The Proposal (Forever Bound Book 2)

by Bree Callahan

  “Well, he said…” Ana paused. Her mouth was open, but no words came out, she took a quick bite of her chicken, then snatched a drink. She was stalling, and Charity wasn’t going to let her get away with that.

  Charity spoke up. “What did he say, Ana?”

  Ana sighed and put her drink back down. “He said that he wanted to find you, and he wondered if I knew where you were. I told him that we hadn’t talked, which we hadn’t. He doesn’t give up easily, that’s for sure.” She laughed lightly.

  “What does that mean?” Charity asked.

  “Well, he told me something about you, and it made me question if maybe I'm a little too harsh on him.”

  Charity crossed her arms and stared at Ana. “What did he tell you about me?”

  “He said that he’s in love with you.” Ana blurted out the words and Charity saw how conflicted she was to express the statement, but Charity couldn’t even process the words without chuckling.

  She took a drink because she thought she’d start choking. “He’s in love with me? That’s what he told you to make you do a complete turnaround? Come on, Ana…he was playing you, just like he played me. Now, it’s gone too far.”

  Ana slowly shook her head. “I don’t think he was trying to play me.” Charity listened to Ana and tried to keep an open mind, but in the back of her mind, she was still irritated by Ana’s sudden change in attitude. "He seemed genuine. I wanted to not believe him, but there was something about the way he spoke about you. He said you’re the one that matters most to him. You came before the money, Charity.”

  Charity laughed. “Yeah, he told me that, but come on…ten billion dollars?”

  Ana shrugged, taking a bite of her sandwich. “I believed him, and I think you should talk to him.” She spoke between bites and Charity found her appetite slowly fading. She put down her French fry and sighed. “I don’t want to talk about it or about him.”

  Ana shrugged. “At least consider it.”

  Charity slowly nodded, then went back to eating. “So, onto other news. How are things going between you and Jesse? Talk to him?”

  “That’s talking about it,” Ana replied with a laugh.

  Charity chuckled. “Okay, maybe it’s I just don’t want to talk about what’s his name.” She laughed, and Ana’s lips curved up slightly.

  Then, Ana shook her head. “Nope, but what’s his name said I should.”

  Charity groaned. “See…he pops back up into the picture no matter where I turn.”

  Ana laughed. “Maybe that’s telling you something.”

  Charity rolled her eyes. “So, are you going to? Talk to Jesse I mean?”

  Ana shrugged, drinking the last drop in her glass. “I want to, but should I rush back into things when I’m upset he didn’t tell me?”

  Charity smiled. “I’m not one to give relationship advice.” Ana continued discussing how going back to Jesse would be something she’d want to do, but then she would think about reasons not to and quickly changes her mind. By the end of the meal, she had pretty much talked herself out of not calling Jesse. Charity simply listened and didn’t provide any advice.

  When she was done ranting on, she sighed. “I feel much better actually.”

  Charity smiled. “Well, if that’s the case…I have a proposition for you.”

  Ana tilted her head towards Charity. “Proposition?” Charity reached into her purse and handed over the eviction notice. Ana read it, then looked up, alarmed. “That’s about a week away,” she responded, showing the obvious.

  “Yes, I realize that. I don’t know what I’m going to do because I’m about to be out on the street, and I’m on the verge of no longer having a job.”

  “Derek wouldn’t fire you,” Ana pointed out.

  Charity laughed. “You mean what his name is? I know that, but I can’t continue to work there, especially when I don’t want to see him.”

  “Oh…” Ana quietly replied. “Good point.”

  “Anyway, that’s where you come in,” Charity continued.

  Ana reached into her purse and produced a checkbook. “How much do you need?”

  Charity shook her head. “I’m not being evicted because of money.”

  Ana frowned. “What? Surely it’s not because you’re unruly.” Ana laughed, then suddenly stopped. “Is it because you’re unruly?”

