by Amy Brent
“Of course,” I said and pointed towards my office.
As Hawthorne turned around and started walking toward my door, I looked at Grace and rolled my eyes. She chuckled and winked as I followed him.
With the door closed behind me, I ignored Hawthorne for as long as I could while I walked to my desk and sat in my chair. He was already settled into one of the chairs facing me, a sideways grin in his smug face. I had to use quite a bit of restraint to avoid rolling my eyes.
“What do you need, Ethan?” I asked.
“To know you’re on top of everything for the charity’s launch party,” he said in a condescending tone. “We’re four days away, and it’s been a while since you updated me on the preparations.”
This time, I couldn’t contain myself and actually rolled my eyes. “In case you’re unaware, I run a billion-dollar corporation. I have no time to update you on a party.”
“And in case you don’t know, I have a few million invested in this project. I need to be sure that investment will go to good use if you know what I mean?”
I ran an infuriated hand through my hair. Ever since we first met, Ethan had treated me like I was his lesser simply because I had started at the bottom. It was exasperating, especially considering that my fortune was about a few hundred million dollars larger than his.
Squinting my eyes so he would see I was losing patience with him, I said, “This isn’t my first charity, Ethan. I know what must be done. Besides, Grace is an expert at organizing events. She’s been working on this one for months, and I have every confidence that the party and press conference will be a success. Now, I’m sure you have better things to do with your time than linger in my office babying me.”
Instead of taking my words as the invitation to leave that they were, Hawthorne stayed where he was and held my gaze for a second longer, that stupid smirk firm in his lips. There was a sort of challenge in his gaze I couldn’t quite understand. Although I disliked it, I did my best to respond to it in kind.
After about thirty seconds of our staring contest, he clicked his tongue. “Well, Fletch, if you say the girl is good, I’ll trust you.”
I nodded and looked at the door, clearly kicking him out again. I was eager to make him leave so I could call Grace into my office and kiss her. I missed her lips far too much.
However, like a chewed gum stuck to the bottom of a shoe, he stayed glued to his seat. Then, he added, “Just one more thing I’d like to check before I go.” I sighed but motioned with my hand for him to continue. He did. “This Saturday I ran into Charlotte at Lit,” he stated.
Honestly, I had absolutely no interest in the clubs he frequented or in Charlotte, for that matter. However, since I had to be polite to him, I tried to pretend that I did.
“Oh, yeah?” I asked. “How is she?”
“Worried,” he deadpanned. “Apparently, you’re not calling her or picking up her calls.”
Not knowing where he was going with this or why my love life was any of his business, I frowned. “And?”
“And, she’s worried. There are only a few days left until the event, and she still doesn’t know the color of your tie to match her dress.”
“I’m not taking her,” I informed in a matter of fact tone. “Also, why is this any of your business?”
Hawthorne looked at me like I had gone crazy, and maybe I had. Perhaps, I had gone completely insane and was imagining this entire ridiculous situation. I was a forty-six-year-old man, I was way too old to be discussing my relationships like a high schooler.
Still, despite the ridiculousness of this conversation, Hawthorne’s gaze was firm and his voice serious as he replied, “It is my business because, like I said, I have millions invested in this charity and, as you well know, money and appearances go hand in hand. You can’t have one without the other.”
“What are you saying, Hawthorne?” I asked purposely using his last name to make it perfectly clear I didn't like this conversation.
Leaning forward so his forearms rested on top of my desk and his face was right in front of mine, he said, “In a nutshell? I’m saying that you and Charlotte are an established item in our social circle. No one cares what kind of deal you two have or who you fuck on the side, all they care about is that someone as old money as the only heiress to the Bauer fortune deems your new money worthy of her time. People care so much about that, that they’re opening their fat, centuries old wallets to help us realize your dream. Don’t fuck with that by replacing Charlotte with your middle-class, black secretary.”
His words felt like a kick in the nuts. I wasn’t naïve enough to ignore that people had started treating me better since I started going out with Charlotte, but this was the first time someone had actually said that to my face.
A tsunami of white hot anger and revolt over Ethan’s words and everything people like him represented started to boil within me. My business was successful because I employed exceptional individuals who worked hard, and I had more money than I would ever need. I could very well retire and tell all those stuffy assholes such as Hawthorne to go fuck themselves.
However, I had worked my entire life to get into a place where I could help other people make something of themselves. To risk throwing it all away because of my personal feelings for someone I’ve always known I couldn’t have was incredibly selfish.
With a war raging inside of me, I closed my eyes in regret and disgust. “I’ll call Charlotte,” I informed him in a strained voice.
As per usual, he clicked his tongue and slapped my desk. “Good choice, Fletch!” he exclaimed as he got up from the chair and started walking towards the door.
He was barely out of my office when I folded my arms over the desk and let my head fall over them. I wanted to scream, punch something or disappear, but instead, I had to break up with my sweet Gracie right after the best weekend of my entire life.
“You okay?” she asked from the door.
I stayed quiet for a second, hoping she would go away. She didn’t. Instead, she closed the door and walked toward me. Her warm fingers touched the side of my face, and I cringed.
