Chapter 26
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Kat left without saying goodbye.
She’d called her father and insisted that they could get reports from Jane from this point forward. If they needed to send someone out to the site, they could send Chaz.
Kat didn’t think she could stomach seeing everyone again, especially since she’d left the premises the way she had.
No one got an official goodbye.
Jane had been the only one to know her plan to leave early.
Sonya had received a note so she could tell Leo that Kat wouldn’t be returning.
Yes, Kat was a coward.
She’d never been a coward before. Leo had done something to her—had changed her so innately that there was no way she could recover.
Maybe that was why she hadn’t gone a single day since returning to New York without crying.
There was a knock on her office door, and she quickly swiped at the tears beneath her eyes before she called out, “Come in.”
Keeping her focus trained on the computer before her, she set her hand on her mouse and aimlessly moved it around while clicking every so often to look busy.
It had been a month.
One month had gone by and it was safe to say she was utterly miserable. This was not how following her dreams was meant to feel.
“Good morning, beautiful.”
Kat couldn’t help it. She scowled. Then she lifted her eyes up to see Chaz leaning casually against the door frame. He wore a magnetic grin. Once upon a time, she’d thought he was handsome. She’d considered going on a date with him until she realized that her goals were too important.
Leo had been the only one in her whole life who had her second guessing how she wanted to live her life.
“What do you want, Chaz?’
He brought a hand to his chest, drawing her eye to his expensive five-piece suit.
It probably cost more than Leo made in a month working at the ranch.
Even from where she sat, she could tell.
And for some reason, that fact irritated her.
“You wound me, Kat. We’re supposed to be spending this time getting to know one another.
I came here to ask you to join me for lunch. ”
She turned her attention once more to the computer screen. “Thank you for the invite,” she gritted out, “but I’m swamped.”
“No, you’re not. I’ve seen your schedule. You’re done for the day at one.”
Shutting her eyes against the oncoming migraine she was sure she’d be feeling in the next several minutes, Kat focused on her breathing.
“I’m leaving at one so I can attend one of the several appointments with the wedding planner.
Right now, I’m working on the changes that are going to take place once you and I take over for my father. ”
He perked up at that. “Then perhaps you could use my help.”
Why was he pushing this relationship thing so hard? They were barely friends before she’d left for Montana. Sure, the guy had been flirty, but nothing like this.
Leaning back in her chair, Kat pressed her fingers to her temples and rubbed at them.
After spending so much time out in the fresh air of Montana, being behind a desk like this and cooped up in a tower like a glorified princess needing to be rescued was wearing on her.
“We’re getting married, Chaz, not falling in love.
The event itself is only a formality for my father and his friends.
This is a partnership, not a relationship. ”
She dropped her hands to her lap and stared at him hard, not surprised to see he was wearing the mask he always did when going through negotiations with other businesses.
“The meetings I have today are mere inconveniences and if you’d like to be the one to meet with the wedding planner, be my guest. But if you take me up on the offer, understand that I’ll simply stay later at work.”
After a few moments, Chaz frowned.
He actually frowned.
The guy glanced over his shoulder before entering her office and shutting the door behind him. Then he moved farther across the room until he stood directly in front of her desk. “Kat. I get that this wasn’t exactly your plan. I know you weren’t interested in an arrangement like this one—”
“Then why did you do it? How could you allow yourself to settle with a marriage that is nothing more than a business arrangement?”
Chaz sighed. Then he unbuttoned his suit coat and settled into the chair across from her. “I’d be lying if I said that this will be nothing more than a business arrangement.”
Her mouth fell open. He couldn’t be suggesting what it sounded like.
Shifting in his seat, he lifted one ankle over his knee and settled back as if he were completely at ease.
The only indication that he was stressing about this conversation at all was the small tick under his right eye.
“I care for you, Kat. There. I said it. From the moment we met, I knew you were something special. I couldn’t help but respect you. Then the more I got to know you—”
“Got to know me?” she let out a bark of surprised laughter. “We don’t know each other. You don’t know me at all.”
He lifted a brow. “Don’t I? We’ve worked together for years. I’ve come to your father’s Christmas parties and fourth of July barbeques.”
“Those are for all employees,” she stammered.
Once again, he shifted, this time dropping his foot to the floor and leaning forward with his forearms on his knees. “I’ve paid attention to more than you might have realized.”
What was she supposed to say to that? Was Chaz actually suggesting that he’d adored her from afar? That was beyond ridiculous.
Right?
He chuckled.
Clearly, he thought her shock was amusing.
“Look, Kat. I’m under no illusion that the two of us will fall deeply, madly in love. I know that you have zero interest in a relationship.”
Her face burned at his statement. Chaz was wrong and she wasn’t entirely sure that he didn’t know it.
