Chapter Twenty-Six
Cierra
Ibolted upthe stairs as fast as I could manage in four-inch heels as I launched myself toward Trace’s office. I heard the loud pounding of my heart and the blood rushing around my ears as I tried to make sense of why Kelsey was in Trace’s office. Thoughts of the two of them kissing stabbed my brain, and I screamed out “No!” in an attempt to banish them. My voice reverberated around the stairwell, filling my ears. My instinct told me that Trace wasn’t dating Kelsey behind my back, but my insecurity imagined all sorts of things to torture me. My legs pumped beneath me as I continued running up the stairs.
I pushed open the heavy metal door and paused to catch my breath. Kelsey always managed to look impeccable without a hair out of place. I’d never seen her without makeup, not even when we’d gone river rafting in Utah several years before. Prior to the trip, Kelsey had been so freaked out about having anyone see her without it that she got permanent makeup for her eyebrows, eyelids, and lips. There was no way I was walking into Trace’s office sweaty and disheveled. I finger-combed my hair, blotted my sweaty face, and reapplied my lipstick and gloss. With shoulders thrown back, I walked toward his office.
I stopped and took several deep breaths along the way, trying to slow my beating heart. As I approached, I heard Trace’s and Kelsey’s voices filtering out. I glanced at Chandra, who smiled weakly at me and reverted her attention back to the computer screen. I went closer to the door and stopped. The words took form through the wood, and I stood there listening to Kelsey’s voice, the one she used when she was trying her hardest to get something. And I could hear Trace too—angrier than I’d ever heard him, his words dripping with venom as he threw them in her direction. And what I heard them saying was eye-opening. Relief washed over me as I realized they were arguing, not making passionate love. I never really questioned it but sometimes those damn doubts were experts at invading my mind.
I went closer and pressed my ear to the door. The heat building on my face told me I was turning all shades of red as I glanced over at Chandra. She smiled, then turned back to her computer. Trace’s voice telling Kelsey that they were through warmed me, but when he mentioned that he broke it off with her because he found her cheating on him with his friend, my blood ran cold.Kelsey lied to me. She’s been playing me all along. She’s been trying to keep anything from happening between Trace and me.Trace’s voice remained cold, and that was when she turned on me.
And boy did she trash me. The things she said were cruel, self-serving, and hurtful. It was like a slap in the face, throwing me off-balance. How could a friend say such horrible things behind another friend’s back? She was trying to paint me in the worst possible light to Trace.
At that point, I was ready to burst in and tell her exactly what I thought of her when Trace said the three words I’d been dying to hear—“I love her.” In that moment, the pain of Kelsey’s betrayal melted into happiness. Hearing those words from him was the most exhilarating high I’d ever felt. I felt like dancing and sharing my euphoria with everyone. I looked back at Chandra but she was still staring at the screen. How had she not heard the words that would forever change me… and Trace? Change us? Pure joy and love coursed through me and I couldn’t take it any longer, lifting my knuckles and rapping on the door.
The two voices inside fell silent, and I heard Trace’s familiar footsteps as he headed over to the door. It sprang open a second later.
“Who is it?” Kelsey demanded, an edge to her voice. Then she craned her neck around Trace and laid her eyes on me. They widened at once. “Shit.”
“Yeah, shit,” I agreed, stepping over the threshold and pulling the door shut behind me, figuring that everyone else in the office would do well to be kept out of whatever drama was about to unfold. “What the hell is going on in here?”
“How much did you hear?” Kelsey rounded on me, her tone edgy and irritated, as though I’d interrupted something important.
“Enough.” I met her gaze steadily. I still felt as though she’d punched me in the stomach as I tried to make sense of everything I’d heard her say.
Kelsey leaned against the desk and turned her attention to Trace. She lifted a finger and pointed in his direction. “It’s him. He’s the one who’s getting between us. If he had never come into our lives, we’d both be having a martini and talking about what jerks men can be.”
I stepped closer to Trace and slipped my hand in his. “It’s not Trace. It’s you. You’ve been lying to me about him all along so I’d think he was an uncaring jerk who hurt you.”
Kelsey looked at me, tightening her lips like she knew and had half accepted that I was on to her.
“I never lied about anything. I knew you were hung up on him and I just tried to warn you. We’ve been friends for years. Are you going to take the side of a known player you barely know over me?”
“Just tell me the truth about why you and Trace broke up.”
Kelsey clenched her jaw and squinted.
“Kelsey,” he prompted her, and her head snapped up, her eyes full of hatred.
“Oh fuck off and shut up. This has nothing to do with you.” She pushed away from the desk.
“It has everything to do with him,” I replied. Trace slid an arm around my waist, sending shivers up and down my spine. I leaned into him and caught his gaze. Tenderness and love radiated from it, and I loved him more than ever.
“You want to hear the truth? I’ll tell you the truth,” Kelsey said in a strained voice.
I’d been so pulled in by Trace that I’d forgotten she was there. I looked at her. “It doesn’t matter anymore.”
“You started this shit, Cierra, so I’ll finish it. I met Trace’s friend Jason and he hit on me. One thing led to another and we ended up having an affair. Trace came over one day and caught us. But none of it would’ve happened if he knew how to treat me. I’m not sorry one bit that I fucked Jason.” Defiance shone on her face.
“I feel sorry for you. I hope you find some closure and can move on,” I said.
She laughed dryly. “Youfeel sorry forme? Seriously? You’re the pathetic one having to run after my leftovers, but then you were never any good at getting your own men.”
I knew she wanted to hurt me, but I didn’t care anymore. “You have no idea how to be a friend. I can’t believe I put up with you all these years.”
Trace opened the door. “It’s done. Leave now or I’ll throw you out.”
She darted her gaze back and forth between us and grimaced. “You’re both pathetic.” She turned on her heel and stormed out, sheer fury written on her face.