“Talk to me, Fletch. What did that awful man say to you?”
The tenderness and care in her voice made me hate myself even more for what I was about to do. After a deep breath, I picked my head up and fixed a stern expression on my face.
“Nothing but the truth,” I said in a monotone.
Her delicate brows pulled together, and her nostrils flared just like they had back in that coffee shop. She knew me too well, and because of that, she was perfectly aware of what I was about to do.
“You and I both know that man doesn’t know what truth is. He’s a pig, a dirt bag, an asshole—”
“He’s a smart businessman and your better,” I said and instantly hated myself for it.
Grace’s mouth hung open, and she took a step back as if I had literally punched her in the gut. Her beautiful eyes became rimmed with tears and I felt like each one of them was a knife piercing through my soul.
“My better?” she asked, her voice hollow. “Is that what you think, Fletcher?”
I shook my head. “It doesn’t matter what I think. It matters what is.”
She rolled her eyes. “That doesn’t even mean anything. What happened to the man who made love to me this weekend? To the guy who cooked me breakfast and told me about his family? What happened to the man who brought me coffee just twenty minutes ago?”
“He woke up, Grace,” I barked as I stood up.
This was killing me, but I knew it was for the best. She had told me that the reason she had been nice to me even when I was awful to her was that she knew I could be better, and as backward as it seemed, breaking her heart was me being better.
I ran a hand through my hair and steeled myself for the damage to come. “This weekend was great, and I’ll treasure it forever, but I have responsibilities to a world where you don’t belong. I thought I could change things, but Hawthorne reminded me th
at I can’t. Things are what they are, and you and I are what we are.”
For a few long seconds, Grace simply stared at me in silence. Tears were now running down her face, and the pain in her eyes was almost unbearable, but I kept myself firm. This is for the best, for the greater good, I reminded myself.
“For four years, you acted like a heartless asshole towards me, Fletcher,” she said in a weak and broken voice. “But this if the first time I see that it wasn’t an act. The heartless asshole is who you are. The man I fell in love with this weekend was the act.”
Still glancing at me, Grace pulled in a long breath through her mouth and held the air in her lungs for a few seconds. Her face was stern and focused as if she was thinking about something deep and I couldn’t help but wonder what it was. Then, she released her breath slowly and spoke.
“I quit,” she said, and with those words hanging between us, she whipped her tears and walked out of my office.
I stared at the closed door for what felt like ages. Deep down, I knew I had to go after her and beg for forgiveness, but I didn’t. I couldn’t. So, I did the only thing I could think off. I pressed the fifth position on my cell phone’s speed dial and walked toward the liquor cabinet.
“Hey, Charlotte,” I greeted as I opened a brand-new bottle of whiskey.
Grace
I left the office feeling gutted. It was still hard for me to believe that I had actually quit my job, but I had. After leaving Fletcher’s office, I had collected my things, marched over to HR and resigned. There was a part of me that thought I’d feel free, but I didn’t. I just felt empty and sad and completely broken.
Tears prickled my eyes as I walked down the street, but I refused to let them fall down my face. Fletcher was a dick who didn’t deserve my tears, or my sadness, or my heart. Unfortunately, I had given all of them to him already, but I was bound and determined to get all of them back.
I was about a block away from my apartment, when my phone rang. I had been in this exact situation so many times before, I should have known that it wouldn’t be Fletcher calling to apologize. Still, my idiotic heart filled with hope just to be broken yet again when I saw Harrington’s name on the screen.
Forcing my voice to sound happy and alive, I greeted, “Hey, Harry.”
“Hi, babe!” he exclaimed. “You have no idea how much I’ve missed your voice.”
My heart ached at his words and my stomach turned. Thanks to Fletcher, I had ignored Harrington’s calls the entire weekend. The only contact we had had was a brief text exchange the previous night where I had asked him to call me as soon as he got back in town. My intention with that was to meet him to break things off, but now everything had changed.
“Are you back?”
“Yeah,” he replied. “Just entered the city. If you can do lunch, I could swing you by your office.”
Harrington’s words made my mind go into overdrive. There were still two and a half hours until my usual lunch break, and we both knew that with his mother no longer in town, he had nowhere to go which meant he would just sit in his car or at a Starbucks until I was able to meet him. That in itself was a sign of care and devotion, and it made me think about how wonderful a man he was.
He was selfless, kind and clearly into me. Yes, the spark between us was pretty much inexistent, but with Fletcher so engraved into my heart, I hadn’t given him much of a chance. Maybe I should.
“I’m actually not at work today. If you want to come over to my place, we can hang out. I’ll even make us some lunch.”
“Sounds great!” The excitement in his voice was clear and surprisingly contagious.
Despite the hole in my chest, I smiled, and though the action felt incredibly weird and unnatural, it also felt like a lifeboat. It was like I was drowning and Harrington was the only thing keeping me afloat. For that reason, I was determined to hold on to him with every ounce of strength left in me.
* * *
The doorbell rang, and my dead heart skipped half a beat—which I considered a win. I knew my broken ticker would never have a full beat to skip again.
