by C. J. Thomas
“Have to say I’m surprised to see you,” he said.
“How could you?” My eyes squinted.
He stuffed his hands inside his pockets and looked to his right.
“You practically promised me that job.”
“Sophia,” he turned to me, “I wasn’t the only one to decide. If it was up to me, you would have been given the promotion.”
“You’re so full of it,” I said, turning my head away.
“Careful, Sophia. That attitude will get you in trouble.”
Looking at my desk, I realized that I didn’t want to be here. Not after what Courtney had said, not after learning I’d been lied to. This wasn’t a place I wanted to be affiliated with. I could do better.
“No. You be careful.” I snapped my head back to him. “Once my story gets out, I’ll be suing you for sexism.”
A mixture of fear and disappointment washed over his face.
Standing, I began tossing my belongings into my tote. I felt my hands tremble but I refused to let him see. Now it was time for me to make a statement. A statement to all the hardworking women working for unequal pay, getting harassed at work, and not feeling valued when putting in more hours than their male colleagues.
Turning back around with my heavy tote slung over my shoulder, I said, “Thanks. But no thanks. I hope you accept my immediate resignation.”
I marched out of the office, holding back my smile.
Though I was terrified that I might have just ruined my career, I couldn’t deny how liberating it felt to stick up for myself and let them know I wasn’t going to be pushed around. It didn’t matter that I was leaving without recommendations. I had enough in the bank to hold me over until I decided my next move. But as I rode the elevator down, I couldn’t bite back the tears any longer. After putting in the time, I was leaving with nothing to show for it.
Pushing through the front glass doors, the wind caught my hair. And that was when I saw Nolan leaning against his pearl white Lexus high performance luxury vehicle, acting as if he was here waiting for me to arrive.
31
Nolan
“Can you prove it?” Mom’s voice rang loud through my car speakers.
I had her on Bluetooth as I pulled up to the front of the downtown building. After my brothers’ visit to the office, and seeing the look of disappointment flash across Cooper’s eyes, I hoped Mom could help me find reason behind this madness unfolding around me.
“It’s too big of a coincidence for it not to be true,” I said.
“Audrey has always loved you, Nolan.”
My chest rose before letting out a heavy sigh. Mom may be right, but that didn’t mean that what Audrey was doing was okay.
“This does seem over the top, even for her.” Mom’s voice was soft yet filled with wisdom. Intelligence I adored.
I thought about it, and I agreed that what Audrey was doing seemed to be more extreme than usual. But it was how she was doing it that made it so bizarre. I didn’t care to know her reason behind it, other than knowing it wasn’t going to work. “I told Cooper I would make this right.”
“You will.”
A big city bus rumbled by. The sharp pang of regret kept my side stitched in an uncomfortable pain that wouldn’t go away. And all I could think about was how I felt like I’d made the mistake of my life when doing something as little as choosing Sophia over Audrey.
“But I don’t know how.” My voice fell flat.
“Nolan, you’ve always been the first to volunteer. The first to commit to tackling the challenges no one else wanted to face. It’s how you’ve been since you were young, how you’ll always be.” Mom’s voice rang through the smile I could imagine filling her face. She wasn’t telling me anything she hadn’t told me before, and I knew the pride she wore when speaking about her children. But what came next was something I hadn’t ever heard her say. “You’re the most responsible of my sons.”
Feeling a sense of encouragement drop my shoulders, I clicked off the Bluetooth and brought my cell up to my ear. “Well, that’s not hard to do.”
Mom laughed. “It’s not easy leading a family—especially our family.” Mom’s tone was back to being serious. “Trust me, I know.”
Glancing over my shoulder, I opened my door once it was clear. Stepping out, I rounded behind my car and peered up at the large building that housed the software company Noah wanted me to check out. I still wasn’t sold on the idea of purchasing a struggling company, especially in an industry we didn’t have any experience with. But that wasn’t going to stop us from doing our research and determining the potential. Because when it came to business, that was all it really was. A simple formula to weigh the possible risk versus reward. Nothing in this world was by chance, and wealth wasn’t created overnight.
“She’s incredible, Mom,” I said with a glimmer in my eye as I thought about Sophia.
A distant siren echoed off the same high-rise buildings the wind howled between.
“You’re the only one who can make these decisions for yourself, Nolan. No one can do it for you. Trust your gut, and the rest of us will follow your lead. Only you will know what is right for you. We can’t make those decisions for you.”
“Then why does it feel like I have to convince my family that I didn’t purposely sabotage Cooper’s race or our relationship with the Rothschilds?”
“Oh, honey. This will all work itself out.”
Leaning against my car, I knew she was right. That was why I was crazy for Sophia. Because I knew one day I would look back at this week and realize I had lost sleep over nothing.
“I’d like to meet this Helen of Troy sometime,” Mom cooed.
I picked my head up and glanced to the doors. “Keep that between us, okay?”
Mom laughed. “I’ll work on your father.”
“And I’ll work on Coop.”
“I love you, baby.”
