Romantic Promises (Alluring Promises Series, #2) (10 page)

******

Clark called me, asking to meet me out for lunch. I headed down to a diner that wasn’t too far from either of our companies. As soon as I got there, I briefed him on my Kara problem.

He sat there listening with his arms crossed over his chest. He took off his glasses, resting them on the table and then chuckled, “You’re fucked, buddy.” His blue eyes were practically shining bright, as if he were excited to give me this information.

“What do you mean by that? I can get around this,” I told him, adamant that this thing Kara’s doing would pass.

“No, you can’t fucking touch her. You try to do anything and that HR lady will probably get it into Kara’s head that you’re sexually harassing her. You need to drop that bitch,” he told me firmly.

I rolled my eyes at him. “She not a bitch. You know that. Kara’s the closest I’d come to a girlfriend. Think about if this happened with Tina,” I pointed out to him as I gestured my hand towards him.

He shook his head vehemently and blatantly stated, “Wouldn’t happen.” He took a drink from his glass as he glanced around the room.

Pissed off at him, although I knew it wasn’t his fault, I shot back, “What do you mean ‘wouldn’t happen’?”

He leaned in resting his arms on the table, shaking his head. “I never would have convinced Tina to work with me.”

I threw my hand up in the air, frustrated. “I didn’t do that on purpose. I had no idea she’d wind up working at my company.”

“But you knew after you saw her there at work for her interview. Then you went even further to push that HR lady to hire her. You fucked this up yourself,” he stated, proud of himself for chastising me.

Shit.
He’s right. I really screwed this up myself. I sat there thinking about it for a little bit and Clark watched me think it through, giving me a smug look.

He pressed his lips together and shook his head. “Don’t even think about it. You gotta let her go.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I see your mind working. There’s no way out of it. She’s determined to have a good job and you’ve found her one. She’s not going to screw it up by letting you fuck her. And if she did give in and you’re caught, she’d regret it and probably use it against you. Sexual harassment.”

Shit.

I got back to the office after my talk with Clark and was extremely disappointed. I sat at my desk going over what I needed to accomplish for the day. God, I hated being in an office.

I stood up and started walking around the office trying to think things through. Yes, the Kara situation. Clark was right and I knew it. I could really kick myself and I was becoming more agitated at the thought that I might have to not see Kara in our personal way.

I realized I needed to get back to something work related. Commission schedules needed to be revised and brought up to date. I called Kara into my office, using the intercom system. I knew that would make her happy. It did. She came bouncing in with a huge smile on her face.

I told her to close the door and her smile faded. “It’s not what you think. I need to go over commissions. I can’t have people walk by and hear what we discuss.” She nodded and her smile returned as she closed the door and walked happily over to the chair in front of my desk.

We went over the commissions and how I wanted it set up in Excel so I could go over the numbers. I told her what information she needed to gather for my reports and that she’s not allowed to discuss any of this with anyone except payroll, since they’re bound to confidentiality.

Just as we were starting to wrap up our discussion, my door swung open and in walked Vanessa. She glanced back and forth between Kara and me, surprised we were sitting apart from one other. I guess she expected Kara to be sitting in my lap or where I’d prefer her to be, bent over my desk. The vision made my balls ache again.

“Can I help you?” I asked as dryly as possible. I guess she owed me for when I walked into her office as she was stuffing her face with
her sandwich.

“Uh, yes. I just stopped by to see if you could swing by my office later. I took the liberty of signing you up for some workshops and wanted to go over them with you.” Her eyes darted over to Kara. “Kara, I’ll send you the dates so nothing conflicts with Mr. Williams’ schedule.”

“Thank you, Vanessa,” Kara smiled sweetly at her as she replied.

“I’ll leave you two alone.” She said warily as she glanced back and forth between the two of us.

“Just leave it open. We’re finished discussing the commission schedules,” I told her as I nodded toward the door.

“Oh, Okay.” She seemed surprised that we really were working on something confidential.

She left and Kara mouthed, “See. Told you!”

When I was sure Hargrave was out of earshot, I asked, “How come you call her
‘Vanessa’?”

