“By choice,” JP shoots back. “If I wanted to be in a relationship, then I would be.”
“Uh-huh.” Breaker eyes him up and down. “And how’s that flirting going with Kelsey, by the way?”
“Fine. If I turned it up a notch, she’d be all over me.”
Breaker scoffs. “Yeah . . . all over you.” He rolls his eyes, and I’m about to snap at my brothers when Karla comes into my office.
She raps her knuckles on the doorframe and says, “The front just informed me Mr. Toney is on his way up.”
“Thank you, Karla.” She gives me a curt nod and then disappears. “You two need to get the hell out of here.” I need to deal with this on my own.
They gather their things and head toward the door. “Good luck, man,” Breaker says with a nod. JP gives me a quick nod too, and then I’m left alone in my office.
Idly, I sit in my chair, staring at my computer screen. I’m a lucky son of a bitch that my brothers are supportive rather than wanting to murder me for possibly fucking up our reputation. Our livelihood, as well as the company’s employees. They could be dicks, but they’re choosing not to be, and I’m really appreciative of it. It’s tough enough knowing I damaged my relationship with Lottie, I’m not sure I’d know what to do without my brothers. And, yes, I said damaged. It’s not over. I’m going to get Lottie back. She’s mine. Forever.
Karla knows to send Dave back to my office when he arrives, so when there’s a knock at my door, I’m not surprised to see him.
“Dave.” I stand and walk over to him, offering him a firm handshake. “Thanks for making it over here.”
“I thought I was going to be late.” He chuckles, completely unaware of how my stomach is turning in on itself. “There was a huge accident on the 405. I was able to get off at an exit before I hit parking-lot type traffic.”
“When is there not an accident on the 405?” I ask.
“Very true.”
I gesture toward the sitting area in my office while I shut my door behind him. “Take a seat. Can I get you anything to drink?”
“I’m good. I downed a coffee on the way here. Don’t worry, I went to the bathroom before I came in, so I won’t be requiring the use of your personal toilet.”
I chuckle and take a seat across from him. “My personal toilet is always available to you.”
He presses his hand to his chest. “The sentiment hits me hard.”
My smile fades as I clear my throat. I figure I might as well just jump right to it. “I, uh, I was hoping to have an honest conversation with you today.”
The smallest of smirks appear on Dave’s face. “I think I know what this is about.”
“Do you?” I ask, wanting to see where he’s at.
He nods. “You know, when Ellie first told me, I didn’t believe her at first, but after the baby class, I knew right away that Ellie was right.”
I clear my throat again, tempted to pull on my tie, to loosen it, but I hold strong. “And what was she right about?”
“Excuse me for being forward, but that your relationship with Lottie wasn’t real.”
Yup, there it is.
Shame and embarrassment flow through my veins, heating up my body. Damn it, I wish I’d thought to take off my suit jacket for this conversation. It’s too late now.
I go to say something, but Dave continues, “She told me after the dinner at our house. She suspected you two were faking it. I thought maybe it was some crazy pregnancy hormone at first, because I couldn’t fathom why you’d lie. Especially about a relationship. Ellie pointed out the stiffness in your shoulders when Lottie touched you, the robotic way you talked to each other. There was something missing, and even though you were quite convincing, there were things here and there that gave you away.”
I drag my hand over my face. “Listen, Dave. I can explain.”
“I found the whole thing quite comical, to be honest. How far would Huxley Cane go? Just how unethical was the man who wanted my business?” He pauses, and I think I’m going to be sick.
Unethical.
He’s not wrong. God, I feel ashamed. Especially that he’d known.
“Ellie kept finding these crazy things to do and thought it would be fun to drag you two along.”
I sit a little taller. “You mean, you invited us on purpose?”
Dave laughs. “Oh yeah. You’re probably the most uptight man I know and, granted, it’s gotten you very far in business, but there’s more than making a deal, Huxley, and I wanted you to see that. I thought that maybe if we carried on with the charade, that maybe something would come of it. There was a connection between you and Lottie, and Ellie and I were hoping to see it grow stronger.” He smiles. “And it has.” He laughs. “I can assure you, had I not met Ellie, I may have never known what true love was either.”
“Wh-what?” I ask, trying to comprehend and process everything he’s saying.
“Correct me if I’m wrong, but you love her, don’t you?”
My teeth roll over my bottom lip, and I stare down at my connected hands. I nod. “Yeah, I do.”
“I knew it.” Dave slaps his leg. “Ellie thinks Lottie was the one to crack first, she seemed to be more into you, but I told Ellie you’re a professional at masking your emotions, and if I had to bet on it, I’d say you developed feelings sooner than she developed feelings for you.”
Since this is the conversation we’re apparently having, I say, “I think it started the minute I ran into her.”
“Which wasn’t in Georgia . . .”
I shake my head.
“Ellie was also struck by that. Lottie wasn’t very convincing about knowing much about Georgia.”
I wince. “She’s never been.”
“Then how exactly did you meet?”
“On the sidewalk in my neighborhood. She was lost; I was blowing off steam. Just so happened we both needed each other.” I grip the back of my head. “A not-so meet-cute.”
“You know, I beg to differ. Meeting on the sidewalk has its charm.”
“Not if you add in what we were both after. I needed a fake fiancée, and she needed a rich husband to impress someone. That doesn’t really scream romance.”
“Sometimes it’s not the beginning that screams romance, but rather the journey. And I have to say, your journey has been quite interesting to watch unfold.” Dave scratches the side of his face. “I do wonder, though . . . why did you do it?”
Sighing heavily, I lean back in my chair and say, “Because I’m a dumbass.”
“Well, this much is true, but give me the real reason.”
The real reason. Wasn’t that enough? That I was a dumbass? But Dave had taken every answer in stride so far, so even though this showed how manipulative I could actually be, how much of a liar, I was now all-in here.
“Breaker and JP said I’d never succeed in making a deal with you because you were a relatable guy. You honored the connection in a business deal, not just the money. They said I wasn’t relatable to you. I wanted to prove them wrong. When I saw you outside the deli and you introduced me to Ellie, the lies just poured out of my mouth before I could stop myself. I thought that maybe if we could connect on another level, you’d consider a deal with me.”
“And what happened if we did make the deal . . . what would’ve happened to Lottie?”
“We would’ve gone our separate ways. I probably wouldn’t have mentioned anything to you.”
“I see.” His smile fades. “Seems very untrustworthy.”
“I know.” I drag my hand over my forehead. “Trust me, I fucking know. My brothers, from the very beginning, told me it was a bad idea, and when I was able to look past my determination, I knew what we were doing was wrong, but I was so inflexible that I couldn’t look past the deal. I ended up hurting my brothers, and even worse . . . I ended up losing Lottie.”
“What?” Dave asks, looking concerned. “She left you?”
I nod. “Last night. I, uh, I spoke with someone who off-handedly told me you knew we had a fake engagement. I couldn’t possibly understand how you’d know, so I blamed Lottie, thinking she was the one who let it slip to Ellie. I said some shitty things, and she left.” I shake my head, completely disgusted with myself. “I fucking blew it because I was so caught up in my image, my reputation, that I forgot one thing—none of that matters if I don’t have someone to share my life with. She took off for her sister’s.” I pinch the bridge of my nose. “She chose sleeping on the floor over sleeping with me. If that doesn’t tell you how fucked I am, I don’t know what does.”
