Laura Lee

“What are you so smiley about?”

“I could ask you the same. Considering the current circumstances, you must’ve been talking to someone pretty special.” He looked around. “Speaking of pretty special someones... where is your beautiful assistant?”

I narrowed my eyes. “Maui. Why do you care?”

“Why didn’t she come back with you?”

“Because I told her to take a couple of days off,” I answered matter-of-factly. “She’s never been to Maui before—I wanted her to enjoy it. There’s not much she can do anyway until we figure out what’s going on.”

Liam’s eyes lit up with amusement. “Interesting.”

“What the fuck are you talking about?”

He laughed. “Are you still going to lie to my face and tell me you’re not fucking her?”

I rubbed my temples. “Jesus, Liam, not this again. We have other shit to worry about right now.”

“So, you are fucking her. Glad we finally got that out of the way.” Liam held his hands up when I glared at him. “Hey man, I’m the last person who would judge you. Quinn’s brilliant, driven, and fucking gorgeous. Quite frankly, I’m surprised it took you this long. I only made it six months with Avery before I snapped.”

“I’m not just fucking her,” I growled.

He steepled his fingers. “No? Then what are you doing with your lovely assistant?”

I rolled a pen back and forth over my desk. Fuck it, if anyone could keep a secret, it was this man. “I... want to be with her. With or without the fucking. I really like being around her, whatever the reason.”

Liam smiled. “It’s about damn time you admitted that. Does she know?”

“Yes, she knows. She feels the same. Now can we move past all this feelings bullshit and—”

When I stepped into my office, I had to look back and check the nameplate. Ronan’s name was still on the door, but for some reason, our COO’s assistant, Ms. Stuart, was sitting behind my desk. Was she acting as his temp in my absence?

She pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. “May I help you with something, Miss Montgomery?”

“Um... no, thank you. I appreciate you filling in for me, but I’m back so you can return to Mr. Moore now.”

She appraised me thoughtfully. “Miss Montgomery, I’m afraid you’re mistaken. You now report to Mr. Moore. There was a company-wide memo a few hours ago. I’m guessing you haven’t had a chance to read it?”

What the hell?

“No, I haven’t had the chance to read anything because my system access has been blocked for the last few days!”

She narrowed her eyes at me. “There’s no need to shout.”

I looked back to Antonio and Sylvie. “Did you guys know about this?”

Antonio threw his hands up. “Yes! That’s what we were trying to talk to you about.”

“This has to be a mistake.” I headed toward Ronan’s office and reached for the handle.

Ms. Stuart jumped up from the desk. “You can’t just go in there! He’s very busy.”

“That’s bullshit, Ronan! What’s the real reason? You don’t think I should report to you any longer because of our personal relationship?”

He stretched his neck to the side. “I’m afraid you’re mistaken there as well, Miss Montgomery. We do not have a personal relationship.”

I blinked a few times to make sure I wasn’t hallucinating. “I’m sorry, what? What about everything that happened in Hawaii?”

Ronan loosened his tie and popped the first button on his shirt open. “Surely, you don’t think I should be held accountable for anything I said during pillow talk?” He gave me a slimy grin. “Miss Montgomery, your pussy is truly exceptional, and I enjoyed our time together, but that’s run its course now, don’t you think? I trust that you will remain professional and not breathe a word about our sexual encounters to anyone.”

“Wow... I don’t know what the fuck to say to that.” I pinched the bridge of my nose to fight off the looming tears. “So... to be clear, when you said you wanted to be with me on a personal level, you didn’t mean a word of it? It was all just ‘pillow talk’ that I shouldn’t take seriously?”

He swallowed. “That’s exactly what I’m saying. I’m glad we’re both in agreement. Now if you’ll excu—”

I held my hand up to cut him off. “Stop. Just fucking stop lying to me! If you can’t be man enough to tell me the truth, then fuck you, Ronan. Fuck you and your lateral move bullshit. You don’t need to worry about my professionalism—or lack thereof—because I quit.”

If I wasn’t mistaken, I’d swear he looked upset, but that was quickly masked.

“You’re being childish, don’t you think?” He couldn’t possibly have looked more bored as he said that. “You and I both know that you won’t find a better opportunity than what you have here. Or a better salary. Quite frankly, Miss Montgomery, you’re crazy if you think leaving is the best answer.”

I laughed, a little maniacally if I was being honest. “You know what? Maybe I am crazy considering how many stupid, reckless decisions I’ve made over the last month. But don’t worry; I’m seeing things perfectly clear now. I couldn’t be more confident that leaving is the best solution. I’ve put up with you for two years too long and I’m not going to waste another minute of my life doing it.” I walked across the room and opened the door. Before leaving, I turned back and said, “Fuck you, Ronan. I’m sorry I ever met you.”

