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And for now—I had to let Charlotte go.
LEX
Present
It is Saturday morning, and I wake up with the hangover from hell.
It’s been a long time since I last drank myself into a stupor with a bunch of men, though Rocky’s masculinity was questioned several times in those ridiculously tight jeans of his.
Thankfully, I wake up alone and not with a stripper from last night’s shenanigans. Our meeting with the Berkshire Group is organized for seven o’clock tonight. It’s the only time Gerald Huffman and his team can swing a time to meet. It doesn’t bother me working on a Saturday night since I’m not twenty-one anymore, and my life doesn’t revolve around club-hopping.
No, just strip clubs, apparently.
Kate agrees to meet me at the restaurant at six forty-five on the dot. This will give us fifteen minutes to work over our strategy, and I’m confident Gerald will sign the contracts tonight.
In a fleeting moment, the business savvy side of me kicks in. To say I’ve been distracted and off my game of late is an understatement, but with my confidence pieced back together, I’m certain tonight will work in my favor.
Unfortunately, in my pathetic state, I forgot to shave my beard. Thank my lucky stars the hotel has managed to have my suit dry cleaned and pressed at the last minute since it I’d completely forgotten about it.
“Good evening, Mr. Edwards,” Kate greets.
Kate is standing in the restaurant lobby, armed with manila folders and her usual corporate attire. After much consideration, I decided to give her a raise. Once tonight is over, I plan to sit down and have a discussion regarding her performance. The obvious blaring point is I have screwed up multiple times over the past few weeks, and Kate has always picked up where I fell short.
“I’m glad you could make it. No wild parties to attend tonight?”
“No, sir.” She chuckles as if remembering something funny. “I believe we partied to our full capacity last night.”
The restaurant is busy with waiters scurrying about carrying exotic dishes, the aromas enticing me. It makes me realize how much I have missed food. Yeah, I have barely eaten the past week. What’s fucking new, I think. Johnny Walker and Jack Daniels have become my companions of late. I make my way to the concierge as Kate follows.
“Reservation under Edwards.”
We follow the head waiter to our table. The noise is a little overbearing, just your typical Saturday clientele. I pull my phone out, checking my messages as I follow him through the crowd, lifting my head for a moment as the image catches my eye and halts me on the spot.
Kate is also checking her phone, running straight into the back of me. “I’m so sorry, sir. I was checking my mess…” her voice trails off.
Charlotte sits there, her body leaning into him. Unable to move, my eyes are drawn to her like magnets.
Her face looks slightly different, perhaps tired. There’s no smile, no spark in her eyes, no glow to her skin, and she appears gaunt. The light inside her has gone out.
Frozen on the spot, I stare, my name being called but sounding so distant. The bastard leans in further, gently reaching for her hand and entwining his fingers with hers. He cups her chin, and she smiles slightly prompting him to lean in further to steal what is mine.
I don’t know how I move, but suddenly, I’m standing in front of them. Charlotte glances up, her mouth falling open in shock until her expression swiftly turns to anger. The dark circles around her eyes and the prominence of her cheekbones worry me. If this has been hell for her, then why is she here with him?
“Charlie?” Kate gasps before I can get a word in.
“Kate?”
What the fuck is going on, and how on earth do they know each other?
The Louboutins flashed before me. It was her. It was her last night in Kate’s suite. It was her who Kate always talks about, her friend in New York with the fucked-up love life. All of it makes sense, and how utterly stupid I am not to even piece that equation together.
“So, I don’t even deserve an explanation?” I grit, willing the shake of my fists to stop. “You run to him the second things get a little tough with us?”
“Are you kidding me, Lex? A little tough is that what you think this has been?” She laughs while gesticulating with her hands.
“Well, I wouldn’t know, you won’t fucking talk to me.”
I clench my fists as her laughter slaps me in my ears. Does she honestly think this is one big fucking joke? My body stiffens, unable to compose myself, I’m barely holding on, the fury and rage consuming and controlling any rationality lurking within me. I’m a time bomb ready to go off at any moment.
