by Adele Huxley
He got up and paced along the edge of the pool thinking. After a minute he said, “You didn’t tell anyone that I passed on investing, right?”
“No, I never got the chance to. Everyone’s gone for the weekend and I emailed Parker Friday when I got here that I didn’t have signal.”
“Good, let’s keep it that way for now. Like I said, it’s early days but if this works as well as you say it will, I’m really confident. And listen,” he said sitting on the seat next to her, taking her hands in his, “we’ll deal with that bridge when we get there, okay?”
10.
Lauren rested her chin on her hand, staring out the rain streaked cab window as the city blocks sped past her. She checked the time, did a quick timezone conversion, and wondered what Landon was doing right now. Hours ago, he’d dropped them off at the end of the road to the waiting limo. Their parting was brief, a passionate kiss and tight hug. Before she knew it, the limo whisked her away. She closed her eyes and tried to remember what he felt like, what he tasted like, aching that the memory was fading with every passing minute. The flight had been quiet and uneventful, both she and Ali so caught up in their own thoughts they forgot to be excited about flying home first class.
The cab pulled up to her building and popped the trunk. She trudged up the stairs with her heavy suitcase, laden with wine and extra clothes. Maybe I’ll have a glass before bed, she thought as she opened the front door. Jessica was curled up on the sofa watching MasterChef, a knit afghan draped across her lap. Lauren stood in the tiny kitchen for a moment, willing herself to stay put and not run back to the airport for the next flight back west. Yeah, I think I’m definitely going to have that wine after all.
Glass in hand, she dragged her suitcase down the hall, bumping and scraping along the narrow walls. She immediately noticed a light from under her door. Cursing, thinking she’d left it on all week, she leaned the suitcase against the wall and opened the door. Nick sat on the bed with a bouquet of flowers. Lauren was so surprised she nearly dropped her drink on the floor.
“Jesus, Nick. What the hell?” she exclaimed.
His face dropped immediately. “I’m sorry. I’ll go,” he stood, his head hanging.
“No, it’s alright. You just scared the shit out of me is all. What are you doing here?” A bit of anger swelled at the sight of him. She’d last seen his back as he walked away, leaving her crying on the sidewalk. Although they shared this room for nearly a year, it felt like such a violation for him to just appear out of nowhere and let himself in. She dragged the suitcase in and shut the door.
“Did you get my text?”
“Your text? Yeah, I got it.” Lauren looked at him closely for the first time. The dark circles under his eyes told her he hadn’t been sleeping well. His skin was tan with a couple red patches on his cheeks, most likely from the holiday weekend. “How did you know I was coming home tonight?”
He stood and set the flowers on her desk, coming closer. “I actually came back last week to see you. I thought maybe we could spend the fourth up on the lake together like we used to but Jess told me you were gone on business. I called Faith and she told me your flight was coming in tonight. She seemed really confused why I didn’t know myself. You haven’t told anyone at work about us?”
Lauren closed her eyes and sighed. “I don’t like to mix my professional and personal lives.”
Nick squinted at her as if he wanted to argue that point but had thought better. “Well, it was pretty embarrassing.”
“Well gee Nick, I’m so sorry you were embarrassed. That must be embarrassing, I wouldn’t know. I obviously don’t get embarrassed, what with all my crying in front of strangers on the street.” She stepped around and put some distance between them. “I obviously wasn’t thinking about you when I neglected to tell my whole office we broke up. Thanks for stopping by and telling me how you feel.”
“Is that what you think happened?” His blue eyes shimmered with tears. “You think we broke up?”
“You walked away from me. You packed up your stuff. You didn’t speak to me for weeks except for one flimsy text. What the hell was I supposed to think?” her temper flaring.
“We had a fight, Wren, a big one, but we didn’t break up. Ah shit,” he said sitting on her computer chair, his face in his hands. “You’re as much a part of my life as any of my family. I can’t leave you anymore than I can cut off my own arm.”
Lauren sat on the edge of the bed, wondering if she’d ever seen Nick so upset. White-hot anger fading, she didn’t know if she wanted to keep shouting or go to him.
“You’ve never done that before,” she said with a softer voice still laced with anger. “Seriously? What was I supposed to think? Every other argument we’ve worked out straight away. You just...left. You took your stuff from this room and just disappeared. Nick, don’t you understand how shitty that made me feel?”
“I do, I really do,” he looked up, wiping tears from his face. “I can’t forgive myself for doing that to you. I handled it all wrong. We’d just been fighting so much I couldn’t keep doing it. I felt like I was hurting you over and over and I just wanted to stop. I thought leaving you alone would be best but I know I shouldn’t have.”
Her heart lurched as his words reduced to sobs. It was more than she could handle. “Okay, okay,” she said kneeling at his feet. She took his hands in hers and squeezed. “Let’s talk, okay? I’ll get you a drink and we’ll talk for a bit.” He nodded, composing himself.
“Did you have a good trip at least?” he asked with a sniff.
“Yeah, it was fine. It was really...relaxing.”
