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Annie tilted her head and stared at me. “Oh my gosh. Oh. My. Gosh.”
Frowning, I shook my own head at her. “What’s the matter?”
“You like her. I mean, youreallylike her.”
I took a long drink of my scotch. “Don’t be daft, Annie.”
She tossed her head back and laughed. Then her mouth dropped open and she did this weird slow head shake, all while staring at me like she’d figured out the solution to world peace. “Mason Quinn, you’re falling in love with her.”
Now it was my turn to laugh—even though I knew she was right. “I don’t do love, Annie.”
Her smile dropped, and anger moved over her face. “You are a stupid son of a bitch, do you know that, Mason?”
“Huh?” I asked, jerking my head back. “What in the hell?”
“For people like us, love isn’t supposed to be in the cards—or so we tell ourselves. We’re so career driven and so focused that the thought of letting another person into our world scares the hell out of us. But I’m telling you right now, if I ever had a man look at me like you looked at Saylor earlier, I’m pretty sure I’d put my career on the back burner and explore it.”
I sighed. “I’ve worked too long and hard to get where I am to give it up for a woman. She just drives me crazy, that’s all.”
She nodded. “I get that, I do. But you don’t have to give it up, Mason. You just have to make room for it. And byit,I mean love.”
“You’re one to talk. Why don’t you settle down?”
Annie gave me a weak smile. “I found love once. But I stupidly put my job first, thinking he would wait for me until I was ready. He didn’t. He moved on and fell in love with someone else. I’d give anything to go back and give him what he needed.”
My heart dropped to my stomach.
“If you wait too long, she’ll find what she needs from someone else.”
I followed her stare to see Saylor dancing with Joshua. She was looking up and smiling at him.
Turning back to me, Annie added, “She might already be walking down that path.” Something caught her eye, and she looked up at me, winked, and then headed over to someone she knew. “Mr. Longly, how have you been?”
Like an idiot, I stood there, staring at Saylor in another man’s arms. That should be me. But was I ready to settle down with one person? My job sucked up so much of my time. Did I even know how to distance myself from it like Saylor did? The way she’d stood up to me about not working over the weekend had both angered me and turned me on.
Lifting my drink to my lips, I finished it off, still watching them. My feet felt like they were glued in place as I watched Joshua lead Saylor up to a group of people. They spoke for a few minutes before he took her by the arm and they headed for the exit.
My breathing stopped when Saylor glanced over her shoulder and scanned the room quickly. Her eyes landed on mine, and I thought I saw something in them.
“You’re letting her leave with him?” Annie asked as she rejoined me.
Without saying a word, I turned on my heels and headed to the bar.
• • •
Pacing back and forth, I focused in on the clock. One in the morning.
I cut my hand through my hair and let out a frustrated groan.
She’d left with him. I’d just stood there and fucking let her leave with him. What was I thinking, letting her go like that? What could I have done? Told her she wasn’t allowed to leave with that asshole?
Sitting down on the edge of my bed, I stared straight ahead. Should I text her? See if she made it home okay? What if he was with her? In her bed, where I should be.
“What in the fuck is happening to me?” I asked out loud as I stood and stormed out into the living room. Opening up my laptop, I searched my email to see if Saylor had sent me the ad campaign.
Nothing.
My phone was sitting on the kitchen island where I’d plugged it in when I got home. Making my way over to it, I opened it to see I had no text messages.
