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Chapter Thirty-Five
Mia
The next morning was spent reviewing photos that had been taken by Terry. Red pencils were out and photos were being marked up to show where changes or edits on the original files needed to take place.
Terry looked so handsome as he sat at the head of the table, commanding the attention of everyone in the room.
I smiled, watching the veins in his arms become more pronounced as he moved, stretched, and made markings on the photos. I thought about the way those same veins had flexed as he held himself over me. The way he was always so careful to make sure he wasn’t crushing me or hurting me, even though I repeatedly told him I would give anything to feel the weight of his body on me all night long.
His eyes caught mine, and he shot me his signature smirk and wink before turning back to the task at hand. Ally, who was sitting to my right, elbowed me.
I snuck a glance at her too. She was gazing at me, her eyebrows raised, silently asking me what was going on. I hadn’t gotten the chance to talk to her yet. When I came in, Catherine was waiting to talk to me about an interview a local morning show wanted to do with me. We had been in my office all morning discussing the details.
I, of course, was going to do it. I was just scared about what it could mean. Becoming the natural face of this company could mean that Chad would come out of hiding. That thought always scared me more than anything. One of the last things he had said to me when we were together was that it wasn’t over between us. Even though the boys had beaten him pretty good and threatened him, I was afraid those warnings weren’t enough. That he truly would come back to finish what he had started. I shivered at the thought.
My body reacted and shuddered with the chill that ran down my spine. Terry noticed—because he always did. His eyebrows shot up at me in question. I just gave him a shy smile and attempted to listen to what someone was telling him. I wasn’t even sure who was speaking at this point; I couldn’t focus on the voice. I couldn’t even find the face. Terry’s eyes remained on mine until he found what he was looking for. Eventually, he did, though. I must have made a good show of being okay.
I felt Ally’s hand squeeze mine underneath the conference table. Forever my protector. I squeezed it back—a silent thank you. The meeting progressed slowly, and Terry decided it was best to dismiss the rest of us, except for the staff from Art. They had some work to do.
“What do you say we go grab some lunch?” Ally asked me as we made our back to our desks.
“That sounds amazing. It’s supposed to be pretty nice out today. Should we walk to the food trucks and see what we can find?”
Ally smiled brightly at me, her blue eyes bouncing. “Yes, let’s do it, girl. And while we’re chowing down on some yummy finds, you should fill me in on the things that are happening with you and Terry. Don’t think I didn’t miss the way he was staring at you just now.”
I giggled. “Exactly how was he staring at me?” I pretended to play dumb, but I knew better. I had caught the hungry stares that he’d sent me.
Ally just left it at that. We grabbed our bags after discarding our notepads and the other items needed from the meeting. We were free for only a little while, so we needed to make the best of it.
“You know he’s going to schedule something for this afternoon. It will probably be a late afternoon meeting,” Ally said, making casual conversation as we exited the building.
“Yeah, I figured as much. I just wish we could snag him for the art director position permanently. He would be so great at it, you know?”
She nodded. “Can’t you fuck him into submission? Make him take the job because your pussy says so?”
I laughed out loud, my stiletto stumbling on the pavement. “Ally!”
“Spill it. Tell me what’s happening with the two of you.” She rolled her eyes, laughing a bit at my reaction.
“Fine,” I said, acting as if it was such a hardship. I told her of the evenings we’d been spending together and the breakthrough that had come from last evening. “He finally told me why he left me. So you don’t have to worry about me asking you that question anymore.”
“You haven’t for a while,” Ally said.
“Yeah, well, it’s a lot less dramatic than I thought the answer would be,” I admitted.
“Are you angry about it still?”
I thought for a minute. “No, I think I stopped being angry the very minute we started having sex. I think I just missed him. I was pissed at him for everything that had happened. I wanted him to have been honest with me from the beginning, and for the whole awful relationship with Chad to have never happened. But I wasn’t angry anymore. All of it brought us to where we are now. It made me who I am now, as painful as it might have been. We needed that time apart so we could come back stronger.”
“Wow,” she said when I had finished. “You really have grown up, little one.”
I stuck my tongue out at her, causing her to laugh. “Okay, so maybe not so much.”
We reached the food trucks and both decided on the Mexican truck. We grabbed our burritos, then headed to a nearby bench.
“I’m so happy for you,” Ally finally said after we had both devoured a few delicious bites of chicken, rice, and vegetables.
“Thank you. I’m kind of happy for me too,” I admitted.
