His to Command

Chapter Two

Chapter Two

HE SAT AT his desk, staring out the glass door, a pile of manila folders stacked in front of him that he needed to go through but just didn’t have the energy to do so. He wasn’t surprised at the icy reception he was given by Andrea. It wasn’t like she had asked to work for him after all. She didn’t apply to be his second-in-command, and he didn’t hire her. She had actually transferred here to work for Brian for some reason only she knew. No, she hadn’t wanted to work for Edwin. That was quite obvious.

But she was stuck with him.

Just as he was stuck with her. She wouldn’t have been his first choice to work with, but here they were together. They would have to make the best of it. He only hoped she would be willing to give it her best effort. It really didn’t sound like it earlier, and he had suffered a rough enough time lately that he didn’t need any more tension in his life. If she couldn’t change her mindset, he would talk to Neal about replacing her.

His cell phone started ringing, jerking his attention from his self-pity party. Glancing down at his phone, he groaned as he noticed the name on his screen. Cherish Lansky. He took a deep breath. So much for getting rid of the tension in my life. Against his better judgment, he picked up the phone, sliding the button to answer it as he lifted it to his ear. “What now?” His voice was terse, curt, but he didn’t care. Cherish was the reason he wasn’t sitting in the office he had spent so much time decorating and instead was surrounded by pictures and knickknacks he didn’t even comprehend. “Didn’t you give me enough hell already?” Maybe he just needed to lash out at someone, and that’s why he answered the phone. He was ready to explode, and Cherish was the right person to bear the brunt of his anger. If she could have just been an adult and gone her own way, none of this would be happening, his exile or her looming divorce.

“I… I’m surprised you answered.” She sounded nervous, frightened almost. Good.

“So am I, to be honest.” He took a deep breath, running his hand through his hair as he stared out at the bullpen of desks outside his door. He didn’t need anyone coming in and catching him talking to the whole reason he was even there. He lowered his voice. They also didn’t need to overhear what he actually desired to say to the woman who tumbled his world to the ground. “What do you want, Cherish? I have a new office to get accustomed to, thanks to you.”

“I heard. I’m sorry Neal sent you away. Beats being fired, I guess.”

It would have been better if you would have just quit and kept your mouth shut. But no, you had to stir up a hornet’s nest of s**t. He didn’t say that, however. “That remains to be seen. Look, I highly doubt you called to wish me luck, so why did you call?” She deserved his anger just as much as he had deserved her knee. He just wanted her out of his life completely so he could move on with the rest of whatever lay ahead of him.

“Why wasn’t I enough? I mean, when did I push you away?” She sounded sad, almost like she was pleading to understand something he couldn’t even comprehend.

Unbelievable. “Really? This is why you’re calling me? Shouldn’t you be worrying about Glen and your family?” She had made it fairly plain a couple of Sundays ago that she didn’t want anything else from him except his suffering, so why worry about any of it now?

“I need to know.”

“Why? What does it matter now?” What does any of it matter now?

“It just does. Please, Edwin. I need to know. I thought you were enjoying us being together. I tried to give you everything you wanted. I did everything you said. Why wasn’t I enough? What did Faith have that I didn’t? What did she give you that I couldn’t?”

He ran his hand over his face as he took a deep breath. “You didn’t do anything necessarily. Cherish, what we had wasn’t supposed to be serious. We were just having fun. I was enjoying it, but you… You started needing something I wasn’t ready to give. You started acting like my girlfriend at work, and it was just too much.” Way too much. It was too late to get out of it safely when he realized she was looking for someone to save her from a boring life, and he was stuck until he figured it out. Then there was Faith… Edwin sighed. And then he didn’t care how safe it was. He wanted the older of the siblings.

“And Faith? Why did you go to my sister?”

Another deep breath. “Faith was just wanting fun. She wasn’t looking to leave her husband. They just wanted to open up their marriage to s****l adventures, and I was her adventure. But…” Silence. Faith didn’t screw up what the two of them were enjoying; he did. He wanted too much from her just as Cherish wanted too much from him. After a couple of moments, he started speaking again. “But things changed on my end. I actually fell for your sister. I even asked her to come to Savannah with me, but she turned me down. I’m not sure when my heart got involved, probably just like you don’t know when you started caring for me, but I crossed a line and broke one of her rules. It was just supposed to be fun, but I tried to make it more than that. It’s probably good that I’m in Savannah, for both of us. I need to work on my career, and you need to work on your marriage. Trust me, this is for the best.”

“I don’t think Glen wants me back,” she blurted out, and to his surprise, he felt sorry for her. “I’ve lost everything.” She started crying, and even after everything, he wished he could fix things for her, knowing part of her misery was his fault.

