Earning Yancy (18 page)

The next morning,
I felt surprisingly spry. I awoke just before my alarm went off with only the tiniest of a headache. Definitely a blessing, considering it was Monday and I was going into the office today. Another glass of water and a couple of ibuprofen took care of the mild ache while I showered.

I was still annoyed with Charles. My sister, Leslie, said that I could hold a mean grudge. It wasn’t my intention, but I wasn’t quite ready to forget about his high-handed attitude. As if he had a right to tell me what to do.

I usually avoided fighting, but I was tired of being a doormat. Typically, I would listen to whatever the other person was saying and agree to disagree or just keep my arguments to myself. I did that with my friends and during my short marriage to Cooper. In Charles’ case, I couldn’t do it. He thought he was coming with me when I met Cooper later, and that wouldn’t be happening.

I finished getting ready for the day just as Carolena woke up at seven. After I changed her diaper and dressed her, we had come downstairs to find Kathy using her key to come in the front door.

“Good morning,” she said brightly.

“Morning.”

Carolena chose to let loose an ear-piercing squeal at that moment and I winced. Kathy smiled as she shrugged out of her jacket and reached for the baby.

“You okay, Yancy?” she asked.

I let Kathy take Carolena before we all headed into the kitchen. “Yeah. Just a little…out of sorts this morning.”

After we entered the kitchen, I realized I’d left out the bottle of tequila the night before. Kathy gave me a pointed look.

“Overindulge?” she asked.

“A little,” I admitted. After his surprise visit, I had told her about Coop showing up last week and warned her not to let him in the house, no matter what he said, and call me immediately if he came over unannounced. “I called Coop back last night. He wants to meet today after work. Can you stay until 6:30?”

Kathy’s eyes narrowed as she nodded. “You actually agreed to meet that jackass?” she asked incredulously.

I grabbed a travel mug and set up the Keurig to brew the biggest serving possible. “Yeah. You know how Coop is. Until he has his say, he’ll beg, whine, harass, and humiliate. Plus, I spent part of the night contemplating throwing hot coffee in his lap since he insisted on the meet.”

Kathy grinned. “That would serve him right.”

After my cup finished brewing, I made a mug for Kathy while she got Carolena’s breakfast ready.

“Okay, I have more important things to do today besides dealing with Cooper Stevens. I’ll be home no later than 6:30.” I walked over to Carolena’s high chair where she was banging on the tray for all her worth. “Bye, baby,” I murmured, leaning over to kiss her head.

“Buh-bye!” she exclaimed, still banging her hands, but also adding her legs into the mix. The entire high chair shuddered under the enthusiasm of her blows.

I shook my head and grabbed my coffee. “Bye, Kathy. See you later.”

“Bye!” she called as I left the kitchen.

I gathered my cell phone, purse, laptop bag, and travel mug, leaving my key ring dangling from my index finger. I managed to hit the golden time, traffic-wise, because the commute to work only took thirty minutes. I walked into my office at 7:45 and set about situating myself for the start of the workday.

Five minutes later, I looked up when I heard my office door click shut. Charles stood in front of the door, leaning back against it, everything about him looking as calm and collected as usual. Except for his eyes.

His eyes were more green than blue today and they were piercing in their intensity. “We need to talk,” he said in a very low voice.

I swallowed hard and winced when I heard the lock on my door engage. Apparently, I wasn’t the only person in this office who was still angry.

I
gaped up
at Charles as he stalked across my office toward me. While it wasn’t a broom closet, the space seemed to shrink under the heat of his anger.

He rounded the desk and I reflexively shoved my chair back, unsure whether it was so I could get to my feet in an effort to stand my ground or an instinctual retreat. I shrank back slightly when he lifted a hand.

Charles hesitated then, his brows lowering further over his eyes. “I’m not going to hurt you, Yancy.”

I got to my feet. “Excuse me for flinching because a large, angry man was coming at me.” Dammit, I hated getting worked up like this. There was just something about Charles that got completely under my skin when he and I were arguing.

He sucked in a huge breath and blew it out slowly. “Look, I’m sorry. I just wanted to get a good look at your face and ask you how you were feeling.”

I looked at him in disbelief. “Um, you looked more like you were suppressing the urge to wring my neck.”

Charles’ lips twitched as though he were holding back a smile. “The thought did cross my mind.”

My hands flew up in the air. “Why? I don’t understand why you are so angry with me. If anyone should be angry, it’s me.” I finished the statement by poking myself in the chest with my own thumb. “You got all bossy last night, telling me what to do, and then have the nerve to get pissed off and hang up on me because I won’t fall in line. I’m not your damn employee.”

Our faces were close when I finished my tirade and I watched as the green in his eyes began to fade slightly.

“I really want to kiss you right now,” Charles murmured, his gaze lowering to my mouth.

I stepped back, bumping into my chair. “We shouldn’t be doing this in my office, or at work period. We agreed we would keep our relationship out of the office and keep things professional.”

He sighed. “You’re right. But what about kissing in the stairwell?” he asked slyly.

I glared at him. “We haven’t done that in a while.”

He playfully nudged my chair with his foot. “But we might want to in the future.”

I felt my own annoyance draining away as he smiled down at me. “How on earth can you make me
so
mad
one minute then make me want to laugh the next?” I asked in a grouchy tone.

