The Billionaires Love Curves 2 - a BBW BWWM Billionaire Romance (4 page)

Chapter4

Lacey got off the bus earlier than her normal stop for work. She was feeling nervous about facing Nate and wondered if she should just write her letter of resignation and pass it to his secretary to give to him. She knew full well he'd call her into his office anyway, so the best thing to do was make an appointment, face him straight away.

It was coming up on a year since Lacey joined the company. She liked her job, she liked the people she worked with, especially her editor in chief, Ali Russell. Lacey looked up to her and thought she was a great woman, she'd be sad not to be working under her guidance.

Maybe she was being hasty. She hadn't even met anyone on the team Cole had asked her to work with. Maybe she should have done that before saying yes. And what about pay? Was Cole going to match or better her current salary? Lacey realized that what she was really doing was focusing on all the practicalities. It was the only way to detract from the major problem. Nate. How was he going to react? How would he take it?

She typed out the letter of resignation first thing but throughout the day, had problems trying to tie Nate down to a time when he could see her. She wondered if he was being deliberately evasive but finally his secretary was able to pin Nate down to a time of six thirty. It was a time when most people would have left the office and she wondered again what he was up to. Did he know her intentions and was he trying to make it difficult for her?

A little later and not long before her meeting with Nate, Lacey popped in to see Ali.

“Oh no!” Ali said when Lacey told her the news. “Why? I thought you liked it here.”

“I do but I got an offer of a job that I couldn't refuse.”

“You mean with Cole Tyler?”

“That's right, why do you say it like that? Don't look so worried.”

“I'm not so sure about this, Lacey,” Ali said. “I mean working for your boyfriend. Is that such a good idea?”

Lacey thought for a second.

“Well, I suppose I'll find out won't I? And anyway, I've made up my mind. I just thought I'd better tell you first, out of respect. You've helped me a lot, Ali, but mostly you've been a really good friend to me,” she said.

“I can't tell you how much I'm going to hate to see you go. But I know you'll be fine, wherever you go, Lacey. You've got something. Boyfriend or not, Cole can see that. I'm sure Nate won't be happy. He's going to beg you to stay, I'm sure he is.”

“Thanks, Ali. I doubt that somehow. But I hope we can stay in touch. For now I just need you not to say anything, not until the deed is done.”

If anything, Lacey was the one who was finding it hard to keep her decision to herself. She sat at her desk for the rest of the afternoon, running possible scenarios of how her meeting with Nate would go once she'd handed over her letter of resignation.

She'd spent most of the day reading and re-reading it and now she stood outside Nate's office with butterflies in her stomach and millions of mixed feelings that she couldn't explain. Since moving out of her slum neighborhood, everything had happened so fast.

Lacey had gone from winning the perfect job to winning the attention of a rich and influential man who had shown her a new world, to having her heart broken by him, all in a matter of months. Now she stood on the brink of swapping one billionaire boss for another.  She wondered how her life could have turned around so fast and gotten so complicated.

Eventually, she knocked on Nate's office door.

“Come in and take a seat, Lacey.” Nate seemed relaxed, even though her nerves were failing. She stood, dry mouthed until Nate spoke again.

“This is a bit like deja vu,” he said. “Only this time I'm hoping the outcome of our meeting will at least be more favorable.”

“Oh, I'm sure it will be,” Lacey said, finding her voice.

“So you came to your senses and got rid of Cole Tyler from your life. Is this what this meeting is about?”

Lacey caught her breath. She was taken aback by his arrogance and was no longer nervous of handing in her resignation. She reached across his desk and handed him the letter.

“Here,” she said, “this is for you.”

Nate took the letter but kept his eyes on Lacey. He looked unsure about what he'd find once he'd opened the envelope, but the expression on his face, once he'd read the contents of the letter, surprised Lacey.

He read the letter with a stony face and she noticed that his cheeks began to burn red as he continued to read. At one stage, his face seemed to soften until, eventually, he rose from his desk, letting Lacey's letter drop onto it. She watched it float downwards, thinking of all the courage it took her to  to write it and now he had tossed it aside.

Nate was behind his chair. Leaning onto the back rest, he looked at her and then at the door.

“Fine,” he said. “You may go now.”

“What? Are you for real? That's it, that's all you have to say?”

“What else is there?” He pulled his lips into a thin line.

“After all we've been through, Nate,” she said in a soft voice. “I tell you I want to give a week's notice and all you say is fine?”

“Well, what do you want me to say, Lacey? You've made up your mind.  I don't need to ask what this job is you've been offered, because I know Cole Tyler would have made you an offer. Am I right?”

Lacey did not answer.

“I knew it,” he blasted at her. “Well, go on then.” He pushed the chair towards the desk. “As a matter of fact, don't come in tomorrow. Your resignation can take immediate effect.”

