The One Left Behind (The One Series)

by Lena Nicole

  Our dinner continues in the same light hearted, fun manner and I’m loving every second of it. When we finish dinner I ask if she wants dessert. She says she’s too full from dinner. I’m kind of glad because I’m stuffed too. I settle our tab and we head out.

  Because I’m not ready to let her go, I suggest taking a walk in a nearby park. She smiles and says that she’d like that. We’re walking hand in hand talking about anything and everything. I keep looking at her from the corner of my eye and she’s breathtaking. I can’t believe I have convinced such a stunning creature to date me. The moon is out and is casting the perfect glow on her face. There’s a light breeze coming through and her hair blows gently in the wind. I notice a piece of hair gets stuck to her lip gloss. I stop walking and turn her toward me.

  She’s looking up into my eyes and the moment is absolutely perfect. I can tell we’re in our own little bubble. Just the two of us, the stars, and the moonlight. I gently grab the piece of hair on her lip and brush my fingertips across them in the process. I pull my gaze away from her lips to meet her eyes, but she’s staring at my lips too. Taking that as a sign and without a moment’s hesitation, I cup her jaw with my right hand, lean in, and kiss her.

  I start off with soft, gentle kisses, grabbing her waist with my left hand and pulling her closer to me. She places her hands on my chest and I wonder if she can feel my heart frantically beating. I start to deepen the kiss and she just barely parts her lips. I take that as permission and slowly slip my tongue in and touch hers.

  The feeling I get from kissing her is unlike anything I have ever felt. Time stops, the world vanishes, and I feel like I can do anything in the world as long as I have her by my side.

  Before I can get too carried away, I slow the kiss down gradually and place a few small pecks on her mouth before I kiss the tip of her nose. I’m grinning when I look at her because even though I’ve stopped kissing her, we’re still embracing each other and she has yet to open her eyes. I’m hoping she’s thinking that was the best kiss of her life, because it sure as hell was the best of mine.

  Leaning into her ear, I whisper, “Are you okay?”

  She nods, “Mmmhmmm.” She finally opens her eyes and I swear I almost see the same emotions I’m feeling reflecting back at me. I must be the happiest man alive right now.

  “Come on, it’s getting late,” I say as I grab her hand and lead her back the way we came.

  I’m brought back to reality as the end of the memory flashes through my head. I rub at my chest to help dull the perpetual pain that resides there lately. I just can’t imagine someone else having that moment with her. Taking a deep breath, I face reality and think it’s time I try to accept that this may be the way things end up. She might not ever come back to me and I’ll have to get used to this kind of thing.

  To get my mind off of things, I refocus my attention on work and get lost in it until it’s time to go home.

  TWO WEEKS HAVE passed since Pierce taught me how to surf. Every now and then during the day my mind will float back to when we shared a few kisses sitting on the boards in the ocean. Each time I think about it I know I have a goofy grin on my face, but I can’t manage to hide it. That ended up being one of the best days I can remember in a long time. We have gone back out a couple more times since that day and I’m getting a lot better at surfing. I told Pierce to leave his boards at my house so he didn’t have to keep bringing them over, and so I can steal a moment from him when he goes surfing with his friends. Of course, I didn’t tell him that. He agreed to leave them as long as I didn’t go out without him. I joked around that he was nervous I was going to get better than him, and he insisted it was for my safety. I couldn’t help but fall a little more for him.

  I have the day off so I’m meeting Colby for dinner later. Damon’s parents decided to get a divorce, so she’s been very busy spending time with him and his little brother. For this reason, I haven’t seen much of her and have missed her. I have time to kill so I lay out and tan. I put on my bikini, hat, and grab my iPhone and tea, and make my way to the lounge chair. I’m not sure when, but I fall asleep listening to my music. I wake up and see a text from Pierce.

  Charming: Hey Beautiful! I hope you slept well. Work is already crazy. It’s going to be a long day. Just wanted you to know I was thinking of you.

  I look at the clock and see it is ten forty five. He sent that text about an hour ago. Not knowing if he would see it or not, I text him back anyway.

