Page 25 of Our Little Wedding

“No. I’m still working. I went over a lot of stuff on the flight, but I wanted to prepare a plan for Max. You know, goals. So that is what I’ll be working on tonight.”

“Yes, you had mentioned that you were going to work on that.”

The line grew quiet, neither of us saying anything. As I lay there listening to him breathe, I wished Spencer were here beside me, holding me instead of being so far away.

“What are you thinking?” he asked, his voice low.

I didn’t want to make him feel worse than he already did. I knew he didn’t enjoy being away from us, and this time he was worried about us being alone, but I couldn’t help wanting to be with him.

“Just a little lonely. Wishing you were here is all.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to come to Denver?” he asked.

This was why I didn’t want to say anything. I sighed. “Yes, I am sure, there is no need for us to come to Denver.”

“Okay. I’ll be home before you know it. Why don’t you get some sleep and I will talk to you in the morning?”

“Okay, good night. I love you.”

“Love you too.”

I hung up the phone and lay in bed staring at the TV and thinking of Spencer. I felt like I’d upset him by telling him what had happened. He wasn’t acting like himself. Normally, by now, we’d have been hot and heavy into dirty talk, when instead he seemed to just want to get off the phone.

I arranged the covers partially over my naked body in such a way that would leave him wanting a little more and snappeda picture, which I sent straight to Spencer with the words ‘wish you were here’ attached to the message and hit send. It had barely been a minute when my phone vibrated, and I looked at the screen to see a crying emoji face. I couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

RomanticAlpha42: Just wait till I get my hands on you.

BabyGirl89: Cannot wait ;)

Spencer

I glanced at my watch; it was already after seven and I was starving. I looked down at the menu, going over my options, while I waited for Max to arrive. It had been his suggestion to come here and, as usual, he was late.

It had been good to see my brother again. Over the years, we’d drifted apart, I’d married Brittany, and we’d had Nikki, while Max had gone off to find himself. Then I was in the middle of a horrible divorce. Mike and I would only hear from him occasionally, until he’d returned to the States.

This afternoon, I’d sat down with my brother to go over my plans for the Denver office, and over the course of two hours, I’d learned that Max had lied to me about everything. He’d lied about most of his experiences, and I also found out that he’d been fired from his last two jobs. I knew he was worried that I’d be firing him from this one, and I really should have, but when I realized how desperate he was to get this job, it changed my mind.

He’d only been back in the States for sixteen months when he’d woken one morning, no job, on the verge of getting evicted from his apartment, and heard a knock on his door. He’d opened it to find his ex-girlfriend, who’d walked out one morning,standing in front of him holding a baby. His baby. So yes, he’d been desperate.

I’d let out a breath. “Why is it you never told me all this to start?”

“I don’t know. I needed something to get myself up in the morning. Everything fell apart when Pam left me. You know how that is, but when she showed up with the baby and dumped him on my lap, I was desperate. Are you going to fire me?”

I looked down at the reports I’d brought from the office back home and shook my head. “No, I will not fire you, Max. In all honesty, I did not know what I was doing when I started this company either. Most of it was trial and error, until I found most of my core team. I can train you, regardless of how angry I am. I still want you to be a part of this. I want to build a legacy.”

Max chuckled. “A legacy, really. That is a really interesting way to put it.”

No matter how angry I was, I still felt for him. However, we went over all the plans I had written for him, along with all the goals, and I planned to work with him to get him where he needed to be instead of taking the easy way out.

“Sorry I’m late,” Max said, sliding into the booth across from me.

“That’s okay. I hope you know what you want, because I am ready to chew my arm off.” I chuckled.

Max reached for the menu and opened it, , closing it two minutes later while I signaled for the server.

“So, since you know all about my issues, tell me, how are things with you? How did the engagement thing go?” Max questioned.

“Went well. I still say it would have been nice for you to have been there, to meet Ainsley.”