What He Wants (Second Chances #1.5)(4)

Opening my purse, I found my phone and dialed April’s number. She was my friend and also my hair stylist. One of the perks of being her friend was that any time I needed something done in a hurry she would always fit me in.

“Well, well … let me guess,” she chimed playfully. “You want to go out tonight?”

Chuckling, I pulled out onto the street and began my way to freedom. “Of course, it’s the last day of school. I need to celebrate my independence. Do you want to meet me at my house at seven?”

“I’ll be there. Just have us a glass of wine poured up when I walk through the door. We’ll make Lia drive tonight since you were the designated driver last time.”

“Sounds good. I’ll call her and tell her to come over.”

After we hung up the phone, I was about to call Lia when another call came through; it was Daniel. I scoffed and hit ‘ignore’ before tossing it into my bag. For the past couple of weeks he’d been trying to get me back, calling nonstop and saying how much he still loved me. I’d ignored him, even when he’d show up at my house in the middle of the night. Thankfully, my cousin Mason had changed all of the locks and made sure there was no way Daniel could get in.

“You can go f*ck yourself, Daniel. Tonight you don’t exist.”

I was going to live my life and enjoy every single second of it.





“MR. WALKER?”

Getting to my feet with a smile on my face, I approached the elderly lady sitting behind the desk. Between her white hair, which was pulled up into a bun, and the wrinkles adorning her face I figured she had to be in her mid-sixties. Wearing a sweater vest with cats on it, she reminded me of my grandmother.

Standing at her desk, she looked up at me and grinned. “Thank you for being patient. Mr. Matthews is ready for you.” She pointed to the closed door across the hall from her desk and nodded. “You can walk right on in, Mr. Walker. It was a pleasure meeting you. I’m sure I’ll see you again soon.”

I hope so.

I had an interview with the top architectural firm in the United States, and if I got this job I could go anywhere; there would be no limits to what I could do. My father was an important man in the political community and I knew I could build my own company with his help, but I didn’t want to owe him anything. It pissed him off to know that I was going to work for someone else when I had the means to do everything on my own.

At the door, I knocked once and opened it slowly to be respectful, even though I’d been told to go in; I didn’t want to barge inside like I owned the place. Galen Matthews, the owner of M&M Architectural Design, looked up from his desk when I walked in and immediately stood and extended his hand, smiling.

Galen inherited the company from his father, who’d recently passed. When I first showed interest in working for them, he’d been the one I had spoken to … not Galen. His father wanted me to work for them and practically offered me the job, but before things could get under way, he died. I had no clue he had talked to Galen about me, but when I got the call a few weeks ago asking if I was still interested in the job I was taken by surprise.

“Brett, it’s good to finally meet you. My father talked very highly of you.”

Galen’s grasp was firm when I took his hand and shook it. “I’m honored that he would say such things. He was a good man.”

Galen let go of my hand and motioned to the seat in front of his desk. “Yes, he was. Have a seat so we can get started.”

When I sat down, Galen pursed his lips and leaned back in his chair, narrowing his gaze curiously. He was thirty years old with ash-blond hair and blue eyes, which could see straight through me; if he was anything like his father, he was smart as hell.

“All right, so I’m not going to sit here and go through the motions of an interview. I already know you could be out there being my strongest competitor. You have the means to build your own empire, but yet you’re not doing it. Why is that?”

Sighing, I sat back in my chair and looked straight into his eyes when I replied, “One of these days I want to be on my own, but it’s not right now. I want to work my way to the top, not have it handed to me; the same way you worked hard to follow in your father’s footsteps. You didn’t just inherit M&M because of blood … you worked hard for it.”

Silently, Galen stared at me for a moment and released a heavy sigh before turning his lips up into a smile. “That was a good answer. I think you’ll do great here. I’m actually going to be looking for a partner in the near future. When the time is right, and if you decide you want to keep working for M&M, I’d love to consider you.”

Wide-eyed, I followed Galen’s lead and got to my feet. “Really? Even if you haven’t seen my work?”

Putting on his coat, he smiled and shrugged his shoulders. “What can I say? My father knew who the best were and he considered you one of the best. I trust his judgment. Now come on and let’s celebrate. I’ll buy you a drink … that is, if you still want the job.”

He walked around his desk and slapped me on the shoulder before opening his office door. That had to be one of the fastest interviews I’d ever been in. “Yes,” I claimed wholeheartedly. “I wouldn’t pass up this opportunity for anything.”

“Good, now let’s go.”