by Brooke Page
“I don’t know; it just seemed like the right thing to do. The poor lady was flustered and couldn’t find her money, the guy behind her was being a jerk, and her kid was hungry,” I stated. I really didn’t think anything of it; the lady needed a break, and I was able to give her one.
“Most people would have just been annoyed. Luckily we were in the other line or Nathan would have lost his patience.” He chuckled.
“If I remember correctly, Nathan was oblivious, lost in a conversation on his phone.”
He laughed, “Nathan is always oblivious while he is on the phone.” Tyler leaned back in his seat and stared at me with a grin. I couldn’t help but grin back at him. His smile was infectious.
My phone started to buzz again. Tyler looked down towards my pocket as he took another bite of his sandwich. I silenced it without looking at it.
“So are you close with your brothers?” I asked, trying to ignore my phone.
“I guess you could say so, more Nathan than Mitch. Mitch and I don’t always see eye to eye. He is a lot like my father,” he grumbled.
“What is your father like?” Now I was the one asking inappropriate questions.
He looked torn, as if he wasn’t sure he was going to answer me. “My father is very… controlling. He wants to control our lives without actually being in them.”
“I know what that feels like.” I muttered.
“Oh? I thought Maxwell Stine was a family man?” Shit. He knew the relation. My eyes widened. I didn’t know how to respond.
“I am assuming you are related. He does have a daughter named Rebecca, or so I’ve read.”
I grimaced. “What exactly have you read?” He tilted his head to the side, as if surprised I didn’t know what he was talking about.
“There was an article in the paper about the expansion of the arena. The reporter asked your dad if he had signed with a contractor yet, and he said he was going to ask his daughter who just received a job at Conklin Architecture. ”
My face paled as my eyes opened even wider. Holy shit, why would my dad say that? My cover was gone. People would know I was back in Grand Rapids. I knew it would happen eventually, but I thought I would have at least a month of peace. My reaction must have answered his question.
“Hey, don’t worry about it. The arena would be a great project for us to pick up,” he said trying to meet my eyes. He had a sincere grin on his face.
My phone buzzed again. I rolled my eyes and tilted my head to the side, “I’m sorry…” I murmured as I reached for my phone. This time it wasn’t a phone call; it was a picture message. I looked in horror as I saw a delicate hand with a huge diamond on its ring finger. The name above the picture was Ashlynn. Holy fuck.
I felt like my chest was going to cave in. My eyes were glued to the screen on my phone, as my eyebrows furrowed in, rage? Shock? Pain? I didn’t know what I was feeling.
“Is everything alright? You look like you’ve just seen a ghost,” Tyler asked with concern.
I couldn’t speak right away. I set my phone on the table and covered my eyes with my hands. Tyler grabbed my phone and looked at the screen.
“Is there a reason why an engagement ring would upset you so much?” He questioned.
I peeked at him through my hands and sighed, “It’s extremely complicated.”
He cocked his head at me, “I’m sure I can keep up.” Did I really want to let him into my crazy past? Why was he so interested anyway?
Probably because you just fell apart in front of him because of a text message.
He looked at me and willed me to explain the text. I took a deep breath and started to talk.
“It wouldn’t have bothered me so much if I hadn’t dated the man who asked her to marry him.” Dated wasn’t the right word, madly in love with was. Or at least I thought I was madly in love with him. His eyes softened a little and urged me to continue talking.
“The girl is a childhood friend. It is a really messed up situation. I dated him, Connor, for three years. We went to college together and so did Ashlynn… the girl. I guess somehow we drifted apart and Ashlynn managed to fill the gap.”
“Did he cheat on you?” Tyler’s voice was stern.
I nodded.
“And she is texting you a picture of her engagement ring?” He was baffled.
“She still wants to be best friends,” I whispered.
“How long ago did this happen?”
I kept my eyes on the table. “I walked in on them sleeping together just before my last semester of my Master’s. It was about a year and a half ago.”
His jaw dropped. “And she is still sending you text messages? Does she try to contact you often?”
“I told you, she wants to be best friends still.”
