The part I didn’t expect was how pissed Max was with me, too. She barely spoke to me now, even by her usual standards. She wasn’t even going to the trouble of fucking with me day in and day out. My toothbrush hadn’t been accidentally knocked into the toilet a single time. My socks weren’t mysteriously soaked with water in the morning. She hadn’t even done her old favorite of tying quadruple knots in all my ties.
Maybe worst of all, I was back to not sleeping. I almost wished I hadn’t had a momentary taste of what it felt like to be normal again when I passed out in Lola’s room a few days ago. Now I was back to tossing and turning for a few minutes before getting out of bed to squeeze in more work in the late hours of the night.
The only somewhat good news was that I’d slowly but surely been managing to put together deals and repair our reputation with some former clients. It meant I was on the phone more than I liked and kissing far more ass than I ever preferred, but I was seeing the number of accounts we represented growing by the day. Our numbers for this quarter were on track to be up by six percent, and even Trisha Frost wouldn’t be able to argue with the quality of my leadership.
But fucking Lola was always lurking in the back of my mind. Even when I was on track to get the things I thought I wanted, I still knew I’d made a mess of things with her. I halfway expected the twenty-thousand-dollar bonus I sent yesterday to arrive back in my mail on fire with a “Fuck you” note attached. I was relieved to see she’d deposited the money, though, and hoped she was enjoying it.
I had no ill-will towards Lola. That was actually the problem. I wanted her to be happy. I wanted her to enjoy her life here. Even if that meant dating some other asshole from town or work…
I grimaced and shook my head as the thought skidded across my mind. No. That was a fucking lie. I wanted Lola to live a long, happy, sexless life of chastity and for her to remain happily single. Why? Because I was a selfish asshole and I wanted her for myself, even if I knew I couldn’t have her. And if I couldn’t have her, I didn’t want anyone else enjoying those soft curves.
I tried to distract myself with the numbers on one of our new accounts. In the early days, that had always been my refuge. There was peace when I was completely immersed in the numbers and the finances. There were rules to numbers that made sense and never changed. I knew what to expect when I was in a spreadsheet, and I knew how to make the numbers do exactly what I wanted.
But fucking people? They followed no rules. They were chaotic and irritating and always making me feel like the world’s biggest idiot. It was why I’d decided I was better off interacting with them as little as possible. My sleepless nights made that a hell of a lot easier, since I was often too grouchy and sleep-deprived to force my way through small talk or pleasantries. People quickly learned to avoid me at all costs. I growled and glared, then they ran.
Except Lola hadn’t been like the rest. She’d given it back to me better than I gave it. Even she had her limits, though. I was enough of an asshole last time that she was finally like all the other ones. She was doing everything in her power to avoid me. She wasn’t even cheekily waving and smiling at the cameras anymore–which I knew because I was pathetic and I’d gone back to checking in on them from time to time.
I sighed and rocked back in my chair. A new email came to my inbox and I read it, frowning. My secretary had forwarded an invitation to tonight’s Fairhope marshmallow roast. Apparently, the whole town would be there, including most of my employees. My secretary thought it would be good for company morale if I made an appearance.
I grinned humorlessly. She was in her late seventies and too old and sweet to realize my appearance would have the opposite effect. Still, I couldn’t help picturing Lola showing up and that asshole Chase finding her. I imagined the two of them sitting thigh to thigh with marshmallows dangling on sticks, laughing as they ate. Chase would probably pull some corny move like telling her she had something on her lip and lean in to get it with his thumb, then they’d kiss, and–
I fired off an email before I could think.
I’ll be there.
C. Stone
23
LOLA
No matter how hot the days were in Colorado, the low humidity meant they cooled off to a pleasant, if not slightly too cold, temperature when the sun set. I had on jeans and a flirty crop top as I walked from my apartment to the town square. Avoiding Mr. Stone had been a great decision.