Billionaire's Second Chance

“I don’t think he could mean much else by the words ‘I’m sorry’,” I said, snappier than intended.

“No, I mean like, did he say he was apologizing for being controlling? Not just like a general ‘I’m sorry we’ve been having a fight and I want you to come back, so I’m backing down kind of a thing?”

Hmm. What had he apologized for exactly? I couldn’t be entirely sure. But I did remember he said… “He said he would not do it anymore.”

“Very interesting,” Stacey said, clearly weighing the implications of that rapidly in her head. “So you’re still going to break it off?”

“I think so… I mean… that is why I brought it up. What do you guys think?”

Nick got suddenly very preoccupied with his omelet, which was fine. I was used to him making humorous quips, but he was never one to volunteer serious advice, probably for good reason.

Stacey, on the other hand, was always full of perfect advice, so I was curious to see what she had to say – considering she was the one who had put the idea of breaking it off in my head to begin with.

“There is a good chance he is going to hurt you,” she said matter-of-factly. “He has already done it once. That said, I am not going to tell you what the right thing to do is here. I have an opinion based on very little secondhand information. I don’t know him like you know him. I don’t know what was between the two of you like you do. The only person who can realistically decide what the right thing to do here is you.”

“No, Stace! Come on, don’t choose now to be politically correct. You think I should stick to ending it don’t you?”

“I did before and I told you as much. But if he is willing to change, it’s a completely different matter. That’s what I am trying to say – there is no way for me to rightly assess if he is, in fact, going to change. You’re a much better judge of that, which is why I know whatever you decide will be the right call.”

That gave me a whole lot to think about, so for the rest of breakfast I remained almost completely quiet, thinking about what I was going to do when I got to work later that day. The fact that I was even considering all this so seriously and having second thoughts was ridiculous.

I would just have to deal with it when I saw him – perhaps I would make the right decision when faced with him in person. Right now my judgment was too clouded by the fact that I missed him, which I hated myself for.

Quickly finishing the rest of my eggs, I got up to leave. “I’ll be late for work, got to run. Thanks so much, you guys. For everything.”

“Of course. Good luck today. You’ll do the right thing, Aria,” Stacey told me and smiled. “Just don’t be too hard on yourself.”

“Have a good one, Aria!” Nick waved.

I was made up entirely of nerves by the time I left.

---

When I reached the bank, it was unusually quiet. Everyone was staring in the direction of Zayden’s office, making insincere attempts to conceal what they were doing. Mrs. Brian was gasping visibly. I put my things away in my desk, then looked up to see what the fuss was about. My heart stopped.

A beautiful blonde woman who looked like a supermodel was giggling happily at Zayden, who seemed to be slightly frustrated. It had to be a business partner. Or so I kept trying to convince myself. The woman looked older – closer to Zayden’s age, and it was a perfectly reasonable possibility that she was there for something work related. It couldn’t be anything else, could it? Ignoring the uncomfortable knot that had been forming in my chest ever since I saw the woman, I tried hard to focus on work. A good amount of data entry had piled up in the time I had been away from the office, a fact that Mrs. Brian wasted no time in reminding me.

“I’m on it,” I said, annoyed. Most of the time I could stand Mrs. Brian and her judgment and nosiness, but right now, in the midst of worrying about the woman in Zayden’s office and everything else that was going on, I had no patience for her whatsoever.

“That man has no shame,” she was muttering.

Why? Perhaps she knew who that woman was; otherwise she wouldn’t be making these comments. I was tempted to ask her if it was just a business meeting, but was not interested in the slew of questionable looks and comments that were sure to follow. So instead, I tried hard to concentrate on typing as fast as I possibly could, occasionally allowing myself a quick glance, which I couldn’t help.

The woman finally got up to leave, and to my utter shock and horror, kissed him romantically on the cheek. I couldn’t quite make out Zayden’s expression at first, but then he noticed I had been looking, and his face got pale. That was it, I couldn’t take this anymore; I would so much rather deal with Mrs. Brian than let whatever was happening consume me.

“Who is that woman?” I asked, keeping my eyes firmly on my computer and trying to sound as casual as possible.

Mrs. Brian laughed, and when I looked up at her face she looked completely thrilled to be the person to have this piece of information. She never passed on any excuse to gossip.

“Want to venture a guess?” she asked smugly.

“I don’t know. A business partner?” I said, trying not to sound too hopeful.

That made her laugh so hysterically, I felt the earth begin to shatter underneath me. “Oh dear, dear. You are so innocent. Even if that man were ever to do business with someone who looks like her, do you think it could possibly be just business?” she asked.

I shrugged, trying hard to stop the tears that were forming in my eyes. Why the hell was this making me emotional? I was going to stop the contract. Shit. I was actually falling for him. “Who then? Some woman he’s sleeping with?”

“Not just some woman. The woman.”