The Better Man

by Len Webster

  Savannah knew she had better with William Lawrence.

  It was that simple, yet it wasn’t. And Savannah was so confused as to what it all meant. She could want the world with Will, and it would still feel like the world wasn’t enough to give him. Sighing, Savannah reached into her pants pocket and pulled out her phone. She unlocked it but found no new messages or missed calls from him. The sight made her heart drop, but that wouldn’t deter her. Will had taken a chance on her, and she would not give up.

  So Savannah called his number and pressed her phone to her ear as she picked up the rest of the file, ready to add it to the copying queue. She held her breath as she listened to each grueling ring.

  It seemed to go on and on, ring after ring, until she heard, “It’s Will. Unfortunately, I can’t answer your call. Please leave a message and I’ll return your call shortly.”

  Beep.

  Hearing his voice had her smiling as she listened to his very professional voicemail. Savannah should be disappointed that he didn’t pick up, but she at least heard his voice, and that would keep her going. Because his voice reminded her of every sweet memory and moment they shared together.

  There was no way to put it mildly—Savannah was tired. It took over an hour for her to copy all the reports for Monty. Not only that, but Savannah spent another couple of hours reading through them and making sure they were all together before she gave her boss the originals and the copies. After that, she sat in two meetings Monty had and was given the task to conduct some research on their newest client’s competitors and their competitive edge. It was safe to say that Savannah was exhausted.

  With work, yes.

  With wondering where she stood with William Lawrence, she was drained.

  After she returned to her cubicle, the excitement of hearing his voice—even from just his voicemail—dwindled. Her disappointment set in, and the hurt showed its flames. It was stupid for Savannah to be this upset at his silence, but she was. It didn’t make much sense to her, considering she had suffered worse at the hands of Walter Vidović.

  His silence had lasted years.

  His pain lingered with every breath she had taken after he graduated from Duke.

  Savannah removed her blazer and set it over the couch, too tired to hang it up in her closet. As she walked toward the kitchen, she stopped by the telescope next to the window. Most nights, she would look through it and see the stars. Savannah smiled, remembering how breathless she had been as she watched him make it, the memory causing her heart to stretch with longing. Her fingertips reached up and brushed along the cool metal, and she felt her chest tighten at the thought of Will. Before she could let her heart miss him and allow his silence to hurt her, she spun around and walked into the kitchen to find her father had left her a note.

  Savannah,

  Leaving a note in case you didn’t see my text message. Took an extra delivery job.

  Will be back before you leave for work tomorrow. I’m sorry I won’t be home for dinner.

  Love,

  Dad.

  Savannah set the piece of paper down. Her father had taken a few overnight delivery jobs to help with the bills. She had forgone after-work drinks and lunches for the past week in order to pay her father back for her ticket to Vermont. He had tried to resist, but Savannah insisted. The money was then used to put another small payment on her student loans.

  The loan repayments were drowning her. She hoped to God Monty saw her worthy enough to be promoted from a junior to a full-time marketer soon. However, no matter how much Savannah wanted to learn from her mentor, she also knew she needed to follow the money. And if another firm poached her, she would talk to Monty about her options.

  She couldn’t let her father continue to work job after job in order to pay off her loans. Savannah knew there was one option she hadn’t taken, and that was to resolve her issues with her mother. But Savannah had too much pride to grovel because her salvation would come with strings. And she treasured her freedom far too much to ever compromise it.

  As she turned and opened the pantry to decide what to make for dinner, she heard a knock on the front door. She wasn’t expecting guests, and she didn’t really have friends over. Ever since she moved back to Vermont from North Carolina after college, all her friends were from work. Her Duke friends, unfortunately, all lived in different states. And her best friend happened to be living in England in the meantime. Since the knocks ended as quickly as they began, she concluded it was probably just one of her drunk neighbors. Savannah didn’t live in the safest area and didn’t have the nicest neighbors, but it was all she and her father could afford in Montpelier.

