Chapter 10
CHAPTER TEN
Myles
Where was she?
I tapped my pen on my desk. I didn’t have anything to write down.
I should be finishing preparations for tomorrow.
Without Wynn, my world spun off-kilter. She’d become a stabilizing force for me since she’d started.
Someone who didn’t shrink away from me or leave me alone when I was especially grumpy. Except for last night.
I was in one of my moods as one of my foster moms used to say. You get in one of your moods and expect everyone else to suffer with you, doncha, kid?
I pushed a hand through my hair. I shouldn’t have bothered with styling this morning.
Mrs. Crane gave me space when I was foul-tempered. Wynn faced me head-on. Until yesterday. She’d left.
Another damn phone call had chased her away.
All the calls before that I’d been able to break and take in private. The irony that Gianna had picked that moment to bother me… As if she hadn’t ruined my life enough.
The problem was that my life hadn’t stayed ruined. Now I was nothing but a resource for her. Another reservoir to tap that should’ve run dry years ago.
Stupid magazines splashing my face across the cover.
I was in a shitty headspace this morning, and then Wynn had messaged and said she’d be late. She needed to take a sister to the airport.
How long had her sister been in town?
Why hadn’t she told me?
Why did I care?
I cared about a lot when it came to my assistant. After that kiss, I dreamed about a lot more. A few more minutes, and I would’ve had her stripped down and pressed against the glass. I would’ve been inside of her and in heaven.
My mood soured even more. Fucking phone calls. I could stay out of the past, but it kept tugging me back, like chains were hooked to my ankles, and when I was finally fully upright, Gianna gave me a big ol’ yank.
Behind me, a drawer closed. Wynn. I was up and out of my chair, heading for the open door to my office.
Mrs. Crane would know something was up. I never kept my door open, but now I only shut the damn thing when Wynn was inside with me.
I had a problem.
I got a glimpse of her ass in loose linen pants.
She had on a nice blouse that gave her a summer office vibe, as if Foster House was set in Hawaii.
She straightened, brushed her hands down her pants, and turned.
Her eyes had shadows under them, and she hadn’t done much with her hair other than throw it back in a ponytail.
Had she and her sister cruised the bars last night? Had they found a party and some guys?
Didn’t I sound like a crotchety fucker?
“What’s wrong?” My question came out as a demand. “You look like hell.”
I normally didn’t lie. She looked radiant. Beautiful. She was my very own ray of sunshine cresting the mountains in the morning. But she wasn’t mine. She’d move on for someone who was less of a jackass, and I would deserve it. Like always.
“Wow. Good morning to you, too.”
Remorse and I were estranged friends. I ignored the feeling, and it was usually happy to leave me the hell alone. But not after insulting Wynn. “I’m sorry, Ms. Kerrigan. I only mean that you don’t seem as chipper as usual.”
She shot a skeptical look at me. My sudden change of tone could be taken as snark, but I was being sincere.
“I’m not. My daddy’s in the hospital, and my sister was flying home, but she had a layover.”
My remorse grew stronger, like lack of use gave it power. I’d been focused on her reaction to me. I’d forgotten she was losing a parent. For whatever reason, she hadn’t asked to go be with him, and I could understand wanting to avoid grief. “I’m sorry. Nice visit with your sister?”
“Yeah, it was fine.”
This wasn’t the first time Wynn had held back information.
I refused to plead for her to open up. There was no need for her to.
We weren’t a thing. She worked for me. But I’d grown to care about her in our time together.
Some would claim it was her looks, but I’d grown to admire her attitude, her work ethic, and the way she didn’t put up with my shit.
She’d left yesterday. It wouldn’t be long before she left for good. That was just how it went.
Relationships worked better when I didn’t try at all, or when I left first. Only bad things came from me hanging around.
She gave me a superficial smile, one that didn’t come close to her normal cheer, and sat at her desk, back to me.
I’d been dismissed.
An old, raw wound opened back up in my chest, gnawing away the scraps of any decent mood I had left. I hated being dismissed.
Wasn’t that what tomorrow was about? I’d bare a part of my damn soul, and they’d say thank you, next like I didn’t matter.
Would it suck as much as Wynn shutting me out?
Wynter
I met Myles at the airport because I’d secretly wanted to sleep in after the late night talking with June and the hangover I’d dealt with yesterday.
The inside of the plane was as posh as I’d expected. A flight attendant rushed to take the luggage out of my hands even though I had to fend her off. I doubted the plane ride would mean less work, and I’d need my phone, tablet, notepad, and pens.
Inside, I’d stopped and gawked at the white interior lit by subdued neon lights. A freaking sectional was on one side. When Myles nudged me from behind, I snapped my mouth shut and kept walking.
He was wearing a tie, as if I needed to see a tie to know today was serious.
Imani, the attendant, smiled at me. “Choose any seat you’d like. Once we reach cruising altitude, you can switch to the couch. If you need a quick rest, there’s a small bedroom in the back and a bathroom across from it.”
