Hornet's Nest (16 page)

“Dad, I met someone.”

I felt his stare on me as my eyes remained on the lake. A weight lifted off my shoulders as I was able to say it. It made it almost seem real.

“That was quick.”

I laughed and shook my head. I glanced over at him and explained, “I met her over a year ago, but it’s just clicking into place now.”

He took a sip from his beer, placed the bottle on the table, and leaned up in his chair as his elbows came to rest on his knees. He looked at me and said, “I take it she isn’t like your usual flavors of the week.”

“Nope. She’s it.”

He cocked his eyebrow. “Will your mother like her?”

I turned back toward the lake and answered, “She’ll love her as much as I do.”

He didn’t respond. I turned my eyes away from the lake and glanced at him. A pleased smile adorned his face. He tapped my knee and said, “Then that works for me, son.”

I tapped his knee back and pushed out of the chair. I was meeting Tom out for a drink tonight, but I missed Katherine so much already. It was like I had gotten some sort of approval from my father, and I just needed to hear her voice to make sure I wasn’t overthinking things.

I climbed up the stairs to my old room as I dug my phone out of my pocket. It rang before I shut my bedroom door.

“Hey.”

Her voice sent my heart thumping. “Hey, beautiful. I miss you. How’s your day?”

“It’s okay, besides missing my boyfriend.”

“I like you missing me.” My chest warmed with her words. She was smiling. I knew she was.

“How are the parents?”

“They’re good. My mother was a little clingy.”

“Well, she misses her baby boy, which I can certainly understand.”

“I think they’re finally proud of me. They were always supportive, but I think they’re finally proud of me.”

“Awe, baby. They’re always proud of you. I’m proud of you. You’ve accomplished a lot.”

“I’ll be home tomorrow and I’ll come right over.”

“You’re at home!”

“No. I think… I think my home is with you now.”

Silence rang through my ears as my nerves kicked in. I had to tell her that she was important to me. Maybe she wouldn’t leave if she knew I was serious. “Can I text you later tonight?”

“Of course.”

“Good. I lo—” I slapped my hand over my mouth, and then rephrased. “I’ll talk to you later.”

She sighed and said, “Bye, baby.”

• • •

Later that evening, I saddled up to the bar at Dixie’s Tavern, my second home in the country. I motioned to my favorite barmaid for a draft.

“How’s city life been treating you, Lance?” Mrs. Betty asked as she walked in my direction.

I smiled thinking about my beautiful Katherine as I responded, “It’s been treating me very well, Mrs. Betty.”

She walked over to me and laughed, “Don’t tell me. Did our little Lance find himself a girl?”

I smiled and nodded.

“Well, I guess this beer’s on me,” she said while walking to the other side of the bar.

I hollered at her departing back, “You’re still my number one, Mrs. Betty.”

After taking a long sip of beer, both stools on either side of me became occupied. I glanced to see both of my best friends sitting beside me.

“Paul! How did Ellie let you out of the house?”

“It was hard. We can thank Jordan for that. Teague is now preoccupied by girls’ toys thanks to the twins.”

Tom laughed. Paul pointed at him and added, “I’m buying him a football tomorrow. Probably two to make up for all the damn pink y’all have in your house.”

Tom turned to me and asked, “How’s the Katherine situation, Lance?”

I paused to take a gulp of beer. I rested my mug back on the bar and said, “I did the stupidest thing.”

Both Tom and Paul looked at me as Tom asked, “What did you do?”

I sighed and said, “I told her I loved her.”

I HUNG UP the phone with Lance and stared at it like I had never seen a cell phone before. Why was he driving me insane? The three words that I had wanted to hear to prove I wasn’t a stupid fool had come out of his mouth, only to be sucked back inside again. This man still infuriated me. I loved him more than anything in this world, but he pissed me off. I buried my head in my hands. I was going to go crazy the rest of the weekend. I tilted my head to the side and eyed my wine cabinet. I would make myself numb to my thoughts. That was the only cure.

It was still early in the evening, but I had already finished one bottle of cabernet. I would have loved a small buzz or something, but nope. I was still stuck in my thoughts. I had to get them out. Who better to do that with than Jordan?

“Hey!” she answered my call. Oh, how I missed my friend!

“Hey, Jordan. How are you?”

“Uh oh. What’s wrong?”

I exhaled and answered, “I don’t really know.”

