One Wrong Choice (A Cruel and Beautiful Book Book 3)

by A. M. Hargrove

  He offers a light nod and glances away, as though he wants to say something, but doesn’t. And I understand. There could be more between us, should be more, if things were only … different. But they aren’t. Kenneth’s good to me. How could I break up with him for Brandon? What do they always say about the grass not always being greener? Besides, it could never work, even if it were. My mother would have a fit if she saw him. He would never fit her mold. Kenneth does, only she hasn’t met him yet. But when she does, that’ll be it.

  Almost as though he read my mind, Brandon stands and says, “I think I need to head on home.”

  “But the movie.”

  His pained expression tells me more than I need to know. “We can watch the rest of it later, or you can finish it if you like.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes. I’ll see you later.” He picks up his jacket and walks to the door.

  “Brandon? Is everything okay?”

  “It’s fine.” By the tone of his voice, I know it’s not. And he has every right to feel that way. Hell, I feel the same. Only what can I do? Trapped, that’s what I am.

  I separate the curtains to watch as he gets on his bike and rides off into the night. Every time he leaves, it feels like he takes a piece of me with him. Is it right to feel this way? Am I supposed to miss him this much? I thought I was supposed to feel this way about Kenneth. Kenneth is kind and considerate. He treats me well. But Brandon is different. The same spark that’s between us doesn’t exist between Kenneth and me.

  Grabbing the remote, I finish watching the movie. The bad part about it is all I can think about is Brandon. He loves everything about Star Wars. He talks about how the plot is ingenious, the political aspects of it, and how they wove everything together. Trying to concentrate is impossible. I finally turn it off and go to bed.

  The next morning, I head into work early with the idea of getting some things accomplished before everyone gets in. Digging my way through the pile of folders on my desk, I’m happy to note the stack is shrinking. Evvie waltzes in with her arms laden with another load.

  “These are for you,” she says cheerily as she sets them on my desk.

  “From who?”

  “The big guy. I swear, Jenna, he doesn’t think anyone else can do the job right except for you.”

  That’s it. My pen slams on the desk as I grab the stack and stomp out of my office, heading directly to his. Evvie is on my heels, telling me to stop. She grabs at my arm, but I swat her hand away like a stupid fly. I am over this crap. It’s ridiculous the way he piles the load on me.

  His admin sits in front of his door at her desk. “Hello, Jenna. Can I help you?”

  “No, I don’t believe you can. I need to talk to Aaron.”

  “I, uh, he’s on the phone.”

  “I don’t care. Tell him this is urgent. Now, Carol.”

  Her eyes nearly fall out of her sockets because I’m usually the nice person around here. She bobs her head, and her mop of curls flies all over the place.

  “Aaron, Jenna is here to see you, and she says it’s urgent. Yes, okay.” Carol looks up at me, as I stand in front of her desk, angry as hell, and says meekly, “He said to take a seat, and he’ll be with you momentarily.”

  “No. I won’t be taking any seats.” And with that, I march to his closed door and fling it wide open to find him seated at his desk, not on the phone as Carol said he was, but engaged in, shall we say, a somewhat compromised situation. In other words, he was kissing one of the girls from the graphic design department.

  “Jesus, can you not keep this separate from office hours?” I ask. The girl scrambles off his lap and rearranges her blouse, which is unbuttoned and exposing her bra, and rushes out of his office.

  Aaron hastily wipes his mouth, which is coated in neon pink lip gloss, and stands.

  “Jenna,” he says like I’m a long-lost friend. “What can I do for you?”

  “This,” I say, slamming the pile of folders on his desk, “is what you can do for me.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “Then let me enlighten you. I am beyond done. I can’t possibly keep this up. You have overburdened me for the last time. Evvie just delivered these to me, explaining that you seem to think I am the only one who can do the job correctly. Let me tell you, I can’t do it anymore. I am overworked and underpaid.”

  “Whoa.” He holds out his hand. “Evvie told you that?”

