CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
Reynolds
I was standing in my office when my phone rang.
I’d been looking out over the town square below, admiring how, unlike some cities, there was a lot of green space in West Bay.
Big old oak trees lined the sidewalks. The large town green in the center of the square held an extensive park with benches, a walking trail, a creek, and a duck pond.
It was picturesque, like something out of a calendar. I loved the city I served.
I glanced at who was calling out of habit. It was Whitney.
I took a sip of coffee and set down my mug before answering.
I didn’t really want to talk to her. I still felt horribly guilty for sticking with my original plan to take her to the Mayor’s Ball.
I was trying to figure out how best to tell Nadine I’d be taking Whitney to the ball instead of her without her thinking I was an asshole.
But I was an asshole. I just couldn’t do it.
I couldn’t take her. Melda was right. I knew I couldn’t relax with Nadine by my side, and it was an important appearance.
Really important. I needed to start my second term as mayor off right.
If Nadine was with me, I’d worry the whole time that she’d say something gauche or unsuitable and get us in the papers in a bad way.
Or that the entire town of West Bay would put two and two together and realize I’d been in a fake relationship with Whitney. They would turn against me.
I hated it, but the Mayor’s Ball wasn’t the right time to parade her around as mine in front of West Bay. I needed to work my way up to that. I couldn’t start off my second term badly. If I did, it could be my last term.
“Hello, Whitney. How are you?”
“Oh, I’m fine. I was just being fitted for my gown for the Mayor’s Ball.”
“Mm-hmm.” I took another sip of coffee while staring out the window at the ducks swimming in the pond. It was chilly, but they seemed happy enough.
“And I ran into your little friend there. What’s her name… Nadine?”
I choked and spit the coffee out. Shit. It sprayed the window and dribbled onto my perfect white shirt. I tried to wipe it off while holding the phone and processing what she’d just said.
“What?” I finally gasped out.
“Nadine. She was buying a dress for the Mayor’s Ball. I can’t believe she thinks you’d actually take her to something like that.”
Oh, fuck. Fuck! This could not have happened in a worse way. “She was buying a dress?” I asked weakly. She hadn’t wasted any time. God, I was a fool.
“She’d already bought it. And two pairs of shoes to go with it.” Whitney laughed. “She looked upset when she saw me.”
I went cold.
“She… saw you there?” I put my hand on my forehead forgetting it was covered in coffee.
“Yes. I was trying on my gown, and she was there. I’m afraid she overheard my friend and I talking about the ball and how funny it would be if you took her.”
“Oh God.” Whitney was mean to her.
She misunderstood me, though, and thought I was as amused by it as she had been.
“I know, right? How could she possibly think…”
“Whitney, that’s not what I was fucking upset about,” I had to control my voice to keep from shouting at her.
She sighed. “I know. I shouldn’t have been telling my friend anything about our arrangement. Don’t worry, though, I made her sign an NDA. I just had to talk to someone about it, Reynolds, and I couldn’t very well tell my parents…”
“Did you talk to Nadine?” I cut her off.
She laughed, surprised. “Not directly. But judging by the look on her face she heard my friend and me discussing how pathetic she is. But really, Reynolds. She has to have heard it all before. And how could she think she would be an acceptable date for the Mayor of West Bay? It’s too funny.
” She giggled, and it had a cruel edge to it.
I saw red. She’d hurt Nadine. I’d promised Carmen and Nadine’s mama that I would never hurt her, but I’d done it more than once through this whole auction and contract. And now Whitney had, too.
“Fuck off, Whitney.”
There was a stony silence.
“What did you say?” When she finally spoke, her words came out fast, like bullets.
“You heard me.”
She sucked in a breath. “Be careful, Reynolds. I put up with you refusing to be in an actual relationship with me, but I won’t be talked to in that way. If you don’t watch out, you’ll lose your chance with me.”
“That’s fine with me. We’re officially done, Whitney.”
“You can’t mean that…”
“Oh, I do. Consider yourself uninvited to the Mayor’s Ball,” I said too loudly into the phone. My secretary poked her head in to see if I was okay. She did a double take when she saw the coffee dripping down my forehead and staining my shirt.
“You okay?” she whispered.
I covered the phone, “Fine,” I said. She gave me a doubtful look and went back out of the office.
