Page 29 of Two of a Kind
Chapter Twenty
Kayla was in a foulmood. Of course, it didn’t help that no one else in the office felt the need todoanything. They sauntered in late, took long lunches, and left early when they bothered to come in at all, spouting one excuse after another. And when theywerethere, they spent more time gossiping and trading stories about kids and spouses than actually working.
Annette would normally say something after a while, but even she was being particularly unhelpful. Every day this week, she had walked into the office like a storm cloud and spent most of her time holed away behind her closed door, then stomped out without warning and didn’t come back. Apparently, Annette was having male-induced shit moods, too.
Though she loathed to admit it, at least part of Kayla’s ill temper could be attributed to the bombshell of Spencer Dumas’ impending nuptials. Not because he was tying the knot to Chelsea Chamberlain, no. That was what wealthy, corporate types like him did. They brokered power unions, and the rich grew richer.
Nor was it because Kayla believed she had the type of magical pussy that would ruin him for anyone else, either—she knew better. She was good, but she wasn’tbillion-dollargood.
No, what bothered her was that the pictures accompanying the slew of society page articles were taken in Sate’s lobby onthe same day she had left. Mere hours after the limo had whisked her out of paradise, Chelsea Chamberlain had arrived and stepped right into the arms Kayla had snuck out of.
Thank God Kayla had already been long gone by then. If she had been there when Spencer’s fiancée had arrived and had seen with her own eyes the embraces captured in the official engagement announcement, it would have been a crushing blow. Knowing that their time together had been fleeting was one thing. Having it thrown in her face, along with a big side of “you’ll never be good enough for that,” was something else entirely. She wouldn’t have handled it well. At least this way, she had been able to seethe in the privacy of her own hometown without having to worry about running into him and seeing that cocky smirk. Or even worse, seeing no acknowledgment whatsoever.
Adding to her ill temper was her own stupidity. Moronic sap that she was, she had actually thought he would be disappointed by her sudden departure! Now she felt foolish for worrying about leaving without saying goodbye or offering an explanation. She felt even more so for thinking, even for a moment, that there had been something special between them, something that transcended the physical.
Yeah, she was an idiot. Even though she had known it was just a convenient fling, known that it had meant nothing, some part of her hurt, and that pissed her off even more. She had been down that road before, entertaining romantic fantasies that maybe, just maybe, there might be someone out there who ...
She shut those thoughts down immediately and with extreme prejudice. She was not the kind of woman men had serious relationships with. She had come to terms withthata long time ago.
So, what was different this time?
Nothing, she answered herself coldly. Spencer Dumas was no different than any other powerful alpha male she had ever known. He took what he wanted without apology, then moved on.
She didn’t blame him; she blamed herself. She wasn’t naïve. She had known what she was getting herself into. She could have ignored his summons. She could have said no.
She hadn’t.
And the real ass-kicker? If she had the ability to travel back in time, knowing what she now knew, shestillwould have gotten into that elevator commando. Still would have spent fourteen glorious hours indulging in the best sex of her life.
Because ... yeah, he wasthatgood.
Kayla sighed, irritated with herself. Angry at her nipples for beading. Angry at her sex for clenching at the mere thought of Spencer Dumas and the naughty, naughty things he had done.
“Kayla?”
Kayla had been so caught up in her own thoughts that she hadn’t seen the woman approaching her desk. It took only a moment to place the face, more mature than the last time she had seen it, but still every bit as beautiful.
“Lexi? What are you doing here?”
She received a tentative smile. “Well, you didn’t return my phone calls.”
No, she hadn’t. Most people would have understood the implicit meaning and let it go. Not Lexi.
“I didn’t see the need.”
The smile faded as Lexi shifted her weight, biting her bottom lip, just like she used to. There wasn’t much of the shy, skinny kid Lexi had once been in the woman standing before her now, but that nervous tell hadn’t changed.
“Can we talk?”
Kayla noticed that the rest of the office had gone silent and was watching the exchange. There was a good chance they recognized Lexi, also known as Alexis O’Connell Kattapoulos Callaghan, master chef extraordinaire and co-owner of the Celtic Goddess. What they didn’t know was that Kayla and Lexi were stepsisters with a less-than-Hallmark-worthy history.
As much as Kayla did not want to have this conversation with Lexi, she wanted to avoid office drama more.
“Sure,” she said, choosing the lesser of the two evils. “I could use a break.” Kayla locked her computer and grabbed her purse.
