Page 50 of Highest Bidder
Her voice sounds lighter, like she needed to talk to me just as much as I needed to talk to her.
“I feel the same.” I look up and see JT signaling the meeting is about to start. “Hey, I’m sorry. I gotta go. I’ll talk to you later?”
“Yeah. Have fun onmylane.” She laughs.
I can’t help but smile. “It’s not the same without you here. I’ll talk to you later.”
“Bye.”
Her voice sounds so small. It’s not the headstrong and sassy girl I know. She’s been sounding less and less like herself, and it makes me worry about her. But now, I’m worried she’s going to be around this ex of hers whom her mom loves. I can’t get that out of my head. I should have asked more questions, like what kind of function is this? Will there be a lot of people so she can completely avoid him? Do I need to come and punch him or talk some sense into her mother? At the airport, I told her to go and make sure this is what she wants, that I am what she wants. But everyday we talk, I feel it. We are more, and I have to protect her.
My body hums as I storm over to JT with all these thoughts swirling around in my head. My blood pressure rises as my ears start to burn. I swear steam might come out of them. I thought calling to hear her beautiful voice would make my day better, but now all I picture is her being around that piece of shit. Even though Hunter says he’s a bad guy, she must be really downplaying it. He did something bad enough to make her move, not just hours away, but states away from him.
“You okay?” JT whispers to me once I reach him.
“Yup.” I pop the p.
He smirks. “Yeah. You look it.” I glare at him, and he covers his mouth to hold back his laughter. It only makes me scowl more. I catch sight of Jess walking by, and I immediately get an idea. Our meeting ended quickly since there wasn’t anything different for today. I jog over to my lane, and Jess is setting up the computer. I see her grunt with a frustrated look on her face. When I’m right behind her, she bends over to reach for something on the ground, still sitting in her chair.
“Hey, Jess!” I say, a little louder than I intended to.
She gasps and startles, making the chair fly out from under her. She falls right to the ground. My shoulders meet my ears as I cringe.
“Ouch!” Jess rubs her hip and looks over at me. “What the hell, Myles! That fucking hurt.”
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to make you fall. I just wanted to talk to you.” I take my hat off and rank my fingers through my hair, then reposition my hat.
“You couldn’t have gotten my attention at a normal volume?” She glares while getting up.
I rush over and pick up her chair. “Sorry. I’m a little off today.” That’s an understatement, but I’m not going to admit that to her.
She looks at me and squints, which makes me square my shoulders more under her assessment. Her shoulders slump. “You heard.”
My eyebrows shoot up.
“Yeah. I know. She told me she’s going to be around her ex. Your face is easy to read. Your friend is like Fort Knox.” I see her eyes flash to JT, who is walking across the lanes before sighing. “I’m worried about her, too.”
I decide to let that last little tidbit go about JT. “Can’t say that I like it.”
She laughs and shakes her head. “No. She won’t get back together with him, but that doesn’t mean her mom won’t try hard to make it happen.” She fidgets with her shirt. “I know she’sready to come home, but she promised her dad she would go with her mom to the gala tomorrow.”
My eyebrows draw in.It’s a gala?
“She’s going shopping today for dresses. I’m excited though. I’m making her send me the pictures so I can help her pick one out.” She smiles and goes back to the computer to get it ready for the lane to start.
She’s about to buy a fancy dress and go to an event that her ex is also attending. Her mom’s going to push them together, and there’s nothing I can do to stop it. I want to go to Oklahoma, bring her home, and keep her away from that guy. I’m ready for her to be back.Fuck.
I’m staring blanklyat the TV screen, trying to watch the last episode of the first season ofGame of Thrones. My phone rings, and I smile when I see Hunter is calling. I’ve had a rough day ever since I heard the news that she’ll see her ex again tomorrow. I couldn’t focus, and I’ve been racking my brain all day, trying to figure out what to do to help her.
“Hey! How was your day today?” I say when I answer the phone.
“It was good. Dad’s making a lot of progress walking around the farm. Pretty sure he doesn’t need my help anymore. He barely needs the help of the nurses that come, either.”
I sit up straight. “So you’re coming home soon?” I try not to sound too hopeful, but I don’t think there’s a way for me to hide that.
“Yes, and I’m bringing you a new hat.”
“Yeah, I’m not changing my hat.” It would be hard for me to switch hats even if she was the one to get me a new one.
