His mother paled. “William—”
“You know what? The people in my life who care about me call me Will. If we were a real family, you’d be Mom and Dad, not Mother and Father.” He drew in a breath and shook his head. “I took those two weeks off for the sole purpose of deciding what I want to do with the rest of my life, because what you had planned for me wasn’t working.” He scowled. “You could have contacted me, set up a time to have a private discussion about my decisions. But no.” His jaw clenched as he recalled the look of utter hurt in Jo’s eyes. “The way you treated Josey is inexcusable and unforgivable.”
Their waiter appeared with a large tray bearing their meals at the same moment Will stood up and walked away from his parents. Maybe for good. His mind spinning, he pulled out his phone and hit Jo’s speed-dial number the second he reached his car. His call went straight to voicemail “Jo, we need to talk. Call me.” His phone pinged just as he’d fastened his seatbelt. Will fished it out of his pocket. His gut clenched as he read the text.
“I don’t want to come between you and your parents. It’s clear they disapprove of me. I think it would be best if we said goodbye now before we get in too deep.”
Razor-sharp betrayal sliced through his heart. Furious, he texted back, “I don’t get a say? You’re not willing to talk this through?”
Glaring at his phone, he waited in vain for an answering text. His pulse pounding, Will started his car and gripped the wheel so hard the blood stopped circulating in his hands. Hadn’t he told Jo hashing things out with his partner meant everything to him? Trust, brutal honesty and working on a relationship … without all those components, they were doomed. She should be yelling at him for not telling his parents he’d left his job. That he could handle. Bailing at the first sign of trouble? Not so much.
He hurt. His skin fit too tight, and an uncomfortable prickling sensation raised goose bumps all over. The way his throat and chest ached was no fun either. Oh, God. Was he about to … tear up? Hell no. Blinking furiously, he put his car in reverse and backed out of the parking space.
Now what?
He drove home to his empty existence. Trying to breathe through the tightness in his chest, he welcomed the anger and frustration. Both were preferable to the awful sensation of his heart breaking.
“Thank you,” Josey said as she climbed out of the Lyft car and shut the door. The weight of another breakup slumping her shoulders, she forced herself up the walkway to her building, just as Wyatt emerged, keys in hand. Talking to her brother was the last thing she wanted to do.
Wyatt’s gaze followed the Lyft car for a second. “Hey, Jo. Aren’t you supposed to be at brunch with Will and his parents?”
“Yeah.” She walked around him. “I cut him loose. We were never going to work anyway.”
“What do you mean?”
Drat. Wyatt followed her into their entryway. “I mean I broke things off with him. What do you think cut him loose means?”
Her brother put his hand on the door, preventing her from escaping. “What happened?”
Dammit, her eyes filled, giving her a distorted view of the floor tiles beneath her feet. “Don’t want to talk about it right now.”
“All right. I’m calling a meeting for later this afternoon.”
“That’s not necessary,” she mumbled. “I’ll be fine.”
“Tough. Don’t go anywhere.”
“I might not answer the door when you knock.”
“You gave us a spare key, remember?”
“I want my key back. You can put it in my mailbox.” She moved his hand and unlocked the door. “This is all your fault. You talked me into giving Will a chance, and I did. Thanks a lot for the advice.” Stomping up the stairs, she headed for the privacy of her refuge. Once inside, she kicked off her shoes and shuffled down the hall to her bedroom. Falling facedown on her mattress, she took a breath.
“Nooo,” she groaned. Her sheets and bedspread smelled like Will. Damn. How could he let her down the way he had? The tears came then, and it wasn’t pretty. Great, gulping sobs racked through her.
She’d given Will her heart, and he’d allowed his parents to trample all over her without saying a word. She was a joke to the Prescotts. Her boyfriend had said nothing to contradict them. Was it possible she was all of the things his parents had said? Perhaps his parents weren’t the only ones with passive-aggressiveness issues.
