by Lena Hart
“And what if he doesn’t? He already told me he doesn’t want kids.”
Her mother pursed her lips. “Then he should’ve thought about that before he stuck his penis in you.”
Mia’s cheeks burned with embarrassment. Her mother’s words painted a vivid image in her mind that made her want to find a box to hide in. Then take that box and bury it in a deep, dark closet.
“I’ve told you before,” her mother continued. “You can’t turn a cockroach into a prince. No matter how rich or poor, how educated or whatever, men cannot be trusted.”
Her mother had indeed pounded that into her head. Not that her mother hated men, she just didn’t trust them. Mia didn’t remember much about her father. He had walked out on them a little after Leah was born and the burden fell upon their mother to become their sole provider. There were times Yvette Trent worked two, sometimes three, jobs to keep them comfortable. She couldn’t remember if her mother ever even dated. She had simply worked and taken care of her two daughters with a strictness she deemed necessary for their own well-being.
But Mia had listened with one ear open. She had held on tight to her belief that true love still existed and truly believed she would find it someday. Now look at me. Maybe Nate was right. It was time she got her head out of the clouds.
“If it doesn’t work out,” her mother said after a while. “Then you should think about moving back here.”
Her mother’s words gave her pause. She certainly didn’t want to raise her child on her own, but she didn’t want to become a burden on her mother either.
Her mother must have sensed her hesitation because she added before Mia could say anything, “I would sleep so much better knowing you weren’t alone,” her mother said. “With me and Leah here, you wouldn’t be. It’s either that or I’m moving to Chicago,” she added briskly.
Tears clouded Mia’s vision again and she didn’t know why. She laughed at her erratic emotions. Maybe they were tears of joy, but either way, she was happy and relieved to have her mother’s support. “Okay,” Mia said, her voice thick with emotion. “I’ll think about it.”
But Mia didn’t have much to think about when she got back to her apartment. A pile of bills, ranging from utilities to medical, crowded her center table. She had forestalled her job search, wanting to finish out the semester, but now that classes were over, her bills were piling up and she didn’t even know where to begin.
Nate had made his point loud and clear. Two weeks had passed and still no word from him. It hurt, but Mia refused to let his callous attitude discourage her. She was prepared to raise her child as best she could, with or without him. She would have to put school on pause, which she didn’t want to do, but her baby came first. She fully intended to go back once her baby was born.
She had weighed her options seriously, but it all led to one definitive decision. With Nate keeping his distance, and no job for her to get to, there was nothing tying her here. She would return home to raise her baby. She would miss Chicago as it had been her home these past six years, but she wasn’t prepared to do this on her own and she had more than herself to think about now.
Mia placed her hand over her belly and felt the firmness there. A fierce protectiveness overcame her. The reality that she was now responsible for another life changed everything. What she wanted didn’t factor anymore.
4
He needed to see her.
It had been about two weeks, and Nate didn’t think he could hold out any longer. He didn’t care that she hadn’t called first. He just wanted to see her. Now that he was back from his fool’s errand—the global summit his father insisted he attend—Nate was eager to get to the office.
When he arrived at McArthur, Murphy and Company, however, he was disappointed to find an older woman sitting behind the executive assistant’s desk. Nate strode into his father’s office and asked without preamble, “Where’s Mia?”
Charles looked up from the document he was reading. “Welcome back. How was your trip?”
Nate walked up to his desk but didn’t respond. Charles laid down the papers and leaned back in his chair. “Stop glowering at me and have a seat, Nathan.”
Nate fell into the seat nearest him. “Where’s Mia?” he asked again.
Charles raised a brow. “You seem awfully concerned about my former assistant.”
Former? Nate stared levelly at his father. So he knew. Now Nate understood why his father had sent him to a summit that had been more of a glorified networking event. Nate hadn’t gleaned anything resourceful for MMC.
“Did you fire her?” Nate asked, his tone devoid of emotion.
Charles cocked his head to the side and regarded him closely. “I don’t know what you and Mia had going on here, and frankly I don’t care, but you could do a lot better than a barely competent executive assistant.”
Nate’s jaw clenched. Charles McArthur was an unbelievable snob. He looked down his nose at anyone who didn’t fit into his social circle, but Nate had made certain no one at MMC knew about his relationship with Mia, particularly not his father. It had been more for her protection than his. If he hadn’t expected his father to make things more difficult for her, he wouldn’t have cared who knew about them.
Charles, however, had done more than make things difficult for her. He’d fired her for his own personal reasons. The company may have filed it as a lack of competence or whatever, but Nate knew it had been largely out of spite on his father’s part. Nate hadn’t missed the look his father had given them when she’d last been in here and he hadn’t been able to tear his eyes away from her. She had been only a heartbeat away from him. Nothing had ever been more difficult than for him to hide his reaction behind his usually cool indifference and not reach for her.
“Anyway, I suggest you get her out of your system,” his father continued. “She’s gone now, and I don’t need you distracted.”
