The problem was that I couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was in fact following me. I thought I saw a guy across from the gym on a couple of occasions, but when I drove over there, I didn’t see anyone. It would have been a bit of a relief if Rob had confessed to following me. Not because I would have liked Rob to do that, but because I wouldn’t have felt so darn crazy for always thinking that there was someone out there.
“I think we should break up,” I said.
“Why? Because you think I’m stalking you? This is all because of that crazy ex-boyfriend you have. Now you’re all jaded and think all guys are jerks. I’ve never hit you. I would never act like that to you, and you know it.”
“It’s not because of that. I believe you aren’t following me, Rob.”
“Then why do you want to break up? The sex is fantastic; we work together amazingly, and everyone says we are the perfect couple.”
It took every shred of self-control I had not to laugh at his reasons for us to stay together. The sex was not fantastic. Although I really didn’t have much to base it on, and I couldn’t go off my past relationship, I knew what Rob and I had was not fantastic. Surely it could have been my fault. I wasn’t very open, and I didn’t assert myself or initiate things sexually, but I was sure that there was more wrong with our relationship than just the sex.
“Rob, do you really feel like we are a good fit? It doesn’t seem like we are.”
“Not everyone is goo-goo eyed in love. We have a good thing.”
“I don’t want this to be horrible between us. I just don’t think it’s working out.”
Somewhere between our bad morning sex and me accusing him of stalking me, I’d found the courage to end our relationship. For months, I’d talked myself into this thing with Rob. I convinced myself that being with someone safe like him was better than being alone. I was terrified of being alone; it had been so hard before. Then bam, out of the blue, I just asked him to break up.
“I don’t understand,” Rob said as he sat me down on the bed and looked deep into my eyes. “Did I do something? I’m sorry if I did.”
“No, we just aren’t a good match, Rob. I bet there’s a girl out there that loves talking about football. Someone who will go clubbing with you and not complain. A girl who really likes when you open the car doors for her.”
I was about to throw in a jab about the sex but decided against it. Rob and I still worked together, and it was going to be awkward enough now that we were breaking up. I couldn’t make things worse by telling him he was bad in bed. To be honest, I didn’t even know if he was bad in bed. My wealth of experience came from a high school boyfriend and Rob.
“So you’re breaking up with me for no specific reason? Or because you don’t like any of those things? I don’t get it. Is it because I got the promotion at work? What is it? You can tell me. I won’t hold it against you. I just need to know.”
“None of that. I think it really is that I’ve been in a relationship since I was sixteen or fumbling to survive while single. I can’t concentrate on you when I don’t even know who I am. And I feel like there’s something missing between us. I don’t know what it is, so please don’t ask me.”
“I can give you some space. Is that what you want?”
It was a nice offer, and if I loved Rob, I would have taken him up on it. No amount of time was going to make me have feelings for him, though, and it wasn’t fair to him for me to play games. I was stronger than I’d been when I first came to work at Power Media. I could handle being on my own now, and even though I’d just found the strength to break things off, I was positive it was the right thing to do.
“It’s a breakup. A permanent thing. I’m sorry.”
“Wow, six months together, and this is how you break up. I’ve been so damn good to you, Jordan. You’re going to miss me, and I’m going to be moved on. You know I’m not going to sit around and wait for you to ask me back. So don’t think that I’m going to come running back when you change your mind.”
“I understand, Rob, and I’m sorry you’re angry.”
“Oh, I’m not angry,” he said as he put his shoes on and grabbed his bag. “I’m just relieved I won’t have to deal with you anymore.”
He slammed the door to my apartment, and I heard him pounding down the steps toward his car. A moment later, the screech of his wheels could be heard as he made his way out of the parking lot. He was definitely not angry. I couldn’t help chuckling at how he had acted. Rob was five years older than I was, and he had just stormed out of my apartment like a child.
A sense of relief washed over me as I got into the shower and ready for work. It was just after the New Year, and I was starting fresh. No boyfriend baggage. No worrying about bills or anything like that. The last time I was on my own, I didn’t have a job and couldn’t pay my bills. I’d lucked into a job as a secretary at Power Media and had been there two years while I finished my communications degree at night. Life was good. I had a paycheck and a future planned out. I was going to be okay, or at least I told myself that over and over while I got ready for work.
I put on one of my cutest work outfits, did my hair and my makeup and drove into work. I was sure that Rob would tell everyone that he had broken up with me, but that didn’t matter all that much. I was happy to be single and ready to take on this new life.
To make the day go a little smoother, I pulled into the local coffee shop and grabbed coffee for everyone on my team. We were in the midst of finishing a big bid for a global client, and I knew no one would want the drama of Rob and me breaking up. It was going to be up to me to assure them that we could still work together because I would be the one kicked off the team and not Rob if there was a problem between us.
