Chapter Sixteen – Verity
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
VERITY
I am dead tired.
My feet are about to fall off, my throat is dry as hell, and my head is spinning. Don’t even get me started on my heart. That thing beating in my chest has been going haywire ever since Jenna dropped the bomb.
I still haven’t been able to fully process anything because I’ve had to keep my cool at the event. I cannot have a meltdown until I’m safely in my apartment where there is absolutely zero chance of anyone overhearing my groans of depression over the fact that I kissed my boss’s ex-husband.
My throat closes up with the feeling of nausea clogging the pipes.
Oh my God.
I kissed my boss’s ex.
How does shit like this even happen?
“Verity, are you ready?” Jenna taps my shoulder.
The event is winding down at the ripe hour of three in the morning.
Event staff and Kelton employees are trickling in to clean up and disassemble while the few remaining attendees finish their last drinks and stumble out to the elevators.
Celine and Davina left two hours ago, but Jenna, Anne, and I stayed around until the end.
I have no clue why, because even the man of the hour wasn’t present. True to Cullen’s words, I’d seen him dip off with a pretty model sometime around two.
Cullen.
“Verity?”
“Sorry. Yeah, I’m ready.”
I grip my clutch and follow Jenna and Anne into the elevator.
Anne keeps going on and on about how excited she is about the deal with Frankie Jones.
It seems the conversation they had with him ended on a positive note, and Celine wants us to circle back on it next week to discuss in our Monday meeting.
I chatted up a few people who had expressed interest, but there are no fish on my hook just yet.
I am just throwing my bait into the water until something bites.
If I don’t land something soon, I’ll either be stuck with Anne for this Frankie Jones project or helping Jenna for the foreseeable future.
I’m in such a zombielike mode that I almost hallucinate Cullen when I step out of the elevator.
He sits there in all his Calvin Klein model glory, with his suit that hugs his muscular body in all the right ways and hair styled with a sexy wave at the top. He’s even loosened his tie and undone the first two buttons of his shirt—and damn that does something to my ovaries.
His arms are crossed over his chest, and he is nodding off to sleep, by the look of it. The loud echoes of our heels on the marble tiles wake him up, and he startles, searching for the sound.
Our gazes clash, and his lips move, teeth biting his bottom lip as though he is about to call out my name.
Oh God.
Not a hallucination.
Very real.
Cullen is very, very, very real, and this situation could get very, very, very bad.
As if sensing my panic, Cullen freezes. He takes in the two women walking next to me, and his lips press into a thin line. He pulls out his phone and begins typing away. I feel my clutch vibrate and know that it’s him.
I don’t falter my stride. I avert my gaze and stay locked ahead, trying not to give anything away to my coworkers.
I can only pray that Cullen got the silent message and he doesn’t follow me.
Jenna’s rideshare is already waiting for her when we get outside.
“Do you two need a ride? I can add in some stops.”
“Sure!” Anne jumps at the chance to spend more time with Jenna, anything that will get her an extra second to plead her case.
“I live in the totally opposite direction. Don’t worry about it.” I wave them off with a slight flick of my hand.
Jenna frowns. “Are you sure? It’s not a big deal. It’s late.”
“Yeah, I already called a car.”
“All right, get some rest. I’ll see you Monday.”
“Yup, see you then.” I give them a fake smile and wave as they shut their door, and watch as the car takes off.
I remain rooted to the spot, shivering slightly, as I wait for the car to make it to the end of the street and turn. Even then, I count to thirty before I even think about heading back inside.
I can’t play it too safe at this point.
I wrap my arms around myself and walk back up the steps to the Kelton Hotel.
Nerves dance in my belly as I make my way back to Cullen.
Part of me is still holding onto hope that maybe Jenna had it wrong. She said she didn’t know the full story. There’s a chance Cullen isn’t Celine’s ex, maybe her ex’s friend and Jenna got them confused. It’s not a high chance, but it’s a chance, and it’s all that is keeping me sane right now.
I feel like a glass window that is being battered by a storm. I’m holding up against the wind, but fissures are beginning to form. If I’m not careful, I just might shatter.
Cullen shoots to his feet as I get closer.
“Verity.”
My name finally leaves his lips, and the sound sprinkles warm sparkles in my chest. I gather that feeling and bottle it up for safekeeping because this conversation could very well be our last.
“Hey.” My smile is genuine, but I know there are lines of tense hesitation wrinkling the corners of my eyes. I squeeze my arms around myself more tightly. “What are you—”
I cut myself off as Cullen pulls off his suit jacket and lays it over my shoulders as a cape. It’s way too big for me, which is perfect. I can feel his residual body heat, and the scent of his cologne sticks to the material.
He gives my shoulders a quick squeeze, and it’s only now that we are so close that I am able to see my same uncertainty marring the lines on his face as well. A rock settles in the pit of my stomach.
