Had Enough

by Anie Michaels

  “Can you reschedule?”

  “Justin, I normally would, but I don’t want to seem like a flake to a prospective business partner. Especially not this early in our professional relationship.”

  “We talked about this, Hadley. It’s important to me that you meet my parents.”

  “And it’s important to me, too. I promise.” Suddenly I was panicking, feeling as though I was torn equally in two very imperative directions. “Mr. Daniels and I aren’t meeting until seven. Can I meet you and your parents for an early drink? Happy hour somewhere?”

  He let out a sigh. “That won’t work. They’re busy until this evening.”

  “I’m sorry. Really. Can we take them out for brunch this weekend?”

  Another sigh. “I’ll ask them if they’re free.”

  Another silence fell between us.

  “Please tell me you’re not upset.”

  “I am upset, but not with you. I’m disappointed.”

  “If you’d called earlier I wouldn’t have hesitated to meet your parents, Justin. I would have been there, eager, excited to make a good impression.”

  “I know. I’m just tired of things getting in our way.”

  “Can I come to your house later? After we’re both done with our dinners?”

  “Of course.” His voice was soft again and it made me relax a little.

  “Tell your parents congratulations for me.”

  “I will.”

  “I’ll see you later?”

  “Count on it,” he said, his tone washing over me.

  We disconnect and I let out a long, loud breath.

  “What was that about?” Amy asked.

  “Riddle me this, Amy. How did I go from having not one care in the world when it came to men to suddenly walking on eggshells, working hard to make sure I don’t rock the boat?”

  “Two words. Justin Hunter.” She waggled her eyebrows at me and I cracked a smile, which was exactly what she was aiming for, I was sure.

  “You’re not wrong there, honey. That man could make me do a lot of things I never considered before.”

  “Yeah? Like what?” she queried, resting her elbow on her desk and her chin on her hand, looking oh so interested.

  “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

  “Hadley, I’ve got my own love life going on right now, but rest assured, you ever want to dish on Justin, I am always here for you.”

  My laugh barked out of me. I could understand the sentiment. Justin Hunter was one fine specimen of a man. Even happily married women could be caught ogling him.

  “There won’t be much to talk about soon if I can’t get a handle on this whole relationship business. Seriously, single ladies like me—the ones who built and entire identity on playing the proverbial field—should not drink in Vegas when accompanied by their sexual kryptonite.”

  “Don’t kid yourself. Getting drunk in Vegas was the best thing you ever did.”

  She wasn’t wrong.

  “Some of us are trying to work, ladies,” Tim called out from his cubicle. “If you don’t stop talking about other men, Amy, I’m going to have to give you something else to focus on.”

  Amy’s eyes widened and she raised her eyebrows at me. “Don’t threaten me with a good time.”

  “This is getting really weird, really quickly.”

  “Now you know how I’ve felt all this time listening to you gals gab about your male conquests. Time to pay your penance, Hadley.”

  “It’s weird that you’re basically encouraging your girlfriend to tell me all about your exploits.”

  The wheels of Tim’s chair could be heard rolling and his face appeared on the side of my cubicle. “It’s my new mission to give her good material to share with you.”

  I turned to look at Amy, wondering how she felt about being involved.

  “Don’t look at me. I’m not complaining,” she added with a laugh.

  “Somehow I feel like your mission to torture me with your exploits is only going to lead to Amy’s supreme sexual satisfaction.”

  “Two birds. One stone.”

  We all laughed.

  I’d gone home to change into something fit not only to have dinner with a potential client, but also something I thought Justin might like to see me in later. I settled for a wrap dress over some pretty sexy underthings. Obviously, the dress covered all the important parts, but it was still a clingy material that accentuated all the important parts.

  I was adding a little wave to my hair when my phone pinged with a text.

  **Are you ready to have your bestie back yet?**

  I smiled at my phone and quickly typed a reply.

