Falling for Aiden

by Allie Everhart

  From his reaction, I think he feels the same. He takes several steps back, his eyes on mine. "I'll text you when I'm free."

  "Goodnight, Aiden."

  "Goodnight."

  I race up to my room and collapse on the bed, wishing he was free right now. I want him to be mine and I don't want to wait. I've never felt like this. Ever. With anyone.

  I just need to be patient. We both need to take care of things back home and then we can be together and finally tell each other how we feel.

  "Where are the files for the Trystal dinner?" Bianca asks, racing around her office.

  It's Sunday morning and I really wanted to sleep in but Bianca called me in a panic, saying she needed me to help her. By help, she meant keep her company. All she's doing is organizing files. She doesn't need my help with that, and it doesn't need to be done on a Sunday. She made me come in yesterday, too. As soon as I got back to New York, I returned the rental car, made a quick stop at my apartment, and then went to the office.

  "I'm not sure what you mean," I say. "Is that a new client?"

  She stops and turns to me, seeming annoyed. "The Trystal dinner? Roger Trystal. Celine's father. Any of this ringing a bell?"

  "Oh, yes, of course. Sorry. It's just that you usually say the name of the company, not the owner."

  "Yes, well, you need to know both. I'm surprised you don't, given your personal connection to them."

  "Personal connection?"

  "You and Celine. Aren't you two friends?"

  "No, not really. We're more like acquaintances."

  "Huh. That's not the impression she gave me."

  "When? What did she say about me?"

  "We went out for drinks and she kept bringing you up, saying she wanted to get to know you better. I just assumed that meant she was hoping you two would become better friends."

  "I don't know why she'd want that. We have nothing in common."

  Bianca's brows rise. "You both like Aiden."

  "Aiden is just a friend," I say with a nervous laugh as I walk over to the file cabinet. "Did you print out the file or should I search the digital files?"

  Bianca appears in front of me. "What's going on with you and Aiden?"

  "Nothing!" I say as though I'm offended by her question. "Why would you even ask me that? You know I'm dating Tanner."

  "And yet you only talk about Aiden." She puts her hand on her hip. "If something's going on with you and him, I need to know. This could screw up everything. If Celine finds out, we'll lose her father as a client and that cannot happen. Roger Trystal is very well connected. He could bring us new clients worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. Even Beverly is getting involved in this. She met Roger for lunch on Friday and told him she'd be personally overseeing his event. Do you understand what that means?"

  As owner of the company, Beverly rarely gets involved in events, relying on Bianca and the other staff to do all the work. Beverly spends her time going to parties and meeting potential clients. I've only met her one time, the day I started here. She shook my hand, welcomed me to the company, then told me if I mess up I'm fired. She doesn't tolerate mistakes, which is why Bianca is always so nervous and frantic.

  "You have nothing to worry about," I say. "There's nothing going on with Aiden and me."

  "And you'd tell me if that changed?"

  "Yes." I pause, wondering if I should tell her about Aiden's plan to break up with Celine. I decide not to, remembering Aiden made me promise to keep it a secret.

  Maybe today will be the day he tells her. He said he might do it on Sunday. If he does, will he call me? I'm guessing he'll wait for the dust to settle before he does.

  "Did you find the file yet?" Bianca asks, racing back to her desk. "Oh! Here it is." She holds it up. "Go down the street and get me a latte, then we'll meet to go over the list for the event."

  I start to leave, then turn back. "Bianca, I need to talk to you about something."

  "Make it quick. We have a lot to do."

  I walk over to her desk. "I know I keep asking you about the promotion but I really need to know when it'll happen. I can't keep waiting. I'm barely able to cover my bills and if I don't get a raise soon, I won't be able to pay rent."

  "Sophie, we've gone over this. You have to prove yourself before Beverly will even consider giving you a promotion."

  "So let me prove myself. Give me my own event."