“I love you, too, Mom,” I said just as Sophia walked out, completely surprising me.
Her long, beautiful hair blew in the wind, and when she lifted her gaze I watched her eyes go round. Her steps faltered for a brief second as her brain registered that it was in fact me standing here as if I had planned to meet her.
My lips pulled at the corners, curling up into a grin.
Tipping her body forward, she lengthened her stride as I pushed off my car and hurried to meet her somewhere in the middle. We both slowed to a stop, our eyes never once leaving the other’s gaze. The world spun around us. I heard nothing but her shallow breaths. Saw nothing but her. And as I raked my eyes over every incredible curve, I couldn’t deny the extraordinary pull of attraction she had on me.
She was professional, sexy, and intelligent.
But when I saw what was clasped around her neck, I nearly died. The memories from that night, the night I made love to her for the first time, had my temperature spiking.
Suddenly, Sophia’s brow furrowed as she clutched her hand tighter to her bag. I watched her gaze water and when it began to flood with recognizable pain, I frowned.
I knew something was up but didn’t have the slightest clue to as what it could be.
Until I glanced to her overflowing tote bag she carried under one arm.
Reaching to her arm, I hated to see her hurting. My stomach hardened as I teased, “Do you cry every time you’re surprised, or just when the surprise is me?”
She turned her head and chuckled. The breeze picked up and caught her hair and I couldn’t get over how impressive she looked. I didn’t know what she did for work, but now that I saw her dressed like this, it wouldn’t have surprised me if she said she was some kind of executive.
“I don’t know why I’m crying.” She laughed as she wiped her cheek with her free hand.
I wrapped her in my arms, pulling her against my chest. She sniffed a couple of times before starting to laugh again. “No, I do know why I’m crying,” she said.
I pulled my head back and cast my gaze down to her. “Do
you want to talk about it?”
Her eyes danced with mine before she looked around. “Not here,” she said in a small voice that only I could hear.
Taking her by her hand, I guided her to my car. Opening the passenger side door, she lowered herself inside not bothering to ask where we were going. Hurrying around the back, I waited until oncoming traffic passed before getting behind the wheel. As soon as I was safely inside I closed the door, drowning out all the outside noises.
Sophia stared straight ahead.
It was just her and me as the calming feeling of silence fell over us.
Then, as if she had come to some sort of conclusion in her head, she glanced over in my direction and smiled. “I just quit my job.”
My lips parted as my eyes popped out of their sockets.
I didn’t know what to say, how to respond. And though I kept it to myself, I wondered what the chances were that she’d just walked out of a job with the same company I’d come to inspect.
“That’s why I was in the mountains this last weekend.” Her beautifully small voice filled my car with peace as she met my gaze with her own.
“What, to decide whether or not to quit?”
Her eyes fell to her lap. “Because I was passed on a promotion I thought I had been promised.”
I reached over and took her hand into mine. It had been less than 24 hours since the last time I touched her, but I missed feeling her skin pulse against my touch. Loved the way she gave me small smiles when our eyes met. I even appreciated how time slowed to a crawl and how my worries evaporated into thin air when we were together.
“I’m scared,” she admitted.
I squeezed her hand, wanting her to know that she would get through this. It was just a step toward something great. Even if it was hard to see now, Mom always convinced me the truth of that inner wisdom.
“I’m not sure what I’m going to do next. How I’m going to pay the bills.”
“What kind of work did you do?”
She looked at me out of the corner of her eye. “I’m a software engineer.” She paused and looked away. “Was a software engineer.”
Transferring her hand to my other, I lifted my free hand and clasped my fingers around her nape. Stroking my thumbs over her soft skin, I asked, “Do you believe everything happens for a reason?”
She turned to me and loosened her jaw. “What are you doing here?”
I smiled. “It doesn’t matter.”
She hesitated, choosing her words carefully. “How did you find me?”
“If I told you, you wouldn’t believe me.” My thumb continued to brush over her racing pulse inside her neck. “I didn’t know you worked here. And I certainly didn’t know that you were going to quit.”
She looked toward the building she’d walked out of for the first time since getting into my car. “Neither did I,” she laughed.
“What do you say we get out of here?”
Sophia inhaled a deep breath and nodded.
“No sense in sticking around the place you just quit.”
She looked at me one last time. “Did I make a mistake?”
“You found me. And that can’t be a mistake,” I said, starting the engine and thinking that if having Sophia walk into my life wasn’t fate, having her run into my arms today certainly was.
32
Sophia
I didn’t regret what I’d done.
It was the right thing to do.
As Nolan drove, he allowed me time to think. Not once did he try to pry into my life or the reasons why I left my job. And I appreciated his willingness to give me space in a moment when I was still coming to terms with how I would respond to the many different emotions zipping through my body.
Nolan turned around from the ice cream stand and handed me the chocolate cone I’d requested. “Thank you.”
He smiled and turned back around to retrieve his vanilla swirl.
