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AT TWO P.M. I RUSHED off to a meeting. I rushed into the board room, and lucky me. There was only one seat left at the table and it was right next to Tom. I groaned silently.
“Please have a seat, Jenna,” Tom’s father said.
“Yes, Mr. Larchwood.”
I smiled and took a seat next to Tom. I couldn’t have his dad suspecting anything, especially hostility. I was uncomfortable and distracted the entire time. I don’t think I heard a word the man said. My mind kept drifting back to the heat of Tom’s kisses.
Next time, I would arrive early to the meeting and sit next to other colleagues. It just took clever planning to dodge him. Change my break times. Come early to meetings.
While everyone stayed for donuts, I quickly left and headed back to my office. As the elevator doors started to shut, Tom inched his way in. My emotions were sitting in a big, giant pile and I needed to sort them. Bumping into him wasn’t helping me one single bit. The I-want-us-to-end-up-together mind set is something I refused to be stuck in. I wasn’t going to pine for my knight in shining armor. I told myself the ache would fade. Would it?
“Hey,” he said. “No donuts?”
“Nah. I’m watching my girlish figure.”
His gaze met mine. I knew we both felt the physical and sexual attraction we had for each other. I could see it in his eyes.
“We need to really talk this out,” he said. “Even more painful feelings will result from not saying what’s on your mind.”
“Right. I’m guessing you don’t like the silent treatment so much.”
“No, I don’t.”
“Do we need an exit interview from this romantic relationship?” I asked.
His eyes were so intense, I wanted to look away.
“We do need to tie up some loose ends,” he said.
“Do you need closure?” I asked. “Or are you rethinking this? Because there is nothing left to discuss. We’re over. I’ll leave you alone. End. Of. Story.”
He ran a hand through his messy, bedhead hair.
“Wanna hit the button?” I said. “Or were you planning a repeat of what happened the last time we were in an elevator together alone?”
He let out a nervous laugh and pressed the button. “That was one of my biggest fantasies come true.”
“I’m so happy I could accommodate.” The elevator started to move, and I looked over at him. “I bet you’re sweating right about now. So...was the office fling really worth it?”
“It wasn’t a fling. You know how much you meant to me. But we need to be discreet.”
“Are you worried I’m going to send out announcements about my broken heart? Or are you worried I’m going to gossip about us at the water cooler and ruin your chances of becoming CEO? Because you know I would never dent your image of being Mr. Wonderful. Trust me, your reputation will not take a hit. And I promise not to file a grievance so we both won’t be under the microscope. I’m sure your PR team wants to sweep this under the carpet.”
“They don’t know.”
“Then don’t tell them. Because my lips are sealed. We never happened. I’ve erased it from my memory. And my number one rule is: Confide in no one.”
“Except Rose...”
“Well, she’s different. And she’s seeing your brother. So I got blackmail material on her. She won’t say a word. And if anyone sniffs around, I’ll deny, deny, deny, then I’ll deny some more. So you do the same thing. Confess nothing to nobody no matter how much heat is put on.”
“That was my plan.”
It went quiet from that moment on. We didn’t make small talk. It was awkward. My emotions were raw. My heart was bleeding. I thought it was better to stay quiet. I didn’t want to add kerosene to the ‘office drama’ fire. For goodness sake, the man was my boss. He controlled my paycheck. He controlled when I could have days off. My vacations. And...if anyone found out, well, co-workers could get jealous. Any promotion or pay increase I might get, well, it would be viewed with suspicion by co-workers, and I could lose their friendship and respect if they thought that my relationship with Tom was a step on the career ladder. Any praise for a job well done would be considered suspicious and not earned. What was I thinking getting involved with him? When the bell dinged, I rushed out. Longest minute of my life!
When Tom caught me in the hallway, he pulled me to the side.
His cell rang.
“You better get that,” I said.
He answered it and spoke briefly. He ended it with, “I’ll see you tonight.”
I shook my head. Unbelievable. Did he have a date this fast with somebody not from the office?
“That was...”
I held up a hand to motion him to stop. “It doesn’t matter. I don’t care.”
Okay, so maybe I did. But I wasn’t going to let him know that. He put his phone back in his pocket. All I had to do was get through the next couple of hours, and I could go home.
“Is this work related?” I asked.
My mind drifted off to his soft kisses and the way we used to snuggle up together.
There was a spark in his eyes. “No, Jenna, it’s just...”
“Stop right there. I don’t want to talk about anything unless it concerns our job.”
His brow lifted. “Why are you being like this?”
I looked at him straight in the eyes. “You chose this. This is what you wanted. Remember?”
“Jenna,” he said. “Do you have any idea how hard it is to break up with someone you care deeply about?”
