Daddy's Bossy Friend

by Charlize Starr

  Every day closer, her heart broke a little more. She was so in love with Matt. He’d been her first lover and she’d have been perfectly content if he were her last, but she knew he’d never settle down.

  She put the cap on the end of the pregnancy test, put the box in the bag, then put it in the trash can. She pulled off a bunch of toilet paper and covered it up. There.

  As she walked back into the bedroom, she stared at the stick. Just say “not pregnant” so I can forget this ever happened.

  “What you got there?” Matt spoke up from the doorway.

  Brooke jumped, just barely holding back a screech. Her hand flew to her racing heart. “I thought you left!”

  “I forgot my phone.” He walked back into the bedroom and picked it up from the charging pad. He headed toward the door then froze before turning slowly back to her. “What’s in your hand?”

  “It’s nothing. Go for your run and we’ll talk when you get back.” Brooke put her hand behind her back. It made her feel like a child hiding a misdeed, but her options were limited. She supposed she could go back in the bathroom and lock the door. In fact, that was a good plan. She turned toward the bathroom.

  “Don’t you dare.” He crossed to her and snatched the pregnancy test she’d been hiding. “Why didn’t you tell me?” he shouted.

  “There’s nothing to tell, yet. I’m just late, and this is what you do when you’re very sexually active and your period doesn’t come. At least, I assume it is. I’ve never had to do this before!”

  This was exactly what she had wanted to avoid. She crossed her arms and stood her ground.

  “How could you let this happen, Brooke?”

  “Me? You’re serious?” She poked a finger in her chest. “How is this any more my fault than yours? You at least had experience.”

  “And I always used a condom. I’ve never knocked anyone up before.”

  “Obviously, I know that, Matt. I’m not one of your one-night-stands. We’re in a relationship.”

  “We’re not in a relationship.”

  Hands fisted at her sides, she thought her head might explode with rage that he was denying the truth of their pairing. “We’ve been sleeping together, exclusively, for months and we’re married!” Her voice rose at the end so that she screamed the word “married” to him.

  The thing was, they were great friends, they worked well together, and she’d hoped their relationship was going somewhere. It was obvious now that she was the only one of them who had felt that way.

  “We’re not really married, Brooke.” His face was bright red.

  “We really are, actually. Give me the damn test so I can see if it’s positive or negative.” She snatched it back and looked at it. A digital “not pregnant” was displayed on the screen. She tossed it back at him, and it bounced off his chest. “You’re safe again, Matt. I’m not pregnant.”

  “Well, thank God for that.”

  “Oh, I agree.” Brooke tore open the closet door, grabbed her sturdy purple suitcase, and began tossing her clothes in it on the floor.

  Matt had never wanted her as anything more than a plaything and she was done being that for him. She was going back to her apartment tonight and she’d never let him touch her again.

  It took everything in her not to cry in front of him, but she just held onto how furious she was, how heartless his words were, and kept yanking down her clothes and dropping them in the suitcase.

  ***

  Matt watched Brooke pack up her clothes with a sinking feeling in his gut. They were supposed to have two more weeks, damn it. “What are you doing?”

  “I’m leaving. Going back home.”

  “You can’t do that. You agreed to stay married until after my father’s retirement.”

  “And I’ll do what I agreed—stay married on paper until the retirement. But I’m not staying here with you for another minute.” She latched her suitcase and dragged it into the bedroom behind her. Half the clothes he’d bought her still hung on hangers in their shared closet.

  He held his hands out in front of him. “Let’s just calm down. I think we can agree that the pregnancy test made us both emotional. But we don’t want to make any snap decisions here.”

  What was he going to do if she left? He’d known, in a very abstract way, that she’d be gone from his house, and his bed, in two weeks, but that hadn’t seemed real. Not like this.

  “I think I need to make some decisions for myself for a change. You’ve been driving this relationship, and yes, it is a relationship—was a relationship, since the beginning and I’m not letting you tell me what to do anymore.” She walked back to the closet and shut the door in his face when he tried to follow.

  “Brooke, what are you doing in there? I just want us to talk, face-to-face.” He pounded on the wooden door, growing more desperate by the second.

  “I’m changing my clothes!” she responded through the closed door.

  He took a second to try to get a handle on himself. This was spinning wildly out of control, like a car wreck, and he had no idea how to stop it. “You can change while we talk.”

  “You are never seeing me naked again.”

  Was she crying? He’d made her cry and the thought made him regret his every word since coming back into the bedroom.

  “Okay, I understand that you’re upset. But will you please just talk to me before you do anything?”

  She opened the door, wearing jeans and a lacy white blouse. She looked stunning, even with her hair back in a simple ponytail and no makeup. Every time he looked at her, if he were being honest, she knocked the breath from him.

  Her eyes were red and tears left streaks down her face.

  “Why are you crying?”

  “Why would you even ask that question? What the hell is the matter with you? You’re so damn emotionally crippled. Poor you, your wife broke your heart. Get over it.”

  Matt recoiled from her words. She’d never spoken to him so harshly the entire time he’d known her. “Excuse me?”

