Chapter 16 Rise and Fall
RISE AND FALL
Archer
The snarl of horns and red taillights worsened—total gridlock as the city sprinted toward Thanksgiving and everything after. I loved this time of year, with the shop windows lit like stage sets, the air with a mean little bite, and the myth that New Yorkers got kinder.
Someone honked behind me for double-parking in front of Brier’s brownstone. I didn’t care.
The world could honk itself hoarse. This weekend, I had Penny Fair all to myself. Well, except for taking her to Friendsgiving to meet all my friends, my people. I wasn’t nervous about it—I knew they’d like her.
I only worried they’d resurrect the past and their concerns about her “Brianne adjacent-ness” again. They needn’t worry. Lately, I didn’t even think of the past anymore, as if Penny brought me out of the shadows I’d been in far too long.
When she came bounding down the steps, the wind lifted her hair, fresh as in a shampoo commercial.
Smartly dressed in jeans and booties, with a camel-colored coat cinched at the waist. By the time she reached me with pink cheeks from the chill, her smile was bright enough to drown the skyline with sunshine on this dreary fall day.
I got out and greeted her at the trunk and grabbed her suitcase, packing it in the trunk. I ran ahead of her and opened the passenger door for her too.
“You’re fired,” I said on a laugh.
She snorted and stopped short, hand on the door. “What for this time?
“Company policy. I can’t take an employee to Friendsgiving—too many liability clauses. You could choke on a turkey bone or go sugar-drunk on Vivian’s desserts. Temper yourself around those.” I winked.
She laughed in her low musical tone that always found the cracks in my defenses. “Good thing I enjoy living dangerously. I’ll take my chances.”
When I slid into the driver’s seat, the car filled with her warm vanilla perfume and citrus-scented hair products. I leaned across the console. “Pay the toll. Kiss me.”
We met in the middle, lips and tongues, lingering there until another idiot honked behind us.
When I pulled back, her breath caught. “What do you say we get out of here for the weekend?”
“Great idea.” With my hand on her thigh, we braved the journey ahead.
She’d point out things as we passed them, like wreaths with red bows hung from street lamps.
She ooh’d and ahh’d at the tree set up in Rockefeller Center.
We played a game of trying to find the shoppers carrying the glossiest, biggest shopping bags.
I liked this time with her. I’d spent too many years watching this season from my office window, very much alone and lonely, just another man sprinting toward deadlines. This year, I had someone beside me humming along to nonstop Christmas songs on the radio and drumming her fingers on her knees.
I grinned at her rendition of the Hippopotamus Song playing from the speakers. Maybe it was time to admit it—at least to myself. For once, I had a girlfriend during the holidays.
Girlfriend. And it felt crazy good.
I decided that’s what I’d call her in private for now, like a test fit before the final set. The word almost strange—too small for what she was, too big for what I probably deserved. Still, we made sense, like the last beam finally fitted into place on the remodeling of my heart.
She turned the volume up on the next song—Deck the Halls.
“We’re doing this one together.”
“I’m not singing,” I warned. “My voice doesn’t carry a tune well.”
“It’s just us, and I’m not judging.” She sang anyway, for the first stanza. Then, she aimed an imaginary microphone at me for the chorus.
“Fa-la-la-la-la-I-can’t-wait-to-get-you-alone-in-bed.”
She howled, clearly not expecting my silly songwriting expertise to make an appearance.
By the second and third verses I’d made up more lines like Fa-la-la-la-la-Your-tight-pussy-makes-me-moan, and Fa-la-la-la-la-My-cock-is-harder-than-a-ceramic-Christmas-gnome.
She snorted and giggled so hard she missed half the lyrics for the rest of the song.
“The clear victor in car karaoke is none other than the bosshole himself.” I held up my hand, and she gave me a high-five.
Stuck at a stoplight, I caught her hand and kissed the back of it, happier than I could recall being in some time.
“Nice to see you relaxing, Mr. Bellamy,” she teased.
“Told you I could be fun now and then.”
“Don’t you worry. I brought plenty of fun for us in my packed case back there. I’ll coax it out of you with sexy lingerie if it’s the last thing I do. By the time you get back to work on Monday, you’ll be sick of me.”