“How the hell can she still be your best friend? She took your boyfriend of three years! Why don’t you change your number?” He exclaimed.
The truth? “I guess I don’t want to make her feel bad.”
Tyler looked at me dumbfounded with his beautiful eyes. “Becca, what she did to you is un-forgivable. It’s time to cut the cord.”
A small smile crept on my lips. He sounded like Jamie. She is going to freak when I show her this. My small smile slowly turned into a frown. That was supposed to be my diamond. I suddenly felt the uncontrollable urge to cry.
Fighting tears in my eyes, I said, “It’s getting late, would you be offended if I left?”
“No, not at all. Let me walk you back to your car in the building ramp.” His voice went from anger to velvet.
“I actually walk to work. I have a condo at River House. You don’t have to walk me; you haven’t even finished your food.”
Tyler snorted, “It’s after midnight, of course I will walk you. Do you know how many homeless people and drunks are out there at this hour on a Friday night?”
I stood up and grabbed my bag. “Thank you.” I could barely talk. His eyes softened at me. Right then and there I wanted him to wrap his arms around me. They looked big and strong, no doubt he worked out.
We walked silently down the streets, passing random groups of friends laughing and having a good time. I tried to not look miserable, but I couldn’t help but let my mind go to Connor and Ashlynn. No doubt she would want a big wedding here. She would probably even want me to be in the wedding. I couldn’t stomach that. The thought made tears fall from my eyes. I was falling apart in front of this gorgeous man that I had just met and better yet, he was my boss’s boss. What a way to start a working relationship.
We walked through AH-Nab-Awen Park along the Grand River. I needed to get my mind off of this mess. I blurted out the first thing that came to my mind once I gained my composure. “You said you were going to Chicago tomorrow. Do you go there often?”
“I get there at least once a week. My father is normally there. Nathan and I tend to monitor Grand Rapids and Cleveland more often. Nathan and I part ways and take turns going between Chicago and Cleveland,” he said coolly.
“And your brother Mitchell?” I asked.
“He bounces from city to city. He is an on-site kind of guy. He has no business being in the buildings. His assistant handles his work. Our construction would fall apart if it weren’t for Tony.”
I could tell by Tyler’s tone he was easily irritated with his little brother. Mitchell was probably only 23 or 24, around my age. I couldn’t imagine being in charge of an entire department. I had enough on my plate being a junior architect. Then I thought of Tyler. He was only 28, and he managed one of the most successful firms in the Midwest.
“It must be a lot of pressure, for all of you.” I said. He stopped walking and leaned on the bar separating us from the river.
“It’s not that bad, we all manage. It was a lot easier when my grandfather was around. He was a very good example on how to handle the company. My father… not so much.” He sighed.
He looked so sad all of the sudden. I instantly felt like I was intruding on his feelings by his facial emotio
ns. I needed to change the subject again.
“The river is very pretty at night. I love how the lights hit the water from the city.”
Tyler looked over to me and smiled. I think he knew I was trying to change the subject. How did we keep getting into these intimate conversations? We barely knew each other!
“Yes, it is.” His grin was mischievous. It felt like it had inner meaning.
“What?” I had a puzzled look on my face.
“Nothing. Shall we keep walking?” He shook his head with the same grin on his face and stepped away from the railing.
I started to blush and began walking again.
We finally made it to the entrance of my condo building. “Thank you for walking me,” I said looking up at him.
“It was my pleasure,” he smiled then turned serious. “Are you going to be okay?”
I studied his face, trying to let what he asked me sink in. “Yeah I will be fine. Nothing a good soak in the tub and some wine can’t fix. Sorry for kind of losing it back there. What a way to impress my boss, eh?” I joked.
He was still serious. “Well, if you want to talk, you can call me. I won’t sleep until I get on the plane at 6:00am.”
Won’t sleep? The plane ride to Chicago was only 45 minutes, how could he only work on 45 minutes of sleep?