“No, Cherish, you haven’t,” he assured her in a softer tone. “Not yet, anyway. You just need to work on holding onto everything. Besides, you still have that little boy to take care of. He needs you.” Silence answered him. With a deep breath, he continued when it was obvious she wasn’t going to say anything. “I’m sorry, Cherish. For everything. I was wrong in a lot of things I did, but I promise, I never meant to hurt you or cause problems with your family. I’m truly sorry.” It was the truth. Things just got way out of hand. Way, way out of hand.

“Yeah, so am I. Goodbye, Edwin.”

The phone line went dead, the sound of defeat strong in her voice. Pulling the phone away from his ear, he stared at it a moment, thinking of all the damage he had caused because he couldn’t keep his pants zipped up. Still, he knew if it wasn’t him, Cherish would have found someone else to screw around with. That didn’t excuse him, of course. Well, not completely.

Dropping his phone onto his desk, he stared back out at the bullpen. He had a whole new crew to get to know and learn how to work with, a group that had only been around for a short while. They were still learning to work with each other and already had another boss to deal with. He shook his head. This is going to be so much fun.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Five-thirty. Andrea was more than ready to get out of there. It wasn’t that it was necessarily a bad day. It just wasn’t the day she wanted. Nor was it with the person she wanted. She glanced out her glass office door across the bullpen to where Edwin Coldwell sat behind his shiny new desk thumbing through crisp new manila folders. The new office hadn’t even been around long enough to put coffee stains on the work orders. I need a drink.

She shut down her computer and tossed everything into her purse before standing and shoving her chair under her desk. If she was lucky, she could get out of there without dear Mr. Coldwell seeing her. She was not in the mood for any after work banter. She just wanted out of there.

Before she could escape her office, however, her phone rang. Digging it out of her purse, she saw Brian’s name and face come across her screen and couldn’t stop the smile that spread across her face. Leaning back on her desk, she answered the phone. “Well, hello, there. How was your first day in Fort Lauderdale?”

“Funny, I was just about to ask you the same thing,” he said, his voice immediately making her honey drip. “How did big bad Edwin do? You didn’t kill him did you?”

She sighed as she glanced across the office to her new, unwanted boss. “Not for lack of wanting to, I assure you.” She shrugged. “The day was good. He stayed in his office mostly, catching up on contracts and reading through the few employee files we have.” Her smile slid into a grin. “I missed your good morning instructions,” she said, lowering her voice.

He chuckled. “Sorry about that. It’s a lot harder to play the dominant so far away when I’m rushing to get out the door. A whole lot easier when you’re right there in the bed beside me.”

“We did it for a few months before we could both find an office together,” she reminded him. “I think we can make it work again until we figure things out.”

“I know you do, love. And I assure you, I want to figure it out as well. However, as I told you before, you transferring here isn’t the best idea right now. Not with Edwin having been moved because of his extra-curricular activities. It would make people question our motives.”

She knew he was right, but she didn’t want to agree. She didn’t care what people thought. She had been able to have Brian in her life for two weeks rather than just through text or video calls, and that just wasn’t enough. “Well, hopefully, we can figure it out quickly. I miss your imagination.”

He chuckled again. “Be patient. It’ll take me a little while to figure things out, but we’ll get there. In the meantime, just focus on work.”

“Yes, sir,” she said, trying hard not to sound rejected.

They both said their goodbyes, and Andrea dumped her phone back in her purse. Now, she really needed that drink.

Kendra and Jana were already out the door by the time Andrea stepped out of her office. Lucky them. The office lights were just waiting for the last one out to shut them off., which would be Edwin as it appeared. Andrea was tempted to flip the switch anyway, just to be mean, but decided not to push her luck. She hoped Brian would hurry up and figure out how to transfer her down to Florida. The longer she stayed in Savannah, the worse her mood and motivation were going to get. She had invested too much into Rutherford Construction to just toss it all away, and she hated going through the interview process for a new job, but she didn’t know how long she could work for the man who had cost her the future she had been waiting for. No. Moving was easier. She made a mental note to call Brian later and push him for that transfer again.

She took the outer circle of the office, avoiding going anywhere near Edwin’s office, and pushed her way out into the reception area where Sammy sat, punching away at her keyboard. “Okay, Samantha, I’m out of here and heading for a beer. Have a good night.”

“How did it go?” Sammy punched at her keyboard a few more times before slipping her hands into her lap and leaning back in her chair so she could focus on her boss. “First day with the new kid and all,” she said as if Andrea wouldn’t already know to what she was referring.

Andrea paused at the receptionist’s desk, leaning on the shelf that protected Sammy from the public. “Quiet. He stayed in his office, and I stayed in mine after that initial chest thumping of his to claim ownership of our crew. He just needs to stay on his side of the office.”

