Unfinished Ex (Calloway Brothers, #2)(92)

I close the packet. “This is… overwhelming.”

“Congratulations, Nicole,” Xuan Le says. “You’ve managed to do what few women have done, especially at your age. You’ve been given the brass ring.”

“Thank you so much for the offer. Everyone here has been so welcoming and accommodating, and I’ve enjoyed every second.” I place the folder on her desk. “But I’m afraid I’m going to have to pass.”





Chapter Thirty-nine



Jaxon




There’s a van in my driveway when Heisman and I return from our after-school walk. A large white van. And I wonder if Cooper traded up and is back in town. When someone who isn’t my brother emerges, Heisman runs over and sniffs his shoes.

“Delivery for Nicole Forbes,” the man says.

I stand at the back of the van. “I can take it.”

“It’s big. I’ll carry it inside.”

“I’ll go unlock the door. Come on, Heisman, leave the guy alone.”

The man pats Heisman’s head and opens the back of his van. When he follows me inside, he has to turn sideways and carefully work his way through my front door. He wasn’t kidding. This has got to be the largest flower arrangement I’ve ever seen. “Where do you want it?” he asks through the dense bouquet.

“Kitchen table. These aren’t from Gigi’s Flower Shop, are they? I thought I knew all of their delivery guys.”

“I drove in from the city.”

My eyes widen. “You drove all the way from the city to deliver these?” I pull out my wallet, embarrassed that all I have is fifteen dollars. I hold it out. “I wish it could be more.”

He refuses the cash. “It’s been taken care of. XTN tips very well.”

Excitement courses through me. If XTN sent these, I know it’s good news. “Thank you.”

The guy leaves Heisman and me staring at the huge bouquet that takes up half our kitchen table.

Heisman likes the smell. He circles the table, tail wagging. I circle it myself, searching for a note buried within the flowers. I find it sticking out the back side. I shouldn’t read it, but I can’t help myself. This could be everything we’ve dreamed about these past months.

I open the envelope carefully, intending to put the note back and act surprised when Nicky tells me the news. But what I read turns out to be the opposite of what I’d hoped for.



Nicole,

Please reconsider our offer. You breathe light into XTN. These few months with you have shown us what’s missing. You would be a welcome permanent addition to our family.

All my best,

Xuan Le Kim



Xuan Le? As in the president of XTN? The president sent her a note and a basket of flowers that probably cost more than a year’s worth of dog food, begging her to reconsider.

The front door opens. Heisman rushes to greet Nicky. I pull out a chair and sit next to the monstrous arrangement. She turns the corner and sees the flowers. “Wow, those are—”

“From XTN.”

“I don’t leave for another few weeks, but that was still nice of them.”

I shake my head, anger crawling up my spine like rungs of a ladder. “We promised we’d never lie to each other again, Nic.”

“Lie?”

I hold out the note. “You got a job offer and turned it down? What the hell were you thinking?

This is everything we’ve hoped for.”

She reads the note and sits heavily on the chair next to me. “It’s not what you think.”

“Then enlighten me, because unless the job they offered was overnight janitor, you have some goddamn explaining to do.”

“Brenton Carmichael resigned.”

“The nighttime guy?”

“Yes. Tom Killian was moved into his position of chief meteorologist. I was sure they’d want Makenna for Tom’s position, but they wanted me.”

“You? As weekday weather anchor? Oh my god, Nicky. That’s incredible. Isn’t that a senior position?”

“A senior position that demands a great deal of hours and huge responsibility.” She rubs her small baby bump. “A lot has happened this past week. I still have a high-risk pregnancy, not to mention how much time I’d have to spend away from you and the baby.”

“But it’s everything you’ve ever dreamed of.”

She swallows and looks away. I can tell this is tearing her apart inside. “My priorities have changed.”

I get up and lean against the counter. “What does that mean? That you’d rather work fifteen hundred miles away at some cushy job in Oklahoma City than bust your ass for the one you’ve worked so hard to get right here in New York? You’d rather us spend weekends on planes for, what, thirty-six hours with each other? You’d rather our kid only get to spend a few weeks here and there with me?

Those are your priorities?”

“I don’t think you fully understand this. I’d have to be up at three a.m. Monday through Friday.

That means I’d need to go to bed by eight p.m.”

“We’d have weekends.”

“In a perfect world. But do you know how often I run into Tom at the station on weekends? The weather doesn’t stop at five p.m. on Friday night, Jaxon. I’d basically be on call all the time.