Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
Simon
I leaned back in my chair and stared up at the ceiling.
I was an asshole. What bothered me was that I wasn’t usually like that.
I didn’t give a shit what other people did with their lives.
Their bad decisions weren’t my problem. But Bella’s were.
She was living in my home because of her bad decisions.
I stood from my chair and stepped onto the terrace, the crisp air cooling me off.
She said I’d spent my whole life making sure nothing went wrong.
She wasn’t wrong about that. I liked knowing what came next.
I liked plans and schedules. I liked problems with solutions and risks that could be calculated before they were taken.
It was how I ran the company and my life. It worked. I had everything I wanted.
I hated myself for hurting her. I could still see the look on her face when I said she was imposing on other people.
That was the moment I should have stopped.
But I kept going. I ran my hand through my hair as I stared out at the brightly lit city.
I wasn’t good with apologies, but I owed her one.
And something told me that Bella Castle wasn’t going to make it easy for me.
“Fuck.”
I walked down the hallway and stopped outside her bedroom door, staring at it for a moment.
This was ridiculous. I negotiated multi-million-dollar contracts without even breaking a sweat.
I’d walk into boardrooms full of people who wanted to tear apart my numbers and convince them to hand me hundreds of millions of dollars.
Yet, I was standing outside Bella’s door in my own home, rehearsing sentences in my head.
I lightly knocked. No answer.
“Bella?”
Still no answer. I knocked again. This time a little harder.
“Go away, Simon!” she shouted.
I slowly opened the door. She was sitting cross-legged in the middle of the bed with her laptop in front of her.
“Did I say you could come in?” Her eyes met mine.
“No.”
“Then why are you in here?”
“Honestly, because you told me to go away.”
“And you naturally interpreted that as come into my bedroom? Where did you go to school?” Her eyes narrowed.
“I’m not particularly good at taking orders,” I said.
“Shocking!” she said.
I turned and shut the door. Why? I had no idea.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” she asked.
“Apologizing.” I tucked my hands into my pants pockets.
She closed her laptop. “You’re what?”
“You heard me. I was an asshole.”
“Wow. Maybe I should record this,” she said.
“Don’t make me regret coming in here.”
“Oh, I’m definitely going to make you regret it.”
I had to fight back the smile that was starting to form on my lips.
“I shouldn’t have said what I did. I was angry.”
“That doesn’t make it okay,” she said. “And what the hell were you angry about? We were having a normal conversation.”
“I had no right to judge what you did when you were twenty. And I definitely had no right to imply that you losing your job had anything to do with the choices you made back then. I also shouldn’t have said you were imposing on people.”
“No. You shouldn’t have.” Her face was stone cold. “Anything else?” Her brow raised.
Jesus Christ, this was killing me.
“You were right,” I said. Her eyes widened, and I immediately regretted saying it.
“Could you repeat that?” she asked.
“No,” I said firmly.
“I don’t think I heard you.”
“You heard me, Bella.”
“Wow. Simon Montclair just told me I was right about something.” A small smile formed across her lips.
“Enjoy it. It won’t happen often.”
“Oh, I’m absolutely enjoying it.” She laughed.
I shook my head. This woman was unbelievable.
“I made assumptions about you, and I shouldn’t have. You built a career without finishing college. You taught yourself how to do something and supported yourself doing it. That matters.”
“You don’t have to stand there and say that just because you feel guilty,” she said.
“I don’t say things I don’t mean, Bella.”
“I’ve already picked up on that,” she said.
“I deserved that,” I sighed. “But I do still think taking off in an RV with some guy you barely knew was insane.”
“And there it is.” She rolled her eyes.
“I’m apologizing to you for being an asshole. I’m not undergoing a complete personality transplant.”
“I was twenty,” she said.
“I know.”
“And for the record, it wasn’t all bad,” she said.
“No?”
“No. I saw places I never would’ve seen. I met people I never would have met. I learned how to survive on almost no money. And I learned how to change a tire.”
“You,” I pointed, “Bella Castle knows how to change a tire? I don’t believe you.”
“Of course you don’t,” she said, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear.
“I have people who do that.” I chuckled, and she shot me a look. “That sounded bad as soon as it came out,” I sighed.
“God, you make it so hard to like you,” she said.
“You like me?” I placed my hands, palms down, on her bed and leaned over.
“That’s not what I said, Simon.”
“It sounded like what you said,” I smirked.
“I said you make it hard to like you. That’s entirely different.”
“I don’t think it is,” I said.
“Are you finished apologizing?”
“Almost.” I stood up straight. “I’m sorry, Bella.”
Her eyes searched mine, and for some stupid reason, I cared whether she believed me.
“Okay. I accept your apology,” she said.
“That’s it?” I lifted my arms out to the side.
“What were you expecting?” Her brows furrowed. “A certificate? An award?”
“Maybe slightly more enthusiasm?” I spoke.
“You insulted my entire life twenty minutes ago.”
“Fair point.” I ran my hand through my hair. I turned and walked toward the door.
“Simon?” I stopped and looked back at her. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, Bella.”
“You’re still an asshole, though.”
“There she is.” I winked and walked out of the room.
I went into my bedroom and shut the door, as one thought inside my head didn’t sit right with me. I’d gone to Bella’s room because I didn’t want her angry with me. What bothered me the most was how much I needed her not to be.