Nate’s eyes flared. His father was the last person who should suggest anything to him about relationships. His marriage alone was a living disaster. “It’s none of your business who I’m seeing,” Nate replied coldly. “And if you fired her because of this—”
Charles raised a brow. “You’ll do what, Nathan?”
Nate fixed him with a hard glare. “I’ll make damn sure she sues the hell out of this place.”
Charles let out a harsh laugh. “Well, you can rest assured that I have enough to prove her incompetent. And besides, it wouldn’t be in your best interest to have a lawsuit on your hands.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Nate asked, frowning.
Charles glare was sharp. “You will refrain from talking to me with such disrespect, Nathan. Like it or not, I am your father.”
Nate gritted his teeth. Not much of one. But arguing with him would be a waste so Nate left the words unsaid. His father had spent part of his life ignoring him until he’d eventually found a use for him. It was after he’d finished business school that his father started paying attention to him and pulling him into MMC business affairs. Nate, however, liked to keep his involvement minimal. He wanted little to do with his father’s company and there was an inherent determination in him to prove he could set out on his own.
His father rose from his seat and stood staring out the large windows. “It’s time you take your place on the board, Nathan,” he began. “I’ve allowed you to ignore your responsibilities long enough.”
“I don’t think so, father.” Nate said with finality. “We’ve already had this discussion before. I’ll step in as needed, but I’m not going to be stuck behind a desk working for you or anyone else.”
Charles turned to face him and the irritation was plain in his eyes. It was a look Nate was all too familiar with, but he refused to back down. Taking over his father’s company was not a part of his career plan. “You’re a McArthur. You wouldn’t have to work for anyone but you would work with me so I can groom you in running a real company.”
Nate clenched his teeth at the ba
rb. “Whether my business measures up to your standards or not, doesn’t change the fact that I have my own responsibilities there. I don’t have the time or the interest to be here full-time.”
His father observed him, his eyes curious. “Why not?” he asked. “I’ve seen you at work and there’s a shrewdness and competitiveness in you that reminds me so much of myself when I was your age. You’re a natural leader, Nathan. Your little investment company, though impressive, is just a hobby. You’re meant to run a company like MMC.”
Nate was stunned, though he wasn’t sure if it was more from what his father said or because he had said it so matter-of-factly. Though it had been a throwaway line, Charles had never given him praise, indirect or otherwise, and Nate didn’t know how to respond. His irritating tendency to impress his father, however, was already swaying him to do what he had set out never to do.
“If I agree to do this,” Nate said carefully. “You’ll have to give Mia her job back.” When his father didn’t respond to the stipulation, Nate added, “If you want me, you’ll have to accept her. That’s the only way you’ll get me here.”
A cross between admiration and annoyance flashed in his father’s eyes, but Nate didn’t particularly care. He was going to be with Mia, this time openly, and his father would just have to accept that. But first, Nate wanted to make sure he righted his father’s wrong. Though Mia had never told him, he knew she didn’t particularly enjoy working for his father but because she was putting herself through law school, she needed the job.
“Negotiating with your own father?” he finally said. “I knew you were a natural.”
Nate said nothing as he regarded his father, unwavering.
Charles sighed and walked back to his desk. He picked up the documents he’d been reading earlier and said without looking up, “Fine, but find someplace simple to put her. Maybe the front desk could use another receptionist.”
Nate gritted his teeth. Mia was smart and driven and it was obvious his father hadn’t taken advantage of that. “She was too good for you,” Nate blurted. As soon as those words left his mouth, the same thought echoed back at him. She’s too good for you, too.
Nate shook away the thought and without another word, slammed out of his father’s office, not wanting to acknowledge there may be some truth in that thought.
He drove until he eventually found himself standing outside her apartment door. The desire to see her was magnetic. He hesitated for the briefest of seconds before he gave the door two hard knocks.
A moment passed before she called out through the door, “Coming.” Another second and the door swung open. Too much time had passed since he last saw her and he wasn’t prepared for the relief and pleasure that filled him just by being near her again.
But the smile she had on her beautiful lips fell. Large, slanted dark eyes stared up at him and he couldn’t look away. With her hair pulled back in a messy ponytail, and her smooth, brown skin clear of makeup, she was still breathtaking. Only she could make cut-off shorts, fuzzy slippers, and an oversized sweatshirt look sexy.
“Hi.”
“Hi,” she whispered back.
He wanted to touch her but wasn’t sure how welcoming she would be to that. “What are you doing here?” she asked after a short pause.
Nate hadn’t planned what he would say when he saw her. He had hoped that, by him making the first move, she would see how much he wanted to be with her. Instead she kept herself guarded, so unlike the carefree, open book she usually was.
“You have your job back at MMC,” he said without thinking.
She looked at him puzzled, then shook her head, frowning. “No thanks. I would rather eat snakes then work for your father again.”
“You wouldn’t work for him. I’ll find someplace better fitting for you to work in.”
“No thanks,” she said with finality.
Nate looked at her curiously. “So you’ve already found something else?”
She stared at him, her eyes direct. “Nate, why are you really here?”