  Reaching for the bread on the middle shelf, she heard the knocks once again and sighed. She removed the bread and closed the pantry. Savannah set the loaf on the counter and walked out of the kitchen to the front door. Without bothering to see who it was through the peephole—which was filled in with permanent marker by the previous paranoid tenant—Savannah opened the front door and winced in shock.

  Her body began to shut down at his smile. It was sweet and gentle. It differed from the one that antagonized her weeks ago. The drunken gleam in his gray eyes was gone, and they were as clear as the night they kissed in a downtown bar in North Carolina.

  Her body didn’t know how to react. She was angry—and happy—to see him. Her heart threw itself against her chest, hopeful and resentful all at the same time. Her breathing had stalled, trying to retain the pure oxygen to keep her alive.

  “Savannah,” he whispered.

  “W-Walter,” she stuttered. “What are you …?”

  She couldn’t comprehend how he was here right now. In Vermont of all places. Savannah had never told him where she lived. But this was Walter, so she was sure he had the connections to find her. She should have known that he’d locate her eventually. The fact that he took this long was kind of surprising.

  “Savannah.” He took a deep breath and then released it.

  She shook her head. “No, you need to—”

  “I love you,” he whispered, the fear bright in his eyes and heavy in his voice.

  Savannah froze as shock took over, claiming every supposed function of her body. She didn’t know if she was breathing. If her heart was beating.

  He loves me …

  Her temples boomed.

  Walter loves me …

  His eyes searched hers as Savannah became numb to his confession.

  Walter Vidović loves me.

  “I’m a week sober,” he added as he rubbed the back of his neck. One of the many tics she had fallen for. He looked so innocent and as unsure as he had at Duke. Now, he forced her to remember the memories of them together. Memories of them sneaking off together. Memories of her being in his bed late at night talking as if they had all the time in the world.

  He loves me …

  He lowered his hand from his neck. “I’m in a program in New York. I’m seeing a doctor. The Knicks know that I have a problem, but they’re supporting me because I asked for help. I asked for help, Savannah.”

  Nothing.

  Not even a nod from her as she stared at him.

  You love me.

  Nausea swirled in her stomach.

  “Savannah, did you hear me?” She heard his fear increase in his voice as it broke. “Savannah, I love you.” His lips curved in a soft, true smile. One of his honest smiles that was so rare during their time together at Duke. “I’ve loved you since the night you came to my dorm room and asked if I wanted a drink. I watched you dance in a bar until last call. I fell in love with you with every smile you sent my way. But I knew I was in love with you when you kissed me under those bar lights.”

  You said you’d never love me.

  Part of her resented him for making her wait so long to hear him say he loved her. That night was six years ago. How could he torture her for so long? How could he make them wait so long?

  Do I love you, Walter?

  “I was scared to love you,�
�� Walter admitted. “I don’t want to be scared anymore.” He took a step closer, reached up, and pressed his palm gently to her cheek.

  His touch felt so foreign to her. But as she looked into his gray eyes, the old him was there. The Walter she loved. The Walter who danced with her in an empty bar. The Walter who kissed her tears away after she expressed her frustration at life after one too many fights with her mother.

  But as he tilted her chin up, she felt it all once more. All her love. All her confusing emotions. All the memories that kept her up at night throughout the years. She felt it all.

  “I’m in love with you, Savannah Peters.”

  Finally, her body reacted, falling into his touch. Into the love in his eyes that used to reflect how intoxicated he really was.

  “I love you,” he whispered as he kissed her right on the mouth, leaving her with nothing but one name in her chest.

  Will …

  Twenty-five

  Will

  It had been almost two weeks since Walter had threatened Will at his workplace and almost two weeks since Will had last spoken to Savannah. She had called several times, but Will promised himself that he wouldn’t interfere. He would give Savannah and Walter a chance. He knew Savannah needed to hear Walter tell her he loved her. It hurt him knowing that Walter always had her heart, but Will hoped that Walter took this chance and gave Savannah what she really deserved. And that was love.