“She told me to. She said everyone goes by first names around here. Why? Should I not do that even if she told me to? Is it a test or something?” I shook my head.

“No, Kara. It’s not a test. It’s just something she’s wanting to shove in my face.” I took a deep breath and started to wonder why the hell I took this damn job, quickly remembering I didn’t do it willingly.
One Fucking Year.

I watched Izzy and my brother walk through the door with their arms linked. Then Z turned to Izzy, grabbing her by her waist and swung her around, kissing her in that romantic way.

We just finished the
third
run through for Flynn and Mel’s rehearsal for their wedding tomorrow. Yeah, I said third. Three freaking times we had to walk up and down the aisle at this place.

Annoyed that we were still going through rehearsals, I took it out on Z and Izzy. “Come on you two. How long are you gonna be in the honeymoon stage?” My voice sounded more like I was whining than annoyed; probably because I really do enjoy seeing them together. Seeing my brother happy and content always made me feel better. I hated when his world was upside down. Being his big brother, I always felt responsible for making sure to correct it for him.

Z briefly broke their kiss. Sort of. He still had his lips on her as he responded through one corner of his mouth, “As long as we want. You can’t put a time limit on the honeymoon stage.” Izzy giggled and wrapped her arms tighter around Z’s neck, kissing him again.

I glanced over at Clark who seemed more disgusted than I was. He wiped the sweat from his forehead as he stated bluntly, “Three months. That’s how long it’s supposed to last.”

Izzy stopped kissing Z and glared over at Clark, her brows pulled together and mouth turned up in a sickened way. She shot back at him, “There’s no time limit on love!”

Clark snapped back, “Yes, there is. There’s a honeymoon stage and it’s got a limit. Usually three months – tops. That’s when I usually swoop in.”

Izzy dropped her arms from Z and sauntered over towards Clark. Her strapless sundress swayed with her as she walked. Her blue eyes showed how ticked off at Clark she was, which wasn’t unusual. She put her hands on her hips, her brows still pulled together as she asked, “You swoop in on married women?” The disgusted look on her face spoke volumes.

Clark shrugged and nodded. “That’s their average when they come into the bar, drunk and wanting to get laid because their husband wasn’t the same as when they met.” Clark shrugged again as he looked over at me. “It’s not my fault,” he told me looking just as disgusted.

“Didn’t know you did that,” I told him. I guess I never paid much attention. It’s his business anyway.

Clark threw a hand in the air as the other bridesmaids glared at him. They were lined up against the wall, awaiting further instructions. “It’s their choice. I don’t ask questions,” he barked out angrily.

Sandy shook her head that he was such a dog. It wasn’t like any of us were really that surprised.

Izzy gave me a concerned glance. “Matt, you don’t do that, do you?’

I shook my head as I wiped some sweat from my forehead. Damn, I’m still sweating from being outside so long. “No, never screw a married woman. At least, I didn’t know if they were or not. I mean they could’ve lied to me. But as a rule, I never do.”

Izzy nodded her head, as if she approved of my response. Just then Flynn came walking through the double doors away from the pastor. Mel was still standing outside, down the aisle talking to the pastor, wedding planner and her Aunt Claire.

Flynn’s brown hair was all disheveled from running his hands through it nervously and his brown eyes looked bloodshot from lack of sleep. Probably from trying to calm Mel down because this wedding was turning into a huge circus. He was sweating bullets, but that didn’t stop me from asking my selfish question, “How much longer are we gonna be here?”

Flynn looked horribly frustrated. “I don’t know,” he groaned. “I don’t ask. She’s freaking out and turning into a bridezilla,” he huffed. He put his hands on his hips and looked down at the floor. Poor guy had no idea how to handle this.

Izzy tilted her head and walked over to him. She gave him an apologetic smile while patting his arm. “She’s just nervous, Flynn. She’ll be just fine in time for the reception,” she calmly told him.

Flynn’s head snapped up with fear in his brown eyes. Desperation flashed over his face as he shot out, “I gotta deal with this through the night
and
tomorrow?”

Izzy smiled that sweet smile of hers. I had to give it to her, she was trying to smooth things over for Flynn. She’s always good at remaining calm during desperate times. “You don’t get to see her tonight. It’s bad luck. Don’t you know the plan? You’ll see her down the aisle tomorrow.”