“Yeah, I do. But we’re done. You said that. And it seems like you’re not getting the memo you sent.”
“I love you.”
“I love you is eight letters...so is bullshit.”
“You don’t mean that,” he said.
“Thanks. Not interested. But... seeing you is unavoidable. So let’s keep it as professional as possible.”
“So, you won’t need any copies...in the copy room, the one on the south wing. The one that anyone hardly uses.”
He shot me a sexy look, but I wasn’t taking the bait. And why the mixed signals? Was this some crazy mind game? Was it a control thing? I thought about his kisses. When we worked late on a project one night in my office... No, I couldn’t relive those!
“Listen, I need what only you can provide,” I said.
His wavy hair was slightly tousled. His sultry blue eyes looked at me hungrily. I wanted to run a hand over his strong, chiseled jawline. Tom wore a black suit that was tailored perfectly. He filled out the suit nicely with his powerful arms and broad shoulders. I knew what his rock hard body looked like underneath. It was delectable. And it took every ounce of willpower I had not to drag him off to the copy room and kiss him. He looked so sexy, so hot.
He was simply a vision.
Tom inched closer, his lips hovering ever so closely to mine. In a bold move, his arms wrapped around my waist. “And what’s that?”
Staring at his gorgeous body had made me lose focus of the conversation. “Um, I’m sorry. What?”
His lips hovered over mine. “You said you need what only I can provide.”
I stepped back. “Your absence. Unless it’s work related, of course.”
His confident smiled disappeared by the new reality I was giving him.
I walked away without even glancing over my shoulder. I stood strong. And I was quite proud of myself.
“Bravo,” said Michael clapping. “I don’t think a woman has ever told a Larchwood brother to go jump in the lake.”
“Not now, Michael,” said Tom.
As Tom went to come after me, his brother held him back.
“Let her go,” he said. “It’s what you wanted. You can’t have the job and the girl. So pick one. And you did. So stopping feeling bad by trying to rip the Band-Aid off painstakingly slow. You know that way only hurts more.”
“Maybe I’m not experienced as you because I don’t break up with girls on a monthly basis.”
“You’ve changed your mind? Is the job mine, brother?”
“You have some nerve to talk? When we both know who you are dating.”
“Screw the job. Screw, Father. I’m not giving up my girl.”
“Then you’ll never be CEO.”
“You want both. But you know that’s not the way it works,” Michael said. “You just have to decide which one you want more.”
“You know the reasons!”
“Quit jumping through hoops to rationalize your reasons.”
“Quit talking to me about my love life. You have no room to talk. You’re a serial subordinate seducer.”
“A what?” Michael scoffed.
“Yeah. You heard me!”
“You’re calling me a serial lover?”
“You’re not happy unless you’re making regular conquests,” said Tom.
“Not true. I just couldn’t find the woman that was right for me. But now I have.”
“The most rewarding part of any relationship is the thrill of the chase with victory at the end. You’ve become quite skilled at chasing beautiful women. You know how to flirt, flatter, charm, and entice.”
“Stop it, Tom.”
“You enjoy the chase far too much. But you become bored once the hunt is over. Then it’s on to your next victim. I really feel bad for Rose because she’s such a sweet girl.”
I could hear them arguing as I walked down the hall even faster, trying to get away as far as possible. Screaming matches in the office? Seriously? Good thing everyone was still at the meeting.
My phone dinged, and I glanced down at the screen.
Please talk to me, read Tom’s text message.
Talk to him? About what? He wanted to be CEO. And that meant he had to give me up. Even if he did love me. But the more I pondered, I realized he couldn’t possibly love me as much as he said he did. Look at Michal. He was ready to pick Rose any day. Because she mattered to him. She was his first priority.
I decided to ‘ghost’ Tom and not respond. I felt ten times better. I refused to carry around emotional baggage indefinitely. Better yet, I took Rose’s advice and deleted his number, then blocked him. Our love was meant to fade off into the mist like a ship in the darkness.
I called Rose and told her how strong I was.
“Don’t go back to his ready waiting arms,” she said.
I laughed. “What does that mean?”
“It means he misses you. But he can’t have a relationship with you. But he’s ready and waiting on Friday and Saturday nights.”
“Trust me. I have more self-respect than that.”
“Good.”
“I’m going to be late coming home. I’m canceling my gym membership. I’m buying a treadmill and working out at home.”
“I like it. Although, there are some hot guys at the gym. Why don’t you try a different gym?”
“Do you know he had the nerve to bust out the ‘can we be friends’ line in a text?”
“I hope you said, no you jerk! But we’ll be professional at work.”
“Yep.”