BethanyHe wasn't in the room the night before when she got back, and she didn't have the desire to go after him. A sadness settled on her that still held her tightly as she woke Saturday morning. The text from Ben she'd failed to see the night before showed that the team decided to meet up at six that morning. It was almost eight by the time she woke up.Damon wasn't anywhere to be found, but his suitcase was open, and the smell of his skin was on the bed next to her. She got dressed quickly and called Ben as she walked from the room. Her issues with Damon would have to be solved later that evening when she could get him alone for a heart-to-heart. Hopefully kissing and making up would be a part of it, but nothing was happening in the bedroom until she got him to come to the table on why he was being such an unbearable ass."Good luck," she muttered as Ben picked up the phone."Hey, Bethany. Sorry about the late text. No worries about not making the six o'clock pow-wow, it was a diff
Bethany"Let's just start by saying that I'm disappointed." Damon glanced around the oval table they sat at.Bethany had yet to get over the shock of having Philip on the team and seated next to her. They hadn't had more than a minute to say hi to each other before Damon walked into the quaint conference room and caused the mood to shift dramatically.The pretty blond across the table was new to her and had to be Damon's childhood friend, who scary enough looked like a softer version of his ex, Bridget. Sickness rolled through Bethany's stomach as she tried to keep her concentration on Damon. There was no reason to let his words smack her around seeing that she wasn't part of the team that had failed to do their job well."Patrick. Why don't you stand up and introduce yourself, and tell the team what's going on so that they understand fully the shit storm that your team is pulling them into."A dark-haired Hispanic guy stood up and smoothed his shirt as his hands shook."Right. I'm Pa
DamonBethany walked into the bathroom; her shoulders rolled in slightly. She was hurt. Fuck.Of course she went to the one place I can't get to her. Did she not remember him holding her the night before as he apologized for their long evening apart? He was stressed. Did she not get stressed and pull back from all of humanity until she figured things out? Surely she did. Why wasn't he granted the right just to be who he was instead of who she expected him to be? That change would come over time, but fuck, it wasn't instantaneous.Damon waved his hand to silence Patrick and Delilah and moved back, letting the woman into his office. Having to share his space with anyone but Bethany, even workspace sounded like hell on earth. As long as Delilah could remain professional and keep the chattiness to a minimum, they would be all right."Sorry about all of that." Bridget's sister walked in and laid her briefcase on her desk. "Is she-""None of your business." He walked to his desk and sat do
Damon"Pull you back?" Her blue eyes moved across his face as he leaned back a little, but kept his hands locked on her hips; his front pressed to hers."I didn't mean it like that. Don't get even more sensitive. I just needed a minute with you." He leaned down to kiss her, but she turned her face away."Move. You're not at all the man I fell in love with. Back. Up.""What? No. I'm exactly who you fell in love with. You're expecting someone different to show up because I gave you a ring, but that's not how it works. I'm still me. If you don't-""Don't you dare say it," she barked as tears filled her eyes."Beth. Come on, baby. You know I love you. I was there last night wrapped around you. I'm stressed, and shit is hitting the fan. If you didn't work here, it would be a different situation altogether." He trapped her face in his hands and leaned down, taking ownership of her soft lips. She fought against him for a second before moaning and melting into him.The kiss was long and deep,
BethanyMaybe she was overthinking it. A few weeks back he'd been more of an ass than ever, and she'd been fine with it. For some reason, she half-expected him to change simply because of the engagement, but she hadn't changed much, right?She packed up and walked out of the conference room after everyone else had skipped off to dinner thirty minutes before. Damon had texted sometime just after lunch for her to meet him out at the street around seven. After a long day of trying to catch up to where everyone seemed to expect her to be, a hot bubble bath and TV sounded good, but that wasn't happening.As long as there wasn't another fight to deal with, she'd be good. Too much more and she was liable to crack and chuck the ring at him. There was only so much someone could be expected to put up with, even someone head-over-heels.She took the elevator down and stifled a yawn as she walked out of the building. A sleek black Mercedes much like Damon's sat parked in front of the building as
Bethany"I think you guys are putting way the fuck too much pressure on yourselves. My God, you just got together three weeks ago." Matt dipped his chip into the bowl of hot salsa between them.Bethany sucked down another drink of her frozen margarita before answering."I know. I keep telling myself that, but some of the little things he's done that have hurt me seem to feel so damn big. So big..."Matt reached over and squeezed her hand. "So let's talk about something else. You and Damon will figure this shit out. You're too right for each other not to, okay?""Okay." She glanced down and forced the hot lump of regret in her chest to go back down. They would figure things out, maybe. Hopefully. "Did you ask Erica out?""No. She's a piranha." He laughed as Bethany gave him a look."She's a great girl and someone that you would-""I know. I've heard it a million times. No is my answer. I don't want a woman like her. Honestly." He shrugged. "She's beautiful and leaves my insides shaking
DamonThe light mist that covered the golf course that next morning ushered in an odd peace that Damon needed more than he wanted to admit, even to himself. Bethany had come in from her date, or whatever she'd been doing, opened the card and left him on the couch. It was a clear sign that things were headed toward being over. It was too much to consider, so like he'd done his whole life, he boxed it up and tucked it away. Fuck it. All of it."So you think you guys going down to Florida next weekend will help some?" James Talling glanced up as he wiped off the tip of his putter."Absolutely." Damon nodded and glanced over to Patrick. "Pat's going down there, and some of our other hard-hitting staff. We'll wrap everything up and set up new procedures and processes. It will be a brand-new operation by the time we leave.""And all in a weekend." Patrick chuckled and walked out to the fairway beside Damon as James moved up to take his turn. "We missed you last night. Ben thought you were g
DamonHe walked into the office a few hours later to find the staff working fast to put out a third quarter fire for another client. He left them to it and walked to his office to find Bethany staring out the window."Hey, can you organize a dinner tonight? It looks like those guys in there aren't going to get a break anytime soon. We'll either bring something in or go somewhere.""Yeah, I guess." She glanced over her shoulder. The sadness on her pretty face tore into him, but he'd made his apologies yesterday only to have her lie to him about her stomach and leave with someone. No way had she gone out by herself for two hours. He'd parked the car and gotten to the room in time to smell the remnant of her perfume that filled the place."Thanks." He walked to his desk and sat down, not bothering to ask why she was standing by the window while everyone else was busting ass. That wouldn't gain him any favors, though, after the night before, he wasn't sure he wanted any."Thank you for th