Page 87 of Myself

JAYCENT

I sit in the middle of a meeting with the Manhattan skyline behind me while I look up at a man by the name of Fredrick when my cell rings on the table. I take a look down to see it’s Mr. O’Kane. He’s probably just calling to see how this meeting is going and to see if we have any progress with Hahn’s.

I stand and walk out of the conference room to take it. “Hello, Sir?”

“Jaycent, where are you?” he demands.

I frown. “At the office. I’m in a meeting—”

“How fast can you get to O’Kane’s?” he asks in a rush.

“I don’t know. Like twenty minutes.” Give or take fifteen given traffic. “Why?”

“I need you to go pick up Becca.”

“Becca?” I ask confused. “What is she doing there?”

He sighs heavily before he speaks softly. “Kelly called me and said she showed up at the office crying. I called her, and she is standing outside my building. I guess she ran into Conner earlier, and he upset her. She was crying so hard I couldn’t even understand some things, but she doesn’t need to be alone, and I’m in Philadelphia with Ryder ...”

“I’m on my way,” I say, already walking into my office to grab my suit jacket off the back of my chair.

“Thanks, Jaycent,” he says thoughtfully. “Ryder is returning tonight, but I won’t be back until tomorrow.”

“It’s okay. I’ll take care of her,” I assure him, stopping at my assistant’s desk. “Cancel the rest of my day,” I say and walk off before she can question me.

“Thank you. Oh, and Jaycent?”

“Yes?” I ask as I run out of the office and come to a stop at the elevators.

“She knows you told me about Conner.” And then he hangs up.

Shit!

**

I chose the lobby instead of the parking garage, and I chose to run instead of grabbing a cab. Either way, it will take me too long to get to her in traffic, so I decide to run. The O’Kane building is only three blocks from my office. I sucked in breath after breath, and halfway there, my side started to cramp. “Fuck!” I cuss as I try to breathe. Ryder and I try to make the gym a few times a week, but ever since the girls have come into town, that hasn’t happened. I thought I was in shape, but obviously, I was wrong.

As I come up to the outside O’Kane’s building, I see her walking across the street. “Becca?” I call out. She doesn’t stop. “Becca, wait!” I shout.

She keeps going, and I look up to see the countdown timer has three seconds left. I take off running around people. “Becca!” I shout again as I come up behind her. I grab her upper arm and spin her around. Mascara runs down her face, and her green eyes are bloodshot. “Please ...”

“No, Jaycent!” she screams, making bystanders look over at us. “How could you?”

“I’m sorry.”

“Sorry you got caught,” she snaps then turns to walks away.

I grab her again. “I needed to tell someone.”

“Me. You could have told me,” she cries.

I run a hand through my hair. “There was nothing that you could have done. I needed someone on my side who could scare him off. Obviously, Ryder and I weren’t doing enough.”

“Out of everyone I know, I didn’t think you would be the one to lie to me,” she says, and my chest tightens.

“I didn’t lie.”

“You didn’t tell me the truth either,” she screams. “You saw what my relationship with Conner was like, and you chose the same path that he did.”

---