Flynn looked relieved. “Thank God. She’s freaking me out. Tell me she’ll go back to my sweet happy Mel after all this,” he whined.

Izzy flashed a sympathetic pout and gave him a small hug. “She will. She’s just nervous and wants everything to be perfect. Aunt Claire has her all frazzled. She keeps telling Mel what her mom would say if she were here, telling her what she would do, etcetera.”

Flynn exhaled a deep breath and shook his head. “Yeah, her aunt is a bitch. I’m hoping she heads back to Chicago right after the wedding and stays there. Her ex is okay though. Uncle Randy can hang out anytime.”

Izzy nodded and took off out the door and down the aisle to see how she could help Mel. The pastor and the wedding planner even looked frustrated as Aunt Claire was flailing her arms, yelling about something. 

I looked at Flynn and gave him a head nod. “Think we’re done here? It’s hot out there. It’s gonna suck tomorrow.” I know that was uncaring and unsympathetic, but I couldn’t help but think he needed a cold beer too. Herding everyone over to the rehearsal dinner restaurant was my main focus and goal right now.

Flynn agreed, “Yeah, I was hoping for rain so we could do this inside, but I know that would send Mel over the edge.”

“Come on, guys. It’s not that bad. We’ll get some drinks in us and have fun. Suck it up,” Z exclaimed as he patted Flynn’s shoulder. He had a smile plastered on his face without a care in the world.

I shook my head. “God, I can’t wait ‘til you’re out of this honeymoon stage. You’re really starting to annoy the shit out of me.”

Z laughed and shook his head. Seriously, the guy is way too happy. I looked over at Clark. “Three months passed a while ago.” I waved my arm in Z’s direction. “
This
is bullshit.”

Clark laughed and leaned in as he nodded in the bridesmaids’ direction, whispering, “Think Mel’s cousin’ll fuck me?” I chuckled as I glanced over at her cousin. She was barely legal.

“You’re sick. She’s probably still a virgin. Let some college guy pop her.” I shook my head as I continued to glance over at the bridesmaids lined up along the wall. They were just as tired as all of us guys. Sandy and Mel’s cousin were chatting and kept looking over at us every once in a while.

Sandy is a really good time. I probably shouldn’t have banged her that one night, seeing that she’s Z’s bartender. I had been eying her each time I came up for a visit. One night after drinking all night at Z and Izzy’s bar, we hooked up. One night of pure fun. Moving here might not be so bad if I can add her in as one of my local girls. I gave her a sexy smile from the corner of my mouth, making sure my eyes matched my look. She returned it and then turned back to Mel’s cousin, Leah.

“Yeah, you’re probably right. She wouldn’t know what to do in bed. That’s never any fun.” He smirked and looked back at Flynn. “We’re done here right? Let’s head over to the restaurant. Mel can’t say anything if we’re all over there already, right?” I looked at Flynn hoping he’d agree with Clark. Instead he looked like a whipped idiot who didn’t know what to do. I decided to take over. You know, to help him out.

“Let’s head over. We’re done here. It’s not like any of us have never been in a wedding before. Let her yell at us at the restaurant.” I pushed Clark to get the group moving and yelled at the rest of the party, “Let’s head over to the restaurant everyone.” The bridesmaids looked around, completely confused. The rest of the groomsm
en blindly followed Clark and me out the door. I glanced back at Flynn and Z who were looking nervous and shaking their heads.

I’m all about helping, but after three times, we knew what to do.

I was on my third beer by the time Izzy came up to me at the bar. “You idiot!” Izzy slapped my shoulder, almost knocking my beer to the ground. I laughed and grabbed another beer I had ready and waiting for her. I handed it to her as a peace offering. It wasn’t as cold as I thought it would be, but I timed it pretty well.

I chuckled. “Was she that pissed?” I asked as I took a swig from my beer.

“She wanted to do another run through. She’s nervous. You guys knew better than to do that.” Izzy looked like she wanted to hit me again, but I think she was also relieved she didn’t have to do another run through.