  Me: Hey. I fell asleep outside. Sorry you’re having a bad day.

  Pierce responds almost immediately.

  Charming: I wish I was there with you. Just seeing you puts a smile on my face.

  Me: I know what you mean :)

  I instantly melt at his words and have a huge smile on my face. I decide to surprise him at his office and bring him lunch.

  Me: Hey I just remembered I have somewhere I need to be. Can I text you in a little bit?

  Charming: Sure. Enjoy your day.

  I take a quick shower to wash the tanning oil off me, straighten my hair, and get dressed. I am walking to my car when it hits me that I have no idea where Pierce’s office is. I pull out my phone and do a quick Google search for Whitmore Enterprises. I put the address into my GPS and make my way to the pizzeria in town. It is in the opposite direction of Pierce’s building, but the family who owns it is from New York and I want to get him the best calzone this town has to offer. I order a large pizza, two calzones, and grab a couple waters and sodas. I pull up to his building and park my car. I take a moment to stare at it and notice it is definitely different from the rest of the neighboring buildings since it is much taller and is wrapped with mirrored glass that reflects its surroundings. I reach in my car to grab the food and walk through the doors. I am looking around a little lost when a man catches my attention. He is tall and has black hair and brown eyes. He has a fresh clean shaven face and is all-in-all quite good looking.

  “Can I help you with something?” he asks still looking down at his phone.

  “Yes, please. I’m looking for Pierce Whitmore.”

  He eyes my hands filled with the box of pizza, calzones and drinks while looking down at me over the top of his nose. “Deliveries go right to the front desk over there. They will pay you and send it up to Mr. Whitmore,” he says before turning, clearly dismissing me.

  I look at him confused. He thought I was a delivery person. Really? I mean yeah, I have a box of food but I’m wearing a dress and heels for crying out loud. Who deliverers food in a dress? I look at him and get a little snippy, annoyed at the fact that he clearly thinks I’m below him.

  “Actually, I’m not a delivery service. I’m here to have lunch with Pierce,” I cock my hip out a little to the side. If my hands weren’t full, I probably would have put my hand on my hip for added emphasis. I see a challenge in this guy’s eyes as he makes an amused face at me. It took all of two seconds for me to know that I don’t like this guy. Deciding I’m not going to stick around to see if he will help me or not, I turn to walk away to look for someone else to help me.

  “Miss, wait!” I hear him yell out to me. I keep walking, heading towards the secretary but he jumps in front of me. “I’m sorry I was rude. If you follow me, I will take you right up to Pierce... uh, Mr. Whitmore’s, office.”

  I eye him suspiciously because something about this guy doesn’t sit right with me. I don’t say anything as I follow him into the elevator. He hits the button to the top floor and we start to ascend.

  “I’m Maximus, but everyone calls me Max,” he extends his hand like he wants to make a formal introduction, but I’m not interested. He already pissed me off. Thankfully, my hands are occupied with the food so I hold them up in a gesture that says “Sorry, my hands are full.”

  And his name is really Maximus? How pretentious. A douchey name for a douchebag guy. I look ahead and keep my eyes forward.

  He obviously doesn’t take the hint as he continues to talk, “Funny, Pierce didn’t t
ell me he was seeing anyone. In fact, he didn’t mention having a lunch date with anyone when I just left his office from my meeting with him.” This guy is really starting to annoy me with his nosiness and assumptions. Yep, looks like my first impression was correct; I don’t like him. It feels like he’s trying to goad me for some reason and I have no idea why.

  As we get closer to my destination, I start to second guess my surprise visit. It never dawned on me that Pierce might be busy and not able to have lunch with me. Oh well, if he’s busy I can just leave it for him with a note. The elevator dings and I step out. I’m happy Maximus doesn’t follow me. I don't feel like I should thank him with his underhanded snarkiness, but I decide to be nice.

  “Thank you for showing me up,” I say with fake politeness.

  “You’re welcome. I never did get your name,” he replies with a sleazy smile.

