Page 144 of In Spades

“Oh my God…” Maddie clasped her hand over her mouth. “You were going to propose?”

“In the courtyard at the inn,” Hannah Jane said wistfully as she cooled down from her shouting match with Isaac. It wasn’t clear if that particular argument was fury or foreplay. “It was a really pretty set-up. Kris would’ve loved it.”

“Do you propose to every girl you date?” Steve sneered, his lip curling with disdain behind that thick beard.

I sighed, snapping the ring box closed and shoving it in my pocket. “No. And for the record, I’m the one who broke it off with Elena.”

“What’s the story there?” Mel asked.

Bridget handed me another beer.

Lord knows I’d need it for this story. “Elena and I met right after I graduated from MIT. We were both in the same hiring class of computer engineers at a company that did defense contracting. We worked together for a few years, but didn’t start dating until I joined a different company.

“I hated living up north, so when I got an offer from a contractor out of North Carolina, I jumped at the chance to move back. We did the long-distance thing. When it got serious, I proposed, and she quit her job to move down here. Elena’s smart, but she didn’t like the work.

“I quit that job after I filed a few patents and sold some tech to the Navy. I wanted to diversify, so I used some of my earnings to start a few different companies. If one industry went down, I’d have money in another.”

Isaac nodded in approval. “Don’t put all your chickens in one basket.”

Chase rolled his eyes. “It’s don’t count your chickens before they hatch, dumbass.”

“It’s don’t put all your eggs in one basket,” Bridget clipped before adding, “Dumbass.”

“Oh my God, you two,” Erica yelled at Chase and Bridget. “Either go in the back and fuck each other or shut the hell up. I’m so done with your drama. You’re grown ass adults who should be able to work through your feelings.”

“We don’t have feelings for each other!” Bridget and Chase shouted simultaneously.

Hannah Jane rolled her eyes and snorted. “Yeah, okay.”

“Anyway,” I growled. “The point is, I’ve done well for myself financially, and Elena had dollar signs in her eyes. She hated engineering, even though she was good at it. So, I gave her a job at one of my companies. But that work didn’t appeal to her either.

“She wanted to be a southern socialite, throwing garden parties and shit. I loved her—or thought I did—so I went along with it because it made her happy. But truthfully, I hated everything about it.”

Luca’s brow furrowed. “Honestly, I thought you were a myth. You were a huge investor for me, but you never made public appearances.”

I shrugged. “Yeah, it pissed her off too. Eventually, I had enough and couldn’t put up with her shit anymore. When I broke up with her, I didn’t want to be petty and fire her. It would have blown up in my face in more ways than one, so she stayed at Allegiant. It was never a big deal, though. Like I said before, I don’t have a lot to do with those companies when it comes to day-to-day operations. I didn’t even know that she’d been put on the Taylor Creek Inn acquisition until it was too late.”

Hannah Jane sighed. “God, the staff party was a shit show. I can’t believe Elena outed you like that. I mean, I knew she was a bitch, but damn.”

I shook my head. I should have known better. Elena had always been like that. And me? I tried to see the best in everyone. To a fault, apparently. I was too trusting to run with guys like Luca and Isaac, so I stayed in my lane and kept to myself.

But Kristin changed everything. She never expected anything from me the way Elena had.

“I fired her,” I said, looking up from my beer. “Personally. I mean, H.R. was there, but she breached her confidentiality agreement.”

“Does Kristin know that?” Steve asked.

I shook my head. “I’ve tried to talk to her, but she won’t answer.”

“She didn’t show up for poker night on Monday,” Luca said glumly. “She’s never missed one before.”

Steve sighed. “She probably just needs time.”

Time. That’s what I was afraid of…

On one hand, maybe time would help her cool down before having it out with me. On the other hand, time would give her a chance to throw her walls back up.

Higher this time. Impenetrable.

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