Fine. She’d get over him … eventually. Another sloppy sob burst forth. Getting over Will would not be easy, and it wouldn’t be quick, but she’d manage. Missing him wouldn’t kill her. Jo rolled over to her back and stared at the ceiling until the tears stopped. She forced herself to get up, grabbed a handful of tissues and mopped away the evidence of her grief.
Her purge over, she stripped her bed, threw all of her bedding into her washing machine. Then she changed out of her brunch clothes and into comfy shorts and an oversized T-shirt. Jo gathered Will’s things and stuffed them into a grocery bag—that she stowed in the front closet, out of sight. Don’t think. Keep busy.
Jo turned on some music and went on a cleaning rampage, anything to keep herself occupied, because the minute she stopped, the heartache became a deluge, swamping her where she stood. By the time she’d finished going through her kitchen cabinets, someone was knocking on her door.
“We know you’re in there, Jo. Open up,” Wyatt’s muffled voice called.
She threw her head back and closed her eyes for a moment, composing herself. “I’m coming,” she called back. Jo swung her door open, and her brow shot up. “Well, great. All four of you at once. Come on in.”
“Mmm, smells like lemon Pine-Sol in here,” Haley said. “Somebody’s been busy.”
Sam jutted his chin toward her couch. “You might as well sit down, Jo. We’re not leaving until you tell us everything.”
“What did you do with Brady?” Jo asked Kayla and Wyatt. “I’m surprised you didn’t bring him with you, along with Sandy, Dennis and everyone else in the building.”
“Brady is upstairs playing with Rosie.” Wyatt stared at her, his eyes filled with concern. “You don’t have to get defensive with us. We’re family. We can’t dump you.”
“Not that we’d ever want to,” Kayla said, elbowing Wyatt.
The tears came again, and she blinked them back. “All right. May as well get this over with.” Jo moved to the overstuffed chair and plopped down as everyone settled.
Haley folded both her hands over her baby bump and studied her. “Tell us what happened this morning.”
“I don’t know where to begin.” She blew out a long breath. “Meeting Will’s parents … God, it was horrible. They referred to me as a joke, a rebellion and a punishment against them on Will’s part.”
“Do you care what they think about you?” Kayla frowned. “I’m sure the experience was unpleasant, but—”
“No. Yes.” Josey couldn’t admit she believed his parents might be right. “I don’t care what they think, but I do care that Will allowed them to insult me over and over without saying a thing. You should’ve seen their faces when they found out I’m a plumber.” She snorted, and it almost turned into a sob. Almost.
“Will let me down in a big way.” Her chest ached. She placed her hand over her heart and rubbed at the pain. “He didn’t tell his parents he’d given his notice at his law firm,” she continued. “Mr. and Mrs. Prescott were pretty steamed about getting the news from a third party, and I don’t blame them. That’s the one thing I agree with his parents about. Will should’ve told them.” She swallowed and gazed at each of her brothers and their wives. “But then they blamed me for that as well. The whole scenario was a setup for disaster, an ambush.”
“That doesn’t sound at all like the Will I know,” Haley said, frowning. “What did he say when the two of you talked about all of this.”
Heat surged to her face. “We haven’t talked, and I don’t plan to. I sent him a text and made a clean break.”
“J
o … you broke up with him in a text?” Sam shook his head. “You need to talk to him. I’m sure he has his reasons. His reasons might not make sense, but don’t you want to hear what they are?”
Wyatt arched a brow. “Don’t you at least owe it to him to hear him out?”
“No. I just can’t.” She placed her elbows on her knees and buried her face in her hands for a second or two. “Say Will and I got serious, decided to marry and have kids. Do you think I want people like his parents anywhere near my children? Do you think I’d ever want to spend a holiday dinner with the Prescotts? Family is important, and I can’t be a part of theirs.” She straightened.
“Besides, Will is their only child. I don’t want to come between the three of them. I won’t put up with their shitty attitude toward me, and I don’t want to be with a man who won’t stand up for me. It’s better just to walk away.”