  She deserved love.

  And if it was Walter’s love she wanted and needed, then there was nothing more Will could offer. He couldn’t compete with an NBA star. He had known it all along from the moment she said that he wasn’t as interesting as Walter. She was drunk, but she spoke the truth.

  For almost two weeks, he wondered about her. Wondered how she took Walter’s love. Did she accept it? Embrace it? Invite him into her arms and kiss? Will tortured himself for weeks, wondering how Walter told her. Did he listen to Will and sober up?

  After Will left the conference room, Emerson had come back to their office and demanded to know what happened since Walter had stormed out. Will told her the truth, minus Walter threatening her employment at Coates and Jackson. She needed a client with as much clout as Walter Vidović in her portfolio. Will spared her that knowledge in order for her to work with Walter. Emerson was not happy, but Will assured her that he had handled it as professionally as he could. But he asked her to drop the conversation when it came to Savannah.

  She was a topic Will couldn’t discuss. His heart wouldn’t allow it. But that didn’t mean he stopped thinking about her. She was all he ever thought about. Then her calls stopped about a week ago.

  One last call, late at night as if she were pleading for him, and then she never called again. As if her last call was her reaching out for him, but Will watched her name fade from his screen as her call ended.

  “Ahh, Guglielmo,” Nonna said with glee as she kissed him on both cheeks after she had opened the door to Will on her doorstep.

  Will smiled when she pulled away. Margaret Perconte was in her late seventies and still as beautiful as ever. As she put it, each line of her wrinkles was made with the years of love in her life. Though she wasn’t his biological grandmother, she treated him and his sisters as her own grandchildren. Will had two biological grandmothers. His father’s mother was a selfish woman, but he was civil with her to keep the peace. He still resented her for not wanting a relationship with his cousin Alexandra. His mother’s mother, Mary Brown, moved upstate with Will’s grandfather a few years ago. They usually visited during the holidays and on birthdays.

  “Hello, Nonna. I’m sorry I’m late. Is everyone here?”

  Nonna nodded, her brown eyes were warm as they twinkled at him. “They’re all at the table with Nonno. Johnny is at the station, so he’ll be over later. Come in. Come in.”

  Will laughed as she ushered him into the home. He toed off his shoes and then walked down the hall and entered the small dining room to find his mother, father, and his sister Lori at the table talking to Nonno.

  Will walked over to Johnny Perconte Sr. as he got up from the chair. For an old man, Johnny gave quite the strong hug. He still kept pretty healthy after retiring from the fire department five years ago.

  “How are you, Guglielmo?” he asked.

  Will took his seat next to his sister who was home for the summer after finishing her sophomore year of college at LSU. “I’m well, Chief.” He smiled at his sister. “Hey, Lori.”

  Lori smiled as she held up a bowl of bread rolls. Will took a roll and placed it on the plate that was already set out for him. “Nice of you to finally join us for Sunday lunch.”

  He rolled his eyes as Nonna sat at the table, putting a large bowl of her famous spaghetti and meatballs next to the bread rolls.

  Will’s father hummed with excitement. “It looks amazing, Mrs. Perconte.”

  Nonna smiled. Though her son never married Will’s mother, she treated Will’s father like a son. It might not be conventional, but Will had an extra family he loved because of it.

  “Yeah, it looks great,” Will agreed as his phone rang in his pocket.

  “Guglielmo!” Nonna exclaimed as she swatted his hand that was reaching into his jacket pocket.

  “I’m sorry, Nonna. I’m on call this weekend because of an important client. I promise to be quick. Start without me,” he said, getting up from his seat.

  His mother nodded across from him. “But when you come back, your phone is off, okay?”

  “Yes, Mom.” Will might be twenty-seven, but what his mother said was law in their family. “I won’t be long.”