  **Abso-fucking-lutely. When are you getting back?**

  **Day after tomorrow. We land early afternoon. Will you come over for dinner and bring dinner?**

  I laughed out loud at the invitation to provide her with a meal.

  **Of course! I’ll bring wine too. Because I drank all of yours.**

  **Perfect. I’ll bring you home a coconut bra.**

  I laughed again, but the second laugh was laced with a little sadness. I hadn’t seen my friend in almost two weeks and she had no idea I was married. How do you tell someone something like that? Plus, I missed her terribly.

  **Tell Camden after dinner he has to leave us alone so we can have some proper girl time. I miss talking to you.**

  **Trust me, by the time we get home, he’ll be aching to ditch me.**

  **He will not. Stop.**

  **Okay, well, I’m just saying it won’t be hard to convince him to go get a beer with Justin.**

  **I’m headed out to a work thing. I’ll be by around six with dinner day after tomorrow?**

  **Sounds perfect!**

  I silenced my phone so I wouldn’t have any interruptions with Mr. Daniels, checked my makeup one last time, and went outside to wait for my Uber.

  The restaurant he’d picked was notorious in Portland due to its location at the top of the tallest skyscraper with three-hundred-and-sixty-degree panoramic views. It was one of those restaurants you saved for special occasions. This seemed to qualify as such for Mr. Daniels and I wasn’t going to argue with his choice.

  I spent the ride checking my email and sending Justin one last text.

  **Tell your parents congrats from me. I miss you. I’ll see you after dinner.**

  When he didn’t reply right away I figured he was busy with his parents, so I tucked my phone back in my purse and watched the city fly by my window. The sun was waning, the sky an orangey-purple behind the trees to the west, and the sunset was reflecting off the Willamette River. The waterfront park was full of people and everyone seemed to be enjoying the nice weather.

  The Uber dropped me off and I spent the long elevator ride mentally ticking through the list of why I was perfect for this job, pulling together the best parts of my résumé, determined to convince him I was the right person to bring into the project.

  I gave the hostess my name and told her who I was there to meet and she led me through the dining room immediately, saying, “Right this way.”

  I spotted him at a table by a large picture window and immediately knew I was in trouble.

  When I’d met him at his property he’d looked like any other contractor. Jeans, steel-toed boots, T-shirt. The man sitting at that table was clearly dressed to impress. He was wearing a suit obviously tailored to his body because it fit like a fucking glove. It was a dark navy blue with a sky blue button-down underneath. He was clean-shaven and his blue eyes lit up when he saw me.

  I watched with horror as his eyes moved up and down my body. It wasn’t creepy—it was appreciative. It was exactly how I’d always wanted men to respond to me—with interest. It was exactly the response I would have—a year ago—been looking for. But I was unprepared for Aiden Daniels to want me.

  Immediately I was panicking, trying to figure my way out of the mess I was already walking into.

  He rose from his seat as I approached, his hand coming to
my elbow, and he leaned in to press a kiss to my cheek. It was friendly, but it wasn’t professional. I tried to hide the disappointment welling up inside.

  “Hadley, I’m so glad you could make it,” he said, motioning for me to take my seat.

  “Thank you for fitting me into your schedule, Mr. Daniels.”

  “Call me Aiden. Please.”

  Shit. Shit. Shit.

  “You look lovely,” he added as I took a seat.

  “Thank you,” I said through a forced smile that I was sure looked like a grimace. “I’ve only been here once or twice, but I knew it was a little on the dressy side.” I reached for the water glass closest to me and took a sip, hoping he’d hear what I was saying and understand. I did not dress for him. And even though he looked fantastic in his suit, I wasn’t going to comment.

  “Yes, well, sometimes I can come out of the woods and enjoy some finery.”

  “Why would you ever want to leave those gorgeous houses?” Yes. Let’s talk about houses. “How did you get into those kinds of projects anyway?” I was interested in the history behind his work, but even I knew I sounded too interested.