“A bedroom?” I sounded like the country girl I was at heart. A plane with a bedroom. I might be dressed in a black pencil skirt with a pink blouse and look like I flew private every day, but I’d rarely flown. And it’d been nothing like this.
Myles dropped into a chair and efficiently buckled himself in. All day yesterday, he’d been curt, giving me one-word answers. Mostly, he had messaged me. From his office, where he’d sat brooding with the door closed.
I knew I shouldn’t have called off the morning to take Junie to the airport, but given her anxiousness about losing Daddy, I hadn’t wanted to tell her to call a ride. I wasn’t even going home, so I wasn’t one to judge her for missing her flight.
I’d sat in the parking lot until she’d sent me a text that she was boarding.
Imani smiled at me, ignoring the grump in the chair. “Can I get you anything before we go over the safety briefing?”
“I’d love a water.”
“Would you like a lemon or lime wedge? Cucumber water or sparkling water?”
Wow. I’d thought I might get a whole bottle of water for this trip, not gourmet H2O. “Cucumber water would be great, thank you.”
“Absolutely.” She shifted to Myles, and I took the seat across from him. “Can I get you anything, sir?”
“An uninterrupted flight.” He flicked his gaze up. “After the safety briefing, I need complete privacy.”
“Of course, sir.” Imani was either a saint or used to asshole corporate fliers. “I’ll run through the briefing now and then go to the front and close the partition. Press the call light if you need me for anything during the flight.”
I could barely pay attention to how I was supposed to save myself and the grumpy jackass across from me in the event of an emergency.
His attitude embarrassed me yet he wasn’t ruffled at all.
When she disappeared to the front and closed the little sliding door that reminded me of the RV Mama and Daddy had, I glared at Myles.
He continued working on his laptop. “Can I help you with something, Ms. Kerrigan?” He still didn’t look away from the screen.
“Rude much?”
“I wasn’t rude.”
I pointed a finger at him. “Your tone was rude. Would a please or thank you hurt too much?”
“Depends on how I get punished for not saying it,” he said through clenched teeth. “Do you think that’s something I should put in my proposal?”
My hand dropped to my lap. Punished?
Suddenly, I was the one who felt like an inconsiderate idiot. He had to relive his past in front of strangers in mere hours, and I’d been salty because he was short with me.
I’d had sympathy for him before and then dwelled on his attitude.
But in reality, I had no idea what he was going through.
My sisters and I had gone to the Baileys first, and then they’d adopted us.
An idyllic home for four scared little girls.
Myles had been a handful of years older than me when he’d gone into the system.
He wouldn’t have made his way to fostering with Mama and Daddy as a teen if a previous placement had worked out.
From what I’d heard, he’d been through several homes.
Not all of the reasons he’d been pulled could be his fault.
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be,” he snapped. “It’s not your problem, and I don’t want your sympathy. I want this fucking meeting over with, and then I want them to forget what I said.” He slammed his laptop lid down, and I jumped. “Goddamn it.” He glared out the window as we started taxiing.
Static crackled overhead, and then the pilot spoke loud and clear. Did they have better radios in private planes or did the pilot enunciate more?
Tense, silent minutes ticked by as the speed ramped up, and we took off. I stared out the same window as Myles, the tall buildings of downtown Denver fading and the mountains growing smaller.
It wasn’t long before the pilot gave us permission to roam the cabin. True to her word, Imani didn’t come back out.
I studied Myles. His body was a two-by-four from head to toe, and it didn’t matter that he was sitting.
The guy had to relax, or he was going to tank this pitch. He would glare at everyone and sound like the angry teen he’d been.
“Myles, is there something you can do to relax?”
His sharp eyes bored into me. “Relax?” He was so incredulous at my suggestion my cheeks burned. How could he shame me with one word?
“Yes,” I said tightly. “You’re worked up, and it’s going to come across as you talk. You’re not the professional you usually are, and that won’t go unnoticed.”
The muscles in the corner of his jaw bulged so badly I worried teeth would crack.
Then he’d be a storm cloud in pain, and the deal definitely wouldn’t happen.
He jerked the seat belt loose and rose. His laptop fell on the floor, and he stormed into the room with the bed and yanked the pocket door closed behind him.
Well.
He was already in pain. Those mystery phone calls hadn’t helped. They’d poured nothing but fuel on his already raging fire. I didn’t know him well enough to talk him down. I couldn’t ply him with shitty spirits to loosen up. The energy coursing through him was eating him alive.
I doubted he was going to nap in that bedroom. If only there was something else to calm him down. The only time he’d been as intense was the earth-shattering kiss.
I eyed the door. Flutters danced through my belly. He wasn’t calming down, but could his emotion be redirected?
No. Bad idea.
But. This meeting was important to him, and I wanted to help. Just so happened, I’d been wanting to do other things, too.