  “Oh, you heard me.” She made her way into the bathroom and began tossing her toiletries into a smaller bag. “I’m so stupid. I fell in love with you, like the biggest idiot on Earth. Who knows more than I do what a player you are? Well, I guess you scammed this girl, too.”

  “I never scammed you.” He walked into the bathroom and took her hand, stopping her packing. “I care about you. We’ve got two more weeks.”

  She jerked away from him and zipped up her bag. “Exactly the wrong thing to say, Matt. We have no more time because I’m not giving you another minute to break my heart.”

  Before he knew what was happening, she’d grabbed her purse and, rolling the suitcase behind her, walked to the bedroom door. “I’m going to have the driver take me home. I’ll send him back after I get there. Whatever else I’ve left here, you can keep. Donate it to charity, give it to your next girlfriend—I don’t care.”

  And then she was gone, her heels clicking down the tile hallway. Matt dropped down onto the bed, head in his hands. What had he just done?

  He hadn’t prepared himself to give her up yet and she obviously wasn’t coming back.

  How could she be so mad about something that hadn’t even happened? She wasn’t pregnant—didn’t that make all the rest irrelevant?

  A horrible thought occurred to him and he tried to banish it as soon as it appeared. What if she’d tried to become pregnant to trap him into staying married to her? Despite what he’d given her monetarily, she would have a better, easier life if they stayed married.

  But how could she have done that? He’d been in charge of the birth control they used—condoms—every time. There was no way she could, or would, have sabotaged it.

  He was being a fool, coming up with conspiracy theories so he didn’t have to deal with the fact he had lost her. And he didn’t know what to do, how to live his life without her.

  Chapter Six

  Brooke sat in her messy apartment, trying to figure out what to
do next. She didn’t believe that she could work with Matt anymore. It was ironic because she’d been insistent that she keep her job, but she couldn’t imagine having to see him every day when all she wanted was to be with him.

  She had to get over him. It was the only way to move on with her life. And she wasn’t going to spend any more time searching for the perfect man. As awful as their fight was, Matt was her soul mate. She’d found him too late after he’d lived with heartbreak, and he wasn’t able to open his heart to love.

  Or maybe he’d just never felt more for her than lust. She had no way to know. It’s not like he ever talked about his feelings.

  She pulled out her laptop and typed up a letter of resignation. Because of the position Matt had promoted her to, she’d have to take it to Matt’s father, but she would do whatever it took to get away.

  Seeing Matt every day would only reopen the wound, refresh the pain of losing him again and again. She couldn’t do it.

  She went into her old bedroom. She was so glad she’d moved for the duration of her “marriage.” There were no memories of Matt here, nothing but the new clothes and lingerie to remind her of how she’d spent the last three months.

  When she got into the shower, she let go of the brave face she’d been trying to force herself to wear and had a good cry. She needed to look at this without regret. She’d wanted to wait for a man she could love, who would make her happy and Matt had been that man. He just didn’t want more, and she’d have to be an adult and live with that choice.

  After she’d applied her makeup and admonished herself not to cry anymore, she pulled her hair up into a bun and put on a black skirt and blouse. She was in mourning, even if no one else knew. She’d lost the love of her life.

  She walked out to the parking lot and got into her old, beat-up car. It was a good thing she hadn’t upgraded. She’d need a new job as soon as possible and she didn’t need some big car payment hanging over her head.

  At the office, she parked in her old spot. The nameplate had been changed to Mrs. Brooke Cross. She closed her eyes, wondering why Matt had done something like that when it was just a temporary change. She hadn’t even used her parking space since they’d married—she’d rode to work with him in his chauffeured car.

  She looked in the mirror. “Okay, toughen up. No crying. Just go in, hand in the letter of resignation, and get out. No problem.”

  Inside her office building, people called out to her and she forced a smile and waved. What had she been thinking? She’d forever be Matt’s second ex-wife if she’d stayed here. She couldn’t face it.

  “I need to see Mr. Cross,” she said to Richard’s assistant. Once she and Matt were married, her father-in-law had insisted she call him by his first name. He’d forever be Mr. Cross to her, though, especially since this marriage was nothing more than a sham.

  “He asks that you come right in, Mrs. Cross.” The assistant put down the receiver of the phone and gave her a big smile.

  Ugh, she wished people would just call her Brooke. Being called Mrs. Cross was salt in her wound.

  Brooke let herself into Richard’s office and crossed to his desk. He was on the phone, so she took a seat and waited, spreading the letter of resignation out on her lap.

  Finally, he hung up. “So sorry to keep you waiting, Brooke. You know how it can be. I was talking to some shareholders in Tokyo.”

  “Of course. I completely understand, sir.”

  “What have I told you about this ‘sir’ business? We’re family now.”

  “Right, sorry. I just wanted to give this to you personally.” She handed the letter across the desk and Richard took it, quirking an eyebrow at her as he read it.

  “So, you’ve decided to quit. Well, I advocated for that from the beginning. Please tell me it’s because you and Matt have decided to start a family right away.”

  Brooke took a shaky breath. “You should really discuss that with Matt. I just think this is for the best.”

