Butterflies in Honey (Growing Pains #3)

by K. F. Breene

  “How did I not know about this?” Marcus asked beside her in exasperation. At least he wasn’t in on it. That was comforting.

  “What is going on?” Krista asked from a galaxy away.

  They all listened in rapture to Tory telling them that Sean would be the new Senior Vice President of the South-Western Region. It was a new format the company was working—the nation divided into six regions, each Region run by its Senior VP, and Tory would oversee all the regions. Sean McAdams was now boss of them all.

  Sean stepped up smoothly, looking like he was born for the role. “Hello, everyone. I look forward to working with all of you, and hopefully together we can achieve great things.”

  Everyone murmured. There were a great many female voices whispering excitedly. Tory got back on the mic and explained something or other, but Krista didn’t hear any of it. She was numb.

  Sean worked here. He worked in L.A. He sold his house, quit his job, moved down to her neck of the woods, and he never told her. He was going to be her new boss, and he never mentioned it. She surfed with him, hung out with him. He never even hinted.

  Why?

  There were a few things that were going through her mind. Part of her was beside herself happy and excited. She thought she would never see him again and here he was, half a football field away. She worked with Tory often, and he was essentially taking Tory’s place, so maybe Krista would even get to work with him again. She wanted their team back so much it hurt.

  Another part of her was nervous. She didn’t know how she could work with him. How she could see him every day and not break down in tears. The pain from the last separation still had her crying herself to sleep a couple of nights a week. She was not over him. And since he made it clear he wanted distance between them, she didn’t know how she’d hide it. Worse, if he started dating someone else, it would devastate her. Literally crush her into paste.

  Another part of her was so angry she could barely think. He’d cast her off, which was his right to do—she had to respect that—but he owed her an explanation as to why he turned up in her life like this. After all this time, after what they’d had, how they’d left it—he owed her a goddamned explanation! He should have given it to her six months ago when she asked about him selling his house! Or when he hinted about the freaking job offer, of all things! That was when he might have just thrown it out there. Oh hey, by the way, no big deal, but I might just move down to your neck of the woods, become your boss, and ruin your life. But still, move on, all right? Be happy. But, you know, prepare for me to destroy you. Mmmm…kay?

  The last part of her, and possibly the biggest, didn’t realize life could hurt this much. Didn’t realize a broken heart could possibly feel like this. Like someone burrowed a hole in her chest with a dull spoon, used said dull spoon to uproot her heart, rip out her heart strings slowly, grind the whole lot into pulp with gravel, then cauterize the gaping wound with acid. That was about where she was, pain-wise.

  If he knew about this, or even knew about the possibility, why didn’t he tell her to wait? Or at least tell her what he was planning, and let her decide if she wanted to wait or not? Why did he push her away, again, six months ago? Six short months. Even if he was daunted that she technically had a boyfriend, he could have just thrown it out there and let her decide. Hell, she’d told him she was happy when she was with him. She’d cried, in his chest, over losing him. She’d told him she thought about him every day. Every damn day! Even for a dense man, or a scared man, that was pretty plain. She absolutely put herself out there, proved she was still over-the-moon in love with him, and he pushed her away. Again. Rejected her, one last time, for good measure.

  Then followed her with a metaphorical tub of salt like a little boy playing with slugs.

  He’d just wanted her to be happy. How sweet. In other words, please move on so it isn’t awkward when I show up and do a hostile takeover of your life. Hey, thanks for understanding!

  Just be happy my club foot!

  Krista thought about her options. She could leave. She could take her big red ball and go home. She could easily find another job with the shape her resume was in. Plus, her boss would give her one hell of a recommendation. He loved her. That would be the easiest solution.

  It would also be the most coward solution. And-she-was-no-coward! Not like him!

  She could stay and fight through it. She could climb her way to the top despite him. He wanted to show he always had a leg up? Well, he could be content until she got something better and flicked snot on him. She could easily go back to school for a Master’s degree if she needed to. She was good at school. That would not be a problem.