“Hi,” I greeted Harrington as I opened the door.
He looked handsome as always, in a casual blue t-shirt and black jeans. One of his hands was .hidden behind his back, and a broad grin was spread across his gorgeous face.
“You have no idea how much I’ve missed you this weekend,” he said as he leaned forward to give me a peck on the lips.
I closed my eyes and clasped my hand on the back of his neck. Opening my mouth to him, I tried as hard as I could to feel something. It didn’t have to be fire Fletcher ignited inside of me—it didn’t even have to be a spark, to be honest. All I wanted was to feel something, anything.
Taking my cue, Harrington deepened the kiss. His tongue stroked mine, his hand flattened against my lower back, and he pressed his taut body against mine. I cleared my mind of all thoughts and simply focused on the sensations his warmth brought me.
It wasn’t instantly, but about a couple of seconds into the kiss, I felt a light tingle in the space where my heart used to be. It wasn’t anything life altering or intense, but it was real. It was a possibility for something more.
When we finally pulled away from each other, I felt almost happy and hopeful.
“What are you hiding behind your back?” I asked as I opened the door wider for him.
His smile got even larger as he walked in and pulled out a gorgeous bouquet of red roses. “They made me think of you.”
This was the first time I had ever gotten flowers from a boy, and though my heart was a broken mess at the moment, it warmed a bit more toward him.
“You shouldn’t have,” I told him with a smile as I took the flowers and walked to my kitchen to get a vase.
“Of course, I should,” he said as he followed me. “A woman like you should get flowers every day.”
With the flowers in the water, I looked at Harrington with tears in my eyes. In all honesty, the tears were sad ones that belonged to Fletcher, but I hoped that Harrington took them as emotional ones devoted to him. It was, after all, a much better explanation for my reaction, and the one I deep down wanted to have.
With that loving smile he always had, he moved closer to me once more. Holding me tenderly by the hips, he pressed his forehead against mine.
“I know we haven’t been together for long, but I really like you,” he whispered, his minty breath fanning across my face.
He looked nervous enough for me to know where that speech was heading, and though I was nervous as well—for entirely different reasons—for the first time, I didn’t dread it. I wouldn’t deny that I still loved Fletcher and probably always would, but Harrington’s love and kindness made me want to change my heart. It made me want to love him instead.
I held his gaze and smiled as he went on. “I wanted to say this tonight after a nice dinner, but I’m afraid I’ll lose the nerve if I wait,” he started in a nervous tone. “I’m falling in love with you, Grace. I know you’re not there yet and I won’t pressure you. I also know your job and life are here, and I won’t ask you to give those things up. Honestly, I don’t know how we’re going to do this, but I know I’d like you to be my girlfriend. I want at least a chance to make you fall in love with me.”
The tears I had been holding on since I left Fletcher’s office, finally spilled down my face. Harrington’s words were everything I wanted to hear, and though the mouth saying them wasn’t the one my heart called for, I could see the potential for happiness I would never have with Fletcher and, at that moment, that was the spark I needed.
I had had passion and fireworks with Fletcher. Now, I wanted stability and companionship. It wasn’t as exciting, but I imagined that in the long haul it would be what was going to make me the happiest.
“Okay,” I said, and his smile almost touched his ears. “I’ll be your girlfriend and, if it’s okay with you, I’ll make your life easier by following you to Boston.” His nostrils flared, and his bro
ws pulled together in confusion. I smiled at him and explained, “I quit my job today. As much as I loved working there, my boss was impossible, and I literally had enough of his crap. A change of scenery is exactly what I need right now.”
Harrington laughed and took me into his arms. He started babbling about how amazing everything would be and how much I would love Boston, but I was done talking. I was done planning and thinking and giving myself time and space to change my mind, so I pressed my lips to his and kissed him with every ounce of hope he made me want to have.
For the first time in the three weeks we had been seeing each other, I allowed myself to relax and enjoy his touch. Before I knew it, we were removing each other’s clothes and walking to my bedroom. Our lovemaking was as sweet and nice as Harrington himself, and though it was far from being life altering or exciting as it had been with Fletcher, I was perfectly okay with that.
Fletcher
The party was perfect. There was good music playing, my speech had gone great, the millionaires in attendance were opening their wallets to support our charity, and I had lost count of how many compliments I had gotten for scoring a date as lovely as Charlotte. Everything was just as it should be, and still, without Grace, everything felt wrong and empty.
I had no desire to dance or mingle. I cringed every time Charlotte touched me and loathed every single friend who came to talk to me. In my mind, they were all the reason why I had lost the best thing that had ever happened to me, and I hated them all.
“Don’t you look glum?” Charlotte asked as she sat beside me at the large round table.
With a sigh, I looked up from the whiskey I had been swirling around in my glass and turned my face to her. As always, she looked gorgeous. Her beautiful face was impeccably made up in colors that complimented her green eyes and royal blue dress and her long blond hair was styled in soft curls that cascaded down her back. I really was as lucky to have her as people kept telling me, but the truth was that I didn’t want to have her. All I wanted was Grace.