  "You want the Trystal dinner?" she says with a challenging grin. "It's small, but high profile. If you do well, Beverly is sure to give you the raise." Bianca leans back in her chair, picking up a pen and twirling it around her finger. "But make even the tiniest mistake and, well, you know what will happen."

  "I lose my job." I pause. "Is that my only option? The Trystal dinner?"

  "All our other events are too big for you to handle. Beverly would never allow an assistant to take over. The only small event we have is the Trystal client dinner. It's only twelve people and it's mostly planned so you really wouldn't have to do much. I'd need to get Beverly's okay first but if she says yes, do you want it?"

  Doing this means dealing with Celine, taking her orders and putting up with her nonstop demands. But the dinner is only two weeks away. I could put up with Celine for two weeks. But I'll have to cut off any and all contact with Aiden during those two weeks. I can't risk Celine finding out about us, assuming there is an us.

  As much as I don't want to do this, I have to. I need that promotion. It's the only way I can stay in New York.

  "I'll do it," I say to Bianca.

  "Great!" She stands up and hands me the file. "Good luck! Now go get me that latte. I'm dying for some caffeine."

  I think Bianca wants me to fail. She doesn't want me getting that promotion. She likes having me as her assistant, running her errands, getting her coffee, doing all the stuff she doesn't want to do. She's had plenty of smaller events she could've given me the past few months but she wouldn't even offer them to me. And now she's giving me one that could easily get me fired. Celine expects everything to be perfect, and if it's not, she'll go straight to Beverly to complain.

  At five I leave the office and go to a coffee shop to meet up with Tanner. I think he knows I'm breaking up with him. He sounded disappointed when I changed our dinner plans to a coffee date. Maybe he won't even show up.

  When I walk in the coffee shop I see him sitting by the window, looking at his phone.

  "Hey," I say, sitting across from him.

  "Hi, Sophie." He doesn't usually say my name like that. He just says hi. He's being very formal, and sitting up really straight like he's bracing himself for what's to come.

  "How was your day?" I ask. "Did you go to the gym?"

  "No. I didn't feel like it."

  "Do you want a coffee?" I ask, noticing he doesn't have one. "I could sure use one. I've been at the office since six this morning."

  Tanner sighs. "Can we just get this over with?"

  My eyes meet up with his. I hate doing this. I know how much he likes me. I just wish I felt the same way.

  "Just say it." His eyes remain on mine. "It's over, isn't it?"

  I nod. "I'm sorry."

  Chapter Thirteen

  Aiden

  "Where is it?" Celine yells from the hallway. "Where's my red scarf? I know I left it here but I can't find it."

  I get up from the couch and see her looking through the hall closet. "It's not there."

  "Then where is it? I need it. It matches my coat."

  "You have plenty of scarves. Just wear a different one."

  "Maybe it's in your bedroom." She takes off for my room.

  I follow her. "Why would it be in the bedroom?"

  She searches through my dresser, pulling out each drawer and looking under the clothes.

  "Celine, what are you doing? You wouldn't put your scarf in my dresser."

  She ignores me, frantically searching through my clothes. And then it dawns on me what she's doing. She thinks I'm cheating on her. She's looki
ng for proof.

  Last Sunday night I was about to break up with her but she took off before I could. I was trying to let her down easy, explaining how our relationship just wasn't working anymore. She got angry and told me it's my fault, not hers, then stormed out of my apartment. The next day, she wouldn't return my texts or answer my calls. She did the same thing on Tuesday.

  Now it's Wednesday and she showed up at my apartment when I got home from work, acting like everything was fine. She wanted me to take her to dinner but I told her we needed to talk and that's when she started this frantic search for her scarf.

  "Celine, stop it." I grab hold of her arm and pull her to standing. "There's nothing there."

  "It's there," she snaps. "I just haven't found it."

  "There's nothing to find. I'm not hiding anything."

  She gets in my face, pointing her finger at me, rage in her eyes. "Who is she?"

  "Celine, I'm not cheating on you. That's not what this is about. We both know this relationship isn't working. We've known for a long time."

