Chapter 12
CHAPTER TWELVE
A THURSDAY IN JUNE
I’m sitting at my desk, finishing up an email, when my eyes catch on the fresh bouquet resting on my desk. This week, Levi sent me lilies, stating he was going to buy me every type of flower he could think of until I found a favorite.
These past three weeks have flown by but have been some of the best of my life.
At least in the aspect of dating, of course.
Levi has made me four home-cooked meals and taken me out for karaoke.
We even got lucky when Claire got invited to a friend’s house after school one day so we could try a new restaurant in the city.
He stopped by the office almost every day. Whether it be to drop off a coffee from my favorite shop on his way in, bringing me lunch when I was elbow deep in matches, or simply walking me to my car at the end of the day. It was a pleasant change of pace.
However, lying to him was getting more and more difficult.
I was running out of excuses why I couldn’t spend more time with him that didn’t involve telling him about Claire.
Truthfully, it wasn’t just the fear of him no longer wanting to be with me, not wanting to add a child into his life, but was also a concern of me being pushed to introduce them if he was okay with it.
I’m nowhere near ready for Claire to meet him, and I’m nervous that he’ll want that sooner than I’m prepared for. I still haven’t talked to her about her father, so the last thing I want to do is introduce a whole other complication to her life.
And the worst part is, every time I talk to Blue, I realize just how insane I sound.
One moment I want to tell him and the next I don’t.
That I want to do what’s best for me for once and then worry about everyone and everything else the next.
I can’t make up my mind, unable to stick to my guns like I so desperately wish I could.
I’m pulled out of my thoughts by the sound of my phone vibrating on my desk. Putting a pause on my email response to one of our clients, I reach for it. My eyebrows furrow as I stare at an unknown number before deciding to answer.
“This is Marlowe Reyes,” I greet, leaning back in my chair.
“Good afternoon, Marlowe,” a male voice says. “This is Jerry. I hope now is a good time.”
I sit up straighter, shaking my head as if he can see me. “Now is fine. What’s going on?”
“I just wanted to call and inform you of the status of the investigation,” he tells me, and I can practically feel the lump forming in my throat.
“We finished our initial investigation, but we are now at a standstill. Next step would be looking at the cars themselves, but that has presented a challenge.”
“I still don’t understand,” I say, pinching the bridge of my nose. “Why can’t you just watch the traffic cam footage? That’ll clearly tell you what happened.”
I’m met with silence for a moment, causing my brows to furrow as I prepare myself for bad news. “Unfortunately, it appears as if the traffic cam footage from that night has been lost.”
“How is that possible?” I grind my teeth together to try to keep my voice down, aware that there are other people around me.
“I’m afraid I don’t have an answer for you,” he replies, and I can hear his frustration. “But I promise you, Marlowe, I will continue to do everything I can here to get justice for your father and sister.”
“Thank you,” I mumble, closing my eyes as I lean back in my chair.
Jerry hums before saying, “I’ll call you when I have more. Have a good day.”
Hanging up the phone, I get little time to myself to mull over the information I have just been given as I see Kirstin striding towards me from the entrance. I sigh, running a hand down my face before I spin in my chair so I can watch her approach.
“Did you see today’s paper?” She asks once she’s only a couple feet away. I shake my head as she extends it in my direction. “Check out the front page.”
Glancing down, my eyes widen at the headline staring at me in big bold letters.
Levi Wright, CEO of Wright Enterprises and New York’s Most Eligible Bachelor, off the market?
Below the headline is a photo of Levi and I when we had visited some restaurant earlier in the week. You can’t see my face, but he has his arm around my shoulders and the way he’s looking down at me as I talk to the bartender would have any woman swooning if they were in my spot.
I scan the article, not seeing my name, but seeing that he mentioned Kirstin Davis Matchmaking Services. Thankfully, it doesn’t look like he commented on much else, which makes me breathe a sigh of relief.
“I’d like to see Antony and Maria top that,” she says with an enormous grin as she leans against my desk. “You did it, Mar.”
“Yes, the hard part is truly over,” I reply sarcastically, unable to stop myself. At her raised brow, I spin in my chair and drop my head to my desk, releasing a loud groan.
Kirstin rests a hand on my shoulder before pulling up a chair to sit beside me. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing new,” I tell her, not wanting to rehash this conversation for what feels like the hundredth time. “Still just stuck in my own damn head.”