  “All right, then. I understand. Matt does know you’re doing this, right? He’s been a strong proponent of you staying on to work with him as he takes over the company.”

  “No, I’m afraid he doesn’t. I made this choice on my own. I believe he’ll respect it and I have no doubt that he’ll do a wonderful job leading this company into the future.” She kept her face stoic, her words a monotone.

  If Richard were too kind to her, she worried she’d break down all over again, and that would be breaking her agreement with Matt. “If you don’t mind, I think I’m going to go visit my father today. Work has kept me very busy and I haven’t had the time to visit as often as I’d have liked.” Work and her affair with Matt, honestly. Still, she’d been out to see her father at least two or three times a week since he’d moved.

  While she focused on finding a new job, she’d spend more time with her dad. That would help her remember why she’d put herself in this position to begin with.

  ***

  Matt was doing his best to concentrate on the documents in front of him when a call from his father was put through. “Yes?” Matt answered.

  “Your wife just left my office. She resigned her position and she says you didn’t know she was planning to do it.”

  “She did what?” Matt nearly shouted into the phone. Brooke couldn’t quit. She needed her job, needed the income. He didn’t inhabit that world, of living payday to payday, but she’d told him enough of the struggle she and her father had faced.

  “I think you ought to get up here and tell me what’s going on.”

  Brooke hadn’t told his father about their “fake” marriage, which was perfectly legal in every sense of the word. Legal, but troubled, all the same.

  “I’ll be right up.”

  Upstairs, he stormed into his father’s office and held out his hand. “Let me see the letter.”

  Richard handed it across the desk then sat back and crossed his arms. “I think you owe me an explanation, son.”

  Matt read through the letter. Brooke had cited “personal reasons” for leaving. She spoke of her father’s illness, but Matt knew the truth—she’d left because of him. Matt plopped down in the seat across from his father’s desk, at a loss as to how to fix the mess he’d made.

  Brooke was doing everything she could to eradicate herself from his life, scrub it clean as if their marriage had never existed. As if she had never existed.

  And Matt didn’t want to live in that world. He wanted to come home to her open arms and smiling face. He needed to spend his nights with her, he needed her by his side as he took this company into the future. He needed her, damn it.

  He’d fallen in love with her. It had been obvious for weeks, but he’d tried to pretend otherwise. He spent every waking moment with her and he never got tired of her kind words or sweet caresses. And he’d never grown weary of the hot nights, making love to her over and over. She said he’d driven the relationship, but she was the one in control now. He had to find a way to win her back.

  “My marriage was an accident.” He looked up at his dad, clutching Brooke’s letter in his hand.

  “Fender-benders are accidents. How do you accidentally get married?”

  “We got drunk. We were both tired, worn down, stressed to the max. We had too many drinks. We kissed and… Brooke was waiting for marriage so—”

  “Waiting, as in waiting? She’d never…”

  “Right. And, somehow, in an alcohol-induced loss of reason, we thought it would be a good idea to marry. None of that matters now. What matters is I love her and she’s leaving me.” He waved the letter in his father’s direction. “Those are her ‘personal reasons.’”

  “Why is she leaving?” His father’s brow was furrowed in confusion.

  “We had a pregnancy scare. I blamed her, lost my temper. I was an ass.”

  “Did you tell her all of this?”

  Matt sighed, regret coursing through his veins. “No. I told her she was overreacting.”

  “You nev
er do that. Women hate that.” Suddenly, he was a kid and his dad was giving him advice on women again. And despite all the women Matt had known, had been with, he needed the help. He’d loved his first wife, but she hadn’t loved him. But Brooke?

  Brooke was different. For one thing, he loved her far more than he’d ever loved his first wife. And another thing was in her anger, she’d admitted to being in love with him.

  Now, he just had to figure out the one thing he could do for her, could give her, that no one else could. The one thing that would prove, once and for all, that he loved her.

  “This never happened.” He ripped up the letter and stood. “I know what to do. I’m going to need some help.”

  “Does she make you happy?” His father steepled his fingers on the desk and offered Matt a stern expression.

  “Very much.”

  “Then everyone in this company will be at your disposal. Get your wife back.”

  ***

  Two days after turning in her resignation, Brooke woke up because her phone wouldn’t stop ringing. She’d gone to see her father day before yesterday. Then she’d come home, put on her pajamas, and spent the last forty-eight or so hours crying.

  She was finally getting some sleep, and someone was calling her at… what time was it?

  “Eight-thirty on a Saturday? Ugh, why?” She picked it up to see a number she didn’t recognize. She did, however, know the caller ID. Cross Hospitality Industries.

  She sat up in bed and tucked the covers tighter around her. She was not answering that call. Except, she kind of had to. What if it were something only she could handle? She’d given her notice but promised on her resignation to be available for the next month to answer any questions.

  “Oh, hell.” She slid her finger over the answer bar. “Yes?”

  “Brooke, don’t hang up.” It was Matt, talking fast.

  “I’m hanging up. I promised to be available to the company, not to you.” She tried to tell herself to hit the end button, but she waited a moment longer.

  “Are you still here?” Matt asked.