  "Just because it isn't working for you doesn't mean it's not working for me!" She shoves my chest. "We're getting married, Aiden. You are NOT leaving me!"

  "We're not getting married. We were never even close to getting married. We're not a good match. We don't like the same things. We rarely talk, at least not about anything that matters. We don't even like spending time together."

  "Since when?" she asks, folding her arms over her chest.

  "Every time I try to plan something for us, you find an excuse not to do it. Like going to Vermont last week. You bailed on me right before we were supposed to leave."

  "You know how much I hate small towns. And that inn we were supposed to stay at?" She shudders. "It's hideous. I saw the pictures online. The rooms are old and small and they have no modern amenities."

  "Then why did you book a room there and say you would go?"

  "Because I—" She clears her throat. "I was trying to please you. I know you like places like that so I made the arrangements."

  "But never intended to go."

  "I did. I just changed my mind."

  "You didn't even book the inn for the right night." I stare back at her, wanting the truth but knowing she won't give it to me. "Is there a reason you did that?"

  "People make mistakes, Aiden. That's all it was."

  "Other people make mistakes. You don't. You check and then double check and then check again to make sure it's right."

  She narrows her eyes at me. "What exactly are you accusing me of?"

  "You didn't want me spending time with someone else. You didn't want her riding in the car with me so you invited yourself on the trip, knowing you had no plans to actually go. And you booked the room on the wrong night so I'd be forced to come home after the court hearing."

  "Which you didn't," she snaps.

  "You could've gone with me."

  "And been miserable."

  We stand there in silence for what seems like forever but is really just a minute or two.

  "Nothing happened," I finally say.

  "Of course it didn't!" she says, throwing her hands in the air. "You really think I'd be jealous of Sophie? Some farm girl from the Midwest? Seriously, Aiden?" She rolls her eyes.

  "Then what is it? What exactly do you think I'm doing?"

  She points her finger at me. "I don't just think it. I know it. I know you're cheating on me, Aiden. I don't know who she is but I know you've been secretly texting her. And I know you took her to Vermont instead of me. You've probably taken her other places too. All those trips last summer when you said you were going biking with Peter? You were with that woman!"

  "I was not with a woman. Ask Pete. We have pictures from those trips. There weren't any women there." I turn away from her, just wanting this to be over. The drama. The accusations. The fighting. This isn't the relationship I want. I knew that months ago and wish I'd ended it then. "It's over."

  "It's NOT over!" Celine comes in front of me. "I did not just waste a year of my life for nothing!"

  "I can't do this anymore. And I don't want to. I'm sorry if you don't feel the same, but I can't keep doing this. It's over, and I need you to leave."

  She huffs. "Just wait until my father finds out about this!" She storms out of the room. "Better start updating your resume!"

  The front door slams. She's gone. It's over. I finally ended something that should've ended months ago.

  I don't think I'll lose my job over it. I'm too valuable to the firm. I make them a lot of money. Roger knows that, and he's not one to let personal issues interfere with his business. It'll be awkward for awhile but we'll get past it.

  I pick up my phone, wanting to call Sophie and tell her the news. I want to do more than that. I want to see her. It's only been a few days since we said our goodbyes at the inn but it seems like forever ago.

  I'm about to call her but then decide not to. It's too soon. If people saw us together, or even found out we were talking, they'd suspect she's the reason I broke up with Celine. I don't want them making Sophie the enemy, saying things that aren't true.

  I call up Pete.

  "Hey, man, what's up?"

  "It's over. I broke up with Celine."

  "No shit? When?"

  "Just now. She didn't take it well."

  "Yeah, I bet. How about you? How are you feeling?"

  "Better than I've felt in a long time. I didn't realize how much that relationship was weighing me down."

  "Does she know about Sophie?"

  "This isn't about Sophie. She's not why I did it."

  "But does she know? Did she accuse you of anything?"