  “She did.”

  He rifles through the stack of folders I dumped on his desk. “These are the files I told her to go through yesterday. I explained to her that they needed to be double-checked for accuracy and returned to me by tomorrow. These are events that are set for next month with everything signed off on. Why would she pass these over to you?” He rubs his chin as he processes this. But I know why. And that’s why she tried to stop me from coming here.

  “Aaron, how much work have you personally sent my way over the last three months?”

  “None. All your work should be through what you generate yourself, other than for meetings and briefings.”

  I practically growl.

  “What?”

  “Evvie has been giving me all her work to do, saying you wanted me to do it because I’m so meticulous and no one does a better job than I do. And I’m the dumbass that’s actually been doing it.”

  His brows shoot up so high I wonder if they’ll ever return to normal. “She what?”

  “Yeah, you heard me.”

  He yanks his phone off the cradle so hard the thing goes flying. “Dammit.” After he sets it straight, he tells Carol to get Evvie in here. But Carol soon calls back, saying she can’t locate her.

  He wears a sour expression as he says, “It would appear that Evvie has flown the coop.”

  “I guess when she couldn’t dissuade me from coming here, she knew her little free ride had come to an end.” We both head out to her cubicle, and sure enough, it’s vacant as can be. Her drawers are also empty of all personal items.

  “I guess you’ll need to hire someone now,” I say.

  He scratches his head. “Yeah. That’s the weird thing. You kept saying how you needed more help, and I always wondered why. Our staff was sufficient everywhere, and your work is always spot-on. I couldn’t figure out why you felt like you were so overworked.”

  “And now we both know the truth. Damn that Evvie.”

  “I’m sorry about all of this. We’ll get her replaced as soon as possible. And in the meantime, I promise not to burden you with all her work.”

  I wave my hand. “It’s not like I haven’t been doing it anyway.”

  “But, Jenna, that’s the point. You’ve been doing two jobs. I don’t want to lose you. You’re one of my best employees.”

  “Thanks, Aaron. But can I give you a word of advice?”

  “Sure.”

  “Keep your door open, so you know what’s going on out here. And, uh, try to be a little more discreet, if you know what I mean.”

  He has the decency to turn a bit pink. “You’re right.” He holds out his hand and says, “Are we good?”

  “Yeah, we’re good.” I shake it and head back to my office. I’m glad it all happened, to be honest. I sort of feel like I’ve gotten a new start here. When lunchtime hits, I decide to pay a surprise visit to Brandon so I can share the news. Even though we ended the night on a stilted note, he’s the only one who understands my work situation, the only one who truly cares.

  I stop off at his favorite Tex-Mex restaurant and grab a carryout and head on over. She Who Hates Me gives me the evil eye as I walk in the door.

  “Is Brandon in?” I ask.

  “He’s busy.” Her cold reply doesn’t shock me as much as it used to.

  “Can you tell him I’m here?”

  “He’s already eaten,” she bites back.

  “That’s fine.”

  She stomps off, and a few minutes later, Brandon walks in. “Jenna.”

  Holding up the bag,
I say, “I brought food.”

  “Uh, I ate already.”

  “I know, but you can have it later. It’s your favorite.”

  A smile curves his mouth. “Thanks.”

  We stand there awkwardly, and I finally ask, “Can we talk?”

  “Uh, actually, I’m really busy right now.”

  “Oh. Well, okay. I can just—”

  The blonde he was with the other night comes sailing in the door right at that moment. “Hey, babe. Is my ride ready yet?”

  He stares at me, gauging my reaction. But what does he expect? Does he want me to run up to her and hug her, introduce myself, and be her best friend? And that’s not fair at all, is it? Because I have Kenneth, and I’m doing the same thing to him.

  Taking two steps backward, I say, “I’ll catch you later.”

  “Yeah, take it easy.” And with that, he turns to Blondie and says something, but I don’t stick around to hear it because I’m out the door as fast as my feet will carry me.