He ran his hand through his hair, letting the subject drop. If she didn’t want the job, he wouldn’t force it on her. “May I come in?” he asked softly.
She hesitated, her eyes somber as if he’d posed her with a grim question, but then she stepped back so he could enter. She glanced out to the hall before shutting the door.
“Were you expecting someone else?” He couldn’t keep the hard edge out of his voice.
She nodded, walking around him. “My neighbor from 6C is supposed to bring me down some tape.”
Nate suddenly noticed the boxes and newspapers scattered around the apartment. “What’s up with these?”
“I’m moving.”
Nate surveyed the apartment. The place was small, but he had always found it cozy. Now, with all her things scattered around, the apartment appeared smaller and crowded. Maybe a bigger place wouldn’t be so bad.
“Where to?” he asked, trying for light conversation and avoiding the one they actually needed to have.
She cocked her head to the side. “Do you really care?”
Nate sighed. “Okay, I deserved that,” he said, running his hand through his hair again. “I was an ass that night. I’m sorry.”
She was silent for a moment then nodded. “I’m sorry you were an ass too.” Her soft smile, however, took away some of the sting from her words.
“I’ve missed you,” he blurted.
Her eyes softened. “I’ve missed you, too.”
Her words gave him hope as a renewed sense of joy surged through him. “You know, I’ve been thinking about you,” he began. “About us. About hitting the reset button and having us start over.”
Her eyes glistened. “Do you really mean that?”
Nate couldn’t stand it anymore. He walked up to her and trailed a finger along her jaw. Her skin was warm and smooth beneath the pads of his thumb. “Yeah,” he murmured. “Being without you has been hell.”
He leaned down and captured her lips for a light, tender kiss. He meant for it to be brief, but the taste of her was intoxicating. She was like sweet nectar and he couldn’t get enough. He was hard and hungry for her. He moved his hands down her waist and pulled her solidly to him, deepening the kiss. He tightened his hold as her slight tremors fueled his desire.
She brought her hands up to his chest, but to his great frustration, she pushed away from him and took a step back. “Nate, wait,” she murmured thickly. “I have something to tell you first.”
Nate frowned, trying to clear the fog of desire that clouded his mind. Her tone said it was serious and his back went rigid. It was the same tone she had the night she suggested they “take a break.”
“What is it?”
Before she could continue, a loud knock came at the door. She rushed past him to answer it. From where he stood he could see a tall, black man at the door.
“Thanks, James. I’ll bring back what’s left when I’m done.”
“Keep it,” the guy said with a crooked smile. “You won’t let me take you to dinner, so this is the least I can do.”
Nate walked up to the door, wanting to get a better look at this James who was boldly flirting with his girl. He also wanted James to get a good look at him in case he got any more ideas for dinner.
Nate stood directly behind Mia and the man glanced up at him over her shoulder. He lost his lopsided grin.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know you had company.”
Mia turned to follow the man’s gaze and bumped into him. She let out a startled “oh,” then made quick introductions.
“Hey,” James said in acknowledgment.
Nate greeted him in kind. After a brief, awkward silence, James turned back to Mia.
“Well, I better run. But keep the tape,” he said with a wink. “Hopefully, I won’t need to move again for a while. Just let me know if you need anything else,” he added.
Nate’s jaw clenched. This guy was annoying the hell out of him.
&n
bsp; “Thanks,” Mia said. “I think I’m all set.” She shut the door and turned back to him. “Did you have to make that awkward?”
“Is he the reason you haven’t called me?” Nate asked drily.
Mia rolled her eyes and headed back into the living room. She placed the bag James handed her on the table, then turned to study him, her expression stoic. “You made your choice, Nate. You left and stayed away so you can’t come here with your jealous boyfriend routine. You don’t have that right.”
Nate looked at her steadily. “Don’t I? You wanted a break so I gave you your space. I did call you last weekend, though, before I left for Belgium, but when you didn’t answer…” He shrugged. When she hadn’t answered, he figured he must have misread her response to him in his father’s office.
She paused for a moment, a slight frown furrowing her brow. “I went to visit my mother last weekend and my phone died during the drive. You must have called then.”
Nate’s shoulders relaxed slightly. She hadn’t been avoiding him.
“Anyway, James actually works at MMC and dinner was going to be his way of thanking me for helping him find his apartment. But as I told him, tape will do. He’s not your competition,” she added quietly. She turned away from him and began rustling through the bag.
Nate walked up behind her and pulled her into his arms. Her light, sweet scent tickled his nose. “I’m sorry I wasn’t nice to your friend,” he whispered into her ear. She hesitated for a just heartbeat, then leaned back against him, her hands resting over his crossed arms. He placed a quick kiss on the side of her neck. It felt good to just hold her in his arms again.
But holding her wasn’t all he wanted to do. He placed his hand under her sweatshirt and began inching it up.
“Nate,” she started, grabbing his hand, “before we hit the reset button, I have something I need to tell you.”
Nate groaned and pulled away from her. “Why do I have a feeling it’s nothing good?”
