“Are you going to come sit down, Blake, or are we holding this meeting in the hallway?” Pierce asks, leaning back in his chair. For a second, he reminds me of Wade; I hate comparing the two.
I glance over at Blake. He’s pondering, hands fisted at his side, eyes narrowed in on the man I was entangled with just minutes ago. A still frame of it could definitely go next to uncomfortable in the dictionary. “Did you call me here for a meeting, Stanley, or did you call me here to prove that you have bigger balls?”
Pierce has a smug look on his face, but as he looks over at me, his expression softens instantly. If he thought this was going to be okay—that I was somehow going to not see through him—he was wrong. He didn’t just hurt Blake; he hurt me.
His eyes shift back to Blake. “A meeting, of course. We just lost track of time.”
Blake steps into the room, walking right past me to the side the table opposite Pierce. I watch—panicked—as he leans over the table. “I swear to God … if you are using her to get back at me, I will fucking kill you. She’s not a prize. She’s not a way to punish me, and so help me God, if you hurt her—”
Pierce stands swiftly, leaning in until their faces are only about a foot apart. “I would never hurt her because I love her. Do you know what love is because I seriously doubt it.” My heart races, and I have no idea what to do to make this all stop. “And while we’re having our man to man, I’m going to warn you once to stay the fuck away from her outside of work. I was the one who picked up the pieces you left behind, and I’m not going to sit here and let you hurt her again.”
“I was protecting her,” Blake says through gritted teeth.
Pierce tilts his head, the look on his face absolutely murderous. “I forgot how good you are at protecting women.”
Blake reaches across the table, grabbing Pierce’s collar, and I can’t take it anymore. “Stop! Just stop it right now, or I’m going to walk out of this room … out of this damn building. I’ve had it.” Tears threaten to spill. I feel weak … I hate feeling weak.
Without another word, I walk straight out of the room, disappearing around the corner to the nearest restroom. It’s only when I’m there that I let the tears fall. I’m tired of everything. You think you have everything figured out, but you never really do.
I pull a paper towel from the dispenser, letting all the scenarios play over in my head. The two of them could be engaged in an unsanctioned UFC fight for all I know. God knows neither one of them can stay quiet for too long.
Pierce needs to realize Blake isn’t the reason she’s gone. I think he knows it deep down inside, but it’s easier for him to deal with if he has someone to blame.
And Blake … he needs to come to grips with my relationship with Pierce. I wasn’t going to sit around and mourn the loss of what we had forever.
I wipe the black streaks from my cheeks and run my fingers under my eyes before gathering the nerve to walk back into the conference room. I’m really starting to despise conference rooms.
To my surprise, Pierce is the only one in the room. He sits with his back to me, head in his hands.
As I walk up behind him, I let my heels click on the floor as to not scare him. I place my hand on his shoulder, squeezing gently because at the end of the day, I know his actions are sparked by his pain. “Pierce.”
He looks up, eyes red and puffy. “I fucked up,” he says. “I won’t do it again.”
I hold his face in my hands, rubbing my thumbs against his light stubble. “You’ll fuck up again because no one is perfect. Just don’t fuck up like that. Don’t you ever do that to me again.”
He rests his forehead against my stomach. “I need you.”
“You have me,” I say, running my fingers through his hair.
“Only because he left.”
I step back, taking away his veil. He looks up, and I swear he just ran through hell and back. He’s not the same man I met on the airplane months ago. “I’m with you because I want to be with you.”
“Then move in with me.”
Shaking my head, I say, “It’s too soon. We just started this, and I don’t want to ruin it by jumping in headfirst. It doesn’t mean I’m not committed to us.”
He nods, pulling me back to him so he can rest his cheek against my stomach. “I’m an asshole.”
I curl his hair around my fingers. “I thought we already defined that, and you didn’t fit into the category.”
“There are many definitions. We’re all assholes from time to time.”
“Believe it or not, I already figured that out.”
He laughs. “There you go showing your brilliance again.”
For a couple minutes, we stay just like that. Me wrapping his hair around my fingers. Him holding me as close as he can without hurting me. I wouldn’t accept his apology if I couldn’t feel it; it’s engraved deep in the center of my heart.
“Where did Blake go?” I ask, breaking through the quietness that was mending us back together.
“Home. You two can meet here whenever you need to, and I promise I’ll stay out of it. We both decided today isn’t the best day to start.”
My fingers halt for a second then start again. “What made you decide to change your mind?”
“This project is important to you, and you’ve worked hard on it. It’s obvious that having Blake and I in the same room isn’t going to move it along,” he starts. “And, I trust you. If this is what I have to do to prove that to you, I’ll do it.”
I kneel in front of him, looking into his eyes. “Thank you.”
He kisses me much the same way he had this morning, but this time, it’s just us. Our relationship has cracks, but it’s nothing a little effort can’t fix.
When I can no longer feel my lips, he pulls away. “I’m giving you the rest of the day off.”
“What?”
“And I’m taking the rest of the day off, too.”
I smile, thinking of all the possibilities. “What did you have in mind?”
He grins like a child standing in front of an ice cream truck. “You’ll see.”
Ten minutes later, we’re in the back of a black limo with heavily tinted windows. Not Pierce’s usual style, especially mid-day. “Where are we going?” I ask as soon as we pull away from the curb.
He slips off our seat, kneeling in front of me. “When we were in New York, the car ride wasn’t quite long enough.” He spreads my legs then runs his fingers up my thighs, taking my dress with them. “I want to do everything with you.”
His thumbs brush against my core as I slowly slide toward the end of the seat—closer to him. He’s becoming really good at erasing my anger … erasing some of the fragments of bad memories. I feel my panties being pulled off my legs and close my eyes, letting him take me wherever he wants to go.
He pulls my legs further apart. “Relax,” he instructs before burying his face between them. His tongue laps my sensitive skin, heating my entire body. It’s not even noon, and I’m having sex in the back of a limo; Chicago has definitely changed me.
I breathe heavily, climbing higher with every stroke. I could fall apart now, but I don’t let myself, not yet. What he’s doing feels too good. I wish these moments lasted forever.
With no more control left, I fall apart, quietly saying his name over and over. He doesn’t stop until I’ve said it more times in six minutes than I have in six months.
“How do you feel now?” he asks, laying his head on my thigh.
“Like nothing else matters.”
He kisses the inside of my thigh. “And you forgive me?”
“I did that before we even left the building. It’s hard to stay mad at you, Pierce Stanley.”
He looks up. “And you’re not running this time. That’s another memory I can replace.”
New York.
“How much time do we have left in here?” I ask, biting down hard on my lower lip.