“What the hell has that boy done now?” Ellie chimed in with the sound of multiple kids in the background.

“Ellie! How are you?”

“None of that now. What has Lance done?” Ellie asked. If anyone knew best, it was Ellie. It was probably a good thing I was best friends with Lance’s ex.
So weird
.

I grabbed my glass of wine and took a big sip. And then I let it all out. I hadn’t talked to Jordan since we went out last weekend. I still couldn’t believe all that had happened within the past week! I told them about the day spent together at the Panthers game and the evening after. I told them about waking up alone, not hearing from Lance the whole day, seeing him hugging another girl who I still didn’t know anything about, and how it had all been a big misunderstanding. I told them about our date last night and how attentive he was to me.

“He asked me to be his girlfriend.”

Both of the girls gasped.

“Katherine, why the hell do you sound so upset then?” Jordan asked.

I let out a sigh, and said, “I’m getting to that.”

Ellie ordered, “Well, come on!”

“Well, when we were… uh… finishing…”

“Yes?”

I sighed again. “He said he loved me.”

“WHAT!” They both screamed.

“And then he took it back.”

Silence.

“Hello?” I asked.

I heard the phone switch off speaker and Jordan said, “Katherine, are you okay?”

“No. Jordan, I love him. When he said he loved me, I was in utter shock. I was going to say it back before he literally hopped off me.” I started to cry. I buried my head in my free hand.

“Katherine, it’s going to be okay. Try not to think too much into it,” Jordan said.

I half laughed, half sobbed. “Too late.”

“I know, honey. I wish I could take you out and get you drunk.”

“Me too!” Ellie’s voice echoed in the background.

“Thanks, y’all. It was good just to get it off my chest. I know I’m thinking way too much into it. I just really love him, Jordan, and it’s really scaring me because I don’t know if I’ll ever hear him say that he loves me again.”

“Just do me a favor,” Jordan said.

“What’s that?”

“Stick with wine tonight and steer clear of Jack Daniels,” Jordan ordered.

I laughed. “Don’t worry.”

We ended our call due to three screaming babies. I sighed as I stared out my window. I missed him. I missed his arms around me. It hadn’t even been twelve hours and I missed him. Knowing that he had made our relationship somewhat official was indescribable. I knew he wasn’t the type of man to just blurt out his feelings. There was no doubt about it. I was positive that he loved me. Maybe if I told him the same, it wouldn’t be so bad. Knowing what was in my heart and saying what was in my heart were different things. This was all scary as hell, but with us together, I believed we could conquer anything.

A knock rapped on my door. My heart started to thump out of my chest. Did he come home already? I couldn’t keep the smile off my face. I ran to the front door and threw it open.

The sight before me made my smile falter.

“Hey, beautiful.”

“Josh,” I said, stunned. “What are you doing here?”

He entered my apartment without waiting for an invite. I shut the door and followed him into the living room. He motioned to my glass of wine and asked, “Got another one of those for me?”

“Um, sure.” I walked over to the kitchen and pulled out another glass from the cabinet. I poured him some wine and walked back to the living room.

“Thanks,” he said as I handed it to him. Instead of sharing the sofa with him, I chose to sit on the chair, holding my wine between my hands as I waited for an explanation. “So, you’re wondering why I’m here.”

“The thought had crossed my mind, Josh.”

He smirked and took a long sip of wine, finishing it. He walked back to the kitchen and poured himself another glass. He returned to the couch, cocking his body toward me slightly as he said, “So, this is how it’s going to work.”

“What’s going to work? You aren’t being real clear here.”

He smirked at me again and dug into his pocket. He tossed down a picture on the coffee table. I peered down at it. I gasped when I saw my face buried in Lance’s neck and his hand up the bottom of my dress. My eyes widened.

He sat back and crossed his leg over his knee and said, “I won’t report you and your little boyfriend to human resources, if you get your father to hire me as his personal councilor.”

I stared at him in utter shock. How could he blackmail me like this? I thought he was my friend.

Rat bastard.

“And how am I supposed to do that? How do I convince my father to hire you to be his personal councilor?”

“Easy. You break up with your little boyfriend and date me.”

A gut wrenching laugh bellowed from my stomach. “You’re fucking crazy. Get out of my apartment.”

He leaned forward, too close for comfort, and said, “I have pictures of you and Lance practically clawing your clothes off. One slip to human resources when they weren’t even aware of a relationship and country boy would be fired like that.”