“What does that mean? I know you need me, Reynolds. I’m the perfect date for your political functions. And I’d make the best politician’s wife you could ever imagine…”
“That’s never happening. And from now on, we’re done. I’m not taking you to the ball, Whitney. Or anywhere else.”
“Surely you won’t take her as your date? It’s career suicide.”
“You let me worry about that.”
“You can’t do this. I’ll go to the press. I’ll tell them everything was fake and that you’re not any better than Jasper Hill.”
I dropped my voice low. “Listen up, Whitney. If you do any such thing, I will sue you so fast you won’t know what hit you.
I’ll sic Carmen Salazar on you, and I think you know what a tough lawyer she is.
When she’s done spreading your name all over the state, there won’t be a trust fund guy left who will want to date you.
You better watch yourself.” I paused, listening to her rapid breathing.
Good. She was upset, maybe even scared. “I’ll be releasing a statement about the end of our relationship before the day is over. ”
And I hung up.
She called back, but I didn’t answer. My phone buzzed with texts from her, too, but I ignored them. I was tempted to block her.
Why the hell not? I did block her. It gave me a small thrill of satisfaction.
But the real question was whether I could fix things with Nadine. I felt sick at my stomach picturing how things must’ve gone down in that boutique. Why hadn’t I told her I was taking Whitney to the ball?
Better yet, why hadn’t I been brave enough to take Nadine in the first place?
I closed my eyes. I hadn’t trusted her. I thought back to the election party at Salazar Nights.
She’d conducted herself perfectly. I’d watched as she laughed, talked, and danced with the Salazar family all night.
She’d done nothing to make anyone think she wasn’t suitable to be in society.
I groaned and plopped down in my chair, holding my head in my hands.
I didn’t care that it was wet with coffee.
I had made a terrible mistake. The worst. If the most influential family in West Bay thought Nadine was something special, who the hell was I to think she wasn’t good enough?
If the Salazars thought she was ready for high society, I was an idiot to think she wasn’t.
Oh God. I’d been a terrible snob. And I’d put my career before Nadine again.
I’d told her I loved her and then hadn’t trusted her enough to take her to the ball.
I stood up, suddenly frantic to see her. To explain myself.
I called her, but her phone gave a weird message saying the number was no longer in service.
I frowned. What the fuck? I tried again and got the same answer.
And then it hit me what was happening. Our contract was over. It had been over for more than a month. She was only with me because I’d begged her to stay. She’d turned her phone off and probably gotten a new one.
She was leaving me.
I got up from my desk and ran through the office.
“Sir! Are you okay?” my secretary asked after me.
“Call Byron. Ask him to get the car and meet me outside, please!” I yelled back over my shoulder.
I heard her making the call as I practically crashed into the elevators. I punched the button multiple times.
I got in the elevator, rode down, and hurried to the Rolls Byron had waiting on me.
“What’s going on?” he asked, eyes wide at my appearance. In addition to the coffee stains, I’d run my fingers through my hair, and I saw it was standing up like a hedgehog or something in the reflection of the car window. I didn’t care.
“Get me to Nadine’s as fast as you can,” I said.
“Sure thing.” He seemed to sense that I didn’t want to talk and put the privacy screen up. Either that or he thought I was going crazy, and he was scared of me. Or, I realized, he’d guessed the truth. He knew I’d hurt Nadine and was upset with me.
I watched the scenery go by as we made the trip to the condo. The trip had become so familiar to me over the past six months, and I realized just how happy I’d been whenever I was on my way to see her.
I swallowed hard. I had no idea what was going to be waiting on me when I got there. Would she be crying? Would she yell at me? Hit me? That wasn’t Nadine’s style, but her mama was rough as hell. Maybe she’d taught her how to fight.
When we arrived, Byron dropped me at the front while he went to park and wait on me.
I hurried inside, not even bothering to wave at the front desk guy.
The elevators seemed to take forever to get to her floor, and I paced back and forth as I waited for the doors to open.
I couldn’t wait to see her. Even if she was mad at me.
I went to the door of her condo and stopped. It was open. I pushed inside and stood there in shock. I’d expected tears. I’d expected yelling. I’d expected to have to talk her into still being with me.
What I didn’t expect, though, was for her to be already be gone.
The condo was empty. I hurried around, holding out hope that there were clothes in her bedroom, and she was still packing up.
It was empty. I ran to the bathroom, opening all the cabinets and drawers. The only things still there were mine.