  Or, she could get off her high horse, forget past wrongs, and try to start something new with him. Even if he was pushing her away on purpose, or had pushed her away—they had something, and Krista knew he felt it. It wouldn’t take long to remind him.

  Krista snickered to herself. Yeah, that would be the day. Maybe she could find Jim while she was at it and try to work things out with him, too. Maybe she could beg both of them to love her. Why not? What did she need pride for, right?

  The only option, really, was to fight it out. She had raised her position ten-fold since she had been out from under this thumb. Tory said there were great things ahead of her. So be it. It was time to battle.

  “Krista, you okay?” Ben asked through the mental anguish.

  Krista was still seated while everyone around her was standing. Her crew was looking down on her expectantly.

  “What?” she asked coolly.

  Everyone exchanged looks.

  Krista stood, raised her chin, and tucked all her hurt into a big iron box, soldered

  the lid on, and stashed it as deep as she could. She would beat this.

  “Ready?” Jasmine asked, looking at Krista for some sign indicating the direction of her emotional winds.

  “Yes. Of course.”

  Krista followed the others out. She would finish her work for the day, and then head home to make a plan. Up until that point she hadn’t had a real professional goal in mind. She was kind of living in the moment, following Tory’s coaching, and working her ass off. Now, she would come up with some direction. Tory had given her the basics, but it was time to go her own way.

  Instead of heading back to their offices, the crew turned the opposite direction.

  Krista halted. “Wait, where are you going?”

  They all turned around and looked at her with varying degrees of pity. Except for Kate, who was furious.

  “Meet and greet, obviously,” Marcus said as if he was talking to a mentally incapacitated person.

  Krista stared blankly.

  “Kate, s’plain to our dear friend,” Marcus said in exasperation. “I need to get to the party. I know the young stud personally. People are going to want to talk to me!” And he was off.

  “What’s up, Krista?” Ben asked softly.

  “Meet and greet?”

  “Yeah,” Jasmine replied, looking at Krista steadily. “No work for the rest of the day. There is a cocktail hour.”

  “To meet Sean.”

  Everyone stared solemnly.

  “Oh, that’s good news. I already know him, so I guess that means I can take the rest of the day off. Kate, cover for me.”

  Krista walked away briskly.

  ~*~*~*~

  Kate, Jasmine and Ben watched her go.

  “She’s upset,” Ben said.

  Kate punched him and started walking, Jasmine with her.

  “What was that for?” Ben whined as he caught up.

  “Obviously she’s upset you twerp!” Kate hollered. “The guy she has lost her mind over just crashed back into her life and took away her giant personal achievement.”

  “Krista still made it where she is now on her own,” Ben replied, wounded.

  “She did, but now that is overshadowed by Sean getting a better job,” Jasmine explained.

  “Much better. Without telling her. Wh
y did he come here, though?” Kate wondered, walking into the large foyer where the meet and greet was being held. “He must have had a million offers.”

  “Tory probably had his eye on him,” Jasmine surmised, getting a glass of wine.

  “Yeah, but why L.A.? Sean lives in San Francisco. Why not the region up there?”

  “He wants to keep us together,” Ben said. “It’s why he got Marcus and me down here. Krista had to come, so Tory moved everyone else down, as well. He wanted to keep us together. Sean is the last of the team.”

  “Well, I don’t care. It’s a dick move,” Kate stated crossly.

  ~*~*~*~

  It was then that Sean spotted them. He was surrounded by welcoming, smiling faces but he could feel the sudden chill. He didn’t see Krista among them, which was a bad sign. Deciding to get it over with, he crossed the crowd, smile in place, and landed next to the three friends.

  “Hi Kate, Jasmine, Ben—Ben I saw the latest painting Emily bought. Butterflies in Honey—it was something. Conveyed a profound sense of deep love. Hats off to you! Brilliant.”

  Jasmine groaned.

  Ben, suddenly red, looked at his shoes. “Thanks. Good to see you Sean. Excuse me.” Ben walked away shyly.