Z walked up to me and also punched my arm. “Idiot. Mel’s pissed as hell and we had to deal with it. Not to mention that Aunt of hers. I told her it was all you.”

I laughed and held up my fingers gesturing to the bartender for another beer for my brother. “She’ll get over it tomorrow when she’s dancing her first dance with Flynn, looking all silly and googly-eyed, like you guys did at yours.”

Izzy’s eyes got huge as she said, “Ours wasn’t even close to the size of this. This wedding is massive. Look at how many people are here just for the rehearsal dinner. This is more people than we had at our actual wedding.” Izzy waved her beer around the room, proving her point how many people were here at the rehearsal dinner.

Flynn walked in looking like he went a couple rounds in a boxing match. He probably did with Aunt Claire. I grabbed another beer for him and walked over to him to head off being yelled at in front of everyone. “Peace offering.” He took the beer and shook his head.

“Asshole. You should’ve heard Mel go off. You better get her a couple of shots.” I looked past Flynn’s shoulder to see Mel storm in, surrounded by Aunt Claire and a couple of bridesmaids all patting her shoulder, trying to calm her down.
Shit.
Maybe I shouldn’t have done that. She started storming towards me and I turned towards the bar to grab her a drink.

“Oh no you don’t, Matt!” Mel shrieked at me from across the restaurant. I looked up and met eyes with Izzy. She was laughing at me, but held out a shot glass full of some red shit. I ran up to her and took it quickly, then mouthed “thanks.” I watched her smirk and shake her head. I turned around quickly taking great care to make sure the shot wouldn’t spill. Mel was going to need all of its contents.

I smiled my best smile as I watched her stomp towards me. Her blue eyes were pure sapphires with fury in them. Her hair that was once swept up into a perfect updo was now a frazzled mess. I can’t take blame for that. I mean we were out in the heat for several hours. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Mel this pissed. Shit, I’m in trouble.

Flynn leaned towards me and jokingly whispered, “Be afraid. Be very afraid.” I gave him a sideways glance and half laughed.

“Why? She’s gonna be your wife. You’ll have to deal with her,” I responded as he shook his head and hit my back, making the contents of the shot glass slosh. I was able to balance the glass so too much didn’t spill out. I’m good like that.

Mel was now standing in front of me, hands on her hips and surrounded by the rest of the bridal party, except Izzy. They all looked just as pissed as Mel.

Showdown time.

I decided playing dumb was my best defense. I tried my best sympathetic face and calmly asked, “Mel, you look mad. Is everything okay? God, it’s gotta be tough dealing with such a huge bridal party.” I paused briefly, hoping she was buying some of it. “I thought we were done since the rest of the family came over here. I never would’ve left had I known you wanted to do a
fourth
run through.”

She squinted her eyes and pursed her lips. Then the worst happened. Her bottom lip quivered and tears formed in her eyes. “Quick,” I whispered as I handed her the shot. “Drink it now.” She nodded and took the drink from me. My eyes were wide as I watched her down the shot in one quick movement and I glanced at Flynn. His eyes were wide too, wondering what she would do next.

Pre-emptive strike. I took the shot glass from her hand as soon as she was done with it, put my arm around her and guided her away from the other mean women standing there. Women are always scary in groups. If one attacks, the rest follow suit. Getting her alone was my best option. I placed the shot glass on a table we passed as I took her down the hallway and glanced back to see Flynn approve of my quick thinking.

“Hey. Really, I am sorry. I just figured we were pretty much done there. You can only run through walking down the aisle so many times,” I said in a sympathetic quiet tone.

Tears started falling from her eyes and I wrapped my arms around her. I glanced back at Flynn as he started to walk towards us. I figured I’d handle part of the brunt since I screwed this up, so I held up my hand for him to be on standby. He nodded warily and stood close by for when I would wave him over.

“It-t’s g-go-ing t-to b-be ho-r-rri-ble,” she bawled, barely making any sense. She babbled a couple other things that I couldn’t make out, but I assumed it was pretty much the same fears about the wedding.

“Shh. It’s going to be great. You have a wedding planner. She’s going to be there tomorrow, directing us where to go. You just gotta get through the wedding and then you can dance the night away with your man.” I tried to calm her down.