  Charity shook her head. “Not exactly, but there was an altercation, and it left Richard pretty pissed at me and…” she paused, before adding, “what’s his name.” Ana pressed on, so Charity told her an edited version. Basically, Richard made some unwanted advances and what’s his name stopped him.”

  Ana’s jaw dropped. “So, basically what’s his name is your night and shining armor.” She grinned and Charity shook her head. Ana nodded. “He is, and I say who needs this jackass landlord.” She tossed the eviction notice across the table. “Charity, you can do so much better.” She paused and smiled. “So, the proposition…does it have anything to do with you and me getting an apartment together?” Charity nodded and she Ana smiled in response. “You have yourself a roommate.”

  Charity felt better at that moment and couldn’t wait to finally be out of that apartment and start to get her life back into order.

  ***

  Derek ended the meeting with just a signature and thanking the crew for meeting with him. He was glad to be out of there, as the last thing he wanted to do was talking about demolition and what they needed to know about the properties. He couldn’t stop thinking about Charity and hoping that Ana called her and talked to her. On the way back to the office, he caught himself stopping off at Bill’s Diner. He hadn’t been back since the day he walked into the restaurant and met Charity for the first time.

  He thought she was beautiful then, but now he found her breathtaking. He got out of his car and went into the restaurant. He walked over to a table and took a seat. He didn’t need to look at the menu because he planned on ordering the same thing he had that day. He was approached by a young woman that greeted him with a welcoming smile. “Good afternoon, Mayor Worthington.”

  “Hello…” he looked at her name tag and smiled, “Jamie. Hope you’re having a wonderful day today.”

  She giggled, and he heard a soft lilt of nervousness in her voice. “I am, thank you. You?” she asked as if she needed to carry on the conversation.

  He smiled and nodded. “It’s great. Thanks.”

  She asked him what he wanted, and he placed his order. When she left, his eyes followed her back to the counter. She poured him a cup of coffee, then brought it back to him. “Need anything else while you’re waiting for your food?” she asked.

  He hesitated and smiled. “Actually, I do.”

  She grinned back at him. “Alright. How may I help you?”

  “I really don’t know how to ask you this, but a young woman used to work here, and I was wondering if you’ve seen her in the past few days? She has brown hair and big brown eyes. She’s about 5’8”.”

  She laughed. “You mean, Charity Parker?”

  He smiled. “Yes. Have you seen her?”

  She frowned. “Not this week, but isn’t she working at your office?” He nodded slowly. “Well, if you can’t find her then maybe you’re just working too hard.” She giggled as she turned around and headed away from his table. He groaned, staring at her backside. That didn’t go as easy as he hoped it would.

  In fact, the rest of the meal was the same way. He stayed in the Diner for nearly three hours, hoping that someone new would walk into the restaurant and have some idea as to where Charity might be. However, he got the same natural response, with them questioning why he wouldn’t know. He left the Diner feeling more confused. It was as if she disappeared from the small town, where usually a person couldn’t hide for anything.

  He went back to the office and sat in his chair just staring absentmindedly in front of him and wondered what the next step should be. He grabbed the phone and called up Jesse, only to get his answering machine
. “Hey, Bud…will you give me a call when you get this message? Talk to you soon.” He hung up and waited for Jesse’s call. He tried his hardest to do some work on his computer, but he couldn’t concentrate. When Jesse finally called, Derek had wasted an entire afternoon.

  “Hello?” Derek answered.

  “Hey,…what’s up?” Jesse asked.

  “I was hoping you’ve talked to Ana today.”

  “You and me both, Man, but no…haven’t heard a word. Why?”

  Derek sighed. That wasn’t what he wanted to hear. “Well, I stopped by her parent’s house, and I begged her to tell me where Charity was, and she said she didn’t know.”

  “Okay…then what?” Jesse asked.

  “Well, she said she would call Charity and see if she could get her to talk to me. That’s been almost eight hours, and I haven’t heard anything, so I was just curious if you’ve talked to her.” Derek finished up his statement to Jesse.

