Christ’s sake! If either of us had a reason to feel resentment toward the other, it was me, not her. I’d give anything to be able to spend a day playing with him. But I had to provide for my little man, make sure he’d never want for anything, that he’d get the best education money could buy and every opportunity that may come his way until he could make his own name in life. I was making sacrifices so he wouldn’t have to, so Cassidy wouldn’t have to. And what thanks did I get for that? Reminders that my best just wasn’t good enough, and probably never would be.
This
was the exact reason I never did the relationship thing in the past!
When the car in front of me moved ahead, I gave a roar of frustration and punched the gas pedal, only to have to stomp on the brake because morning traffic in San Diego was stop-and-go, at best. I might have stood a chance with it if I’d left on time, but Cassidy’s need to talk had landed me smack dab in the middle of it. My day could only keep getting better from here. Yeah, right. How was I supposed to concentrate on anything else when all I could hear was the sheer desperation in my woman’s voice, when all I could see in her eyes was some sort of plea for me to make things right? Jesus, I’d made her cry, broken her fucking heart.
And then I’d walked out on her. I was an ass of the highest degree.
I thought about turning around and going back to her…to apologize, to let her beat the shit out of me, to hold her tight and make sweet love to her the way we used to. Thought about it and then thought better of it. We both needed some time, a breather to let things cool down. Plus my business partner, Wade, was waiting for me at the office to discuss a pertinent matter, or so I assumed, considering the urgency surrounding the phone call I’d received from him earlier.
Great. Something else to pile on top of my plate.
By the time I made it to the office—late—I’d already convinced myself of half a dozen things that could be wrong. Things like Striker Sports Entertainment going bankrupt or that every client we represented was currently breaking contracts and jumping ship. Not that they’d have cause to; we treated all of our clients with the utmost respect and made sure we were available to them whenever and wherever they needed us.
I’d been overreacting, though, stressing myself out for no reason. I really needed to stop doing that before I developed an ulcer. Or worse, had a stroke.
“Sorry I’m late. Rush-hour traffic,” I told Wade as I put my briefcase on the floor and took the seat behind my desk.
He was sitting legs crossed in front of me with a piping hot cup of coffee in hand. Thank God, Ben had been seeing to his needs.
My partner grimaced with a shake of his head. “Goddamn traffic. At some point, California really should try to put a cap on the amount of people they allow to relocate here from other countries—hell, even other states. It’s getting more and more crowded every day. They say an earthquake is going to make the state fall off into the sea, but I say the weight of all the goddamn people living here will be the cause.”
“I relocated from out of state,” I reminded him. “So did Cassidy.”
“Yeah, but at least you two are contributing something. Too many numbnuts out there dreaming of being
discovered
for the silver screen or
making it big
in the music industry,” he said with a shake of his head.
Wade was grouchy before, but he’d gotten surlier over the last couple of years. He reminded me more and more every day of Max from
Grumpy Old Men.
His hair was more gray than black now, balding just at the crown. His skin had started to show deeper wrinkles, and age spots had popped up all over his face and hands, the appearance of which had probably been accelerated courtesy of too much time spent out under the California sun.
I chuckled at his prediction, not entirely sure how I managed it when my mood was every bit as
This
was the exact reason I never did the relationship thing in the past!
When the car in front of me moved ahead, I gave a roar of frustration and punched the gas pedal, only to have to stomp on the brake because morning traffic in San Diego was stop-and-go, at best. I might have stood a chance with it if I’d left on time, but Cassidy’s need to talk had landed me smack dab in the middle of it. My day could only keep getting better from here. Yeah, right. How was I supposed to concentrate on anything else when all I could hear was the sheer desperation in my woman’s voice, when all I could see in her eyes was some sort of plea for me to make things right? Jesus, I’d made her cry, broken her fucking heart.
And then I’d walked out on her. I was an ass of the highest degree.
I thought about turning around and going back to her…to apologize, to let her beat the shit out of me, to hold her tight and make sweet love to her the way we used to. Thought about it and then thought better of it. We both needed some time, a breather to let things cool down. Plus my business partner, Wade, was waiting for me at the office to discuss a pertinent matter, or so I assumed, considering the urgency surrounding the phone call I’d received from him earlier.
Great. Something else to pile on top of my plate.
By the time I made it to the office—late—I’d already convinced myself of half a dozen things that could be wrong. Things like Striker Sports Entertainment going bankrupt or that every client we represented was currently breaking contracts and jumping ship. Not that they’d have cause to; we treated all of our clients with the utmost respect and made sure we were available to them whenever and wherever they needed us.
I’d been overreacting, though, stressing myself out for no reason. I really needed to stop doing that before I developed an ulcer. Or worse, had a stroke.
“Sorry I’m late. Rush-hour traffic,” I told Wade as I put my briefcase on the floor and took the seat behind my desk.
He was sitting legs crossed in front of me with a piping hot cup of coffee in hand. Thank God, Ben had been seeing to his needs.
My partner grimaced with a shake of his head. “Goddamn traffic. At some point, California really should try to put a cap on the amount of people they allow to relocate here from other countries—hell, even other states. It’s getting more and more crowded every day. They say an earthquake is going to make the state fall off into the sea, but I say the weight of all the goddamn people living here will be the cause.”
“I relocated from out of state,” I reminded him. “So did Cassidy.”
“Yeah, but at least you two are contributing something. Too many numbnuts out there dreaming of being
discovered
for the silver screen or
making it big
in the music industry,” he said with a shake of his head.
Wade was grouchy before, but he’d gotten surlier over the last couple of years. He reminded me more and more every day of Max from
Grumpy Old Men.
His hair was more gray than black now, balding just at the crown. His skin had started to show deeper wrinkles, and age spots had popped up all over his face and hands, the appearance of which had probably been accelerated courtesy of too much time spent out under the California sun.
I chuckled at his prediction, not entirely sure how I managed it when my mood was every bit as
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