I felt at peace when I was with him. And even though it should have totally weirded me out that he was outside my building at the exact moment I’d come running out, it didn’t. It was as if it was meant to be. Saving me once again from the uncomfortable situation I couldn’t seem to avoid.
“Shall we walk?” Nolan brushed up against my shoulder.
I licked at my ice cream, smiling. “Like I have anything better to do.”
He smirked.
I wasn’t numb. Wasn’t even angry or afraid anymore. Only a little anxious for how the next several months were going to play itself out as I found my footing.
We meandered down the paved park trail, dodging runners with dogs and cyclists weaving in and out of flocks of geese. There wasn’t much on my mind, and that was surprisingly refreshing. Because something was always on my mind. But without having a list of tasks to work through, or some fire to put out, I was free for the first time in my entire adult life. What a liberating feeling it was to have to only concentrate on this amazing man walking by my side.
I looked up at him and he looked down at me. We smiled and giggled, unintentionally walking in unison, stride for stride, as we slowly made our way around the lake one lick of ice cream at a time.
“You don’t have to babysit me all day,” I said with a sparkle in my eye. “I’m sure you have something more important you could be doing than hanging out with me.”
“Are you kidding me?” He stopped and turned to face me. “Hanging out with you is far superior to anything else I had planned to do today.”
Feeling the flutters spread over my belly, I glanced up at him with a yearning look. He was so confident, so sure of himself—with shoulders rolled back, filling his tailored three-piece suit perfectly. But not in a cocky way that often came with men like him. And that alone was refreshing because it made me believe that he wasn’t only with me to satisfy the attraction we clearly shared, but also that he could be a friend, too.
“What do you do, anyway?” I asked between tastes, letting my eyes travel down his silk tie. I’d seen him in enough different outfits since meeting to know he looked good in nearly anything he wore. And today was no exception. He cleaned up well.
His eyes crinkled at the corners. “Man of many trades.”
My head tilted on its side. “You like keeping secrets from me, don’t you?”
He leaned forward, dropping his face close enough to kiss. “A man of mystery is far more exciting than an opened book. Wouldn’t you agree?”
His hot breath swirled into my ears, though I barely heard what he said. My mind was focused on the way his sensual lips moved and I wanted nothing more than to feel them pepper kisses across my body. But, when he pulled away, I blinked and thought how he had a way with words. Even though his lack of answers mildly frustrated me, he phrased his sentences in a way to keep things fun. And that was what I needed more than anything today. To be reminded that life didn’t have to be taken so damn seriously.
“I don’t know,” I said. “I kind of like knowing what to expect.”
He faced the empty park bench and together we made our way to it. Nolan lowered himself into the corner and I took up residence next to him. He draped his arm around my shoulder and stared out over the city skyline. “My family is involved in many industries. You may have heard of our organization on the news or seen our logo around town.” He cast his gaze in my direction when I didn’t respond. “Foster Enterprises.”
Feeling somewhat embarrassed, the side of my face scrunched. “I may have stalked you on the internet.”
He pulled his head back. “Should I be worried?”
“That I’m a stalker?”
He laughed. “That I’m not worried about. But I don’t keep up with what is being written about me. They could say anything—things that simply aren’t true—and I would have no idea that my name was being tarnished.”
“You mean you don’t search your own name?” I asked, somewhat surprised to hear.
“God, no.” He shook his head. “Wouldn’t dare.”
I tur
ned my head forward, snuggling deeper under his arm, finishing my cone. “Don’t worry, you checked out clean.” I smiled proudly, still surprised by how easy it was to be around him. “But there is something you should know.”
Nolan glanced at me and lowered what little remained of his own cone.
When our eyes met, I debated whether or not to tell him what Sienna had learned about Audrey using Cooper’s campaign as a way to get Nolan to take her back. Sienna and I hadn’t known any more than what we’d found in our searches or what I managed to gather this weekend, but because Sienna’s father was a state Senator, she was able to take our research much deeper—and that was when we learned things that should have been kept confidential. After this morning, and having just calmed down from the drama I’d found myself in at work, I didn’t want to spark another fire. Not now. Not when everything seemed to be perfect. So instead I said, “I’m glad you managed to find me.”
He let out an audible sigh. “Me too.”
We sat there in silence for several minutes just looking at the sparkling water, listening to the geese, and thinking how I could definitely see myself getting used to his company. Nolan was easy to be with. If this was how our days could be, I wanted it.
“You know, my father used to take me here as a kid,” Nolan said, breaking our silence. “We’d toss the ball in his breaks from work, talk about how we wished we were in the mountains skiing. This was our refuge in the city.” He turned to look me in the eye. “You know, a place to get away and clear our heads.”
“Is that why you brought me here? Because you needed to clear your head?”
He smirked as he lifted his hand to my mouth. “You have a little ice cream on your face.”
Embarrassment flushed my cheeks warm but before I could turn my head away, Nolan was licking the pad of his thumb and wiping the corner of my mouth clean. It was a sexy gesture. Paternal even. And it made me want to love him.
