Marriage For One

“I’m not going to have this same conversation with you again. This is my last warning.”

“You telling me not to talk about this again is not us having a conversation about it.”

“What the hell has gotten into you today?” I asked, frustrated and not sure how to handle this side of my assistant.

“I told you: the day you made this ridiculous deal, I told you not to do it. This was the stupidest idea you’ve ever had.”

“You think I don’t fucking know that?” I growled, my temper boiling over. “You think I didn’t figure that out the second she went along with my plan?”

“Then what’s the problem? Just tell her.”

“Tell her what, for fuck’s sake? Tell her I basically stalked her and the more I learned about her, the more interested I became? Or should I tell her I don’t give a damn about the property?”

“You didn’t stalk her, Jack. You were trying to help her. She’ll understand when you explain it to her.”

“Trying to help by marrying her? There were a number of other things I could’ve done to help her, Cynthia. Getting married wasn’t at the top of the list—it shouldn’t have been on the list at all. I was being a selfish bastard.”

“Your own gain—”

My voice had risen enough that George, who was just passing by, stopped and opened the door.

“What’s going on here? I can hear your voices from a mile away. Aren’t you supposed to be at the Morrison and Gadd meeting?”

“I’m heading there now,” I gritted through my teeth. “We just picked up a file we needed.”

Frowning at us, George accepted the lie and, giving us a final confused look, walked away.

Cynthia started on me before I could utter another word.

“You had me look into her a year ago. Why did you wait so long to introduce yourself?”

“I’m only going to tell you one more time, Cynthia: if you ever say another word on this subject, I will fire you on the spot and not even think twice about it. I don’t give a damn whether you’re the best or not.”

Without waiting for her to even acknowledge what I had just said, I stormed out of the room and headed straight to the meeting.

By the time the meeting was over, my head was pounding and I was ready to end the day and leave. It was only five PM, though, so I was stuck in my office for a few more hours going through more paperwork.

Cynthia was smart enough to stay out of my sight the entire time. I took all my frustrations out on work and didn’t even think about anything else for the rest of the day, which is why when I ended my last phone call and lifted my head, I was so surprised to see Rose standing just outside my office door, talking to my assistant. Trying to keep my anger with Cynthia in check, I slowly rose from behind my desk and strode toward them.

When I pulled the glass door open a bit too fast, Rose jumped a little, her hand flying to her chest. “You scared me. How did you get here so fast? You were just sitting at your desk when I looked in.”

“What are you doing here?” I snapped, my eyes going from her to Cynthia.

Cynthia gave me a disapproving head shake, which I chose to ignore.

Rose’s eyes widened slightly, and I cursed myself. “I’m sorry. If this is a bad time, I don’t have to—”

“Come in.” When she didn’t move, I tried to soften my tone. “Please come in, Rose.” As she moved past me, I gave Cynthia a long look. “You’re done for the day. You can leave.”

“I was just thinking I should do that,” she replied coldly, and I gritted my teeth.

Closing the door and hoping Cynthia would leave as quickly as possible, I turned to find Rose standing in the middle of the room.

“Please, sit,” I said, gesturing to one of the leather chairs in front of my desk.

“Jack, if you’re busy—”

“I finished my last call. I’m not busy anymore.”

Keeping her eyes on me, she slowly sat down, her eyes studying me. “You look extra grumpy. I can leave.”

I sighed and ran my hand over my face, trying to get it together. “Extra grumpy?” I asked, my brows rising. She bit on her lower lip and shrugged. I had to force my gaze away from her mouth before I forgot about everything else and just acted. “No, you don’t have to leave. Too many meetings, too many calls, that’s all. I didn’t mean to be harsh out there, I just wasn’t expecting to see you.”

“That’s usually my line. You always show up when I’m not expecting you.” I couldn’t manage to smile back. “Ray came to the coffee shop when I was getting ready to close up, when he asked whether he should take me back to the apartment or pick you up first, I thought it’d be a nice change of pace—me picking you up, I mean.”