I tap out a quick reply to the CEO before tucking my phone into the inside pocket of my suit jacket.
When freshman year commenced a few weeks ago, I used to wear jeans every day and drop by the house to change before heading into the office. But I couldn’t give a flying fuck what anyone thinks of me anymore. So, I attend lectures in my dress suit, sticking out like a sore thumb, but I’ve zero fucks to give. I’m not here to make friends. I’m here to get a business degree so I can use the learning to mold myself into the CEO my dad always wanted me to become.
I owe him that much.
Actually, I owe him so much more than that, but the rest is a work in progress.
Dad’s second in command, the guy who was president before I was thrust into the role, has stepped into Dad’s CEO shoes for the time being. Dad left stipulations in his will in case something like this happened. Even in death, he’s ensuring I continue my education and my training, and I’ll only assume the CEO role once I’ve graduated with my degree and gotten a firm handle on every aspect of business operations.
It’s unnecessary. I could take control now and learn on the job. This degree is a checkbox exercise. One, I must, unfortunately, achieve, in order to gain control of the family business.
It pisses me off. Everyone knows I’m the boss. In everything but name. But I’ll play this charade because the lawyers tell me it’s the only way I’ll get my hands on the company, and it’s been in our family for too many generations to let it fall into the board members’ hands under my watch.
I sling my laptop bag over my shoulder and take the stairs two at a time, following the other students out of the auditorium. The hallway is teeming with people as I walk with purpose toward the food court to grab some lunch to take with me to the office.
The food court is buzzing, as usual, but I grab a sandwich, a bottle of water, a bag of chips, and some fruit and line up to pay for it.
“Drew, please. Come on. Stop shutting me out.”
My ears prick up as I hear Shandra Farrell’s sultry, pleading tone. I cast a quick glance over my shoulder, spotting her with Drew Manning, my former best friend, in the line a couple of places behind. I turn around before they notice me.
“Shandra. I can’t do this. I’ve said all I needed to. Please just drop it.”
“I won’t wait for you forever,” she says, and I detect the sadness and longing in her voice.
I wonder if I sounded that pitiful when I was pining after Abby.
I shake my head as the memories lay seize to my brain, disgusted at myself all over again.
“I don’t want you to wait for me. I can’t give you what you need—now or anytime in the future,” Drew says. “Just let it go.”
“Fine.” Her tone is snippy. “It’s your loss, Drew. It’s certainly not mine.” Her heels make a clacking sound on the tile floor as she storms off.
I reach the register and hand over my tray, glancing in Drew’s direction as the girl rings it up.
He’s rubbing his temples, his brow creased, clearly troubled. His eyes lift, and our gazes lock for a few seconds. He jerks his head in acknowledgement, and I give him a cursory nod in reply before turning around and handing my student meal card to the girl behind the register.
I don’t look at him as I walk away, and he makes no effort to talk to me. I’ve long since passed the point of caring. I don’t need him or anyone in my life.
I’m an island, and that’s just how I like it.
That way, there’s no one to disappoint if I fuck up again.
Not that I intend to.
What happened was a momentary lapse in judgment, and I will ensure it never happens again. No woman will ever penetrate the steel walls I’ve rebuilt around my heart, and that’s a promise I’ve made to myself. One I fully intend to keep.
I’ve just reached the doors when she calls out to me. “Charlie! Wait!”
“Fuck,” I mumble under my breath, closing my eyes for a second, as I silently beg her to let it go. But Abby is stubborn as shit when she gets something in her mind, and I know my silent prayer is in vain.
A guy plows into my side as I turn around. “Sorry, man.”
I ignore him, moving off to the side so I’m not blocking the entrance, watching as the brunette beauty who used to play a starring role in my dreams comes charging toward me.
She’s wearing skinny black jeans and a black-and-white off-the-shoulder sweater, and even though she’s wearing high-heeled boots, I still tower over her when she catches up to me.
“You’re sitting with us.” Her glare dares me to challenge her decision as she grabs on to my arm, attempting to pull me forward.
“No. I’m not.” I shuck out of her hold, sending her a challenging glare of my own. “No one wants me at that table, especially me.”
She crosses her arms and juts out her hip in defiance. “I want you there.”
“Why? It will only cause an argument between you and him.”
I still find it hard calling him her husband. The word always seems to stick in my throat even though I’ve accepted the situation and the fact they are crazy in love.
Abby is obviously happy. It radiates from her every pore. And I’m happy for her. Genuinely, I am. All I ever wanted was for her to be free of the hold that bastard Michael Hearst had over her and to be happy and in love.
But I wanted her to be happy and in love with me.
However, we don’t always get what we want.
“Because you’re our friend and it’s time we left the past in the past. We’ve all made mistakes. You’re not alone in that.”
I watch him approaching from over her shoulder, and I’m not surprised at the look of displeasure on his face. There is no love lost between Kaiden Anderson and me, and everyone knows it. Even Abby. But she seems hellbent on ignoring that critical fact.
“My mistakes got my father killed, not to mention the danger I placed you in,” I tell her as I watch him advance. “You should want nothing to do with me.” I’m not looking for sympathy. I’m merely stating the facts.
“Abby.” Kaiden places his hand on his wife’s shoulder. “Leave it.”
Her eyes narrow as she turns to her husband. “You know better than to tell me what to do.”
“You can’t force Charlie to sit with us if he doesn’t want to.” He looks me straight in the eye. “You can join us anytime. Don’t hold back on my account.” Abby leans into his side, smiling at him in a way that sours my stomach. He returns her smile, rubbing his thumb along her lower lip, and some unspoken communication passes between them. It’s an intimate moment between two people who exist only for each other, and I’m done.
“I just want to be left alone,” I tell her, gripping the strap of my bag tighter.
She grabs my elbow before I’ve turned my back on them. “You took a bullet for me, Charlie, and I will never forget that. You asked for time, and I’ve given you time. But if either of you think I’m dropping this, you don’t know me at all.”
My lips twitch of their own volition, and Kaiden slants a dark glare in my direction. He’s such an ass.
He won.
He stole her heart right out from under me, and he has her—hook, line, and sinker—so he could at least drop the evil eye.