  “Not the delivery girl.” I spin on my heels and walk away but can hear Maximus laughing as the doors close.

  I walk up to the reception desk and am greeted by a young woman. She looks to be in her late twenties. She has long, platinum blond hair and hazel eyes and is wearing a very tight dress that accentuates all her curves. She smiles at me and says, “Hello, can I help you?”

  “Yes, I’m here to see Mr. Whitmore.”

  She looks down at the calendar and continues, “Did you have an appointment? I’m not seeing anyone on his schedule for noon.”

  “Um no. I was just bringing him lunch.” I hold up the boxes and drinks even though I know she can see them.

  “What’s your name? I’ll let him know you’re here,” she says with a cheery smile.

  “Addison Ramsey.”

  She picks up her phone and calls back to Pierce. “Sorry to bother you, Mr. Whitmore, but there is an Addison Ramsey here to see you.” There is a short pause and then she continues, “Right away, sir.”

  She smiles at me again before saying, “You can follow me.”

  Leading me through a set of double doors, I see Pierce standing in front of his desk. He is leaning against the edge of it with his legs stretched out and his ankles crossed. He is wearing a charcoal three piece suit with a light grey dress shirt with a deep purple tie. Damn, he looks sexy as hell in that suit.

  He smiles when I walk through the doors then turns and says, “Thanks for showing her in, Vanessa. Please hold all my calls for the next hour.” She nods and leaves the room, closing the door behind her.

  “My day just got ten times better,” Pierce says as he strides toward me. His face is lit up like a kid on Christmas, removing all doubts I had on whether this was a good idea or not. It’s amazing how a simple smile from him can make my stomach erupt with butterflies.

  I flash him a smile of my own as I hold up the food. “I brought lunch. Pizza and calzones.”

  “My favorite. Woman, you know the way to my heart,” he says with a sexy grin.

  We both laugh and he takes the food away from me and places it at the side of his desk. He wraps his hands around my waist and pulls me in for a kiss. He slides one hand up to the back of my neck and I can feel his tongue against my lips waiting for permission to enter. My body is flooded with warmth as I feel every place his body is touching mine. I eagerly open my mouth to let him in. Knowing the response I will get, I run my hands through his hair and grab a fist full of it. In return, Pierce groans and I can feel him harden against me. He pulls away just enough to break our contact.

  “As much as I would love to continue this, I have a meeting in an hour and will not make it if you keep doing those things to me,” he whispers against my mouth before nipping at my lower lip.

  I give him my best innocent face. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. I just came to drop off lunch.”

  He takes my hand and leads me over to a rectangular table that has eight chairs around it. He pulls out a chair for me to sit before bringing the food over so we can dig in. He fills me in on his day and I do the same, even though mine seems uneventful compared to his. He is talking about how he hates doing business with the last client he just met with, but the account he manages is too big to let go of, or at least that’s what Jimmy tells him. I remember my run in with Max at the lobby and wonder if that was him.

  “So does your last client happen to be someone by the name of Max by any chance?” I take another bite of my calzone.

  Pierce stops mid-bite and puts his food down as if he is no longer hungry. “As a matter of fact it was. How did you know that?” His eyebrows draw in as he looks at me questioningly.

  “Well, I was wondering where to find you when Max asked if I needed help.” I shrug my shoulders. I see his jaw clench and his nostrils flare slightly so I tell him the rest hoping to put him at ease. I’m a little confused by his reaction and I wonder why he’s becoming angry suddenly. “He was actually quite a douchebag. He thought I was with a delivery service. I mean, who the hell delivers food in a dress and heels?” I shake my head still insulted by his assumption.

  I notice Pierce’s face start to relax a little and then he laughs,” A douche he is.”

  Seeing him calm down helps put me at ease and I feel comfortable enough to pry a little to find out why the hostility toward Max. “So why don’t you like Max? And, if you don’t like Max, why do you do business with him?”

  “I don’t like Max because he was my best friend who slept with my girlfriend of four years. And I do business with him because he represents his father. And Jimmy said I shouldn’t punish his father for his son’s sins.” His eyes go completely cold as he tells me this.