“Oh, Jo,” Haley said. “I’m so sorry.”
Jo nodded bleakly. “Yeah, me too.” She’d fallen hard, and just as she’d expected, that only made her hurt all that much more.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Will plugged in his laptop and set it on his new desk. Today marked a new beginning for his career, and instead of the excitement he’d expected, he’d been a mass of restless edginess and frustration since Sunday’s fateful brunch. An unrelenting hollowness had taken up residence in his chest.
“Where’s Jo?” Greg stopped at the door to Will’s new office, a cardboard box in his arms. “I thought you said she’d taken the day off to help you get settled.”
Damn. His heartbeat hitched painfully at the mere mention of her name. “I’ve been dumped.” Will adjusted the height of his new desk chair, tested the comfort level and leaned back.
“What?” Frowning, Greg walked into this office, set the box he’d been carrying on the floor and planted himself in one of the two client chairs facing Will. “What happened?”
“My parents happened. They wanted to meet Jo. You know how they are. If I hadn’t agreed, they would’ve kept pushing. So, Jo and I joined them for brunch on Sunday. Unfortunately, they were at their worst.”
Now that a few days had elapsed, he couldn’t deny his part of the blame. His parents were right; he should have been the one to tell them about his plans. If he had, they still would’ve been their usual snobbish selves, but they might not have been in full attack mode the minute he introduced Jo. He’d been too wrapped up, too blissfully happy for the first time in his life, and telling his parents about his career plans had completely slipped his mind. Big mistake.
“Mmm. Having been on the receiving end of their worst, I can empathize with Jo.” Greg’s frown deepened. “Still, she was dating you, not your parents. What did she say when you two talked?”
“That’s the thing.” Bitterness soured his empty stomach. Jo’s betrayal, her refusal to even discuss the matter hurt the worst. Maybe she was right, and a clean break was best. Having her walk away every time things got tough would have been intolerable. As it was, he hadn’t been able to eat or sleep since Sunday. “Jo took off before our food had even been served. She dumped me in a text.”
“No.”
“Yep. I’ve called and texted her, hoping we could at least talk things through and part on good terms, but she’s not responding.”
“I’m sorry.” Greg studied him.
“Me too.” Will plowed his fingers through his hair. “So, the law books we ordered should be here tomorrow, and our office door will be stenciled within the next hour or two.” They’d agreed to paint the door dark green, and the stenciled sign would be an old-fashioned gold, outlined in black on the frosted glass, in keeping with the era of the building. He’d won the coin toss when it came to the name of their firm, Prescott, Fletcher & Associates.
Greg’s brow lowered. “Hmm.”
Will flashed him a disgruntled look. “If you have something to say, Greg, say it.”
“All right.” Greg shifted in the chair. “You and I go way back. I know how you interact with your parents when they become their most prejudiced, verbal-dart-throwing selves.”
“I don’t interact with them when they throw verbal darts.”
“Exactly. You might want to give that a think or two.” Greg rose and took up his box again. “By the way, we have two associate applicants to interview tomorrow afternoon. Don’t forget.”
As miserable and distracted as he was, he’d better put that on his calendar, or he might forget. “I won’t.” They hadn’t yet ordered a conference table, but he’d placed ads listing office space to lease. He’d also put the word out they were looking for an on-site daycare provider and a restaurant or café. The next few months were going to be extremely busy, the only bright spot in the dismal weeks ahead.
Will pulled up his computer’s calendar, and his breath left him. July third, 8:00a.m, Haney & Sons. He deleted the appointment. No reason to show up for Josey’s meeting with the shareholders anymore, was there? Not if she couldn’t be bothered to have a conversation with him.
In fact, he should delete her contact information from his phone. The sooner he ripped the bandage from that open wound, the sooner he’d heal. He grabbed his cell from the desk and unlocked the screen. Up popped the picture Jo’s cousin had taken of the two of them at Wyatt’s wedding, the one where he and Josey were staring into each other’s eyes. Adoringly.
