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“Are you two serious?” Lincoln growled.
I jumped a little, tearing my gaze away from Jamie’s hypnotic one.
“I should have known something was going on between you two. The secret conversations and Jamie making googly eyes at you.” Lincoln scoffed in disgust. “Right in front of me… the disrespect.”
That made Jamie wince. “Disrespecting or hurting you wasn’t our intention. I thought about telling you, but you were hellbent on getting Charlotte back and I wasn’t sure how she felt about you…” He sighed heavily and shoved his fingers through his hair.
My sentiments exactly. This conversation was incredibly awkward. It was like we were caught up in a love triangle that wasn’t really a love triangle… weird.
A frown creased Lincoln’s brow as he gave us disapproving looks. “I don’t care about what you intended. Don’t expect me to be happy about my best friend hooking up with my ex-girlfriend behind my back. Don’t expect me to be forgiving either.”
I watched with a sinking feeling as he stormed out, leaving Jamie and me in tense silence. I couldn’t come between their friendship.
Jamie turned to me. “Charlotte, I’ll talk to him. I can get through to him…”
“No, if you go home and never mention me again, the whole thing will blow over. He’ll eventually forgive you as long as…” I swallowed.
“As long as there’s no us?”
I nodded sadly. “Why ruin your friendship over something that won’t work out anyway? You live in Manhattan, and I’m here. You’re…” He was a billionaire and I was… nobody. Completely different worlds…
Jamie stared at me, waiting for me to finish and when I didn’t, he asked, “What makes you so sure we wouldn’t work?” There was a distinct echo of hurt in his voice, but I ignored it. “Sure, there’s the distance, but?—”
“Jamie, we’ve already hurt Lincoln. The least we can do is respect him. He clearly can’t stand the thought of us. He’s your best friend. Parting ways is for the best. You know it.”
There was a heavy silence as I watched Jamie fight whatever emotional battle raged in his mind. Then his expression went blank and I almost snorted my amusement. He knew how to turn off his emotional switch like a pro and I hated that for him. I hated that whatever life he lived back in Manhattan required him to hide his emotions behind a brick wall.
He finally lifted his head to meet my gaze. “I guess this is goodbye then.”
“Yeah. I suppose it is.” With a last lingering look, I walked away from what I thought would have been something great had we had a chance to explore it.
24
JAMIE
The atmosphere in my office was tense. It had been for a while and it was my fault. I’d never been overly friendly and chatty with my employees before, however, despite my typical aloofness, I wasn’t a tyrant.
Since returning home from my birthday trip two weeks ago, I’d been intolerable… That’s what I overheard my assistant telling the secretary in the lobby. She was right. I’d been miserable since I said goodbye to Charlotte. The worst part? Lincoln didn’t give a shit that I parted ways with her for good. He was still pissed at me and barely said a word to me on our way home.
He was back in LA and was ignoring my calls. The others were upset with me at first because they thought what I did to Lincoln was messed up. However, after I explained the finer details of everything that transpired in Kohala, they understood that I didn’t steal Charlotte from Lincoln. However, they all agreed that I should have said something and not have Lincoln discover what was going on when he found Charlotte in my room. That was a terrible way for him to find out.
Thinking about everything got me all riled up again and as I rounded the corner and burst through the doors of my private office, I directed my attention to my assistant. “Where the hell is the report I asked for, Darcy? ” I held my phone and scowled. “I haven’t gotten the email yet.”
My assistant flinched and scrambled to pull up the requested document. “I-I’m sorry, Mr. Winchester. I was preparing the letter for…” She inhaled and exhaled loudly. “I’ll email you the report in a few minutes.” Her fingers flew over her keyboard and her shoulders were hiked up.
Jaw clenched, I marched toward my door, my every step probably brimming with agitation. When I stepped into my office and closed the door, guilt pricked me in the chest. My assistant didn’t deserve to suffer because of the shit going on in my personal life. Charlotte would likely tell me I was being an asshole or that I’d transformed into James Wilfred. The memory of how she teased me about my name made my lips twitch. I hadn’t smiled since I got home.
Releasing a puff of air, I yanked the door open. “Darcy?”
Her head popped up and her eyes were the size of saucers as if she expected me to go off on her again.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “It’s been a rough day.” She lifted an eyebrow, and I gave her a sheepish smile. “I mean, it’s been a rough couple of weeks. Take your time with that report. I’ll wait.”
She nodded and her shoulders relaxed.
Closing the door, I massaged the bridge of my nose. “I need to get a grip.”
I couldn’t go around snapping at employees because Charlotte pretty much told me to get lost. She had a valid reason for doing so but still… it stung. I thought we’d at least exchange phone numbers and agree to keep in touch.