As she returned to the kitchen, she resolved she was going to avoid the topic of Landon altogether, at least until she could speak about him professionally without blushing...or remembering him naked. I can’t tell him what happened this weekend, it’d kill him. It won’t help anything and I don’t think I could stand to see the look in his eye. Regardless of what happens, he’d always see it as cheating and I couldn’t live with myself if that’s what he remembered me for...
11.
Lauren’s life had been staggeringly busy the month after returning from California. Spending over ten hours a day at StyleSpur, pitching to investors, lunching with businessmen, all while managing her software team hadn’t left much time for anything else. She was often too exhausted to put in more than a half hour’s work on My Best Friend’s Closet, now shortened to (MyBFC) but she did what she could. She and Nick were taking things slow. He stayed with a friend in the city to give them some space but every couple nights they’d go out for drinks or dinner, maybe watch a movie but return to separate beds. They were dating; making time to get to know each other again.
Life has a way of imposing itself on dreams. Obligations and responsibilities don’t care about the future, they demand attention now. Lauren easily slipped back into her hectic life of deadlines and pressures. As much as it hurt, not hearing a word from Landon made falling back into familiar relationships that much easier. It hadn’t taken long to convince herself Landon only thought of her as a weekend fling. For weeks she lived unaware the impetus she needed worked tirelessly on her behalf.
It was Tuesday like any other Tuesday and Lauren was at work. She’d just finishing her lunch in the small office kitchen, talking to Nick on the phone.
“What do you feel like doing tonight?” she asked, sucking the beans out of an edamame pod.
“I don’t know, babe. I’m working at the Pony tonight until late and then I have to be at the shop for eight tomorrow. I don’t think I’ll have much time.”
“Ali and I can come hang out at the bar with you. Should be pretty quiet, maybe I can school you in darts again.” She kicked her feet up on the chair beside her.
“Maybe I can come over after? Spend the night? It’d give us more time together,” he said. She could almost see his cheeky grin, the one he had when he couldn’t resist pressing his luck.
“We’ll see.” She and Nick had slep
t together a few nights ago for the first time since their fight. It felt great to reconnect physically but she was afraid he was clinging to it as a sign things were getting back to normal. In her mind, they still had a lot of work to do plus she was afraid she’d only done it out of sexual frustration. “Well, alright. I’ve gotta get back to work but I’ll definitely come by and see you tonight, okay? Do you want me to bring you anything for dinner?”
“Naw, I’ll grab something. I’ll see you later.” There was an awkward pause as they said goodbye, a space that had always been filled with ‘I love you.’ She dropped the phone into her lap with a sigh. I wish I could just fast forward through all this rough shit and get back to the good things.
Her phone rang, her finger swiping across the screen without looking.
“I knew you wanted something for dinner.”
“Only if it’s with you,” a deep voice replied. Lauren abruptly sat up, her feet sending the chair clattering across the floor.
“Landon, hi. Jeez, I’m always doing that with you.” Her heart pounded but she tried to sound calm. “How are you?”
“It’s so good to hear your voice.”
Lauren squeezed her eyes shut and tried to block the sudden ache inside her chest. For weeks, that ache had gotten easier to ignore but the sound of his voice instantly broke down whatever walls she’d managed to build.
“Listen, I wish this was about making dinner arrangements but I have something important to talk to you about. I’m guessing you’re at work?”
“Yeah, yes, I am.”
“Okay, if you can get away in the next twenty minutes or so, give me a call back. I’ve got some big news.”
“Alright, that shouldn’t be a problem.”
“Good, speak to you soon.” He abruptly hung up.
Lauren tossed the scraps of her lunch in the garbage, made a quick excuse about grabbing a coffee, and made her way to a bench in the nearby park. She took a shaky breath, her insides feeling like a bundle of twitchy nerves. Hovering over his name in her phone, L. DeWitt, she hesitated. Do I really want to do this? I was just complaining that I was sick of drama...Lauren called and he answered on the first ring.
“Hey.”
“Hey.”
“First of all, how are you? I’m sorry I haven’t called you sooner.”
“No don’t worry about it. I’m good, busy, but good. How are you?” She fidgeted on the bench, crossing and uncrossing her legs, twitching her feet.
“Great. I’m at the house, actually. First time I’ve been back since that weekend. Feels empty...” He exhaled into the phone, his sadness surprising her. “Anyway, I’ll get right to it. You know how I told you I was researching the market for My Best Friend’s Closet? If you’re up for it, I want to help you make it a reality.”
Lauren froze. “What do you mean? Like, you want to invest in it? There not even anything to invest in at this point.”
“I know. I don’t want to just financially help you. I’ve got a small team of guys that are ready to come out there and help you finish. They’re contractors and they’ve already signed non-disclosure agreements. I’ve used them before; good, solid guys. It took me a while to get things in order and I had to call in a few favors, but I found a live and work type space where they can stay. You just keep your normal hours at StyleSpur and head over there at night to make sure things are on track, help out whenever you can. What do you think?”
“This is ridiculous. I can’t believe you did all this without telling me. You don’t owe me anything because of what happened.” That last part came out with more bite than she’d intended.
