Chapter 5
CHAPTER 5
SOPHIE
T he walls of the café seem to be inching closer, their edges blurring and merging into one another. The air grows thicker, harder to inhale. My chest tightens.
Old friends? The audacity of this man. Even though I was never rude or impolite to him during my marriage—out of respect for Matthew—I never tried to hide my disdain for his womanizing ways. I’m not in the business of slut-shaming, but the way he led some of those women on makes me nauseous.
When I dropped Julian off at a halte-garderie on the Plateau earlier today, I felt more pumped than I have in probably over a year. This halte has been an invaluable resource for me since Julian’s birth. While it’s not a full-time daycare, they’ll accommodate children for approximately half a day to give parents back some time to themselves. It’s a godsend for frazzled parents who need a nap, or who—like me—need a few hours to meet people for work.
I had no idea what I would be walking into.
The worst part? Will is ridiculously hot in his perfectly tailored charcoal suit. Even hotter than the first time we met.
That night, Avery and I were dancing to Uptown Funk in our favourite bar/club hybrid, and in all honesty, both of us were on our A-game. We were single, ready to mingle, and feeling every bit like the energetic twenty-year-olds we were.
Avery spotted them first when they walked in. She interrupted my dancing and, without being too obvious, gestured to the two stunning men who’d just made their entrance. My eyes immediately drifted to the guy who would turn out to be Will; he was all rugged angles, taut bronze skin over sculpted arms, and buzzed chestnut hair that pulled all the attention to his dark eyes.
“Holy shit,” I found myself saying out loud, Avery nodding along to my sentiment. Neither of us was particularly picky, but this guy …
This guy was carved out of my dreams.
The second man—a handsome blonde with boyish but cute features—whispered something to his friend right as their gazes met ours. And I’ll never forget the lightning that coursed through my body when the first man’s dark eyes met mine.
They wasted no time joining us and introducing themselves. To my then disappointment, the first man, Will, shifted his attention to Avery while the blonde man, Matthew, focused on me. They both bought us drinks, we talked, and soon enough we were back on the dance floor, grinding it out with our respective partners.
At some point, I noticed Avery was gone, but Will had his tongue down another woman’s throat a few feet away from Matthew and me.
That was the moment I got the ick from him.
To Matthew’s credit, he helped me find Avery in the bathroom so I could console her after she was unceremoniously ditched by his friend. But I didn’t mince my words. I let him know his friend was a grade-A jerk.
That didn’t stop me from asking Matt for his number, though. The chemistry we shared that night was powerful, even if it wasn’t an instant spark like mine and Will’s. I did tell him I hoped he was better than his friend and that I wasn’t making a mistake with him.
Turns out, I did.
I was wrong about Matthew’s true colours. But right now, as I watch Will with that stupid shit-eating grin on his face, I remind myself that I was certainly not wrong about him. These two assholes deserve each other as best friends.
“Something like that,” I say through gritted teeth. To focus my attention elsewhere, I break Will’s stare and look at Rob. “And Will—I mean, Bill—is truly the best person for this job, you say?”
“Without a doubt.” Rob goes on about Will’s experience on similar projects, then starts discussing the goals I mentioned before Will arrived. I can hardly focus on whatever he’s saying, but I do my best to talk shop and interject when I need to add more detail.
There’s no way this man is going to shake me. I’m perfectly capable of acting normal despite wanting to jump across the table to choke the daylights out of him.
Not once does Will look away from me during this conversation. Even when I’m looking elsewhere—at Rob, at the mug of coffee that’s going cold in my hand, anywhere but at him—I can feel his black eyes boring a hole in my forehead.
A ringtone interrupts the conversation. Will takes his phone out of his pocket and looks at the screen. “Oh. Excuse me for a moment,” he says casually, standing from his chair. He looks at Rob and gives him a tight-lipped smile. “It’s Ryan. Must be important.” Then he shoots me a quick glance and walks toward the bathroom hallway to answer his phone.
My insides turn to jelly.
Right. I don’t have a moment to lose. Grasping my mug tightly with both hands, I lock eyes with Rob, trying not to appear too desperate. “Rob, I appreciate your work in finding someone who’s such a good fit for this project.” I scratch my neck. “With that being said … for reasons I’d prefer not to disclose, I don’t believe Bill and I would be best suited to collaborate together so closely.” I remain as impassive as I can. “There must be someone else at the firm who would be just as great, if not better, to help my business with these goals.”
Rob frowns. “Unfortunately, Sophie, Bill is the resident expert when it comes to the events industry. It would be against our values as a company to assign anyone to this role who doesn’t have hands-on experience … and unfortunately, we don’t have anyone else who fits the criteria.”
I cross my arms and breathe through my nose. “I’m happy to work with someone with parallel experience, Rob. I’m sure you’ve got many talented consultants on the team.”
Rob tightens his lips. “I’m sorry. We only offer the best of the best in terms of consulting and strategy work. If we don’t believe we can help you achieve and surpass your goals, we don’t take on the project. And I firmly believe Bill is the best man for the job.”
“Listen,” I say. Rob jumps at my sudden change of tone. His dark skin seems to pale. I narrow my eyes and point towards the hallway where Will crept away. “I will never work with this man.” He hurt my best friend. He has no respect for women. And he watched and said nothing as the father of my children fucked other women behind my back. “So unless you have other options, I’m afraid this won’t be a good fit.”
Rob stares with his mouth half-open, unsure of what to say. I don’t wait for him to figure it out and get up from my chair. Right as I’m headed out the door, I turn back and see Will’s eyes are once again on me.
Did he overhear? Whatever. I rush back out on Mont-Royal Street, urging myself to forget all about William Béchard.