  “When I was young, my mother worked three jobs to keep us in a trailer that we moved from parking lots, to alleys, to backyards when someone would allow us.” He said the words as his gaze seared into mine, eyes hard but gentle, holding nothing back. “When I got old enough to realize that our living situation wasn’t ideal, I promised my mom that one day I was going to build her the biggest, most beautiful house she could imagine.”

  “And so you did,” I replied softly, a smile coming across my face.

  “I would have,” he added, his voice sadder. “She died when I was twenty.”

  “Oh,” I said with a small gasp. “I’m so sorry.”

  “Thank you. I appreciate that. But no need to be sorry.”

  “I’m sure she’d be so proud of you and the work you do.”

  “I like to think so.” He took a sip of his water again, his eyes never leaving mine. “I think she would have liked you.”

  “Mr. Daniels—ˮ

  “Aiden.”

  “Aiden,” I corrected myself. “I’m married.” The words rushed out with significantly less tact than I was aiming for, but I couldn’t help but feel relief after I’d said them. I was married. I told him and now the awkwardness would be gone. Right?

  His eyes widened and I watched as his gaze tripped over to my left hand—my ring finger. Empty. Of course.

  “Oh,” he stammered. “I’m sorry. I didn’t—ˮ

  “No, please don’t apologize. I’m new at this—at being married—and I’m flattered, but not interested. Not interested romantically. I am very interested in your houses and working with you. But if this isn’t work related, then I should probably go.”

  “No, wait,” he said as I started to stand. “Hadley, please, there’s no need to leave.” He cleared his throat and I sat back down, but was ready to bolt at a moment’s notice. “I’ll admit, I am attracted to you and was hoping this dinner would be more than a business meeting, but I am still very interested in working with you, if you’re up for it.”

  I let out a sigh of relief. “I would really like that.”

  “I’m sorry if I was too forward. I never would have said that if I knew you were married. You’re not wearing a ring…” His voice trailed off as he motioned to my hand.

  “I know. Like I said, I’m new to being married.”

  “I’m not going to pretend like that makes sense,” he replied with an uncomfortable laugh.

  “I got married in Vegas not very long ago. It’s all very new, but I’m still very married. Happily. Just not great at giving off the married vibe, I guess.” A nervous laugh erupted from me and luckily, Aiden laughed too.

  “Your husband’s a lucky man,” he said, giving me a friendly smile.

  “Thank you. I hope so. Although, I think he got the raw end of the deal.”

  “Doubtful.”

  “If you’re willing, I would be more than happy to pretend the first part of this night never happened and move forward with the project.”

  “Absolutely,” he said, sounding just as relieved the awkward part of the evening would be over as I was.

  The next half hour was focused on work and the more we talked about his vision and my involvement, the more excited I became. Aiden was looking to hand me full creative control of staging, wanted nothing to do with it, in fact. He very adamantly stated he liked to build the houses but had no desire whatsoever to decorate them.

  “Can you have the house we toured staged by the end of next week?” he asked as he took a bite of his steak the server had brought him a few minutes prior, his voice a mixture of hope and skepticism. I was aching for the chance to show him what I was capable of.

  “Absolutely.”

  “Then it’s a deal.” He held his hand out to me over the table and I readily took it, giving him my best, firm handshake.

  “Hadley? Oh, my, what a small world!” I turned and saw Mrs. Hunter, and recognition ignited in my mind. Then my eyes drifted to the figure next to her and my heart plummeted. There stood Justin by his mother’s side. Another man flanked her and I assumed it was his father.

  “Mrs. Hunter, what a nice surprise,” I said, standing to greet her. I gave her a polite hug and stepped back. “This is Aiden Daniels. He’s a contractor who works in the area.” My eyes darted to Justin just as the muscle in his clenched jaw ticked. “Aiden, this is Mrs. Hunter, a client, and her son, Justin. And I have yet to have the pleasure of meeting you,” I said, looking at the handsome man next to Justin’s mom.

