Page 127 of Crossing the Line
--------
The morning sun was promising a sultry L.A. day when Micah made his way out to the Sinner’s pool. Waverly greeted him from her seat on a wide wicker chair. She wore gym shorts and a t-shirt that mostly covered her bandages. Her eyes were still red from days of crying, but now they held something new. Determination.
“Thanks for coming, Micah,” she said, shaking the hand that he offered. She pointed to the chair across from her. “Have a seat.”
Micah folded his long legs under the table and looked around the patio while Waverly poured him coffee into a sturdy mug. “Thanks,” he said, accepting the caffeine. “So what do I owe the pleasure of this meeting?”
Waverly hugged her knee into her chest. “I have a delicate situation that I’d like to address with you.”
At Micah’s uncomfortable throat clear, she knew he was keenly aware of what needed to be discussed.
“As I’m sure you know, Xavier and I are no longer able to work together.”
Micah nodded slowly and chose his words carefully. “I am aware of the situation.”
“However, I see no reason why the reputation of Invictus should suffer based on personal issues. I don’t want anyone to think that after last week’s incident that I am anything but eternally grateful to you and your staff. I’m alive because of… all of you.”
She saw Micah’s broad shoulders relax fractionally. “I’m grateful that you think so,” he said diplomatically.
“So if you wouldn’t see it as a disloyalty to your partner, I’ve discussed this with my father, and we’d like to keep Invictus on board for the remainder of the summer. A driver, alarm system monitoring, and personal protection when I do media events.”
“Of course. We’d be happy to continue working with you,” Micah agreed.
Waverly nodded. “Excellent. The official line will be that Invictus saved my life and, should the question arise, there is and was no personal relationship between myself and Xavier Saint.”
Micah cleared his throat again. “I believe you’ll be fielding that question often. Have you seen the video?”
Waverly shook her head. If she didn’t enjoy watching herself acting on the big screen, she was fairly certain she wouldn’t like watching herself beg for her life before nearly losing it.
“The video is very… emotional,” Micah told her. “We’ve been bombarded with interview requests, and they all want to know if you and Xavier were… involved.”
“I see,” Waverly sighed.
“If you’ll forgive me for saying this, if you can stomach watching the video, maybe you’ll have a better understanding for the reaction that my partner had after the fact.”
“Can we just ditch the politically correct bullshit?” Waverly asked. She was a newly impatient woman who didn’t want to waste time tip-toeing around.
“He’s a fucking mess, Waverly. He thought he lost you, and it nearly killed him. He thought it was his fault that you almost died in front of the entire Internet. I don’t know if he’s going to come back from this.”
She took a steadying breath, forcing the impending storm of tears back. “I can’t do anything to change what happened or how he reacted.”
“I thought we were ditching the bullshit,” Micah said politely.
“I told him I loved him, and he said I was too damaged to love anyone.”
Micah swiped a hand over his face. “He’s an idiot.”
“No argument.”
Micah sat back up. “I’m sorry that he didn’t handle it even remotely well.”
“Me too,” Waverly said, masking the bitterness she felt. Even if what Micah was saying was true, that Xavier did have feelings for her and that he was devastated over ending things, it would only add him to the long list of people who had worked their own agenda on her. And those days of allowing it to happen were over.
“I do have a personal request,” she said, taking a sip of coffee. “I don’t want Xavier to be briefed on anything concerning me or my family.”
Micah nodded. “I understand, and that won’t be a problem. If I can get him sobered up, he’s going to New York. We’ve been kicking around opening an office there and now is probably a good time to get him out of town.”
Waverly nodded and stared into her coffee. A fresh start for both of them—on opposite sides of the country. She hoped it would be enough to eventually numb the pain, for her at least. Xavier deserved to suffer for a while. A long while. She was done forgiving and forgetting.