Charles shrugged. “It’s a gift?”

Since his answer was more of a question, I just shook my head and leaned it back against my chair. “We do need to talk,” I said quietly.

Charles’ smile faded. “Yes, we do.”

“Do you want to do it now or wait until lunch time?”

“I can’t meet for lunch today,” he said, regret clear in his tone. “I have a meeting with another project manager and I’m going to have to grab something quick to eat at my desk so I can finish preparing.”

I nodded. “It’s okay. Do you want me to bring you something?”

His eyes brightened as he stared down at me. “Sure. That’d be great.”

“I’ll text you before I leave to find out what you want.”

He shrugged again. “Just surprise me.”

I chuckled. “Okay, no bitching if you don’t like it.” The smile left my face. “We need to talk about last night.”

Charles moved around my desk to one of the chairs on the other side and sat down, rubbing the back of his neck. “Okay.”

I turned my chair to face him and folded my arms along the top of my desk. “I understand why you want to come with me to this meeting. You saw me lose my temper with him last week and I can tell you want to protect me from anything that might happen.”

His face began to relax into relief. “Great. What time should I meet you in the lobby this afternoon?”

I shook my head. “I’m going alone.”

Charles’ brows snapped down over his eyes and I saw the green fire building in his eyes.

Before he could argue, I lifted a hand. “I appreciate what you’re trying to do, Charles, but this is exactly why you can’t come with me.”

“What do you mean?”

“If you come with me when I meet Cooper, looking like you do right now, he’s only going to close up and run away. Then, when he knows I’m alone, he’ll call me, or text me, or email me. Probably all three. I’ll just be in this exact position again, dealing with his shit when you’re not around. He’s a coward like that. However, if I go to this meeting today, pretend to listen to what he has to say, then tell him to shove it up his ass, he’ll pout and maybe even make a scene, but
he will go away
.” That was his usual MO. Annoy the hell out of someone until things got intense, then scurry under a rock and hide.

Charles studied me for a long moment, looking much calmer than he had just moments ago. “I can see you’ve got your mind set on this.”

I barely resisted tearing my hands through my hair and screaming. He was making this seem like I was being unreasonable, however, he didn’t know a damn thing about Cooper and he didn’t know how bad it could get. Now that things were finally looking up for me, my ex had to magically appear and try to screw it all up. I just wanted him gone again.

“How about a compromise?” he asked.

I sighed, not at all eager to hear what he wanted to propose. “Okay.”

He grinned at my less-than-enthusiastic response. “How about I follow you to the meeting place, stay in my car, and, if things look like they’re getting out of hand, you have my name already pulled up on your phone and call me. If I see you pop up on my Caller ID, I’ll come in, but only if you call me.”

I thought about it for a moment before I gave one short, sharp nod. “Fine. We’ll play it your way. But, if I see you set foot in that Starbucks, I’m going to dump my hot coffee on your lap, not Coop’s.”

Charles burst out laughing.

“I don’t know why you think that’s funny,” I grumbled. “Because I’m not kidding.”

He calmed long enough to level a look at me. “As if you would waste a caffeine hit.”

As I watched him stand and head toward my office door, even I had to admit he had a point. Nothing was worth the loss of a decent cup of coffee, no matter how angry I was.

“Fine, then I’ll order a cup of ice water and dump
that
on you.”

He grinned at me as he unlocked my door. “I’d like to see you try.”

The challenge in his eyes was intriguing, but also a little intimidating. This was a side of Charles I was unfamiliar with, the side that liked to be in charge. I should have expected it, the man was in management after all, but I hadn’t realized that it would be quite so attractive.

I waved a hand at him and changed the subject. “Nice chatting with you, but some of us have work to do,” I said airily.

Charles grinned at me. “True.” His expression grew serious. “I know you’re used to doing things, your way and on your own. We’ll probably butt heads from time to time, but I’m glad to know that you’re willing to listen to what I have to say.”

Taken aback at his sincere words, I said the first thing that came to mind. “And I’m glad you understand who I am.”

He nodded and winked at me before he left my office.

For a long time, I stared blankly at my door. I felt as though something were moving inside of me, opening and stretching, and realized that I was on the precipice of falling head over heels for Charles Faulkner.

Though I knew, without a doubt, that Charles would never be careless with my heart, this felt as though it were too fast, too much. I needed to get a grip on my emotions until I was sure of where we were headed. Even if it hurt.

At 5:27 p.m.,
I climbed out of my car at Starbucks. A cold front had moved in that afternoon, and the air was chilly. I glanced over my shoulder and saw Charles parked a few spaces down. I gave him a low wave to let him know that I saw him and headed into the warmth of the building. I immediately saw Coop sitting at a table with two cups in front of him.

I moved toward him. When I reached the table, I was shocked when he stood and tried to embrace me. I stepped out of his reach, my hand sliding into my pocket to clasp my phone.

“What are you doing?” I asked abruptly.

Coop seemed to deflate in front of me, collapsing into the chair. “You really do hate me, don’t you?”

My eyes bugged out at the dejected tone of his voice. Seriously? I sat down and tapped my fingers on the table. “Talk.”

He eyed me speculatively, as though he were trying to figure out what was going on in my head. Finally, he licked his lips and straightened. Gesturing to the cup in front of me, he said, “I got you a caramel macchiato.”