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I grabbed a pen and chucked it at him at the same time Jensen smacked him in the back of the head and shoved him through the door.
I wasn’t sure how productive I’d be, how I’d be able to focus with all these new revelations floating around in my head about Wynn and me, but somehow I managed to buckle down and get shit done. I’d just finished drafting an outline of what our work would entail to present to a potential client when the intercom on my phone went off.
I rubbed at my eyes that had gotten tired from staring at the screen for too long and jabbed the button. “Yeah.”
Willow’s voice came through the line, quite full of hesitation like she didn’t want someone nearby to hear. “Uh, yes. There’s a woman here who’s insisting on seeing you. She said she’s an old friend. There’s nothing on your calendar. Do you want me to send her back?”
My gut churned unpleasantly. I had a sneaking suspicion I knew who this “old friend” was, and she was the very last person I wanted to see. I’d been in such a good mood. Leave it to fucking Vanessa to pop up like a goddamn cold sore on prom night and ruin everything.
“Donotsend her back,” I growled through the line. “I’m coming out to handle it.”
“Oh... okay.”
I slammed the phone down in the cradle and shot to my feet. Sure enough, when I reached the mouth of the hall, Vanessa was standing at the ledge of Willow’s desk, staring down her nose at our receptionist.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing here?”
The way my voice sounded made both women jump. Willow whipped around in her chair, her eyes the size of salad plates. This outburst wasn’t something she’d be comfortable with. I’d have to make it up to her later.
Vanessa’s perfectly coiffed hair swung like a curtain as she spun to look at me. The second our eyes met, she pasted that pageant smile on her face. “Gage, hi. I know this is probably a bad time, but, well... do you think we could talk?” She cast a sideways glance at Willow. “In private?”
I braced my arms shoulder width apart and crossed my arms over my chest. “Not a fucking chance. How did you even know where I work?”
“I asked around.” She shrugged, chewing on her glossed bottom lip in a way I was sure she thought came off both innocent and seductive. Christ, just like back when we’d been together, she was always playing games. Back then it had been annoying, but now, at our age when we should have known better, it was pathetic. “It’s not that big a town. Wasn’t hard to find out about this place.” She looked around the open area. “This is great, Gage. I’m really happy for you.”
“Don’t give a shit. You know where the door is. Use it.”
I turned on my heel and started to walk away when her hand wrapped around my arm. “Gage please,” she begged loud enough to draw attention, tugging in order to get me to stop. “Please, just hear me out.”
“Everything good in here?”
Sure enough, Jensen and Laeth had come out of their offices, and as if that wasn’t bad enough, Lark was there as a witness as well. That meant it was only a matter of time before this got back to Wynn, and I had no doubt she was going to blow a gasket when she found out.
I looked to Jensen who’d asked the question, ready to tell him Vanessa was leaving, but Laeth spoke first. “Who’s this, and why’s she look familiar?”
“You’re probably remembering the picture I kept with me when we were deployed.”
At my answer, his eyes flared before going murderous. “You heard him,” he hissed at Vanessa. “Get the fuck out.”
“I’m not here to talk to you,” she threw back, unwisely. “I need to talk to Gage and I’m not leaving until I speak with him in private.”
“Already told you, that’s not going to happen, and I’m not a big fan of repeating myself.”
Jensen stared her down for a beat. “Maybe you should put anything you have to say in a letter,” he gritted before looking at Willow. “Do me a favor, Will, call the cops, would you? We have a trespasser, and I don’t make a habit of putting my hands women. No matter how toxic they might be.”
I couldn’t have stopped the grin that stretched across my face if I’d wanted to, which I didn’t.
Vanessa’s eyes went wide. “You—you’re going to call the cops on me?” She whipped her gaze to mine, bewilderment in her eyes. “Gage, please. You can’t let them do that.”
“Oh, that’s where you’re wrong. I absolutely can. And I am.” I turned to Willow, schooling my features and calming my tone. “From here on out, she shows her face, your first call is the cops. She’s not welcome, and if I have to take a restraining order out on her, that’s exactly what I’ll do.”
She nodded once. “You got it.”
With that, I turned and walked back down the hall to my office. If this had been a few days ago, that whole scene probably would have left me reeling, but after the weekend I had, my ex was nothing more than a niggling annoyance in the back of my mind. Like a gnat. It might take some time and effort, but eventually I’d smack her away for good.
ChapterFourteen
Wynn