  “Well, sorry I can’t help you.” There was a heavy pause on the other end before he asked. “Did you happen to mention me?” Jesse asked.

  “Yeah, we did. I told her that she shouldn’t blame you when you had no say in what happened. I told her she should talk to you, which is why I was hoping she had.” Derek sunk back into his chair.

  “Oh. Well, if I hear anything I’ll let you know.”

  “Thanks,” Derek commented, then hung up the phone. He stood up from his desk and grabbed his things to go. Another day down and he was still no closer to answers.

  ***

  Charity pulled into Damian’s driveway, anxious to start the routine with distressing exercises. Although first will have to come supper. She was about to get out of her car when her phone started ringing. She glanced at the caller ID, expecting another call from Derek. However, it wasn’t Derek. Jamie’s name flashed across the screen. She settled back into the car and answered the call.

  “Hello?”

  “Hey there!” Jamie enthusiastically stated.

  “Hey! Long time no hear.” She glanced up at the front door to see that Damian had already opened it up for her, but she had to wait to see what her ex-co-worker wanted. “What’s going on?”

  “Well…we had an interesting customer in the Diner today.” Jamie chuckled lightly, and Charity urged her to continue. “Mayor Worthington sat at one of my tables.”

  Charity froze in place. “Alright,” she slowly stated. “That’s interesting, but not sure if it’s newsworthy,” she replied with a half-hearted chuckle.

  Jamie snickered. “No…I know, but he asked me if I knew where you were.” There was a pause on her end, then she continued. “I thought you worked with him. Is everything alright?”

  Charity groaned. Out of all the people, he could find to talk to about her, Jamie was the last person she would want to get an earful. Jamie was a gossip and rarely let things go, without getting to the bottom of it. “Everything’s fine. I swear,” she started. She waited to see if Jamie would interrupt when she didn’t Charity went on. “What did you tell him?”

  “Well, the truth. I told him that we hadn’t talked since you quit, but it’s strange isn’t it?”

  “Not that strange,” Charity replied with a short laugh. She cleared her throat to maneuver the conversation. “I’ve taken a few days off work, and it’s unfortunately put him in a bind. That’s all. I’ve been busy and have ignored his calls. So, he’s probably just curious. You didn’t know anything, so he’ll go about his life and won’t bother you again.”

  Jamie laughed on the other end of the phone. “Um…it’s no bother. He’s really handsome to look at, so I deal with it.” She laughed, and Charity snickered. “So, you’re doing well?” Jamie asked.

  Charity slowly nodded. “I’m doing great!” she lied.

  “Good. We miss you, Charity.”

  “I miss you, too,” Charity replied softly. She almost asked if they were hiring, but that would’ve contradicted everything she just got done telling Jamie. “How’ve you been?” Charity asked.

  “Can’t complain. Hours have been better, but that was to be expected with you quitting, so I guess I should thank you.”

  She laughed, and Charity pretended to be hurt by her words. “Gee…thanks a lot.”

  “I’m just teasing. It isn’t the same.”

  Charity looked to the door and found Damian looking through the glass. She couldn’t hold him off for much longer. “I know you are. Hey, I have to go, but I appreciate you calling me. Take care!”

  “You too. Bye, Charity.” They disconnected the call, then Charity slid it back in her purse. She got out of the car and headed up to where Damian had the door open for her.

  “Hello!” Charity leaned in and brushed a kiss on his lips.

  When they parted, he asked her, “Everything alright with whomever you were on the phone with?”

  She nodded. “Yeah…just an old co-worker wanting to catch up.” She took in a whiff of the food and sighed. “Food smells amazing. I’m starved.” She moved past him, but he grabbed her hand and pulled her back to him.

  “Me too,” he mumbled. He kissed her with a passionate hunger, making her fall into him and briefly forgetting the meal.