Rob had his marketing degree; he had been with the company longer than me, and he was just promoted to project manager. Technically, I was working under him for this project although Margaret was my actual supervisor.
I arrived at my cubicle with five minutes to spare, but no one was around. A sinking feeling told me to check the conference room, and sure enough, everyone was in there. Rob was at the front of the room talking to everyone about the big pitch coming up, and I tried to sneak into the back and find a seat.
“Jordan, nice of you to join us.”
“I thought the meeting was scheduled for 8:30?”
“I sent a message out early this morning that it was moved up. I’m sorry; I must have forgotten to add you to the group text,” he said with a smirk on his face.
So this was how it was going to go down. Wow, Rob was even more of a child than I thought. Right there in front of everyone, he was making it known that he and I were no longer together.
“Did you two break up?” Emma whispered as she moved her chair closer to me. “How come I didn’t know this?”
“It literally happened two hours ago.”
“I’ll need the details after the meeting,” she said and then pulled away as we both noticed Rob watching us. Luckily, he didn’t say anything.
Although I raised my hand to contribute to the meeting on several occasions, Rob never even looked at me again. It wasn’t going to be as easy as I thought to break up with him and still manage to work together.
When the meeting finally concluded, I pulled Emma into the women’s room to fill her in on everything. I needed a plan and quick if I was going to prevent Rob from utterly destroying my career.
“I couldn’t take it another second. He’s boring, and there’s no chemistry, and I broke up with him. He didn’t do anything wrong, except being horrible in bed, but I’m not going to put up with this crap at work,” I said as I paced back and forth in the small room.
“I’m glad you finally broke up with him. There are so many better options out there.”
“Really? I thought you liked him?”
“I liked him because you were dating him, and I didn’t want to be a jerk. I’m glad you aren’t together, though. Now you can come out with me to the clubs, and w
e can find you a real man.”
I just laughed at the idea. Clubs made me nervous, and she knew it. I didn’t like being around a ton of people, and I’d never found any decent guys there at all. I would rather sit at home and curl up with some television all alone. In fact, I was looking forward to that prospect.
“I’m going to go talk to him. He can’t treat me like this.”
“Like what? You can’t make a scene out of things, it will only escalate. I think you should kill him with kindness.”
“That sounds like a horrible plan,” I said and rolled my eyes at my best friend.
Emma was always trying to make the best of situations. She was constantly in a good mood, and it was somewhat disgusting how she came to work looking so darn perfect all the time.
“He’s going to move on. It’s just fresh today. Let’s see how things are over the next few days, and if he doesn’t straighten up I’ll talk to him with you. If that doesn’t work, we can go to Margaret, and I’m sure she will calm him down.”
“I think I really hurt his feelings,” I admitted.
“He doesn’t strike me as the sort of guy who gets broken up with very often. I bet he was starting to care about you.”
“Um, he might have told me he loved me this morning,” I winced at the horrible sound of what I was saying.
“You broke up with the man after he told you he loved you? Ouch, that’s cold, Jordan.”
“I know. I didn’t think things through. I just blurted it out. He said he loved me, and I instantly knew that I did not feel that way toward him. Plus, the sex this morning was so boring that I actually counted the number of cracks in my ceiling.”
“That bad?” she asked.
“Yeah, zero chemistry yet he insisted on me cumming before he was going to finish.” I rolled my eyes. “How can a guy honestly think that laying there doing nothing is enjoyable at all?”
“Okay, so we definitely need to give him some time. Don’t confront him, and brace for a few bad days. I’ll have Courtney start flirting with him; he’ll eat it up and start leaving you alone in no time.”
“Courtney? The girl from the yogurt shop next door?”
“She’s had a crush on him forever. She will love to hear that he’s back on the market. I’ll get a fro-yo for lunch and let it slip.”
“How are you so good at this breakup stuff?” I laughed.
“How do you think I get rid of guys so easily? I make sure some other floozy starts distracting them. It’s amazing how easily a guy decides they don’t care about you after some girl with big boobs starts flirting with them.”
This was the kind of thinking that made Emma and I best friends. She didn’t care why I broke up with Rob; her only concern was how she could make my life easier now that the deed was done.
Emma and I hadn’t always been close, though. When I first came to the company I was pretty sure she was going to punch me in the face. I was horrible at my job and had cost her a client by not getting a project she had given me done on time. It didn’t matter how much I apologized, Emma was pissed.
Fast forward about three months, and she finally warmed up to me. I had settled into the tasks at hand and was really kicking butt when I finished a project ahead of time. I went over the digital copies with her and handed her everything on a flash drive so she could upload it and get it to the client ahead of time. She landed the client and a huge bonus; we became friends after that.
“You know Rob and I were supposed to go on that big hiking trip in a couple of weeks. Maybe you’d like to come with me? I already have the gear.”
“No.”
“Think about it. We could hike into the woods. Spend the whole weekend talking and having a blast. It would be an adventure of a lifetime.”