  Sean stared after him.

  “She broke up with him,” Jasmine said as she looked after Ben and took a sip of her wine. “A month ago.”

  Sean winced. “I didn’t know.”

  “Obviously.” Jasmine rolled her eyes as she continued to look away.

  “I couldn’t help but notice that Krista isn’t with you. Do you know if she’ll be stopping by later?”

  Kate turned to him directly, stepped closer, angled her head up without any embarrassment doing so, crossed her arms and scowled. “My professional answer, because when I am addressing a superior—that’s what you are now, right? Our boss?”

  Kate waited for Sean to nod with an expectant look.

  “Well, when I am addressing upper management, or implicating Krista in any way, I am to speak professionally. Krista’s rules. Professionally I say that she wasn’t feeling very well, nearly threw up on my shoes, and had to leave early. She sends her deepest regrets to the new VP of the World.”

  “And unprofessionally—in your inside voice, please.”

  “Just what do you think you’re doing, Sean? Back to hurt her again? She doesn’t have enough experience with hurtful men following her around the country?”

  “I know I asked for it, but this isn’t really a work conversation, Kate.”

  “Then you better get used to nothing but work conversations, Sean, because you can’t reject a girl twice, then show up to shove it in her face. With Jasmine’s and my help, Krista is going to bury you before this is all over. And that, sir, is my professional response.” Suddenly Kate’s face beamed as she looked slightly to the right. “Tory! So great to see you! How are you? We haven’t seen you in Krista’s office cracking the whip lately?”

  Tory laughed, aware he’d just missed something. “Hello Kate, Jasmine. How are you doing?”

  “Really good, Tory,” Jasmine said. “Thanks.”

  “Yes,” Kate said, stepping to the side so she wasn’t so close to Sean, but so that she was now including Tory. “I was just telling Sean, actually, that with Krista’s lead, we are rocking the numbers. I’m sure you’ve noticed, but we are consistently under budget and over-performing. And Krista is just starting to get her stride. She’s got a long way to go!”

  Tory smiled indulgently. “Yes, I have seen the numbers. Your department is doing quite well.”

  “Best in the country, yes.” Kate said, nodding. “Well, I’ll leave you two to it.”

  Sean and Tory watched the two girls walk away and mingle into the crowd.

  Sean turned to Tory, his heart in his throat. “I don’t think Krista is all that thrilled to see me here. It’s been a long time.”

  Tory nodded, escorting Sean toward the Managers. “Yes, as Emily said, you probably should have called. I agree. Women love surprises, but some things are not meant to come out of the blue.”

  “We’re not all as courageous as Emily,” Sean said quietly as they joined the Management circle.

  Chapter Seven

  Monday morning saw Krista with a fresh coat of paint on her face, her hair done up, a good looking outfit, and a desire to go stick her head in the sand. She had just turned on her computer when her phone rang. It was her boss.

  “Hey Phil.”

  “Krista, hi. Do you have a minute?” Phil asked in his southern drawl. He was originally from Texas. He hated California because he thought it housed a bunch of liberal idiots. Krista never cared enough to ask him why he moved here in the first place. And the million dollar question: Why didn’t he just go back to Texas?

  “Sure.”

  “Great, meet me in the conference room on the third floor.”

  That was odd. Usually she would just go to his office. Must be some Tory coaching.

  Every once in a while Tory would call them both in and go over how they could be even more insightful in their jobs. They were already the best team in the company, but Tory’s expectations were never sated. Phil hated all the extra work and notice, which he wouldn’t receive if not for Krista, but he never complained. At least not where Tory or she could overhear.

  When Krista walked into the room, she was greeted by three sets of eyes: the dark brown eyes of her boss, the warm brown of Tory, and the green of her nemesis. She was suddenly glad she chose that day to start dressing above her station.

  Sean was wearing one of his power suits. He was freshly shaven, his cologne was mouthwatering, and he was looking at Krista with the bright eyes of success. Her resolve hardened.