His voice softened. He sounded as if he were pacing, his head hanging low. “That’s just it. This is the bridge I was talking about. If we go ahead with this, if we pull this trigger, we have to act as though nothing ever happened. I won’t jeopardize either of our futures by letting emotions muddle it all up. I’ve never helped create a company like this before, so if I’m to remain involved, it means we’ll be working closely together.
“Lauren, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you. It’s mostly why I haven’t called you. We could have something really special and I know we haven’t defined anything between us yet. Ugh, I don’t want to come off sounding so creepy obsessive. I just need you to be aware that if you open this one door, the other shuts. For good.”
Lauren closed her eyes, concentrating on steadying her voice before she spoke. “I’ve been thinking about you too. I don’t know what to say. I mean, thank you. No one has ever done anything like this for me before. I...I have so many questions but this is a lot to take in. I need to get back to the office.” She paused. “Are you sure about all of this? I mean, all of it?”
He chuckled.“I’m just giving you the opportunity. It’s up to you what you decide to do with it. Take some time to think and let me know by the end of the week. I can have my team out there and in place by next Monday. I know you’ll make a good decision.”
“Don’t you have a say in any of this? I can’t make this decision for the both of us, can I?”
“My decision is to accept your decision,” he answered. “For the first time I’m going to step back and welcome whatever happens rather than control it. I trust you.”
“Thank you so much,” she managed.
“Don’t mention it. Remember, not a word to anybody. I’ll speak to you soon, okay?”
Lauren nodded, “Okay, bye.”
She looked across the park, remembering the last time she’d sat there feeling helpless, angry, and frustrated after Parker’s assault. A surge of vengeance bubbled up inside, Lauren’s face twisting as she realized she had the chance to make him pay. She had the opportunity to not only leave him high and dry, but to take a serious step up in her career at the same time. Realistically, she knew this decision had to be more than screwing over Parker. This was a life changing opportunity, something that didn’t just fall out of the sky all the time. I’ve got a lot of thinking to do...
I hope you enjoyed Playing with Power - Book 2!
I would really appreciate it if you let other readers know what you thought by leaving a review on Amazon here! Word of mouth means a lot! If you send me a link to your review, I’d be happy to send you Book 3 for free! Click here to find out how!
Thank you so much for reading :)
Love,
Adele xx
The entire series:
Playing with Power - Book 1
Playing with Power - Book 2
Playing with Power - Book 3
Playing with Power - Book 4
Playing with Power
Book 3
You’re such an idiot. I can’t believe I ever looked up to you, even just a tiny bit. When I get really tired, when I’ve been working for twelve hours and still have two to go, I think of you. Have you ever even worked a day in your life? Like, really worked?
I suppose I do have to thank you. Seeing how you run a business, how you treat people, has given me a really clear vision of how I want my company to operate. You’re like an abusive parent. I’ll just do everything the opposite of you and I’m certain things will work out just fine.
Ugh, you’re so freaking oblivious. Can’t you tell no one is listening? You’ve literally been talking for thirty minutes straight, nothing but ‘I, me, I, me. I want, give me.’ I can’t believe you actually refer to yourself as a leader. Landon was right, it’s no wonder your family can’t even stand you.
To any of the other staff sitting at the table, Lauren Kemp’s tight smile might have seemed friendly and professional. Little did they know the smile was created by the poison-tinged tirade running through her mind. Over the past month, it had become more and more difficult for Lauren to hide her true feelings towards her boss, so she’d be happy to know her inner monologue went unnoticed. Still, she had her moments.
Parker loved to talk with his hands. As he gestured wildly toward the projector screen, he managed to knock over a glass of water.
Cursing, he jumped to his feet, shaking the water off his soaked Blackberry. Lauren had to quickly conceal her laugh with a cough. Faith rushed to his side and started fussing over him while the rest of the team averted their eyes.
“Alright, for fuck’s sake. We’re done. Go. Faith, what are you even doing? Do you have magical absorbing properties all of a sudden? Get something!”
Lauren shook her head as she gathered her notes and headed for the door. For as long as she lived, she would never understand what Faith saw in him. A woman like that could have literally any man she wanted yet she wasted her time with him. He must be good in bed, ugh, God, what am I saying? He’s the most selfish person I’ve ever met—
“Lauren, hang back a sec.” She suppressed a groan as she watched the last of the employees escape out the door ahead of her. Take me with you! She turned back to the center of the room, Faith now dabbing at Parker’s wet trousers with a wad of cocktail napkins.
“Yes?”
“Were you satisfied with the way that meeting went?”
No sir, I would’ve dumped the water over your head. “Yes, I think so.” What’s he looking for?
“Really? So you’re happy with your contribution, sitting there looking like some fucking lobotomy patient. What the fuck were you smiling about, Nick’s dick? Damnit Faith, just knock it off. Go get my gym bag, I’ll just change,” he said, swatting her away. Frowning, she flinched from him like an abused puppy and made to leave. “Try using your brain every now and again, yeah? Jesus, where was I?”
Lauren’s jaw ached from clenching. It took all her willpower not to jump over the table and thump him right in the nose.
“Anyway, I expect more from you. You’re essentially my number two and with everyone so stressed out, we need them to trust us.” A smarmy grin washed across his face. “Daddy and Mommy have to get along.”