It’d been two weeks since I’d made the biggest mistake of my life. I was so fucking ashamed of myself for letting my father get to me—for allowing his threat to take root. For crushing the woman that I’d loved. What good was doing what I loved for a living if I didn’t have her by my side? I was fucking miserable without Quinn. It was a classic case of not knowing what you had until it was gone. I knew that I had feelings for her, but I hadn’t realized the depth of those feelings until she walked out of my life. Or, before I forced her out, rather.

Fuck

Ronan’s eyes danced with amusement. “Sure, sweetheart, let’s go with that.” His eyes widened briefly as he seemed to realize what he’d said, but he appeared to brush it off. “So... coffee?”

“You don’t need to grab your suitcase?”

He lifted his carry-on higher on his shoulder. “This is it. I, uh, wasn’t expecting to stay long.”

“Right.”

“What do you mean, she’s leaving? She already left.”

Miss O’Hare shook her head. “She’s moving, you jackass.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Watch it. I’m still your boss.”

“I’ll risk it.” She rolled her eyes. “My best friend is about to pick up and leave everything she’s ever known. The same woman who gets cold when the temperature drops below sixty, is going to move to Chicago—a place that might as well be Antarctica in the winter—because she so adamantly insists on staying in the hotel industry.”

“There are plenty of hotels in California.”

“There are,” she agreed. “But she was offered a job with Onyx Hotels and they’re headquartered in Chicago. Do you want to know what position they’re giving her?”

I took another sip of my drink. “I’m sure you’re about to tell me.”

“An intern!”

My jaw clenched. “Why the fuck would she accept that?”

Quinn rolled her eyes. “That’s a bunch of crap. The odds of that are so low, it’s ridiculous to even think it.”

I gave her a sad smile. “I know that, now. But at the time... there was so much going on at once, I didn’t... I guess you could say I was blinded by the need for my father’s approval. I know he can be an asshole, but he was always a brilliant businessman. If he approved of how I was running the company, I knew I was on the right track. Conversely, if he didn’t... well, that’s what led to my decision to shut you out. Plus, he threatened to petition the board, calling for my termination, if I didn’t clean up the mess as fast as possible.”

“He can’t do that.”

I shook my head. “The hell he can’t. They take every word that leaves his mouth as scripture. He may be retired, but he’s never truly left the company. You know that, Quinn.”

She lowered her gaze. “It doesn’t matter, Ronan. You could’ve just told me this—we could’ve figured it out together. But instead, you made the choice to push me out of your life, in the cruelest way possible.”

“I know, but—”

She held her hand up. “There’s nothing more to say.”

The fuck there wasn’t.

“Don’t go to Chicago.”

Her eyes widened. “How do you know about Chicago?”

Shit. I didn’t think about that part. I didn’t want to get her friend in trouble, but how else could I explain it?

“Does it matter?” I hedged. “What matters is that you shouldn’t go. You’d be miserable. Onyx’s CEO is an even bigger prick than I am, and your talent would be wasted there! Don’t go.”

She shook her head. “You don’t get a say in the matter.”

“Look, I know I don’t, but...” I reached for her but thought better of it when she flinched.

Since Quinn Montgomery had walked out of my life, I was a wreck. I couldn’t eat, I couldn’t sleep. The only thing I could somehow manage was work—burying myself in business was the only thing that gave me enough purpose to get out of bed in the morning. I had over a hundred thousand employees relying on me and I refused to let my personal mistakes affect their livelihoods. Although, as the temp agency that blackballed us would tell you, I wasn’t the easiest person to get along with these days.

“Are you sure she just doesn’t need more time? You haven’t heard from her at all?”

I tilted my glass slightly, watching as the cubes of ice slid back and forth, clinking against one another.

“Liam, we’ve been over this. No, I haven’t heard from her. She sold her fucking house, man. How does that in any way indicate that she’s still in a holding pattern?” I gulped down the remaining amber liquid. “I need to find a way to accept that she’s not coming back.”

Christ, just admitting that made me want to crawl into a bottle of scotch and never leave. Hindsight truly was one wise and clever bitch. I hadn’t realized until Quinn was gone how much I’d anticipated seeing her every day. Even when we were at our most hostile toward one another, I craved her company. Sure, I had wanted to fuck her from the moment I’d laid eyes on her, but I also wanted to talk with her and fight with her, let her steal my food, and watch her brilliant brain in action.

“I still think you should call her, Ronan. I don’t know Quinn as well as you do, but I know enough to see that she’s your perfect match. Speaking from a woman’s perspective, I’d bet her lack of communication has more to do with pride than heartache. Let’s face it; you Maxwell men can be real miserable bastards sometimes.”

“Because I don’t want to be without you anymore either. But you need to promise me that you will never pull something like that again.”

Before she could take it back, I brushed my lips against hers. “I love you, Quinn, and I promise, I will do everything in my power to make you happy.”

She smiled against my mouth. “I love you, too.”

My lips turned up in the corners. “So, what now?”