  Eight

  Brandon

  This thing between Jenna and me has to stop, I tell myself for the millionth time. She’s made it exceedingly clear that she has a boyfriend and only wants me as a friend. And how long can I pretend to be just a friend when I want so much more?

  “Are you coming by tonight?” the woman who’d spooked Jenna asks.

  My distraction has become a nuisance. She’s supposed to take my mind off of Jenna, not make me wish she was her.

  “Yeah, not tonight. I’ll back your car out.”

  Hours later, I go home alone to an empty house. Why had I given the blonde a pass? Not in the mood for cooking, I regret not taking Jenna’s offered food. I grab a beer from the fridge and plop on the sofa.

  I’ve just picked up the remote when the front door opens and my brother walks in. With his crestfallen expression, I ask, “What happened to you?” He enters my kitchen without answering me. “No beer,” I add.

  Sighing heavily, he comes and flops on the sofa with a Coke in his hand.

  “Well?” I ask again.

  “Girls.”

  My brother is the happy-go-lucky sort. He’s the optimist in a sea of pessimists. Growing up with Mom, I learned never to depend on anything or anyone but myself. Braedon’s just the opposite. He relishes teamwork and looks forward to the future. So to see him so sullen is almost hard to watch.

  “Women,” I say, lifting my beer. “What’s her name?”

  He tells me. “She broke up with me. Out of the blue, she’s like giving me shit, but won’t tell me what I did wrong. I have no clue what crawled up her ass.”

  “Just apologize,” I say. “It’s the easiest way if you want her back.”

  “But what am I apologizing for?”

  I shrug. “Sometimes it doesn’t matter.”

  He shakes his head. “I’m not just going to roll over. There are other girls out there.”

  Shrugging again, I add, “That’s on you. Do whatever you can live with.”

  “Is that why you don’t date?”

  Eying him, I’m tempted not to answer. Then I remember, Dad isn’t around to impart wisdom and shit. And God knows what Mom has tried to brainwash him with.

  “I date. But more important, I work.”

  “Yeah, you work too much. You never have fun. You take care of Mom and me…”

  So he sees that. Not that I’ve tried to hide it. I give Mom money, but I don’t announce it when I do.

  “If I didn’t work, I wouldn’t have been able to buy the shop when Will wanted to sell.”

  “Yeah, but Mom told me you’d wanted to go to college for mechanical engineering or to be an architect.”

  I had. All that changed when Mom had lost her job the summer before I went off to school. I’d made the decision to stay on at the shop and apprentice with Will. Mom had tried to get me to go to school, but when I explained all the benefits of me staying, she hadn’t put up much of a fight.

  She’d eventually found a job, but it didn’t pay all the bills. It certainly wasn’t enough to save for Braedon to go to college.

  “School’s not for everyone, kid. I like my life. And I’m fine with how things are.”

  Braedon is anything but stupid. “So you say.” Just when I think he might leave the topic alone, he hauls off and adds, “Thank you.”

  The moment feels too heavy. “Don’t be such a sap, and go get your girl.”

  “Nah,” he says. “I did everything for her. And I won’t let her lead me by a chain any longer.”

  We sit in silence for a long time before Braedon’s phone rings with Mom wondering where he is. He tries to get me to go over there for dinner, but I can’t deal with my mother tonight. As he opens the door to leave, Jenna’s there with her hand about to knock on the door.

  My brother is quick to turn on the charm.

  “Hello, gorgeous,” he says with a smile brighter than the sun and eyes all for her.

  Jenna blushes, and I’m out of my seat swatting at my brother to stop. “Go home, Braedon,” I warn.

  “If you ever get tired of my brother, I’m available.”

  I clap the back of his head, and he ducks, saying, “Ouch.”

  “Ignore him. He’s seventeen,” I tell Jenna.

  “Dude.” Braedon gives me a look of betrayal. “Not cool.”

