“Brandon called me last night.” All sympathy and comfort, Matt rubbed her arm. “He’s upset, of course, but he feels—I agree—you just need a little space, a little time. Planning a wedding is beyond stressful. I can still remember snapping and snarling at Wayne when we were planning ours.”
“He contacted you, our boss, on a Sunday night, to tell you I was stressed over wedding planning?”
“We’re not just bosses. We’re family here. We hope everyone here knows our door is always open if there’s a problem. Isn’t that right, Laine?”
“Of course. And yes, weddings are stressful to plan. I helped plan my daughter’s last year, so I know. I’ve also seen you handle all manner of stress, Sonya. So I was surprised when Matt told me you’d had a kind of crisis over the wedding details.”
“I had a crisis?” Your mistake, Brandon, she thought, trying to draw me as hysterical. On to Plan B, designed on the spot. “I guess you could call it that.”
“And nothing to be ashamed of,” Matt assured her. “You take a break, pamper yourself a little. I’m sure you and Brandon will work this all out.”
“That’s not going to happen. I had this crisis, since we’re calling it that, when I got home unexpectedly early Saturday afternoon and found Brandon in bed with my cousin. Imagine my surprise. And imagine my additional surprise when I learned that wasn’t the first time.
“So there’s not going to be a wedding. I don’t need or want time off. I came in this morning with no intention of telling you the embarrassing details of my decision, but to let you know I’d changed my mind regarding the wedding. And to ask if, because the situation would be awkward for a time, Brandon and I aren’t assigned to the same project.”
“I— Are you sure about the … the circumstances?”
“Oh please, Matt.” Laine gave him an eye roll. “I think Sonya’s sure what she saw with her own eyes. I’m very sorry to hear it.”
“Yes. God. I’m sorry. Do you want some tea? I can get you some tea.”
“No, thanks. Thank you. I’m fine. I really am. I know it’s awkward, but I give you my word I’ll behave professionally in the workplace.”
“We’ll hold you to that word,” Laine said. “And we’ll expect the same from Brandon. You recently finished a project together.”
“Two weeks ago. We don’t have any mutual projects right now.”
“We’ll keep it that way, for now. Sonya, if you want a day or two, to decompress, and to handle what I know must be a slew of cancellations, notifications, you can certainly have that time.”
Laine lifted her hands. “And any help we can offer.”
“Thank you, really. I’ve got help with the details, and I’d honestly rather work. I’m sorry to bring all this in to you.”
“Workplace romances.” Laine smiled a little. “Who hasn’t been there? The door is open, Sonya, if you decide you need that time.”
“I appreciate it.” She rose. “I’m going to get to work.”
It didn’t surprise her to find Brandon waiting between the office and the stairs.
“We need to talk.”
When he reached for her arm, she stepped back. “Don’t put your hands on me.”
“We’re not having this discussion out here.” He gestured toward the door of the presentation room. “I prefer to keep my personal business private.”
“Then you shouldn’t have called Matt last night and lied to him.” But she walked through the door.
“I certainly didn’t lie.” He shut the door with a snap. “I told him you’d called off the wedding. You were upset and stressed.”
“You failed to mention why.”
He had the grace—or the wit, she thought—to look shamed and sorrowful.
“Listen, Sonya, nobody feels worse about what happened than I do. I made a terrible mistake, and I hurt you. I was weak, stupid. I panicked.”
She smiled, oh so pleasantly. “I thought you slipped.”
“Please.” He reached for her again.
“Touch me, and you’ll be up on charges of harassment and inappropriate behavior in the workplace. Try it and see.”
“I know you’re hurt, you’re angry. You have every right to be. What I did … a moment’s weakness. That panic. The wedding, all the details, the decisions, it all started to weigh on me, and I panicked. Then Tracie shows up, and she, well, she came on to me. Hard. And I … I just gave in.”
He pressed a hand to his heart. “I’m begging you to forgive me. To give me another chance to prove to you how much you mean to me.”
“You slipped, you panicked, you gave in. And had sex with my cousin in the bed we shared while I was out picking up the proof for our wedding invitations. And I only know you had sex with my cousin in the bed we shared because I canceled the appointment with the wedding florist.”
“It was a horrible mistake, sweetheart. I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to you. Please forgive me. It was one horrible mistake. She means nothing to me. You mean everything. It was just sex.”
She looked at him, really looked, and saw so far beyond the golden good looks. And because she saw the cheat, the liar, it made her a little sick all over again.
“I’m amazed you think this could work. I’m amazed you think I’m just that stupid.”
“I’m asking for forgiveness.” Shame and sorrow made a quick turn into indignant.
“How can you be so cold, so unforgiving? You sent your mother to Jerry’s, for God’s sake, with all my belongings. You put my things in trash bags, like we had nothing together.”
“I ran out of boxes and suitcases.”
“You went running to your mother with our personal business. That’s pathetic.”
“No, actually, Tracie went running to hers—who happens to be my mother’s sister. But regardless, you got your things back, and we’re done.”
“It’s no wonder I gave in to someone warm, someone passionate when you’re so fucking cold.”
“Lucky escape for both of us then, isn’t it? Going forward, since you tried your end run with Matt, I’ve told them all of it. Not my intention, which was to simply let them know I’d called off the wedding. But I refuse to let you dump this on me. I’ve given my word I’ll behave professionally with you, and they expect you to do the same.”
Indignation snapped back, of the righteous sort.
“You couldn’t wait to smear me to the bosses. I was human. Tracie ambushed me, she was all over me, and I was human.”
“That one time? How about the Saturday before? Or two weeks before that? Was it just being human when the two of you romped around naked then, too?”
“You spied on me? That’s how you handle problems, issues? By spying on me? That’s contemptible.”
“I didn’t have to. You and Tracie didn’t cover your tracks very well. We’re done. I just want to get on with my life, and I suggest you get on with yours.”
“If you think you’ll get away with spreading this around the company—”
“I don’t intend to talk about any of this. Your mileage may vary. I’ve canceled the venue, the band, and so on. All of it. I’ll send you a bill for half the nonrefundable deposits.”
“Good luck getting a dime out of me.”
“I figured that. I’ll just write it off as a bad investment. Now get out of my way. I’m going to work.”
“You’re not wearing the ring I put on your finger. I want it back.”