  “Allen Hunter,” he said, shaking my hand. “Nice to meet you.”

  “Honey, Hadley is the one who staged our house,” Mrs. Hunter informed her husband.

  “Of course,” he replied politely, smiling.

  “Well, we don’t want to intrude on your date,” she said, giving me a knowing grin. It was almost comical how unknowing it actually was and I panicked in response.

  “Oh, no, we’re not… this isn’t… he’s not my—ˮ

  “This is a business dinner,” Aiden interjected. His voice firm but polite. “I have it on good authority that Hadley is a happily married woman.”

  “Married?” Mrs. Hunter asked, her eyes turning back to me with curiosity.

  “I, uh,” I muttered, my eyes darting helplessly to Justin. “Well—ˮ

  “She’s married to me.” Justin’s voice cut through all the noise and he reached his hand out to me, smiling that half grin that made my knees wobble. Time stood still as his hand extended toward me and it all felt too monumental, as though the gesture weighed a million pounds.

  I placed my hand in his and he gently pulled me to his side, tucking me in like it was where I belonged and wrapping his arm around my shoulders. When his lips pressed gently to my temple it was all I could do to close my eyes. I wanted to revel in that moment, the peace that washed over me at his touch, because I knew in just a second, the peace would be a memory.

  “Mom, Dad, this is Hadley, my wife.”

  I put on my best smile and gave them a shy wave. I had absolutely no idea how I was supposed to act in that moment.

  “Married?” his mother asked, her voice filled with confusion. “Justin?” She stared at him as though she clearly wasn’t understanding.

  “What in the world are you talking about?” His father sounded less confused and angrier than his mother.

  “Maybe we shouldn’t do this here,” I whispered quietly to Justin. My gaze flitted around the restaurant, filled with people who were expecting to have a lovely dinner with a spectacular view, not dinner and a show.

  “Please, sit, join us,” Aiden offered. He stood and waved over a waitress, who swiftly brought over three extra chairs.

  No one argued with him, none of us sure how to proceed. We all just sat while the wait staff brought over place settings, menus, and glasses of water.

  “Justin, tell us what
’s going on,” his mother asked once we were finally alone again.

  Justin reached over into my lap and took my hand, threading our fingers together under the table, and then he answered.

  “When we went to Vegas for Cam’s wedding, Hadley and I decided to get married.”

  “Are you serious?” she asked, her voice a harsh whisper.

  I couldn’t decide if she sounded more hurt or disbelieving. Clearly, she was stunned.

  There was movement out of the corner of my eye and I looked over to see Aiden leaning over the back of his chair, saying to a waitress quietly, “We need a bottle of white and a bottle of red here.”

  “And scotch,” Justin’s father added.

  “And scotch. Top shelf.”

  This would go down in history as the worst business meeting ever.

  “We know this is sudden and out of left field, and it wasn’t something we planned, but it happened and we’re dealing with it.” Justin’s voice was firm.

  “Dealing with it?” Justin’s mother parroted, her voice full of concern.

  “Figuring it out,” he replied, his voice less firm than before.

  “I’m very sorry you had to find out this way. This isn’t how we wanted to tell you.” I did not want my first interaction with my in-laws to be argumentative, so I wanted to do my best to smooth things over.

  “I don’t understand why you wouldn’t just have it annulled,” his father queried.

  “We’re not getting an annulment,” Justin said, his voice hard like stone. His fingers squeezed mine and I shifted so both my hands were wrapped around his.

  “We don’t want an annulment,” I added, trying, again, to smooth things over. “We want to be together, to see where this leads.”

  “I don’t understand. Are you in love?” His mother asked the question and looked pleadingly at Justin.

  I couldn’t tell if she wanted him to say yes or no. To say yes meant he’d gotten married without his family there to witness his happy moment, but to say no meant he’d made a mistake and cheapened everything we thought we were building together.

  “These aren’t ideal circumstances—we know this. But Hadley and I have known each other for a while and are trying to make it work.”