  Then Will left the dining table and headed toward the front door, not wanting his conversation to filter through the house and ruin any good mood his family was in. Once he opened the front door, Will stepped out into the warm afternoon. He looked down at his screen and sighed when he saw Emerson’s name. A part of him wished it was Savannah’s, but Will knew that wouldn’t be the case. If Walter had told her he loved her, they were probably together by now.

  Will answered his partner’s call and pressed his phone to his ear. “Hey, Emerson.”

  “Hey, I’m sorry to interrupt your Sunday lunch with the Italians. I know you just left the office, but I just got a call.”

  “Don’t apologize. Nonna will give me a talking-to later.”

  That had Emerson laughing. “I bet she will. Oh, can you tell her thank you for the cakes she sent Lisa and me the other week? They were amazing. Lisa says they were worth the extra PT sessions she needed—not that she needs them.”

  “I’ll tell Nonna. So what’s up?”

  Emerson was quiet for a moment before her heavy sigh rang in Will’s ear. “It’s Vidović.”

  Will stilled. His heart boomed in his chest as the anxiety spread. He prayed to God that whatever Walter was up to, he kept Savannah out of it. “What’s he done?”

  “It’s nothing bad,” Emerson assured. “It’s that Knicks welcome party he’s invited the bosses and us to. We have to go.”

  The last place Will wanted to be was at a party to honor an alcoholic. But this was his client, so he had to put his personal biases aside. This was a big step for Walter, and Will had to be there to represent his company.

  “I guess we have to go,” Will said in a tight voice.

  “Maybe she might be there,” Emerson offered with a glint of hope in her voice.

  I hope she isn’t.

  But Will knew that she would more than likely be there to support the man she loved. The man who loved her back. The man willing to invest in her future. The man who was on the road to recovery in order to be a better man.

  The man Will could never compete with.

  Growing up, Will had spent many hours at Madison Square Garden. He had many fond memories of watching the Knicks and Rangers with his father when he was a kid. His dad might be Australian, but the moment he moved to New York after graduating from Stanford University, he became a full-fledged New Yorker. For
Will, no matter how amazing it was to be in an empty Madison Square Garden, it was also nerve-wracking. Because Will wasn’t here to watch a basketball or hockey game. Will was here to celebrate his client finally signing with the Knicks after weeks of speculation, anticipation, and now relief for many basketball fans.

  As much as he’d rather be anywhere else, Will had to be a model employee and represent the finance firm he worked for. That, and he had to ensure that Walter didn’t tell his partner or anyone about his threats. If he could get through tonight without a hitch, he knew he would be fine. It wasn’t about protecting his career. It was about protecting Emerson’s.

  “Will,” one of his bosses, Trenton Coates, said, getting Will’s attention.

  Will smiled and raised his glass of water at his boss—a man who was already one of the youngest millionaires in the finance world. “Sir.”

  “You wore a suit.”

  “Would you have expected anything less?”

  His boss laughed. “No. Not at all. I have to commend you, Will.”

  Commend me?

  “Sorry, sir?”

  “I heard Walter snapped at you. I’m sorry you had to go through all that. He’s going through … something.”

  Didn’t Will know it.

  “I was just doing my job.”

  Coates nodded and then brushed his thick black hair back. “You and Miss Calvert did a good job. I appreciate and respect your professionalism.”

  “Thank you, sir.”

  His boss slapped a hand on Will’s shoulder. “It’s a party, Will. Plenty of attractive women. Why don’t you relax tonight? Have a conversation. Mingle. Hell, get yourself a girl.”

  Get myself a girl …

  If his boss only knew what trouble getting the girl meant for all of them. But Will didn’t tell him that. Will should move on, but if only it were that simple. Savannah Peters left her mark. A mark he was sure he’d wear for the rest of his life. Will could be mad. Be mad at her for coming into his life and eradicating it. She ruined him. Ruined him for all women after her. The thought caused him to cringe. He didn’t believe there was anyone after her.