“How can you be so cold, Nate? I don't understand you, really I don't.” Lacey stood up and walked towards the door. Nate followed behind her, opening the door but not wide enough for her to pass through.

They both stood by the door, awkwardly. Lacey stared up at him and blinked several times before turning to leave. Nate pulled the door a little wider to make that possible but while doing so he bent close to her and whispered in her ear.

“I love you, Lacey.”

It was as though it hadn't happened. That was the first time Nate had ever uttered those words to her. But why had he chosen now of all times to make this announcement? She stood, shocked and speechless, at the other side of Nate's office door as he closed it gently behind her, for several seconds. His secretary, who was just getting ready to leave looked at Lacey.

“Is everything all right, dear?” she asked.

“I don't know,” Lacey said. “I mean, yes, everything is fine, I guess.”

Lacey took deliberate steps towards the elevator, standing outside it, motionless now. It was Nate's secretary who caught her up and pressed the button to descend. Lacey walked into the elevator in a trance.

“Are you sure you want to go to the ground floor, Lacey, dear. You don't have your bag or anything with you?” the secretary asked.

“Oh, of course,” Lacey said. “What am I doing? I'm supposed to be going back to my office. I have to go get my things.” Lacey held her arm out so that the elevator door opened again.

Lacey walked out of the elevator, still in a trance. The secretary shook her head before pressing the button and watched Lacey making her way to the copy editing suite at the other end of the long corridor.

Gathering her bag, some notebooks and a few of the journalism books she'd brought with her, Lacey made her way out of the building via the stairwell, still running the scene in Nate's office in her head.

She could not get past his parting words, they had thrown her off completely. Either Nate was going mad or he was trying to make her think she was going mad.

*

Lacey called Elaine from her cell as she left the building and asked if they could meet for a drink.

“Sure,” Elaine. “I could do with a drink. Meet you at the usual place?”

“Great, be there in ten minutes.”

When Lacey arrived at their favorite bar, Elaine had already bought her a beer.

“Hey you. I missed you last night.” Elaine said as Lacey took the chair opposite her on the small round table in the corner. “I'm guessing you were at Cole's place last night. So, tell me. Did he whisk you off to Europe or South America last night or someplace like that? Or did he buy you a small island that you want to give to me?”

“Not quite,” Lacey held the beer bottle, lightly. “Yes, I saw Cole last night but I saw Nate today.”

“Well yeah, you did, he's your boss. Hold on, Lacey what are you saying to me? Are you dating both of them?” Elaine's eyes opened wide.

“No, you know me better than that.” Lacey shook her head.

“What is it, and why do you look and sound so weird? Oh my God, you're pregnant and you don't know which one is the father.”

Elaine took a never ending sip of beer, keeping her eyes on Lacey the whole time.

“Well,” Lacey said. “I give you ten out of ten for imagination but you couldn't be further from the truth if you tried.”

“Okay, what are you doing to me? Stop talking in circles and tell me what's going on.”

“Well, I handed in my notice today and Nate's reaction was to tell me it should take immediate effect and practically marched me out of his office.” Lacey picked at the label on her beer.

“You're kidding me,” Elaine leaned forward in her chair. “Just like that? But why do you want to leave all of a sudden?”

“First off, Cole offered me a job and second of all, it was for the best. Conflict of interest.”

“And Nate was happy about it?”

“Well, at first that's what I thought, judging by his reaction. But then, just as I was leaving, he whispers to me that he loves me.”

“He did what? Wait, I can't take this. Your life is like a whirlwind. I can barely keep up with you. So now Nate has declared his love. But why now, when you're about to walk out the door?”

“That's what I thought you could tell me.”

“Well, in all my experience, I've never known anything like this. Unless...”

“Unless what?”

“Unless, he's trying to mess with you.”

“That's exactly what I thought,” Lacey said. “He never told me he loved me before. He's messing with me and I don't like it. But I won't give it another thought. I won't let him win. I don't believe for one second that man is in love with me, not for one second.”

“Oh really?” Elaine said. “Then why are you looking so pleased that Nate has just declared his love to you? I don't think it's anything to do with ego. I think it's because you still love him and now you don't know what to do because you and Cole have come so far.”

“It's true, we have come a long way. I'm such a fixture in Cole's life now. I mean, our relationship is all the things I wanted with Nate. And I know Cole loves me too.”

“Has he said so?” Elaine said.

“Not in so many words. With Nate I was never really sure where I stood, but Cole...with Cole, I've never known a man to show love so openly and so willingly.”

“But still, he hasn't said it yet.”

“I know, but then neither have I. I think it's all just a matter of time now before Cole does say it.”

“Wow! And when he does, what will you do? I mean with Nate already having said he loves you. I know how you felt about Nate when you were dating, but do you actually love Cole?”

“I love being around him. I love the way he makes me feel.”

“That's not what I'm asking,” Elaine folded her arms on the table and leaned in closer to Lacey. “Do you love Cole?”