Page 135 of City of Sin (Men of Manhattan 1)

"He's expecting you. You can just take a seat right over there and I'll let him know you're here." She gestured to her left and picked up the phone that was on her desk. There were a row of soft looking chairs and a plush couch outside of Mr. Ellington's old office. They were all empty.

"Thank you." I walked over and sat down on the chair farthest away from the office door. My desk that had been right outside Mr. Ellington's office was gone. I vaguely wondered what had happened to the picture I had left behind. Patrick and my smiling faces were probably sitting in a dump right outside of the city. I ran my thumb along the spot where my engagement ring once sat. When Mason had said I should just run back to Patrick, not even a small part of me considered it. There was nothing to run back to. All I'd be doing was running away, and I didn't want to run away from Mason.

I looked down at my hand. For a while there had been a small tan line where my engagement ring used to sit. It was almost gone now, like all the evidence of Patrick and my relationship would soon be gone. And the thought was terrifying. Not because of Patrick, but becaus

e of Mason. I didn't want Mason to become a distant memory. I'd regret that for the rest of my life. I had been thinking more and more about what my mom had said. Without a doubt in my mind, Mason was my great love. Was not answering his calls a mistake? Had I already lost him too? Maybe Valentine's Day was getting in my own head.

I needed to focus. I pulled out my notebook and opened up to a random page, but the words didn't seem to make any sense. Focus.

The receptionist walked over. "He's ready to see you now." She gave me a small smile.

I'm not ready. Shit. I could feel my heart beating out of my chest.

She opened up the door to Mr. Ellington's old office and gestured for me to enter.

"Thank you," I said over my shoulder as she closed the door behind me. I swallowed hard and turned around. My throat made a small squeaking sound when I saw him.

Mason Caldwell was sitting behind a new desk, where Mr. Ellington's old desk had been, with a smile on his face. No, he was standing and walking toward me.

"Mason." I could feel all the emotions from the other day coming back. But mostly I felt the warmth wafting off of him. His warmth was the only one that could seem to make the cold disappear.

"I wasn't sure you were coming back." He had stopped right in front of me. He didn't reach out for me or try to kiss me.

But I still felt warmer than I had all week. "I meant what I said, Mason."

He scratched the back of his neck. "I know I'm an asshole."

"No. I mean, I love you." There, I said it without sounding like I wanted to rip his head off. That was better right? Would he believe me now?

He lowered his eyebrows slightly. "I need to talk to you."

I bit my lip. "I'm so sorry about everything I said, Mason. The only thing I said the other day that was true was that I loved you. I love you so much."

He closed his eyes for a second as though what I was saying hurt him. When he opened them, he didn't lock his eyes with mine again. "Can you take a seat?"

He still didn't believe me. Or maybe he didn't want to hear it. He still wasn't touching me. I couldn't stand the distance between us. I walked past him and sat down in a chair in front of the desk.

I heard him sigh. Instead of going around to the other side of the desk, he sat down in the chair beside mine and grabbed my hand. Finally. I felt the familiar spark ignite through my hand.

"You bought Kruger Advertising?"

"For barely anything, yeah. I'm just going to tell you everything from the start okay? I just need you to listen and not get upset. Promise to let me say everything I need to say?" He ran his thumb across my knuckles.

I nodded.

"This is everything. The good, the bad, the in between. And I bet you'll want to take back what you just said after you..."

"I won't."

He shook his head. "I don't go on blind dates, Bee. Actually, I don't go on any dates at all. I wasn't interested in a connection, in the whole romance thing. Just sex. That's it. That's all I wanted."

"I know."

"Carter and Marie were pretty insistent. I kept saying no. I keep my private life and work separate. All they knew was that I was single and that you were too. I knew you were wondering why the hell they would set you up with me that first night. But it's just because they didn't know me. It had nothing to do with whether you're easy or not, which you aren't. But they offered me Knicks tickets if I agreed. I'd get to go to a game and possibly get lucky? It sounded like a fair deal to me. So I said yes. I never expected someone like you to show up."

"Someone like me?"

"You took my breath away, Bee. But I only have one move. I mean," he shrugged, "plenty of moves to get to an end point. I wanted to fuck you. That was it. That's always the end game for me. And when you drove off in that taxi, it just made me want you even more. I couldn't stop thinking about you. I kept telling myself it was about the sex. Just getting to have you. It was more than that, I know that now, but I was fighting with myself about that. Instead of accepting that I actually had feelings for you, I made it some sick game in my head. I knew you were damaged. I mean, not damaged, that was the wrong word. But wounded, you know? From what happened with Patrick. So I took things slow for the ultimate prize. You."

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