My laughter stopped and the smile swept from my face.

I think they’re finally proud of me.

His words from a few hours ago played in my head over and over. I couldn’t ruin Lance’s opportunity over this. All he wanted was to make something of himself.

Josh reached over and grabbed my hand. I tried to pull it away, but he fought me to keep still. “Don’t worry, sweetheart. Being that you’re Geoffrey Klein’s daughter, you won’t get fired, but your little country boy will have his poor ass sent back to the hills so fast he wouldn’t know what hit him.”

I was about to make a deal with the devil for the man I loved… the man I lost. I could only pray that God would help me through this. My nostrils flared as I stood up in the middle of the living room. I glared at him.

“These are my terms. I will introduce you to my parents. I can’t make my father hire you, but I will do what I can to give him a push. As for Lance…” I paused trying to curb my emotions. I would not give this man the satisfaction. “As for Lance, I will end things with him, and you say not one word to HR about it. But you listen to me, Josh. If I ever find out that you stepped out of line or did anything shady, your ass is mine.”

“Oh really, princess.”

I snarled at him. “You want to fucking try me? Now get out of here, asshole.”

I stormed to the door and opened it for him. He walked past me and then stopped in front of me. I stared at him as he lifted up his slimy finger to trace my cheek.

“You’re so beautiful when you’re pissed.”

I flinched, pulling my head back away from his touch. “Fuck you.”

His laugher echoed down the hall and I hollered after him, “Lunch is tomorrow at two. Pick me up at one-thirty, and don’t be late, prick.”

As I slammed the door, my breath heaved. I slid down the wall in my foyer and sat on the floor. I began to sob into the emptiness before me. I lost Lance all over again. This time, it was all my fault.

• • •

I woke up groggy. Of course, after the amount of wine I had consumed and crying myself to sleep, one would expect to be groggy. I glanced at the time and it read 10:35 a.m. I groaned when I remembered I had a date with the devil today. The thought of having to end things with Lance made my heart weep, but my eyes were dry.

I threw off my comforter and stumbled into the kitchen to prepare a large pot of coffee. As it brewed, I threw back a few aspirins and vitamins to ward off the headache. I chugged a glass of water and a cup of much needed coffee before dragging myself to my bathroom and filled the tub with hot water, adding extra bubbles. I texted my mother before I stepped in the tub, warning her about a date that would be accompanying me to lunch. I submerged myself in the bubbles as my phone beeped. I wasn’t too excited to elaborate on said date, so I decided to ignore her for now.

I was still trying to figure out a way around this whole situation. Lance and I could call Josh on his bluff, but what if Lance really did end up fired? What if Lance blamed me? I would lose any sort of hope of being with him. I was sure Josh already had plans to disclose our “relationship” to human resources on Monday. There would be forms to fill out. Corporations were peculiar like that. Interoffice relationships were usually highly frowned upon. It showed a conflict of interest of sorts, but surely they wouldn’t deny anything for the high and mighty Joshua Black. He was like the firm’s personal devil’s advocate, and the Son of Satan he most definitely was. I should just quit, but I loved my job. I was finally getting out of the shadows of the Klein’s hierarchy. As much as I loved my family and loved being where I came from, it felt good to do something on my own. I would do what I said and introduce Josh to my father and give him praise, but I’d be damned if he would be any part of my family, including my family’s personal councilor.

I would have to break up with Lance, if only for a little while. Maybe if I just told him the situation, we could work it out together. God, I didn’t want to lose him.

After allowing the water to chill, I rose out of the bath and dried myself off. I threw on my robe and left the bathroom to dress, pulling on my khaki skirt and a long sleeve t-shirt with my brown flat boots. I heard another beep from my phone so I went back to the bathroom to grab it and saw a message from my mother.

Are you bringing Lance?

I let out a sad sigh and replied.

No. Not Lance. Moving on. I’m bringing an attorney named Josh.

I noticed a text from Lance also on my phone. I opened up his messages and saw several. What the hell?

Hey, beautiful. Miss you!

Scroll.

Ellie let Paul out of the house. Can you believe it?

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Are you in for the night?

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Baby? Are you sleeping?

I scrolled again and saw a text from myself. My heart plummeted to the floor.

We’re over Lance. Just the way it’s gotta be.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

Katherine, what are you saying?

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I just tried to call you. Baby, please pick up your phone.