Tyler held his hand out to me. I didn’t understand what he wanted. “Let me put my number in your phone.” His eyes became intense. I was hypnotized by them and reached in my pocket to hand him my phone. Once he was done he handed it back to me, and I heard his phone ring.
I narrowed my eyes playfully at him, “Just in case you need to talk to me? I must warn you, I will be sleeping and may not answer.”
He bit his lip, trying to hide his smirk. “I just don’t like unknown numbers. But, I will keep in mind that you like to sleep.”
“And… you don’t?” I asked.
“I sleep. That’s what Sundays are for.”
We looked down at our feet laughing then looked up at the same time and caught each other’s eye. If I were in my old ways, I would ask him to come upstairs. But I was starting anew, and… he was my boss! I had to remember that. Fraternizing with management was never a good idea. Jamie did it once, and it ended badly.
“Well, I should let you get to your bath. Please only drown your sorrows and nothing else,” he said seriously.
I blushed.
“Have a good night.” He lifted his hand as though he was going to touch my elbow, but quickly brought it back to his side, his eyes never leaving mine. I turned to walk to the front entrance and pushed in my code to enter the building.
“Hey, Becca?”
I turned my head to see him standing at the edge of the street. “The guy you dated, he was an idiot for cheating on you.” His eyes burned into me as he said it, and his lips slipped into a grin as he turned to walk away.
Chapter 4
I stood in the elevator dazed. Tyler Conklin, my boss, caused my head to fog. I tried to not let my mind over think what had happened throughout the evening. He was just being friendly, a nice guy. I’m sure it didn’t mean anything, as bad as my body wanted it to.
I walked out of the elevator and straight to my condo. I opened the door, and Jamie was in the kitchen, pouring a giant glass of wine. She looked up and grinned at me.
Walking over to me with the glass of wine, she wrapped her arms around me without saying anything. I’m sure she had gotten the text from Ashlynn. Jamie had called her a bitch to her face at least three times, but Ashlynn didn’t get the picture.
“Here, you need this more than I do,” she said sympathetically, handing me the glass. I took it and sat on the couch as Jamie poured another glass. Once her glass was filled to the top, she came and sat next to me.
“I would ask if you were fine, but I know you’re not. Ashlynn is such a bitch. I’m sure she sent you the ‘Connor-proposed’ text. ” Jamie rolled her eyes.
“Yeah, that bitch even took the kind of diamond I wanted,” I said taking a gulp of my wine.
Jamie looked at me as though confused. “She sent you a picture? She just sent me a text. There were a bunch of people on the sent list; I guess I just assumed she sent you the same thing.” Jamie was trying to control her anger.
I shrugged my shoulders and pulled out my phone. Jamie quickly took it from me before I could go to the main screen.
She jerked her head back as she opened the screen. “Tyler Conklin? As in, Conklin Architecture, Tyler Conklin?” She raised her eyebrow.
Shit, he must have left the contact up. I squirmed under her stare.“Maybe you are okay,” she smirked. “Do share.” She suddenly sat up straight while crossing her legs.
I shook my head. “There isn’t anything to talk about. He is my boss.”
“And you just put his number in at 1:00am?”A thought quickly caught her mind, “Oh my God, did you just come from his place?”
I looked at her in horror. “No! I was working late, we went to grab something to eat, and that’s it. I told you I wasn’t going to do that anymore,” I said appalled.
“Sounds like a date to me, but whatever Becca.” She focused on the phone and pulled up my text from Ashlynn. “Did you notice she only sent this to you?” Jamie was fuming. “Not that I ever thought Connor was the brightest pick of the bunch, but how can he not see what a bitch she is!”
“He probably didn’t know she only sent it to me.”
She shook her head at me, “Don’t stick up for him. You need to get a new number. She is probably going to invite you to her wedding! Or worse, she will probably want you to be in it! You’re the only loon who puts up with her shit, and she’s fucking your ex-boyfriend!”
I had the sudden urge to giggle at her. Maybe the wine was starting to hit me.
She slowly started to laugh with me. “You are handling this very well. I will never understand what goes on in that head of yours,” she said handing me my phone back.
