Page 80 of Wes

Realizing I was just another eager fan in the front row sent my heart plummeting into a void, leaving a gaping hole in my chest.

Although Hadley and I enjoyed the rest of the concert, a bitter taste remained in my mouth. It lingered while we sat on the arena floor waiting for people in the general admission area to snake out of it. Bitterness continued to burn my throat as we ambled through the parking lot. We reached the remote area where Hadley had left his convertible BMW, but before we got to the car, the door of a Winnebago burst open to my right.

I jumped back a couple of feet to make room for a cackling, teetering blonde to descend the metal steps without landing on top of me. At her heels Mr. Crawford came down himself, followed by the redhead who had danced with him on stage. Her bright pink lipstick stained the fly of Erik’s pants, and he hadn’t closed the zipper all the way up.

Hadley’s hands cupped my shoulders. “You dodged a bullet right there. You’re welcome.”

At that moment, Erik’s gaze found mine. I spied sorrow too deep before he dropped his eyelids, shrouding his feelings from the world.

Recognizing the defense mechanism, I squeezed Hadley’s forearm. “You’ve no idea.”

The kind of pain I glimpsed in Erik’s expression was rare. One must know it to identify it. Erik and I hid gut-wrenching wounds, except I was learning to deal with mine while he was drowning because of his.

My eyes brimmed with tears of frustration, and I clenched my hands into fists, at the idea that he was wasting precious time instead of getting help to heal.

As the trio stumbled past me, Erik fell behind, and murmured into my ear, “Angel, some sinners aren’t worth saving.”

Continue reading here https://geni.us/Erik_page

* * *

Curious aboutHadley’s complicated, but H-O-T love life? Find his love story here https://geni.us/Boss_me_Choice.

Christine appears as a supportive character AND you get a glimpse of the whole band in the last chapter when Amber, Jim and Hadley attend the fundraiser. *wink wink*

Amber kept herdemonslocked up, her secrets hidden. Until Jim and Hadley lure her intobreaking all her rules.

What ifthey want more than a passionate evening? Can an office fling get a happily ever after if shedoesn’t have to choose?

Embark on this emotional roller-coaster today https://geni.us/Boss_me_Choice.

No cheating or cliffhangers.

A sneak peek, you say? You’ve got it.

Chapter 1 - The Meeting

Jim stared out of the floor-to-ceiling windows to avoid eye contact with other team members during a tense staff meeting. His focus shifted as he got caught up in the view of sprawling Lower Manhattan in the early April afternoon. Exquisite landscape. Exciting possibilities. Excruciating heartbreaks. Despite the headways he had accomplished since moving to New York, he missed the friends he had made while going to college in Boston, Hadley Ramirez and Christine Daee most of all.

“Fuck!” A loud bang bounced off the walls as Rob Strong’s fist connected with the polished mahogany tabletop. “That’s unacceptable.” The office manager banged on the table again

Jim smoothed his navy-blue tie to disguise the cringe before taking in the fifty-year-old man chairing the meeting. Eyes popping out as his anger skyrocketed, dark circles around his eyes denouncing sleep deprivation, Rob was a serious candidate for a stroke or heart attack. Not exactly a rare specimen in the stock market business, but one that recent events had stimulated the spread like a deadly contagious disease.

“Look around you, guys. What do you find? Boarded-up stores and foreclosure signs everywhere. Real estate market is tanking faster than the Titanic. Businesses will follow suit. It’s already happening. How long you all think it’ll be until it gets to us? Think, people! We need to hold on to our current clients, no matter what. If we were real smart, we should be going out there and trying to get new clients.” Sarcasm dripped from each word as he enunciated them. Rob paused and stared each member of his team down before gushing, “But, no! Keeping clients is too easy, I suppose. You guys did one better. You lost the Feldman account.” Spit bubbled on the corner of his mouth as Rob spewed the words. At least Jim hoped it was spit, instead of foam. Growth Inc. didn’t need to add a medical emergency to the endless list of problems that they had faced in the office in the past months.

It struck Jim as odd that in a time as wearisome as that his mind would focus on minor details such as his boss’s frothy saliva. Or the way the sun glinted off the Brooklyn Bridge. Or the memory of lazy afternoons in Boston with Hadley and Christine.

On the other hand, his peculiar thinking process allowed him to think way outside the box, like above-the-stratosphere thinking. Such innovative ideas generated strategies that, despite unorthodox, had proved to be effective time and again, which had gotten Jim a highly coveted internship with Growth Inc. three years ago. At the time, he was fresh out of college and barely starting his MBA at Harvard. That unique mind of his had put him on a fast track for a permanent position in the firm and he was very close to landing it. Last thing he needed right now was for the financial market to implode. Or inappropriate feelings to make him lose focus.

Rob’s high-pitched voice brought Jim back to the matter at hand. “What the fuck, guys? Shit is hitting the fan at lighting speed and all you do is sit here and gawk at me? I want ideas, actions.”

Mark, a poor sap who had started with the firm a couple of weeks ago, spoke up in a volatile meeting such as that, “All due respect, sir. We couldn’t have guessed the situation was this bad, when even the federal government was stimulating subprime loans.”

“A very strong clue in and of itself, don’t you think?” The manager shouted at the man who should have known better than tossing an obvious remark like that. Rob glanced around the twenty-seat table. “I don’t want excuses. Give me viable solutions. Ms. Shea is joining us shortly and we’ve got squat to show for as it is. You think she’ll be thrilled to stare into your blank faces? Think again. I mean, you all know her, right?” He challenged with a mocking glint in his eyes.

A contagious frisson spread around the room, and Jim shuffled his Italian shoes, crossing his legs before uncrossing them. Amber Shea, CEO and founder of Growth Inc., received the nicknameWicked Witch of Wall Streetwith good reason. An unapologetic high-roller, she dominated the testosterone-driven stock market scene. Her opponents, and even a few colleagues, feared her cut-throat tactics.

As if on cue, the door to the conference room slammed against the wall, and Ms. Shea marched in. Her bespoke black skirt and jacket turned the crispy white blouse underneath sharper. Her fingers clutched a state-of-the-art cell phone on one hand and a fountain pen on the other. The contrast of tradition and innovation intrigued Jim.

---