“I think your idea of fun and mine are totally different. There is no way I’m going into the woods overnight. Sorry, you’ll have to find a new partner for this one.”
“Yeah, I’ll see who might be available. It was worth a try, though.” I laughed at the thought of Emma taking off her high heels for anything.
“Maybe you should do it alone. You know like the girl in that movie Wild. Didn’t Reese Witherspoon star in that? I mean you look a little like her with your blonde hair and those crazy blue eyes. You could go alone and have an independent adventure.”
I’d never actually considered going hiking alone. The idea of spending the weekend out in the woods had been one I came up with in an effort to get closer to Rob. I had been hoping that some time away from technology would make me feel more connected to him. I certainly wasn’t a skilled hiker or camper, though, and I would have been relying on Rob for most tasks, so there was just no way I could go alone.
“I’ll find someone to go with me. Maybe I’ll actually go to that hiking group that I always get invitations to on Facebook. Someone there is bound to want a partner for a weekend in the woods.”
“Sure, that sounds great. Now let’s get back to work because you really need to kick butt on everything, so Rob doesn’t have an excuse to yell at you,” Emma said as we walked to my desk. She looked down at my list of tasks I had on my desk. “You’re going to be here all night if you don’t get to work.”
She was trying to tease me, but it was the truth. I had a lot of work to do and was definitely going to be stuck in the office late. My mind was still all jumbled up with everything that had happened with Rob that morning, though, and I just knew I wasn’t going to be able to get everything done on time.
“I don’t …” I started to say.
“That’s not an option. Look at me, Jordan,” Emma said and grabbed my cheeks. “It’s do or die. You need to kick butt. Get some caffeine, finish everything on this list, and show Rob and everyone else that you deserve to be here. If you slack off even a tiny bit, Rob is going to take advantage and point it out to Margaret. You remember what happened to Ian last week, right?”
I swallowed hard at the thought. Of course, I remembered what happened with Ian the previous week. He had two projects due for Margaret and got sick. It was his second time calling in sick in the last month and his third time being late on a project. When he showed up to work the next day, all his things were packed up and human resources were waiting for him at his desk.
He was in tears as they brought him into the conference room and then back out only five minutes later. Just like that, he was fired. I liked Ian. He had a wife and a family, and I knew he had really been sick. If they were willing to fire him, then I knew for a fact I would be out on my behind if I let my guard down at all. My relationship with Rob, or lack of relationship, couldn’t change my job performance.
“You’re absolutely right. I’m going to get this all done and turned in on time!”
“That’s my girl,” Emma said and gave me a hug before heading off and leaving me to work.
Chapter 2
Caleb
“Wow, you look … um, relaxed,” my brother, Jeff said when I approached the table at Lou’s Diner.
“I am relaxed.”
“I thought you told me you had a shower up at that cabin.”
“I’ve got a shower.”
“Oh.”
“Jeff, just spit it out. What are you trying to say? Do you think I stink or something?”
Meeting up with Jeff once a month was my least favorite thing to do. I liked the peace and quiet I had up at my cabin, that was why I stayed up there. But since I had to come into town and get supplies anyway, I figured I could at least try to keep in touch with my brother. At first, our visits were fun, and I felt renewed and excited to see him, but lately, he was really draining me of my energy.
“You’re really starting to look a little crazy, Cal. I mean the beard is getting really long and your hair as well. Do you want me to take you over to the barber? I’d be happy to pay.”
“Oh, you’d like to pay for my haircut?” I said as I burst out laughing. Jeff knew that I had plenty of money and I wasn’t in need of his help in paying
for a haircut. It was comical that he thought offering to pay for it would be an enticement to me at all. “Jeff, I’m letting it grow out. It’s part of my process.”
“Your process? What the hell is going on, Caleb?” Jeff asked with concern. I knew he was worried because he was using my full name instead of Cal, which he had called me since we were kids.
“I’m okay. I haven’t gone loony or anything like that. I’m working on a solar project and enjoying the quiet up at my cabin. I promise I’m not going insane.”
“Mom and Dad are worried about you. I’m trying to hold them off, but you’re going to have to go see them. Mom needs a hug, or she’s never going to feel like you are okay. Can you please just make a trip down to Arizona and see them? I’m tired of lying to them.”
Do you want to know how the story continues? Click here to read the whole story!
About the Author
Sarah has been writing since she was 16 years old and has published multiple Amazon bestselling books. No matter if her heroes are Billionaires, Bad Boys or both - she loves to write about hot and sexy alpha males, who are protective and sometimes bossy, as well as the women they crave. Her exciting stories are always steamy, with a lot of twists and turns and a guaranteed HEA that leaves you satisfied after a wild ride - just like it should be in the bedroom, you know?
Sarah loves to travel the world, because new places always inspire her. Right now she enjoys time in Europe while writing new books.
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