“So, this was your big event? The one you’ve been poring over?” He tries to make his tone light, placing a hand in his front pocket.
“Yeah. This was the special branding project.”
“It looked amazing. You really did a great job for Jace.”
Well, it’s a shit fucking design.
His earlier venom echoes in my mind, that poison dripping onto my heart, creating little holes.
“Really? You liked it.”
“Yeah, why would I—”
“Because you told Celine it was shit.” My nose prickles, my emotions starting to get the better of me.
Cullen’s smile drops, a haunted expression taking over.
“Verity, I didn’t mean that. Seriously. I only said that to hurt Celine.”
“And that’s supposed to make me feel better?”
I have no idea why I’m picking a fight with him. I came back in here hoping for clarity, hoping to smooth things over with his confirmation that he isn’t my boss’s ex. Instead, I am tearing at the threads keeping us together.
“I—” he swallows. “You’re right. It was a low blow.”
Cullen reaches out and takes my left hand, holding the tips of my fingers lightly. I turn my head to the side, staring at the marble tiles so I can get the words out without getting distracted.
“What’s going on, Cullen?”
My eyes are starting to sting, and my breathing is shallow, stuck in my chest.
“I’m not sure.”
I want to ask him. Want to demand he tell me how he knows Celine. Want to shake him and see if Jenna was lying, if her facts were wrong.
But I can’t. I’m scared.
I’m terrified that it was the truth.
A part of me knows it’s the truth.
And I’m not sure what that means for us.
“You work for Delute Designs.”
I’m not sure if it’s a question. It doesn’t sound like it.
I peer up at Cullen and answer anyway. “Yes. I’ve worked there for three years.”
He nods his head a few times, gaze darting everywhere but at me.
“Did you know who I was?”
“What?”
“Did Celine ever mention me?”
Those fissures in my glass resolve spread farther.
“No. Why?” I try to steel myself as my own defensiveness rears. “Why would she mention you?”
He lets go of my hand and runs his fingers through his hair, cursing under his breath.
“Fuck.”
“ Why would she mention you, Cullen?”
“Celine and I…” He trails off, pacing to the right and then coming back to stand before me. “This isn’t how I ever wanted to bring this up.”
I’m supposed to be asking him what this is.
The issue is, I know. The second he said Celine and I …
The glass cracks farther.
“Tell me, Cullen. The truth.” My voice wavers. “How do you know Celine?”
“She’s my ex.”
The glass breaks.
“Ex-what?”
“Wife. We’re separated.”
The glass shatters.
I sink down in a crouch, resting my ass on the back of my ankles and run my hands through my hair. Broken laughs escape my chest because life is playing one hell of a joke on me.
“Oh my God. What the fuck, Cullen?” My sanity is no longer present. The threads snap. I push back onto my feet. “Why didn’t you tell me this sooner?”
“I didn’t know you knew Celine.”
“So? You were just never going to tell me you were divorced? You didn’t think that was important?”
“It’s not exactly the type of thing you bring up on the first date.”
“What about the fourth? You know, the one where you asked me to be your girlfriend after kissing me? You didn’t think to tell me then?”
I’m not sure why I’m making such a big deal out of this. I can’t think clearly.
“No, I didn’t. My marriage isn’t something I really talk about. Ever.”
“This is a nightmare, Cullen. A nightmare. I would never have agreed to this if I’d known you were Celine’s ex.”
He looks at me like I just slapped him.
“Verity. You don’t—”
“What am I supposed to do? If Celine finds out, I’m done. Done, Cullen. My career at Delute will be over in a heartbeat.”
“That’s wrongful termination.”
“You think Celine cares?” I look him squarely in the eyes. “Do you really think Celine is going to care?” He says nothing, and it just spurs me on. “I saw the way you guys were arguing. You hate each other. And now I’m in the middle of that.”
I can’t see a solution here.
Jenna already cautioned me away from letting my love life mingle with work. I think she’d have an absolute aneurism if she found out I’d been dreaming of banging the boss’s ex-husband.
I can’t do this.
I need to step away. Now. Before my heart gets any more invested.
“I’m sorry.”
Tears begin to fill the corners of my eyes, and I will them to stay back.
“It’s fine, Verity. We’ll find a way through this.”
Cullen takes a step toward me, reaching for my hand. I counter, taking two steps back.
“No, we won’t. This has to end here.”
“We just started.”
“I know, I—” The words get stuck in my throat. The longer I’m around him, the harder it gets to push back. With his touch on my skin, my screaming heart quiets. In just a few short weeks, he has become such a comfort to me. I need to leave now, before I lose my courage.
“I can’t date my boss’s ex-husband. I can’t risk my career, Cullen.”
I shuck off his jacket and shove it into his chest. That movement startles him enough that I use it for my escape. I swivel on my heels and sprint out the building and as far down the street as possible before he can catch up.
I make a run for it like the coward I am.