“Me either,” I said, downing the last of my wine. Getting up to refill my glass I asked her how her trip was. I was impressed she was here so soon. I figured it would be late Sunday night before she came in.
“It was great. I got some junk food and a good book on tape; the trip went surprisingly fast. My mother was a wreck before I left last night,” she said rolling her eyes. “But, I am beat. I am going to get some sleep. Remind me to tell your mother on Sunday thank you for the new bedspread and furniture.”
Crap, I forgot about family dinner. My mother insisted we both start coming. I hope she didn’t expect us to come every Sunday.
“Goodnight,” she called from her side of the condo. I said goodnight back and downed my second glass of wine. It was delicious and was going down way too easy. I filled it again and headed for the tub, as Tyler put it, to drown my sorrows.
My phone suddenly buzzed, and I pulled it out to look at it. It was a text from Tyler. Already? I didn’t even think he would text me.
Drowning in your sorrows yet? I should have offered to get you a bottle of wine. –Tyler
My face lit up at his text.
I’m heading there now, and don’t worry, my roommate welcomed me at the door with a full glass. Are you on your way to the airport? –Becca
Glad to hear it. And yes, I am on my way to the airport now. I plan on sitting in Starbucks and doing some work. I will accept interruptions. –Tyler
I set my phone down on the counter of the bathroom and held onto my wine, contemplating what was going through this man’s head. If I had told Jamie everything, she would tell me he was interested, but that just couldn’t be the case. I wasn’t well bred. Yeah, I came from a classy family, but I was the odd duck of the bunch. If anyone saw me standing next to my sister, Heather, they would think we were from different families. She had long chocolate brown hair and big beautiful brown eyes while I had dull light brown hair that I tried to liven up with blond highlights. My eyes were a very dull blue that didn’t stand out. I remember for famil
y pictures one year when I was 12 my mother bought me blue contacts so my eyes would pop out. I tried not to think anything of it. Heather had beautiful tan skin while I could only get a tan if I basked in the sun all day. I had to work for my tan while Heather’s came more naturally. The only thing I had on her was my schooling. She had gotten pregnant when she was 19. Luckily it was with her boyfriend, Ray Martel, a man who met our parent’s approval. He was 24 at the time and was a promising young man at one of my father’s buildings and the son of the city’s judge. Now she is 22 with another one on the way. Things worked out for her in that sense. My parents still demanded she go to school. So she takes classes every now and then, nothing in particular. She wanted to be a trophy wife like my mother, and she was doing a very good job at it.
My brother, Michael, was a poster child as well. He was the top in his class at Michigan State University and had an office full of patients. He was a podiatrist. Michael got the good genes like my sister. Brown hair, brown eyes, tan skin. They were both spitting images of my father. I looked just like my mother, but somehow she was beautiful, and I was average.
I started to run the bath water and began to undress. I examined myself in the full length mirror. Uh, I hated that I had stretch marks. They were faint, but I could still see them. I poked and prodded at my body, obsessing over where I felt too big or where I needed more help. I said I was a C cup, but really was a B. I could squeeze into a size four, but felt more comfortable in a six. The problem was my butt. It was out there. I worked so hard to make it taut, but it still had its presence, and because of it I would never be a size two. I looked a lot better than a year ago; I could give myself that much.
I hopped into the bathtub. It stung my toes, but was very welcoming. I had a very good buzz going, and it helped me to forget about Connor and Ashlynn. Instead I started to think about Tyler. He was so attractive, tall and broad, at least 6ft, and had a chiseled jaw with the perfect amount of scruff with it. I thought about what it would be like to run my fingers over it. His lips weren’t too pouty, and I’m sure he knew how to use them. I thought of his eyes and sighed. They had such softness to them, but yet could go hard instantly. Tyler had shown me his softer side tonight unlike in the elevator. I liked that about him. Will had said he didn’t say much, but tonight he was quite talkative. Maybe he just puts on a hard exterior at work? I leaned my head back and closed my eyes. He would never go for me. I would be put in the friend zone because that is where I always went.
