you from making a rash decision.” Brett filled the doorway in a tailored gray suit with tiny pinstripes, his green satin tie and matching pocket handkerchief making him look slick. Kayleigh gave herself a mental kick for not seeing through his phony charm before.
He crossed the space to her desk and slid her engagement ring across the surface, the Tiffany’s diamond creating a prism of light on her ceiling.
Gianna caught Kayleigh’s eye and, at her reassuring nod, backed toward the door. “I’ll see you later, Kayleigh. Goodbye, Mr. Graham.”
Brett ignored Gianna and leaned on the desk, his musky cologne assailing Kayleigh, his thick gold watch flashing when his sleeves rode up. She breathed deep, the familiar scent making her want to burrow into his arms until this storm had passed. Only he’d caused the tempest and would never be her safe harbor again.
He glanced at a picture of them in her garbage bin. “Kayleigh, please. I’m sorry. I screwed up. Big-time. But it will never happen again.” He handed her the ring, and her palm itched as temptation battled within to put it on and to take it all back. “We’re meant to be together. Besides, you know you won’t last a week on your own.”
She dropped the ring on her desk. How dare he? She peered up at him, anger warring with fear that he might be right. Was he arguing to save a deal or a relationship? “Don’t say that,” she whispered, her confidence ebbing.
He came around the desk and clasped her cold hands. “You’re a dreamer, not a doer, Kay. An ideas person. It’s what makes you brilliant at concepts, but not at execution. Leave that for others. Let me take you out to dinner so that I can make it up to you. What happened last night won’t be repeated. Promise. You believe me, don’t you?”
But she didn’t. In fact, she didn’t know what she trusted in anymore except that she had to act, whether she was a doer or not. She’d worked with GSI since leaving college seven years ago. Starting over was a risk, but it was better than staying with a liar like Brett. A liar who apparently had zero faith in her. She needed to be strong and make her big brother, and herself, proud.
From now on, she wouldn’t be pushed aside, controlled or misled. And if she ever wanted romance again—a concept impossible to imagine right now—it’d be on her terms. No hidden secrets to blow up in her face.
“It’s over.” She handed him the ring, slipped on her heels and headed for the door, her briefcase in hand.
“I won’t accept that,” he said, his voice losing its smooth tone. “You’ll regret giving up on us.”
She stopped in the doorway and stood as tall as her five-foot-three frame allowed. “I’d be sorry if I didn’t go. By the end of the week, I’ll be developing apps for another company. GSI is about to get some competition.”
Brett’s surprised exclamation made her whirl. “You don’t honestly expect me to recommend you to competitors?”
She stared him straight in the eye. “Don’t need it. My qualifications will speak for themselves.”
“I give you a month before you come back,” he said softly as she strode through the door, her head high. “Think, Kay. No one will hire you without references. This is career suicide, and you’re too smart and talented to make that kind of mistake.”
She fought to control her face, though her knees wobbled at that cruel truth. Brett had cheated on her. Why would she expect him to play fair professionally?
Heads came together as she passed her coworkers. Their department occupied the entire floor of the ten-story central office, and the tight-knit group behaved more like a dysfunctional family than a set of associates.
Brett followed her to the elevator and waved his phone. “Call me when you’ve come to your senses, okay?”
She pulled out her cell and punched in a contact number. He gazed at her, puzzled, when his phone rang.
The elevator chimed, and she stepped inside. When he’d brought his cell to his ear, she spoke into her own.
“I already have,” she said as the doors slid closed.
* * *
A COUPLE OF weeks later, Kayleigh trudged down the main hall of her grandfather’s assisted-living center and halted at the front desk. After making cold-call stops at software companies to check for potential openings, her back ached, her toes hurt and the waistband of her business skirt dug into her skin. Time to rethink the extra ice cream she’d been eating to chase away the blues.
If only she’d found a job by now. When she’d heard the rumor from Gianna that Brett was blackballing her in the software community, she’d been skeptical. But after receiving her tenth rejection this morning, she was worried. What if Brett was right and she had committed career suicide? With limited savings, her options were running out fast.
She must have made a noise because a familiar redheaded woman stopped scribbling on a chart and glanced up. A warm smile transformed her stern face.
“Hi, Kayleigh. Here to see your grandfather?”
“I was, but he’s not in his room. It’s good to see you, MaryAnne.” Kayleigh grabbed the counter’s edge to keep from swaying on her feet. It’d been a long day full of dead ends. She really needed one of Gramps’s pep talks.
MaryAnne shoved back her bangs and studied Kayleigh. “You don’t look so well. Are you okay?”
Kayleigh contemplated the nurse’s dark brown eyes. They were so like those of MaryAnne’s younger brother, Niall, Kayleigh’s former best friend. A familiar emptiness rose within. She could have used his solid strength right now. Most of all, she missed him. How long since he’d stopped returning her calls? Two years? It was hard to believe since, prior to his tour in Afghanistan, they’d spoken at least once a week. Now only radio silence filled his end of their former relationship.
“It’s a long story.”
MaryAnne closed her chart and stood. “I have time. Let’s grab some coffee in the break room.”
A minute later they were seated in the small, sterile space, black brew percolating in a machine on the counter.
“So how’s the wedding planning going?” Kayleigh asked. It was a common conversation topic for them since they were both getting married the following summer. Well...one of them was. Kayleigh’s heart absorbed the thought without breaking. Good. Progress. Maybe she’d have only one bowl of ice cream tonight.
MaryAnne contemplated Kayleigh’s left hand and her eyes widened. “Where’s your ring? Did you lose it?”
“I gave it back.” Kayleigh’s chair scraped when she shoved it back and strode to the counter. “How many sugars do you want?”
“Two.” MaryAnne joined her and grabbed a couple of mugs from a cabinet. “I’m so sorry. What happened?”
Kayleigh hesitated before filling the cups. “He cheated on me.” The sting of it was still there, but it’d faded, like the shadow of a stain after a hundred scrubbings.
MaryAnne handed her a wooden stir stick as they returned to the table. “Isn’t he also your boss?”
“Was.”