“Well, I won’t give you the same piece of advice, then,” she says, and I lift my head to look at her. “What? Clearly, it’s not advice you need, otherwise you would’ve taken it by now. You just need to follow your heart, Marlowe.”
A smile tugs at my lips. “That sounds an awful lot like advice, Kirstin.”
She abruptly stands from the chair, causing me to laugh when she says, “Then I will see myself back to my office before I risk giving you more. I should start charging you, by the way. I could be a motivational speaker.”
“I’ll start putting your quotes on t-shirts,” I retort, which makes her snort. “Oh, and bumper stickers. Definitely bumper stickers.”
“Get back to your emails,” she tells me with a laugh as she spins on her heels and stalks off towards her office.
I shake my head before doing just as she says, spending the next few hours going over submissions and replying to emails.
Before I know it, I hear the familiar sound of dress shoes on the tile floor and the corners of my lips tug up on their own accord. I keep my eyes on my computer, refusing to glance up even though it’s like there is a magnetic pull between us.
“There’s my hardworking girl,” I hear before I finally look up and watch him lean against my desk. “Think you can get away for the rest of the night and join me for a night out? Celebrate the end of the work week?”
“I thought hot shot CEOs never have an end to their work week? And isn’t it Thursday?” I lean back in my chair and fold my arms over my chest, trying to stifle my smile.
Levi stares down at me, a grin of his own threatening to appear. “Maybe. But this hot shot CEO also gets to decide who and when to delegate work to, and this man,” he says as he gestures to himself. “This man here wants to take you out and have a weekend off.”
“Well then,” I say as I shut my laptop, not taking my eyes off his as I push out of my chair and stand in front of him, only a foot of space between us. “What are we waiting for?”
I can’t help the chuckle that escapes me as his eyes light up. “Really?”
“What can I say?” I shrug, reaching for my purse and slinging it over my shoulder. “Seems you got lucky.”
“That I did, Lowe,” he replies, standing upright as he reaches for my hand, interlacing our fingers together. “That I did.”
We arrive at the bar half an hour later, tucked under Levi’s suit jacket. It had begun to sprinkle on our walk over, which turned into a downpour as we rounded the corner.
Stepping inside the large, loud bar, Levi drops and shakes out his coat before doing the same to his hair, causing me to laugh. My shirt is slightly wet but not enough to be seen through and my hair is only a bit matted down.
Music is blaring over the loudspeakers, reverberating in my chest as Levi reaches for my hand to lead me through the crowd. Half of the people are still dressed in their work clothes, much like Levi and I, the other half in more casual attire.
As we get closer to where the makeshift stage is, which is hosting a band currently doing sound check, I notice a familiar head of red hair. I stop and glance up at Levi only to see him already smiling at me.
“Figured it was time to get the gang together,” he says simply before resuming his long strides to lead us over to the high top.
“Marlowe, hi,” JJ practically squeals once she sees us, pulling me away from Levi to wrap me in a tight hug. “Oh my goodness, I’ve missed you.”
I can’t help but laugh as I hug her back. “It’s been three days.”
“Three days too long if you ask me,” she replies before pulling away. “Oh boy, must have gotten caught in the rain. Hang on, I have a brush in my purse.”
I grin as she turns her back to me to dig through her large black bag when I see Blue beaming at me with RJ at her side. He tilts his ball cap at me in greeting and I simply smile back.
“How did you get a hold of them?” I ask, looking up at Levi.
“Cole,” he answers with a shrug. “Figured it’d be fun to get to know your best friend. I hope that’s okay.”
Rather than replying, I wrap my arms around his waist, my head resting on his chest. Levi doesn’t hesitate as he wraps one arm around my shoulders, the other resting on the back of my head.
“So cute,” I hear JJ say, and I snuggle just a little more into his chest.
“Gross is what it is,” Blue follows up and this time I scoff.
Pulling away from Levi, I turn around to look at my best friend with what would be a scolding expression if I could keep the smile off my face. “Hey now, you wanted this for me.”
“Doesn’t mean I want to look at it.”
Before I can muster up a retort, Cole approaches the table carrying six glasses, three in each hand. I raise a brow as JJ grabs two so he can set down the rest and she extends one in my direction. I gratefully accept before turning to Blue once more.