  “Go home or Mom will send out a search party for you soon.”

  “I’ll be eighteen in a couple of weeks,” he says to her, as I shove him none too playfully out the door.

  Still, he’s my baby brother. I stand there in the doorway and watch him get into his car before I turn my attention to Jenna.

  “I know, stalker much?” She gives me puppy dog eyes before brushing past me and into my house. The contact is slight, but it charges through my body like she has jumper cables attached to her. “I just didn’t like the way things ended with us.”

  Slowly, I turn to face her, because I’m a live wire. I’m horny as hell, and I have a beautiful woman alone in my house.

  “Jenna.”

  Her name comes out of my mouth like I gargled coal.

  She holds up a hand. “Let me speak first.”

  My mouth clamps shut, and I wait for what she has to say. Will she admit that there is more than friendship that could be between us?

  “I like you, Brandon.” She licks her lips, and damn, if it isn’t sexy. I shift on my feet, waiting for her to say the word so I can pounce. “Okay, truth.” I nod. “I like you far more than I should. But I can’t. It’s not fair. Kenneth…”

  He’s everything I’m not from what I’ve heard of him. He has the right last name, the right amount of savings in his bank account. Everything about me is wrong. She hasn’t said as much, but I gather her parents would not like to see me grace their doorstep. And that means something to her.

  “Why are you here?” I ask.

  Stubborn in a way that’s far too attractive, she marches toward me.

  “Because I’m selfish. You’re my friend. Hell, with Cate not here, you’re like my best friend.”

  Her eyes plead with me as she stands way too close. I drop my forehead to meet hers to avoid taking that extra movement to press my lips to hers. Just a few inches and we can put this so-called friendship to the test.

  She angles her head to look into my eyes. Now our mouths are less than a breath apart. My control breaks, and I throw caution out the door. I make my move, but Jenna is quicker. She takes a dancing step back. A quirk to her lips and I’m not sure if she’s mocking me.

  “Besides, it’s my birthday next week, and you owe me a wish.”

  Her smile is a little too bright. She knows she’s won and has me by the balls.

  “And what is your wish?”

  “If I told you, it wouldn’t come true. But I can say that I can’t imagine spending my birthday without my friends.”

  Clearly, I’m infatuated with her, because all my brain functions have fled one head for the other. If she told me to jump over
the moon for her, I’d find a fucking rocket to hijack.

  “What about your boyfriend?”

  She waves a dismissive hand. “He won’t be in town.”

  “Maybe I’ll stop by then.”

  “Maybe?”

  I shrug. “If you don’t have plans and I don’t have plans.”

  She comes over and lightly punches my shoulder. “You better at least call. Or you could come by my office and pop out of a cake without your shirt on and yell surprise.”

  Tossing my head back, I laugh. “Shirtless?” She nods. “So that’s what I am to you now. A cake topper?”

  “Not the topper, but the surprise in the middle. I do have a reputation to keep.”

  The fact that she says it all straight-faced has me laughing harder until she joins with me.

  “You would look good coming out of a cake. Besides, there are a couple of single women I could fix you up with.”

  That stops my chuckle midway. She sighs. “Too soon?”

  I nod. “Yeah, we aren’t quite at the fixing each other up stage.”

  She bites her lip before wrapping her arms around me and pressing her cheek to my chest.

  “I just wish…”

  “Stop,” I say. “There’s no use in wishing.”

  I want to hug her close, but instead, I awkwardly pat her back. If she gets any closer, she’ll know what’s on my mind. And it’s anything but friendly.

  “I should go,” she says, stepping out of my embrace.

  Licking my lips, I nod and move to the side, giving her a straight path to the door. After opening it, she hangs there for a second longer.

  “We can do this.” She waits for my reply. When I say nothing, she adds, “Be friends.”

  Then she’s gone. The door isn’t the only divide between us. How is it possible for two people to only be friends when there is so much more we both feel for each other?

  Nine