“Not possible.” I shifted in my seat. Fuck, I was hard, thinking about what she had in mind. With a few hours’ drive yet ahead of us, it could get pretty uncomfortable sitting with a steel rod between my legs.
The light turned green, and the outside world crashed our date. The car’s AI pinged a new email coming in. She squeezed my fingers before letting go so I could focus.
“Message from: Holden West. Subject: Follow-up,” came the robotic voice from the dash.
“Play it,” I called out.
Holden’s voice-to-text came through smooth and noncommittal: Appreciate the proposal. Still reviewing options. Will circle back soon.
I groaned. “If ‘circle back soon’ were a contract clause people would pay for in this business, it’d add another million to my bank account.”
“Still no commitment from him?” She chewed her cheek.
“None. And Caleb’s been quote-sick-unquote all week. Convenient timing.”
“He called Maya and told her it was the flu bug that’s been going around. Thought he caught a chill on the ski lodge trip.”
“Right. The kind that only infects ambition. I worry about what you overheard at the lodge. Perhaps he is trying to steal Holden’s business away.
” I eased around a cab, breathing deeply in and out, trying to keep my pressure down.
“Maybe it’s for the best. Honestly, Holden would’ve been a handful.
I don’t know. Lately I’ve been thinking my company takes on too much, spreading my people too thin. ”
“You might not be entirely wrong.” She hesitated, twisting in her seat, careful with her words. “I’ve overheard some staff grumbling about hours.”
I shot her a sidelong glance. “My little spy.”
“I prefer the term ‘field operative.’”
“What else are they saying about me?”
She pretended to think, her pointer finger on her chin. “Hm. That you’re the best bosshole anyone’s ever had.”
I barked a laugh. “I want that on a mug. And a T-shirt.”
“Guess I have your Christmas present figured out then.” Her chuckle slid to a grin and softened. “You really like your work, don’t you? You care about your company.”
“Sometimes too much,” I admitted. “But lately I’m remembering why I started.
Building things that last. Connections that mean something.
I’ve been at this now for some time, partly with Brooks, then on my own.
It’s becoming more tempting every day to slow down and enjoy the ride… with someone special.”
I let it hang there, the unspoken ‘with you’ between us.
Light snow fell, and she gazed out at it, quiet for a minute. I started sweating. Was it too soon? Had things been moving too fast? Hell, we went from thinking we’d wait a year to be together, to ignoring that and falling right into temptation.
Finally, she said, “That sounds nice. Building something that lasts. Is that what we’re doing, Arch?”
Yes. The word crowded my throat. But old scars held me back. I glossed over it to another topic. “So, what about your time at Bellamy so far? Be honest. How has it been going?”
“Well, the CEO is a handful… and a mouthful,” came her wry reply.
That brought out my cocky grin, and didn’t help calm the heat in my groin for her. “So you say. Seriously though, tell me.”
She shook her head. “I’ve learned so much, kept so busy, the days have blurred. Caleb, well, he’s Caleb as I’m sure you can imagine.”
“Let me guess. He pawns most of the work on Maya, and her overflow falls on you and the others.”
“He prefers to call it delegating.”
“Figures.”
“I absolutely adore Maya, though. She’s an amazing leader. Takes her time to show me how to do something properly. Gives advice and suggestions where needed. Really cares about the team and our projects, and we all care about her. Too bad she’s not the project leader instead of Caleb.”
“Hm. Noted.” My mind set to work, strategizing.
If Caleb ended up with Holden as his one and only client, leaving my firm, which, by the way, went totally against our company noncompete clause of the improved employee manual, I’d promote Maya immediately.
We could solve many problems with a move like that.
We continued talking and laughing, getting to know each other even more. Every minute I appreciated how special she was. How the hell did I get so lucky to find her on that app? What were the odds Dax’s app would match me to the stepsister of my ex? No one I knew could have bet on this.
By the time we rolled down the main street of Holly Creek, I wanted her in bed for all the obvious reasons—and one less obvious one: to fall asleep with her tucked against my chest and remember what peace felt like.
Friendsgiving had to come first, though.
The town—famous for its over-the-top Christmas festivals—took the season seriously.
