The Fastest Way to Fall(94)
“Sure,” she said, setting the water bottle down and smoothing her skirt. “I’m sure flip-flopping on the heels of your CEO sleeping with a client paid to review the app won’t bother your investors at all. I said we were bringing the best of both platforms together, but I’ll just walk it back. While I’m doing that, why don’t I tip off the press you were with her when she crash dieted into the ER. That’ll speak volumes to your superior coaching, won’t it?”
Her blasé tone and barely veiled threat hit me like a two-by-four. “Are you kidding me with this? You’d do all of this because I rejected you? In what universe do you think this would make me want to be with you, and when did you become this fucking vindictive?”
“I already told you, I’m not trying to seduce you. I’m just letting you know the score.” Kelsey assessed my features and dragged a finger down my biceps. Her expression softened, voice shifting into a fake sympathetic tone. “You miss the fat girl. You really had it bad for her, huh?”
My voice was a growl. “You don’t get to talk about her.”
Cord stepped between us, and Kelsey gave me a pitying look but straightened. “Fine. It’s not really about her, anyway, and I’m not being vindictive, Wes. I’m sure you don’t believe it, but I’m being prudent and saving my company. Mixing up the heart and head was never my thing. That was always you.” She smoothed her skirt again and stepped back. “I did want you back, Wes, and I am sorry for how I treated you four years ago. I really am. I truly hoped we could start up again, but you said no, and it sucked, but I’m not a thirteen-year-old girl. I listened, and I got over it. I do what I need to take care of myself. Survival is my top priority. You’ve always known that, and you know why.” She held my gaze for a beat, and all the reasons I’d forgiven her crap for years washed over me. The fucked-up families club. This was different, though, and before I could respond, she waved over her shoulder and strutted out the door. “We can meet next week to hammer out the details. Take some time to think about the benefits.”
I stared at the doorway, fists clenched at my side, my heart thudding in my chest with rage, a memory, and emotions I couldn’t name.
Cord called out to Pearl, “Can you get Mason and legal and . . . I don’t know, get everyone together ASAP?” He paced the small room. “What did you ever see in her?”
“She’s changed,” I muttered, leaning back against my desk.
“Are you serious?” He stared at me in disbelief. “Kelsey was always all about Kelsey.”
“She has her reasons, but I never thought she’d pull something like this.”
Years of memories crashed down on me. The eye rolls. The dismissive tones. The hundreds of small ways she’d reminded me I was expendable, so I had no upper hand. The way I’d thought I was saving her, even when she made it very clear she didn’t want or need saving. Kelsey made sure she had control in every situation. It was something I’d admired in her at first.
“Well, sorry to burst your bubble.” Cord kicked his feet up on the desk. “I should have known not to trust her on this. What just happened is pure Kelsey.” He motioned around the room. “There’s no fucking way we’re going through with her asinine idea.”
Pearl walked in with Mason, who clapped his hands together. “Okay, Pearl and I have been talking. We have some ideas.”
57
WES AND I had never run together in Hyde Park, and I set off down the path, appreciating the dewy early-morning air on the cusp of a hot day, and the lack of memories. My feet hit the pavement, my mind ready to be out of the house and my body playing catch-up. I’d made a new playlist, and my footfalls matched the bass in the pop song. As I ran, I saw a few other early risers, and my mind wandered as muscle memory took over.
I hadn’t talked to Wes in two weeks following our breakup sex, which had been intense and emotional and had lasted as long as we were both able. But it had ended, and I’d left. I wouldn’t have been able to say a real goodbye to him. It had seemed easier. It hadn’t been.
Breathe. Breathe. Breathe.
I’d been surprised that on top of missing Wes, I’d missed this. I’d missed that moment when I knew I was pushing myself a little farther, to go a little faster. I’d missed writing, too. I’d opened my journals and my laptop a hundred times, but I’d had nothing to say, so I stared at a blank screen. In a few days, I was going back to work, and my stomach hurt thinking about returning and facing everyone, especially Claire. I’d thought we were becoming friends.
Breathe. Breathe. Breathe.
A familiar figure walking nearby caught my eye. Skinny jeans and an overly styled mustache. Ben was walking down the street near the park, talking on the phone. With his painstakingly messy hair and trendy clothes, I had to wonder what I’d seen in him for so long. Thinking about how into him I’d been was like unearthing a relic, something worn from time and dust covered—I didn’t recognize it. I slowed, not wanting to literally run into him.
I waited for the memories of that night to crash into me, for the shame of years of chasing a guy who didn’t want me to hit. It didn’t. Since him, I’d had Wes, who was a thousand times funnier and genuinely caring, not to mention sexy and generous and someone who believed in me. More than that, I’d had me! The last few months had given me countless opportunities to realize how much more I deserved than the scraps of time Ben had been willing to toss my way.