped back down. I felt defeated. Whatever came next would change my life either way. I told myself I shouldn’t be surprised. I had known I was taking a huge chance by showing up at her door. Maybe I was a closet hopeless romantic. I was hoping a big gesture would change everything. I hadn’t even gotten the chance to make my grand gesture. She was shutting me down before I could get started.

  Chapter 28

  Elly

  The man had poured his heart out, so it was only fair I come totally clean. He said he wanted total transparency moving forward. I agreed. The only way a relationship would ever work was if we were completely open and honest with one another.

  “Devin, there’s something I have to tell you. I don’t know where to start.”

  His eyes were filled with sadness. He was such an amazing man. For him to forgive me for everything said a great deal about the man he was. A tear slid down my cheek. I wanted all that he said. I wanted the relationship and the life together, but I didn’t feel worthy.

  “Elly, I’m sorry,” he croaked out the words. “Please, give me a chance to prove to you I can be a good man.”

  “Devin, that’s not it. I know you’re a good man. It’s me who is unworthy.”

  “No!” he blurted out. “You are perfect.”

  “I’m not,” I said, unable to meet his eyes. “I talked to my father. I asked him about what happened three years ago. You were right.”

  He looked confused. “About what?”

  I reached out and grabbed his hand. “About everything. I swear to you I didn’t know.”

  “Know what, Elly?” he asked, his demeanor changing. “What? What happened?”

  “My dad lied to me. He told me that deal was his and you used some underhanded double-dealing to get if from him. That’s what he told me back then. He said it wasn’t the first time and that you and your father had set out to ruin him. He was on the verge of going under. I believed him. When he asked me to get into your firm and steal it back, I didn’t hesitate. I should
have. I should have questioned his motives.”

  “Elly, I believe you,” he said.

  “I never would have done that if I had known the truth. That isn’t an excuse, though. What I did was wrong. I should have asked more questions instead of blindly believing what he said. A good person would have found another way. A good person wouldn’t have resorted to deception and thievery.”

  He pulled me close to him, wrapping an arm around me. “You are a good person, which is why you did what you did. You were trying to help your father. You were being a loyal daughter. I admire that. I look at you and I can see how great of a mother you are.”

  I wanted to believe his words, but my own guilt was plugging my ears, rejecting his kindness. “I’m so sorry. I hate what I did. I feel so much guilt it’s almost unbearable.”

  “Elly, don’t feel guilty. I mean it when I say it’s over. It’s forgotten. I want to move forward. Don’t think about it ever again.”

  I wished it were that easy. “I’ll try, but how will you ever be able to trust me? You said it before—I’ve betrayed you, lied to you, deceived you.”

  He smiled and shrugged a shoulder. “I do trust you which is why I have no problem telling you I love you.”

  I froze, my eyes going big. “I love you too,” I replied. I couldn’t believe he had said the very words I had been holding back from him. “I’ve loved you from the first time I walked into your office. I was the starry-eyed intern hot for the boss. I remember looking at you and trying to see what my father saw in you. I saw a patient man with a knack for the business. Not to mention you are pretty easy on the eyes.”

  He laughed. “You’re not so bad yourself.”

  “For what it’s worth, there’s been no one else but you since that night. I fell madly in love with you, and I wanted no one else but you. Even when I was confident I would never see you again, it didn’t matter. I didn’t want another man. I only wanted you.”

  “I’m very glad to know that,” he said, releasing me and turning to grab the bag he had dropped on the floor. “Lizzy, come here,” he called.