Every lamppost proudly wore a red bow and a wreath.
Strings of white lights looped back and forth across the road from post to post. Snowmen were fashioned on the main square lawn.
And Santa rung a bell in front of Flora’s Diner, still packed even on the holiday.
In front of Vivian’s bakery, the sandwich board kept tally on the number of cookies by the dozen sold, in a tradition of competition between her and Flora.
“Cute town.” Penny pressed a hand to the side window, taking it all in.
A few locals waved as we drove by, friendly as ever, even if they didn’t know us. It hit me how long it had been since I’d slowed down enough to notice any of this.
The snow deepened as we left downtown. A few minutes later, we turned onto a long driveway lined with frosted pines. Ahead, the Buchanan country estate rose from the white like something out of a postcard, barn lights twinkling behind it.
Richard called it his farmette—the billionaire who’d once ruled New York City’s skyline and Buchanan Energy, now happily dabbled in Highland cows, horses, and chickens.
With his kind of money, he could afford any hobby he wanted, even pretending to be an average farmer.
Vivian had gifted him a pair of green John Deere overalls and straw cowboy hat to complete the look for his birthday last year.
“Okay. I’m officially nervous.” Penny’s knee wiggled up and down.
“Hey, no worries. You’ll fit right in.”
“Tell me more about them again?”
“I’ve been friends with Rex and Richard for a long time.
They’re more of the bosshole variety, even more than I am, if you can imagine.
Keaton is laid back but will require you to taste test five new flavors of his latest brews.
And Brooks—well, he’s not as adorable as me, but very likable. ” I winked.
“And their wives?” Her knee didn’t stop. What made her so worried? I had never seen her like this.
“Well, it goes without saying that they’ll be jealous of your beauty. I expect cat fights the minute we walk in the door.”
“Shut up.” She chortled playfully, slapping my arm.
“Let me see. How to describe the wives? Honestly, that’s difficult. They each complement their husbands. Chelsea—”
“The TV personality?”
“Exactly. She’s smart, and sweet, and somehow keeps Rex in line.
Between her and Vivian—cousins—I don’t know which one would take you under their wing more and be the best friend you’ve ever had.
Maisy and Sophie are besties, so, you know, they’re impossible to break apart.
But all of them are career women and well respected, and wonderful mothers.
There will be a bunch of kids running around too because these husbands and wives reproduce like rabbits. ”
She twitched her lips. “And they know about us… about our situation?”
“I texted them. They’re fine.”
That had been an awkward message to send in the group chat—me explaining that Penny and I were together but keeping it private for now.
Rex: Define “private.”
Keaton: Like HR-private or secretly married in Vegas-private?
Richard: Should we prep an NDA for all of us to sign?
Brooks: You’re safe, man. We’ll play dumb.
Me: And guys, keep my ex out of the conversation in front of Penny. No mention of the past. I’m done with that.
Rex: Of course.
Richard: Exes shall not be named while in Penny’s presence.
Brooks: We got you.
Me: Appreciated. Delete this thread before your wives see it.
Keaton: Too late. Sophie peeked. I’ll use my manliness to keep her from talking. [wink emoji]
I pocketed the phone that day with a groan. The guys might joke like brothers, but they had my back. They always did.
“I’m afraid they’ll judge me because of Brianne,” Penny admitted now.
I reached over the console, brought her hand to my thigh, and brushed my thumb over her knuckles.
“They won’t. They already promised to behave.
No questions, no comparisons, no history lessons.
Just good food, too much beer, and people who’ll like you as much as I do.
Trust me, please. You’ll get along fine.
And if you don’t, say the word. We’ll leave early and go have our own Thanksgiving at Richard’s guesthouse tonight. ”
“You’d leave early for me?”
“Hm. Eat, drink, and be thankful with my friends who I’ve known forever or… take you to bed and eat, drink, and be thankful for you? Hard choice. Very hard.” I slid her hand to my cock, which ached by now for want of her.
She patted there and licked her lips. “Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of you later.”
I kissed her one more time before we faced them all. I couldn’t wait for tonight, when it was just us again, her laughter in my bed and her scent on my skin. In our own world, where reality could wait until Monday.