  "She accused me of cheating but not with Sophie. She doesn't see Sophie as a threat. She can't imagine me being with someone like her, which just proves my point that Celine never took the time to know me."

  "Have you talked to Sophie?"

  "Not yet. I think I'm going to wait a few days. Let things settle down."

  "Have you talked to Tanner?"

  "Not since Saturday. Why?"

  "Sophie broke up with him. I guess it happened last Sunday. I didn't talk to him. He left a message on my phone. I called him back, asking if he wants to meet up for a drink but you know how he is. He likes to be alone after a breakup."

  "I'm the opposite. That's why I'm calling. You want to go out?"

  "Sure. What time?"

  "Like ten minutes? The usual place."

  "Yeah. See you soon."

  We meet up at the bar and order our drinks.

  "It's on me," Pete says, handing his credit card to the bartender.

  "You sure?" I ask. "There's a good chance I'll be drinking a lot."

  "Don't worry about it. Next time I break up with a girl, the drinks are on you."

  The bartender returns with our drinks.

  Pete takes a swing of his beer. "So what are you thinking?"

  "About what?" I ask, drinking my whiskey.

  "Everything. You only drink hard liquor when you don't want to think about whatever it is that's stressing you out." He smiles. "But you know I'm going to make you talk about it."

  "I just broke up with my girlfriend."

  "Yeah, but you've been wanting to do that for months. I don't think that's why you're downing whiskey right now."

  "I'll have another," I say to the bartender.

  "So what's going on?" Pete asks. "Is this about Sophie?"

  "Maybe." I swig back the rest of my drink. "I want to call her but I don't know if I should. For one, she just broke up with Tanner and if I start seeing her this soon he'll know something's up."

  "Tanner's a big boy. He can handle it."

  "Celine can't. If she finds out I'm seeing Sophie, she'll cancel the client dinner and try to get Sophie fired."

  "I didn't think about that but you're right. I could totally see her doing that." He pauses. "Are you sure Sophie even wants this? Have you two talked about it?"

  "No, but we don't need
to. It's a feeling. It doesn't need to be said."

  "I wouldn't bet on that. You might want to talk to her before getting all worked up about what's going to happen if you two start seeing each other."

  "And if I'm right?"

  He shakes his head. "I don't know, man. You're in a tough situation. If I were you, I'd hold off on doing anything until this client dinner is over. And even then, you may have to hide your relationship with her."

  "Why would I have to hide it?"

  "You want Sophie to lose her job? Because you know Celine will go after Sophie when she finds out. You know how jealous she gets."

  "Celine's not going to get Sophie fired. She wouldn't do that."

  "Aiden, seriously?" Pete turns to me. "This is Celine we're talking about. She got that girl at the shoe store fired for not ordering the right size."

  "She didn't get her fired. She just complained to the manager."

  "And the girl got fired. You don't think the two are connected?"

  "Okay, fine, so maybe I'll hide it until this dinner is over, but after that, there's nothing Celine can do to get Sophie fired."

  "She could hire them for another event. And you know she would. She'd do it just to get Sophie fired."

  I hate to agree with him but he's right. If Celine was angry enough, she would totally do that.

  "And what about your job?" Pete asks. "You just broke up with your boss' daughter."

  "Roger isn't going to fire me for that. I make him a lot of money. I'm always bringing in new contracts, more than anyone else there."

  "It may not matter if you've upset his little girl."

  "He's not like that. He doesn't let his personal life interfere with his business." I slide my empty whisky glass to the side and replace it with the full one. "I'm not worried about my job, but I do think there's some truth in what you said about Celine going after Sophie. Maybe I could talk to her. Stop her before she does anything."

  "Aiden, she's not going to listen to you. She hates you for leaving her, and when she finds out there's someone else, she's going to hate you even more. And to get back at you, she'll go after the person you care about."

  "Sophie." I blow out a breath, frustrated and angry because I know that he's right. Celine doesn't handle rejection well, and her way of getting back at me is to go after what matters most to me.