For all she knew, he’d planned this to happen the second Leo came to see her father.
She’d never ask him about it, though. There was no use changing how things had ended.
The fact that Leo hadn’t reached out to her said it all.
He’d lied.
Leo had given up on her even though he’d told her he wouldn’t. She didn’t know what she’d been expecting, though. That he’d race to the airport and fly here just to convince her to come home?
Home.
Geez, where had that thought come from? Montana wasn’t her home. New York was her home. She’d been born and raised in this city. She belonged here no matter how much her heart wanted her to believe otherwise.
“Kat?”
Her head snapped to attention, and she met Chaz’s imploring gaze. “Maybe you’d reconsider your stance on something more?”
She felt sick to her stomach. Just thinking about the possibility of being with Chaz in that way made her wish she could just pack a bag and leave this place.
Another strange thought.
Kat swallowed down the burning in the back of her throat and shook her head.
“I appreciate what you’re trying to do, Chaz, but I don’t think that’s going to happen.
In fact, this marriage will be on paper only.
What my father is trying to do—show a united front with two of his most valuable assets is admirable in its own strange way, but it in no way means we’ll have a traditional relationship. ”
He opened his mouth in protest, but she held up a hand. “In fact, I suggest we continue to live our separate lives. You are welcome to be with anyone—”
Chaz shot up out of his seat, his face red with fury. “Don’t you utter another word.”
Startled, she stared up at him blankly. “I beg your pardon?”
“While this arrangement might not be traditional in the sense you are referring to, I assure you, I will uphold my vows for what they are.”
A deep, heated flush crawled up her neck.
She had no intention of finding solace in the arms of another man while being married, but she hadn’t expected Chaz to do the same when she wasn’t willing to be the wife he deserved.
In fact, she’d planned on speaking to a lawyer in the near future to discuss how a divorce would affect the company.
Blinking several times, she continued to observe her fiancé. He was angry. More than that. For the first time since she’d met him, Kat could see he was utterly and truly livid. She cleared her throat and squirmed beneath his scorching gaze. “Okay, then.”
“Okay,” he snapped.
Kat looked away. “I’m sorry if my words offended you.”
“Thank you,” Chaz muttered stiffly.
They remained like that, silently staring at one another for several minutes before Chaz cleared his throat. “I’ve got some meetings I need to prepare for. I’ll speak with you later.”
She nodded curtly. “Okay.”
The rest of the morning had Kat fidgeting and unable to get comfortable. Her skin itched with the irritation of her decisions. The resentment she felt toward her father only continued to grow. She’d wanted to have the best of both worlds. She’d thought it would be possible.
But her father had made it perfectly clear there would be no chance of that.
At some point, she found herself wandering toward her father’s office.
She didn’t know why. He’d left the city for some meetings earlier today.
Kat would be leaving soon as well. There was no reason for her to be sitting in the waiting area before her father’s office door except for the fact that a couple of months ago, Leo had been here.
Maybe he’d sat in this exact location while he waited for her father to see him.
Had he been nervous? Excited?
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before letting it out.
A soft hand landed on her knee and she jumped.
“Sorry,” June murmured. She’d been the secretary to Mr. Jerris since before Kat could remember.
“Oh,” Kat exhaled, “June, you surprised me.”
She smiled sadly. “You look like you could use a friend.”
That was the understatement of the century.
“Prewedding jitters?”
June had been helping out with some of the wedding preparations when Kat’s own secretary hadn’t been available. She’d also been friends with Kat’s mother, and she was the last motherly figure in Kat’s life.
Well, except for Sonya.
Just the thought of that woman had Kat’s heart twisting painfully.
Kat nodded. “I guess you could say that.”
June patted Kat’s knee. “For what it’s worth, I think your mother wouldn’t be too thrilled about what’s happening.”
The sharp intake of breath was unmistakable. And June hadn’t missed it. She let out a quiet laugh.
“I’m guessing you’re wondering how I know.”
Kat continued to stare blankly at June.
“How I know that you’re not in love with Mr. Weitz.” She chuckled again, the sound almost sad as she looked toward Kat’s father’s empty office. “It’s not a secret. At least not around here.” She lowered her voice and leaned closer. “Only a handful of people around here know about the arrangement.”
Grimacing, Kat covered her face with her hands. This was so embarrassing.
At the gentle squeeze on her leg, Kat peeked at June again. “Your mother would want you to be happy. Whatever that means for you.”
Deep down, Kat could accept the truth for what it was, but in this moment, she couldn’t reconcile the woman she remembered with the logic that Jane was sharing with her.
Kat’s mother married and walked away from a dream.
Had she found complete happiness with her father?
That was the question of the century, right there.