Wasted Love with You (Wasted Love 1)

“Are we?” He taps his fingers against the armrest, looking more upset by the second. “Riddle me this, Mr. Rochester,” he says. “How do you honestly see this arrangement working long-term with you and Miss Jane?”

He doesn’t give me a chance to answer that.

“The moment she finds out that you already knew who she was, when she discovers how you knew her name…” He pauses. “Whenever that darkness comes into the light, I doubt she’ll stick around, so there’s no point in her being anywhere near you now.”

“She’ll never find out.”

“Then what happens if she gets close enough to see what keeps you up at night, what weaknesses—”

“I don’t have any of those,” I interrupt him. “And if you think I didn’t carefully weigh all my options before dealing with her, then you don’t know me at all.”

Silence.

“I’m worried.”

“You shouldn’t be.”

“Whether or not you want to admit it, she’s already far past the ‘just an employee’ or ‘just someone I like’ lines, and that’s never happened before.” His tone is a lot softer now. “I’ve never seen you look at any woman the way you look at her, and I do know you. I know you better than you know yourself.”

“Then what’s my next best move?”

“Let her go before this gets ugly.”

“My second best move.”

“There isn’t one.”

He moves from my chair, taking a different seat, and my phone suddenly sounds with a new call.

Autumn.

“I need to take this in my bedroom,” I say. “I’ll come back to finish this conversation.”

“Don’t bother,” he says. “Just think about the last time you had to rush off and take a call from a courier without me listening.”

“I can’t think of any.”

“Exactly.”

End of Episode 24

Episode 25

Autumn

Hours Later

Ring, ring, ring…

Ryder’s line sounds in my ear as I step onto the jet bridge.

If it weren’t for the fact that I overstuffed my duffle bag, I would be running right now. And I would probably break my personal record while getting away from the man at my side—a Wall Street guy who flirted with me the last hour of the flight.

Multiple times, I tried to end our pointless conversation with a polite laugh or an “Okay, I need to finish listening to my podcast now,” but he’d interpreted that as some type of challenge.

Yet, no matter how much he showed off his fancy watch or bragged about the exotic places he’s traveled, all I could think about was the man who’d steered me out of harm’s way earlier. The man who was turning my life upside down with ease.

“Are you sure you don’t want to exchange numbers?” Wall Street Guy asks, smiling. “You’re beautiful, and I’d love to show you a good time while you’re in town.”

“I’m sure,” I say. “Sorry.”

“Well, if that ever changes,” he says, pulling a business card from his pocket, “call me. I’ll drop everything in my life for a woman like you.”

I take the paper between my fingertips, making a mental note to throw it in the trash the moment he’s out of sight.

“Nice talking to you and I hope you call,” he says, and I answer my still-ringing phone and rush down the tunnel.

“Are you going to call him?” Ryder’s deep voice catches me off guard.

“I’m not sure yet,” I say, stepping into the airport. “I should probably keep my options open when dating someone new. He seems like a much safer choice.”

“Then I’ll take that as a no,” he says, confident as ever. “Head to baggage claim and don’t talk to any more strangers. Then call me whenever you have the asset.”

“Will I be able to carry it?”

“I doubt it.” He pauses. “Be very careful with it, Autumn. It’s the most important thing in my life.”

“Okay.” I wait for him to end the call, but I can still hear him breathing over the line.

“I finished listening to that podcast episode on the plane,” I say.

“I hope it got better.”

“Worse.”

“How so?”

“All the women said their boyfriends never looked after them in dangerous situations. And they never had the opportunity to go on real dates.”

“That’s why I told you it was fiction.”

“I’m only trying to read between the lines, to get an idea of just how bad dating you might get.”

“You could always ask.”

“You’ll never answer.” I slip inside a bookstore. “So, I’m going to give you a chance to prove them wrong whenever I’m not working on a ‘job’ for you.”

“You’ll need to finish a damn job first,” he says, sounding amused. “Then you can tell me how much of that bullshit they’re claiming is true afterwards.”

“I also need you to know that you’ll never own me or my time. Do you understand that, Ryder?”

“The only thing I plan on ‘owning’ in the near future is your pussy,” he says. “And just so you understand, I plan on fucking every single question out of you, until you never feel the need to ask me another one.”