Page 67 of Best Mistake Ever
There’s just something missing as I gaze at my ex-employee. The real one. No lurch in my chest. No quickening of my pulse. Nada.
Leaving the office, I walk into the corridor to meet her as she bangs in through the door.
She comes to an abrupt halt in front of me, her face set in a scowl of displeasure.
‘Hello, Dee. Did your sister not tell you you’re fired?’ I state, folding my arms.
She blinks at me slowly. ‘Yes, I did get that memo. And I’ve come to tell you that that’s fair enough, I deserve it, but Bea doesn’t deserve the treatment she’s getting.’
I let out a snort, taken aback by this verbal attack. ‘How so?’
Dee lets out a deep sigh. ‘Can we go for a walk in the grounds or something? I don’t want to do this in the corridor.’
I shrug. ‘It doesn’t matter to me where we do this. You’re still fired.’
‘Noted,’ she says dryly, swivelling on the spot, then walking back out of the hotel.
I stand there for a moment, considering whether I should actually follow her or go back to my office, just to show her who’s calling the shots, but something in me wants to hear what she’s got to say. I’m intrigued to see what her next play is. Is she here to try and get her job back? Or something else?
Pushing away a strange surge of hope, I take a breath then follow her outside.
She’s waiting impatiently for me, scuffing her toe against the gravel of the car park, but when she sees me emerge, she starts walking again towards the gardens in front of the house.
I catch her up and we walk in silence for a few beats, before she finally draws in an audible breath and says, ‘Look, she only did this because I begged her to.’
When I glance at her, her face is a picture of remorse – something I never thought I’d see.
‘Seriously, Jonah. It’s not her fault. The mere thought of hurting you, of hurting anyone, gives her the horrors, I can promise you that. She’s beating herself up badly for how this all turned out. She is and always has been the kindest, sweetest, most giving, caring person I’ve ever met. And I know I’m bound to say that because she’s my sister, but she’s also been my nemesis all my life because she’s always done everything perfectly. Up until now, anyway. She’s never been in trouble for anything in her life because she can’t allow herself to make mistakes. It’s because of our dad. He’s such a tough person to please but she’s somehow managed to do it. Which is no mean feat, believe me. I’ve been trying all my life too, but I still haven’t managed it. Not once. But Bea, she’s something else – so resilient in the face of everything going completely tits up. She always knows what to do to fix things. Problem is, it means she puts everyone else and their wants before herself. Particularly me. She even cut off her beautiful hair to help me out. That’s love.’
‘And what’s this got to do with me?’ I ask, though I feel a sting of shame at how cold that sounds. But I’ve got to protect myself. I’m not being humiliated and lied to again.
‘For God’s sake, Jonah, you don’t know how lucky you are to have her in your life. She’s the most loyal person you could ever hope to meet. And she loves you.Reallyloves you. I’ve never seen her like this before. She’s absolutely bereft. For someone who puts being successful at work above all else, she absolutely couldn’t give a shit about it right now. All she can think about isyou and how much she’s hurt you and how she can’t fix it. It’s driving her crazy, I can tell.’
‘Not my problem,’ I re-iterate. ‘I’ve got my own shit to deal with.’ But there’s less conviction in my voice now. For some reason, my heart’s started pounding hard.
Dee lets out a loud, frustrated sigh. ‘Get over yourself, will you? So you’ve had some bad luck and humiliation in the past. So what? We all have. It’s how you move on from it that counts.’
She comes to an abrupt halt and I stop too. We turn to face each other.
‘Okay, so she made a mistake,’ Dee says, holding up both hands. ‘It turns out she’s not as perfect as we all thought. Which is actually a relief to me. And sure, it wasn’t a great thing to do to you, but she accepts that and she’s sorry and wants to fix it. She’s not leaving you, Jonah; she’s in for the long haul. Anyway, I just thought you needed to hear the truth. The whole truth. It’s up to you, of course, but take it from me: you’ll rue the day you turned down my sister’s love if you decide not to see her again. She’s one in a million.’
And with that, she turns on her heel and walks away from me.
I watch her go, my head buzzing with thoughts.
She’s right of course. It’d be madness to let my fear of being made a fool of again stop me from having a relationship with Bea now. I know, deep down, that she’s truly sorry for how things turned out and that she never meant to hurt me.
It’s not fair for me to keep punishing her. Especially, as she pointed out, I also seem to be intent on punishing her for what happened with Tessa too.
But then, I wasn’t exactly thinking straight about anything at that point.
I’m thinking straight now though.
I want Bea back. Very, very badly. And not just as an employee, but as my partner.
Because I’ve fallen in love with her.
She’s all I can think about. The way she moves, the way she smells, the beautiful curve of her smile and the warmth of her body when it was pressed to mine. We fit so perfectly. Even if it was an impulsive, inelegant coupling. A heat-of-the-moment thing.