  I don’t really know where to go from that. “I’m sorry to hear that,” I say quietly.

  Pierce comes around the table and kneels next to me so that we’re at eye level. “I’m not. It’s in the past and if it didn’t happen I wouldn’t be sitting here with you.” He leans forward and places a kiss on my lips. When he pulls back he continues, “Besides, I want to take you on another date, and I wouldn’t want to do what I have planned with anyone else.” The coldness in his eyes from earlier is gone and replaced with a warm, tender expression.

  “What is it?” I ask.

  “I’m not telling,” he says as he walks back around the table to his chair, seemingly in a better mood once again.

  “So how am I supposed to know—” Pierce cuts me off before I can finish my sentence,

  “Wear jeans, a T-shirt, and put your hair up in a ponytail.” I sigh knowing he will not give in so I agree.

  Our hour is up and Pierce has to get ready for his next meeting.

  ***

  The weekend is finally here and I am ready for my date with Pierce. I did what he told me and dressed in a t-shirt, jeans and have my hair up. I hear the bell ring and rush to the door to open it. Pierce is standing there with another bouquet of calla lilies, this time they are a peach color. I grab the flowers and pull him by his t-shirt so he’s close to me before greeting him with a kiss.

  “Let me put these in water,” I say before I turn toward the kitchen.

  As I am walking away Pierce says, “You need to change your shoes.”

  I look at my cute peep toe wedges and frown. “What’s wrong with my shoes?”

  “Nothing. You just have to wear sneakers for what we are doing. Trust me, you will thank me once we get there.”

  I change my shoes and we go out to Pierce’s car. Smiling, he hands me a blindfold. “Turn around so I can tie this around you.”

  “I’m not wearing a blindfold, Pierce.” He has got to be kidding me.

  “Oh, come on. I want you to be surprised. There are signs everywhere that will give it away if I don’t blindfold you,” he says with pleading eyes.

  Reluctantly, I agree and he places the blindfold over my face and helps me into the car. We drive for what seems to be about thirty minutes singing along to the music on the radio. Pierce parks the car and turns off the engine.

  “Can I take this off now?”

  I feel Pierce lean toward me and
place kisses up and down my neck as he takes off the blindfold. By the time I realize it’s off, I’m squirming in my seat trying to relieve the building pressure in my center. I calm down and squint for a minute because the sun is so bright. Pierce hands me my sunglasses and I put them on. I look around and see we are by an airfield loaded with planes, but I’m still confused.

  “Um, are we going somewhere?” I say rather perplexed.

  Pierce laughs as he walks around the car and takes my hand to help me out. “You can say that.”

  We walk into the building and I read the sign.

  Cloudy Skydiving.

  You have got to be fucking kidding me! Sky diving? No chance in hell am I going sky diving!

  I look to Pierce who is silently examining me. “Absolutely not. No way. I am not jumping out of a perfectly safe airplane. Not happening.” I keep shaking my head hoping it’ll help drive the point home that there is no way this is about to go down. Just thinking about it is making my palms sweat and my heart rate accelerate.

  Pierce gives me his sad puppy dog eyes and a nervous laugh escapes my lips. “Don’t you puppy dog eye me, Pierce. This,” I point to the skydiving sign behind me, “is not safe. You should know by now I like to play things safe. You don’t get hurt that way.” I’m trying to contain the internal freak out that is threatening to explode to the surface.

  He places his hand on my face and rubs my cheek with his thumb. “Sweetheart, you did play it safe and you still got hurt.”

  I know he is talking about my accident and his words sting a little. He is right, but that doesn’t mean I have to jump out of a plane to prove it. The mention of the accident makes me wonder if Colin ever pushed me to do things out of my comfort zone.

  “Pierce, I don’t know,” my voice is slightly shaky from the apprehension and anxiety I feel spreading through my body.

  He hugs me and whispers into my ear, “You can trust me. I will be right there with you the whole way. Remember surfing? You didn’t want to do it and now you love it.”