Page 18 of Confessions of Pain

“Maybe they won’t have to know.”

She snorted. “Yeah, like they won’t notice when he isn’t here. Rumors are already flying.” She glanced at her watch. “I’d venture a guess that you’ve only got until around lunchtime before people start walking off the job. The production schedule probably bought you some time since they’ll recognize his work, but it won’t get you through the day. They’ll know what you’ve done, and they’ll be gone.”

Jezus, I guess I wasn’t the only one Kelsey fooled into thinking he was a fucking saint. It looked like the entire plant worshipped him, starting with Barb…and ending with me. Fuck. I was in so much trouble.

“I shouldn’t have fired Kelsey,” I admitted. I wasn’t caving because of what Barb was telling me. We’d already determined that Kelsey needed to come back, for the company and for me. The company needed his expertise and I needed closure. Unfortunately, he was a key component to achieving both of those things. “That was yet another one of my mistakes, and I intend to try and rectify it this morning. Trust me, I’ll do everything I can to get Kelsey back in here.”

I expected her to laugh in my face, so when a huge smile spread across her face, I wasn’t shocked. The words that followed the smile did shock me, though.

“Well, hell, Your Highness, why didn’t you say so? Maybe you aren’t as dumb as I pegged you for,” she ventured, all of a sudden buzzing with excitement. “How do you plan on getting him back?”

Once again, I didn’t really have a viable plan. I was more of a ‘leap before looking’ kind of guy. With that thought, a wave of sadness washed over me. Once upon a time, I’d had a plan. It had been to get me and Kelsey out of this sorry town.Don’t leave without me. His words, spoken against my lips before he kissed me senseless, haunted me. They threatened to undo every word from the pep talks the guys had given me last night and this morning.

I cleared my throat and answered, “Well, I thought I would start out by…asking him to come back. You know, play on his love of the employees. I hate to use that against him, but I will if it’s necessary.”

“You’ll have to use it,” she answered quickly. “I’m afraid it might be the only thing that works.” Rubbing her hands together in excitement, she asked, “When are you going to contact him? I can buy you some time on the floor.” A frown suddenly creased her face and she asked, “You aren’t planning on bringing Wayne or any of the other brothers back, are you? They are worthless pieces of shit, Wayne being the most worthless of all.”

“I’m definitely not bringing the shit back in. It’s been permanently flushed.”

“God, I hope so. They are disgusting human beings. You wouldn’t believe how they treated everybody, especially Courtney and Kelsey.”

Ethan had been right. The rest of the brothers didn’t give a fuck about Kelsey.

I wished I didn’t.

“No time like the present, eh? What’s his address? Does he live on the family estate somewhere?” I dreaded facing Kelsey again, but I wasn’t a coward. I needed to apologize and I needed him back at Morganston.

I needed him with me, if only for a short period of time. Closure.

“Of course, he doesn’t live on the Morganston estate. He hated it there. Let me grab a paper and pen and I’ll write it down for you.” She hustled out of the room, but then stopped at the door. “Don’t hurt him again, Gabriel Maverick. Whatever you have planned, he doesn’t deserve it.”

One look at Barb and I knew that she knew who I was…had known all along. Was that where the disgust had come from instead of the fact that I’d barged in and taken over their company, threatening to shut it down and leave them all unemployed? Probably. The Maverick name obviously possessed an insurmountable negative stigma. I would never overcome my past, regardless of what I was today or how far away I ran.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I answered shortly. I was angry that everyone always seemed to side with Kelsey and even angrier that it hurt me when they did. I supposed Kelsey’s dad had been right all along. Who would be stupid enough to believe a low-life Maverick over the Morganston name?

“I’ll get you the address,” she answered sadly.

I guessed our short truce was over.

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