Sammy gave her a quizzical look. “You really don’t like him that much? He just got here.”

Andrea shook her head. “I don’t have to know him. His reputation precedes him, and it’s not a good one. From what I understand, he’s here to avoid a scandal back in Brevard. Something about sleeping with one of his employees. A married one at that. Brian is being punished so Edwin gets to start over with a clean slate. Only problem is, his slate is nowhere near clean, and I don’t plan on letting him get away with his shenanigans here.”

“You don’t think those women knew what they were doing when they screwed around with him? I mean, they have to carry some of the blame, don’t you think?”

“Only for being gullible. No. Edwin used his position to get them out of their pants. He should have shown more control.”

“I don’t know. He’s pretty hot in my book. He could be doing anything, and I wouldn’t mind letting him in my pants.”

Andrea rolled her eyes. “Don’t. You stay behind your desk and leave Mr. Coldwell alone. I won’t have any of his chaos infecting this office.”

“All right, all right. Relax.” Sammy held up her hands, palms out in front of her. Whether it was an act of surrender or her way of telling Andrea to calm down, Andrea wasn’t sure. Still, she took it. “I still think you’re forgetting a couple of things here.”

“Oh? And just what would those be?”

Sammy’s grin was mischievous. “First, we’re all adults, and second, Edwin is one hell of a hot looking man.”

Andrea shook her head as she turned toward the double doors. “Our tastes in what constitutes a hot man are vastly different.” She waved at the other woman from over her shoulder as she pushed the glass door open. I really need that drink now.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Edwin stretched, his muscles screaming at him for being in the same position for so long. Glancing out his office window, he noticed everyone else was gone. Curious, he glanced at his watch. Seven-ten. Holy s**t. He stretched again, his muscles popping, and then stood and walked around the bullpen. He sneaked a peek at Andrea’s office, only to notice it was dark. He walked to the front of the building, opening the door to the reception area, but it too was dark, and the front doors locked. He was alone. No one even bothered to say goodbye. So much for a good first impression. He knew he was going to have to do better. His reputation as the wayward child had preceded him here, whether it should have or not, and he was going to have to overcome it in order to garner control of this office. It didn’t help matters that Andrea seemed to be totally against him, and the others seemed to follow her lead. Neal really should have transferred her down to Fort Lauderdale with Brian. Maybe I’ll bring it up when Neal gets here. Edwin just knew he didn’t want to face Andrea’s antagonism on a daily basis. It would definitely not be a friendly work environment. For a woman who looked as hot as she did, she sure as hell had an icy exterior.

Returning to his office, he packed up for the night and shut everything off. As he reached the door between the reception area and the back offices, he paused, turning around to stare once more at his new surroundings. It was like he was starting all over again, even if it was within the same company, following the same rules, rules he had learned to work around for quite a while. He was dreading starting over, learning new people, new routines. Boy, did I ever screw my life up. He flicked the light switch, throwing the interior offices into darkness. There was nothing for it now but to make the best of it.

He locked the front door and headed for his truck, dreading another night of unpacking and setting up house.

The Savannah rush hour traffic was already nonexistent by the time he headed out of the office, which made it easier for him to find his way around an unknown area. Edwin had found a place only twenty minutes from the office just in case he needed to get there quick. For the time being, being in a new place, he would only have work to keep himself occupied. Another aspect of moving he was dreading—making new friends. He liked his old friends. They were comfortable. Like broken-in shoes.

Shake it off, Edwin, sheesh. He was never a gloomy person before, but since Cherish had kneed his family jewels into next week and Faith had basically kicked him to the curb, he just felt like wallowing in his misery. Granted, it was misery well-deserved, but nevertheless, he was tired of feeling sorry for himself. It was time to put some skip back in his step.

Soon, he was back at his new apartment, dropping the keys onto a stack of boxes that never made it past the front foyer, and heading for the refrigerator and a cold beer. He sat his briefcase on the kitchen counter and headed for his back balcony which overlooked a creek that ran along the west side of the property. A couple of squirrels leaped from tree to tree in a frenzied game of chase as two cardinals watched their antics from a safe distance away. Two young boys fished from the side of the creek, ignoring the rest of the world around them, lost in playing Tom and Huck for a few moments. Edwin relished the simplicity of their lives. Life should be simple. Then stop making it so damn complicated, you i***t. He took a long pull from his beer as he reached into his shirt pocket for his pack of Salems. He had made his life difficult, and it was time to fix that. It was time to grab hold of the pleasures this world had to offer, especially his new home. Speedbumps are not roadblocks. It was time for him to stop acting like they were.