  “Hi all. Sean, nice to see you again. Welcome,” Krista said professionally.

  Sean’s brow furrowed slightly as he tilted his head in greeting.

  “Krista,” Tory said, his easy and relaxed smile including her into their circle. “Please, join us.”

  Krista sat down opposite Sean. She was in it to win it. No skulking around the fight. She would battle this head-on.

  Sean’s eyes never left her face. Krista, noticing this, met them, ignored the stab of pain that lanced through her core, and lifted her eyebrows. Into the confrontation, Sean smiled and turned his eyes toward Tory.

  He’d realized she was challenging him. That she planned to bowl him over and steal his candy like he was a naïve child to a mean uncle. Sean McAdams loved a challenge. Too bad this time it was a challenge he wouldn’t meet. Krista had to make sure of it!

  “Krista,” Tory began, “We’ve seen you start with the company when you were largely inexperienced. Since then, we’ve seen you grow and mature. You’ve started to come into your own. Your team is consistently doing work well above par. You have yet to miss a bad investment, and often give invaluable advice on everything from market research to new products.” Tory’s eyes twinkled at her.

  “Say what you will, but that product idea was a good one!” Krista laughed.

  “It was, yes. We manufactured it, I believe.” He turned to Sean, “Krista, Marcus, and Ben, all part of your old team, came up with a sort of mat for children when they were talking over a cocktail hour. Insightful group you found.”

  Sean smiled, turning his eyes back to Krista. This time they were soft as they held her. They sucked her in to that special place where time didn’t exist. Where she was safe and loved. A place that now only existed in a memory.

  Krista tore her eyes away and mentally cursed his dirty tactics. She would not go down that road again. And she hated that every time she did something good, Sean would get the credit for it. She wasn’t that same girl anymore. She was more her own find than Sean’s. He could suck it!

  “Anyway, Krista, as I was saying,” Tory continued, cutting through her mental seething, “you are aware that Sean will be taking over this region. Emily would like to see me more, so it is either this, or divorce.” Everyone laughed. Kri
sta faked it. Sean noticed and looked at her a beat too long. “I think it is time to find out what your expectations are in this new regime.”

  “My expectations?” Krista asked, mildly confused. Oh, she had a lot of expectations, but they had to do with getting Sean fired. She doubted that was what Tory wanted to hear.

  “Yes. So far you have done very well under the guidance of Phil and myself. However, I will be stepping away somewhat. I want to know what your plans are for the future. Or if you have thought that far ahead?”

  This was a test. If Sean hadn’t come and shaken up Krista’s world, she would still be floating along, following the strongest current. Now, however, she wanted to create her own rip tide. Just in time, it seemed.

  “Yes, about that. I am eternally thankful for your help Tory, Phil.” Phil smiled at her, his eyes dull and bored. Tory looked at her warmly.

  “But, you’re right,” she continued. “I definitely need to step it up. I am interested in advancing, and was thinking to talk with you about possibly going for my Master’s in business, economics, or mathematics to help that progression. I have a few directions I can go from where I am, so I am looking into pursuing those possibilities.”

  Tory smiled knowingly and turned his eyes to Sean, who was looking at Krista with that intense business gaze she knew so well. His chess board was out and he was lining up the pieces.

  “With this new system of regions,” Sean began, getting a faraway look in his eyes, “there is a lot of room for change in the day-to-day operations. But the change needs to be made now. I want to restructure how departments report to me to better manage work flow. You will fit nicely into that scheme.” Sean eyes honed in on her again.

  “Will I?” Krista said with a bit more sauce than she’d intended.

  Tory and Phil both chuckled, thinking it was a good-natured, sarcastic comment. Sean knew better. Despite the reasons why, he knew her backwards and forwards. She had changed, sure, but that was to cover up the pain from losing herself in the move. Her sarcastic comments covered up a deeper hurt. Sean was the only one in that room that knew her well enough to know that. She never could hide her deeper self from him—probably because she had never tried.