3. David
1339 Words
3
David
Without calling her, I knew Morgan would be at the office.
My boss was the biggest workaholic I’d ever met, and that was really saying something in business. She used to be even worse before she started dating Patrick, but he was an understanding dude. That meant she was at the office nearly every weekend. After missing a couple of days for Emery’s bachelorette party, it was almost a given that she’d be back in to catch up.
What I hadn’t expected was to find Jensen and Penn in the conference room along with her. Just great. This was going to be fun.
“All the people I wanted to see in one place,” I said. All heads popped up to stare at me.
“David,” Morgan said with pursed lips, “why don’t you come in?”
I strode forward into the conference room I’d docked hundreds of hours in during the last year. I’d thought Lubbock would be different. But the past never really stayed in the past.
“We were just talking about you,” she continued.
“I’m sure that was a lively discussion,” I deadpanned.
“Penn was filling us in on how much of a good guy you are,” Jensen added.
“Thanks.” I nodded at Penn.
But I didn’t need him to go to bat for me. I appreciated it, but it wasn’t necessary. Penn was a stand-up guy. He’d gotten out of New York City high society, too. Well…as best he could while still being a Kensington with a mother who was the mayor and his brother, Court, the royal fuckup of the Upper East Side. I’d fallen into Court’s orbit after my best friend, Holli, killed herself in high school. Penn was vouching for me off of my sister, Katherine’s, good graces since they were best friends, but I didn’t actually know how highly he thought of me after spending so much time with Court.
“I know that I outed you, and I wanted to do what I could to smooth the situation over,” Penn said.
He slid his hands into the pockets of his suit that I knew cost more than the down p*****t of many houses. There was money, and then there was Kensington money.
“He wouldn’t have needed to smooth anything over if you’d talked to us,” Morgan snapped.
“Morgan,” Jensen said.
“I know; I know. We said we’d be calm and sensible about this. When have I ever been calm and sensible?”
“Never,” I assured her.
“Hey now!”
I couldn’t help it; I grinned.
Jensen sighed dramatically. “I don’t know why you didn’t tell us.”
“Well, at first, I didn’t know you cared that much about the Van Pelt name. I’d left already and sealed my name change, so I could start fresh on my own. Then, when I found out how you felt, it was too late. I realized how much you hated my family, and I was stuck.”
“We understand hating family. We understand family obligation. We understand keeping secrets even,” Jensen clarified. “But it comes down to lying on your application and then…hurting our sister.”
“Sutton is devastated,” Morgan chimed in.
“I know. I just saw her.”
“You went to see her? Are you insane?” Morgan asked.
“When it comes to her? Yes.”
Morgan rolled her eyes. “Oh, boy.”
“And I didn’t lie on my application,” I added. “My legal name is David Calloway. I am no longer David Van Pelt anywhere. Background checks don’t pull it up, and unless I told someone, no one would ever know. That is how I wanted it to be.”
“So, you were going to just live this…lie?” Morgan asked on a sigh.
“This isn’t a lie.”
“It is,” she said. “If you can’t see it, then how are you ever going to get her back?”
I shut my mouth at that. Those words weren’t the ones I’d been expecting from her. I’d thought she’d be pissed and never want to speak to me again, like Sutton. But, now, it sounded like she wanted me to fight back.
“This conversation isn’t about Sutton,” Jensen reminded Morgan.
“Except that it is.”
“Company first.”
Morgan inhaled deeply and then started again, “We’re not firing you, if that’s why you look worried.”
“I was.”
“And you’d better not f*****g quit,” she said, pointing her finger at me.
“I hadn’t planned to.”
“Good. Because I am not training another person to do my job again. It was messy enough when I moved you into CFO,” she said dramatically.
“Plus, we have no grounds,” Jensen added. He shook his head at Morgan. They must have had this conversation, and Morgan kept veering off course. “She’s the CEO, of course, but I’m on the board. I don’t want a legal battle.”
“Another legal battle,” Morgan muttered.
“This reminds me why I don’t go home,” Penn said, dragging out a chair and sinking into a seat.
“Aren’t families the greatest?” I asked sarcastically.
Morgan and Jensen grinned at each other. They argued all the time, but they loved each other. That was a fact. The Wrights were closer than any family I’d ever known.
“Anyway, I’m not leaving the company. And I’m glad you don’t want to kick me out of the job. Or…I guess, more specifically, you don’t want to spend time training someone else. That’s convenient for me.”
“Yeah, but Austin is still pissed about Sutton,” Morgan told me.
“And Sutton is pissed,” I added.
“Yeah. And you probably made it worse.”
“Probably. I was kind of an idiot.”
“What else is new?” Morgan asked. “I mean, I get why she’s pissed. I thought we were friends, and you couldn’t even tell me.”
“I didn’t tell anyone. Ever.”
“I mean…I get that, but it doesn’t make it any better. I still feel like you don’t trust me with who you really are or you don’t want me to really get to know you. And I don’t even really like you,” she said with a short laugh.
“Liar,” I said.
She waved her hand in a characteristic Morgan fashion that said, Whatever. “All I’m saying is that, if I’m frustrated with you, imagine how Sutton feels.”
“Not good,” Jensen clarified. “Women generally don’t like to be lied to. As a rule.”
“Even I know that,” Penn said with a smile.
“Plus, after what she went through…” Morgan let the implication hang between us.
Just over a year ago, Sutton had lost her husband. I was painfully aware that I was the first person she’d let in since that happened. That she had opened up and wanted to be with me. And then I’d broken that trust. Put her back on the defensive. Ruined any progress I’d made on helping her find love again.
“I know,” I finally said.
And I really did.
She had every reason to feel like she couldn’t trust me. But I’d grovel if I had to. I’d show her that I wasn’t the monster she’d made me out to be.
“You’re a shithead. You know that, right?” Morgan asked.
“Yeah. Pretty much.”
“But we’re not firing you.”
“That’s good. I couldn’t find a better boss.”
Morgan rolled her eyes. “Suck-up.”
“Flattery never hurt anyone.”
“Jesus Christ,” Jensen said. “You two together are like an old married couple. When I hired David, I assumed this was a stepping-stone job for him. With his credentials, it made sense. But looks like you’re here to stay.”
“That’s the plan,” I told him.
Jensen stuck his hand out, and we shook. “Good to hear it. Now, I need to get home to my rather frazzled fiancée. This wedding cannot come soon enough.”
“You’re the one who invited the whole town,” Morgan accused.
“It could be family only, and we all know Emery would be this way.”
Morgan laughed. “True.”
“I’m going to head out, too. I’m meeting a few colleagues for dinner.” Penn shook my hand, too. “If you want to meet up again before I leave, let me know.”
“Sure thing.”
We watched them both walk out of the room and then turned back to face the other.
“So…what kind of chance do I have at this thing with Sutton?”
“Give her some space,” Morgan told me. “Like…a lot of space. Maybe she’ll come around.”
“I don’t like dealing in uncertainties.”
“Tough shit.”
I laughed. “Fine, fine. Space it is. But not too much space.”
“No,” Morgan agreed, “not too much.”
And then we shared a secret smile. She might be pissed at me, but in that moment, we were in on this together.
- Writer