Anybody looking at this picture would think he and Jo were in love, but the love had obviously been one-sided. The ache in his chest throbbed painfully. He’d been so proud to have Josey in his life, his beautiful plumber.
His throat tightened, and he got that skin-too-tight prickly feeling again. Scrolling through his photos, he brought up the row of pictures from the wedding. From the first moment he’d laid eyes on Jo, he’d been captivated. Swallowing the annoying lump in his throat, he held his finger over the delete icon for several seconds. He couldn’t. Not yet.
Will set the phone back down on his desk and gazed around his new office. What the hell had Greg meant when he’d said Will should think about how he interacted with his parents? What did that have to do with anything? Jo’s lack of trust was the real issue. He’d hoped the two of them had a future, and she hadn’t even had enough respect for him to break up in person. Dumped in a text? To hell with that. Who needed the drama?
Damn. He must be more tired than he realized, because his eyes stung and watered. Will scrubbed his face with both hands, trying to rub away some of the fatigue, and maybe some of the grief. Why couldn’t he shake the feeling he’d missed something? The way she’d taken off had been so unlike her. If the two of them had truly been a couple, they were supposed to present a united front against his parents’ snobbery and verbal abuse. Right?
Scowling, he shot up from his desk and strode to his partner’s office. Greg had his office phone pressed to his ear. He held up a finger, signaling he’d be a minute. Will walked away from the door and wandered out to the reception area. A list of things they needed—like clients and tenants—formed bullet points in his head.
After a few minutes of pacing, he headed back to Greg’s office and found him beaming.
“The ACLU wants to know if we’d be willing to accept referrals from them as approved outside counsel. I told them yes, and they’re sending several cases our way in the next few days.” Greg fist-pumped the air. “We’re in business.”
“We’d better hire someone soon to do general office work and answer the phones.”
“I agree.” He snapped his fingers. “Hey, Sondra has a friend who just moved back to the area to be closer to her parents. Gwen has loads of experience, and she’s sharp. She left a management job in D.C. We could offer her the position of office manager.”
“Great. Have her fill out an application, and let’s interview her as soon as possible.” Will stuffed his hands in his pockets and leaned against the wall. “Tell me what I’m missing, Greg? What exactly am I supposed to think about regarding Jo and my parents?”
&n
bsp; Greg snorted. “I blame your denseness on your being an only child. You had only yourself to consider.”
He shrugged. “OK?”
“Listen. You and I go way back, right?”
“We do.”
“Then I’m going to be brutally frank.”
“All right.” Should he be bracing himself?
“Remember the horrible things your parents used to say about me, even though I was standing right there in front of them?”
“I do.”
“Used to piss me off to no end that you let them talk about me that way. We were supposed to be friends, yet you never said a word in my defense. Not once did you stop them.” He shook his head and shot Will a solemn look. “And it’s not like I could’ve said anything.”
“Yeah, but you knew—”
“No, Will. I didn’t know, at least not at first. Keep in mind you’ve had a lifetime of dealing with your parents. I didn’t know them at all. It took me a while to figure out your refusal to respond to the ugliness was your own personal form of protest. I’d almost given up on our friendship, but then I realized silence was your only defense against them. In your own way, by refusing to engage in their nonsense, you were making it clear you disagreed without escalating the situation.”
Will rubbed his forehead. “So, you’re saying … But I told Jo I ignore their snobbishness, and that she should do the same. Besides, it was me they were attacking. Not her. My leaving a perfectly good job was an act of rebellion in their minds, and a joke.”
“How long had you and Jo been dating?”
“Since May.”
“Yeah, and it’s just now the end of June. Your girl had never seen you and your parents together before Sunday, and then she walked into a hornet’s nest. In the heat of the moment, do you think she remembered what she likely viewed as an offhand remark on your part? Isn’t it possible she believed your parents saw dating her as the act of rebellion, and a Prescott involved with a plumber as the joke?”
What Matters Most Page 17