  As they kissed, all she could think about was how she needed to call Derek and tell him to stop stalking her, because she was trying to move on and he was stopping her from searching for her own happiness. She was getting a nice start.

  When they parted from one another, they went into the kitchen, and he put together two plates of his homemade spaghetti. They sat down at the table and did some small talk, as they ate their Italian and drank their wine. “How have things been at the office?” Damian asked bringing back her back.

  “What?” she asked, nearly coughing up her wine.

  He laughed. “No reason to look surprised by the question. I figured I haven’t really said a whole lot about your job and thought It’d be a nice time to show you I care about that. Work going alright?” he asked, as he took a drink from his wine glass.

  She hadn’t mentioned that she was taking a few days off, a week, or maybe even more, and now she felt odd for letting him have to ask the question. Yet, she still didn’t feel comfortable telling him that she hooked up with Derek, and now she wasn’t speaking with him. Even though they could sleep with other people, while in this relationship, it was like she worried, she just stabbed him in the back.

  She nodded, taking a bite of her meatball. “Unless you happen to have a job open and I can apply?” She laughed nervously.

  He snickered. “What? Why would you ever want to leave the life of luxury to work for me?” He took a drink from his glass and stared at her from over the top.

  She smiled. “To see more of you, of course.”

  He laughed, putting his glass down. “Well, that’s a good reason, but I’m sure you wouldn’t be happy working in catering business.”

  She picked up her empty plates and walked them to the kitchen. With her back to him, she stared out the window above the kitchen sink. She would work anywhere if it meant she didn’t have to be face to face with Derek. She felt Damian’s hand on her shoulder, and he slid his plates into the kitchen sick. His lips went to her neck, and he started to kiss her, producing a growl from her throat. She slowly turned around to face him and threw her arms around him. Their lips connected and all thoughts of jobs vanished.

  Chapter 4

  Charity woke up to her phone ringing. She jumped out of bed, barely containing herself and gathering what was happening. She fumbled for her phone on her dresser and answered it. “Hello?”

  “Hello, is this Charity Parker?”

  “Yes, this is she?” she replied.

  “Hello, Ms. Parker. This is Evelyn Winston. I’m calling from Jamison Daycare.”

  “Oh yes…hello, Mrs. Winston.” She breathed a sigh, hearing the woman’s voice on the other end. This was a good sign.

  “I'm calling about your application and resume. I would like to set you up for an intervi
ew if you are free sometime this morning.” Charity glanced at her watch. It was just after eight o’clock.

  “Of course. I’m free all morning.”

  “Will you stop by at ten o’clock?”

  Charity agreed, and they discussed where she should arrive. She got off the phone, feeling happy that she just might not have to step back into the Mayor’s office again. She took a shower, got dressed and ate a proper breakfast, then practiced a variety of routine questions one would ask of someone in an interview.

  She left the house in enough time that she wasn’t rushing, and she even felt secure she was ready for the interview. When she got to the daycare, she took a deep breath and got out of the car. She headed up to the door that Mrs. Winston told her to go to. Inside, she found a desk. A woman was behind it, typing madly against her computer keys. She didn’t look up until Charity softly cleared her throat.

  “Yes? May I help you?” The woman asked, appearing a bit annoyed by the distraction.

  “I’m sorry to bother you, but I’m here to meet a Mrs. Evelyn Winston.”

  The woman eyed her, casually washing her eyes over her and Charity self-consciously wondered if she wasn’t dressed appropriately. “One moment,” the woman said, heaving a sigh and typing in an extension on her phone. “Evelyn there is a…” she paused and looked up, and Charity recited her name. “A Charity Parker is here to see you,” the woman continued. “Alright!” She hung up the phone and stood to her feet. “Follow me!” she mumbled.

  Charity followed the woman down a long corridor to a door on the left. She motioned with her hand for Charity to enter. Before the woman could leave, Charity was sure to thank her. She just nodded and went back down the corridor to get back to her desk. Charity turned around and was greeted by a more personable woman.