Page 71 of Last Chance Seduction
Or broke me.
Never the other way around.And yet, here I was, making mistake after mistake when it came to the person that I hadn’t even realized mattered the most.I was falling in love with Mercy, and in the end, it wouldn’t matter because she wouldn’t be able to love me back.Not when I had hurt her.
Why had I said those things?It was my fault.I was an adult.
I hadn’t even thought about the words escaping my mouth until it was too late.
“How am I supposed to fix this?”I asked myself.
“Lex?”
I turned to see Jamie standing there, her face void of expression.She had her hair pulled back, her sweater buttoned up to her neck, and her outfit looking far different than she usually did.I wasn’t sure what was going on with Jamie, but it wasn’t as if I was allowed to ask.Because I would probably be the one who fucked it up.It wasn’t my place.Right?
“Jamie?What’s going on?”I asked, stiffening.Was that my voice?That hollow excuse for whatever the hell I was thinking?There were so many things wrong with this.And I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to fix it.Let alone move on.Because I did not want to move on.I just didn’t know what I wanted.And that was the crux of the situation.
“There’s someone here to talk to you.They don’t have an appointment, but I figured you might want a distraction.”
“Oh.You know who it is?”My heart beat rapidly in my chest, and part of me hoped it was Mercy.Maybe she would come back.And I wouldn’t feel like I was such a fucking idiot for ruining everything.
“A man named Mr.Burson?He said he met you at the resort.”
My stomach fell, and I swallowed hard.“Oh.Send him back.”
“I can do that.”She paused, studying my face.
“What is it, Jamie?”I asked.
“I know this isn’t a great time, but I might have to leave for a little bit.”
I blinked.“What?Are you okay?What’s wrong?”I moved forward, unsure of what to do.Jamie was always the steady one of us.Of course, that’s what they used to say about me.So what did I know?
Jamie just smiled softly.“Everything’s okay.I just need to do a few things.”
“Do you want me to call Leif?”I asked, speaking of her eldest brother.
My cousin snorted before throwing up her hands.“For the love of God, every time that I need to do something that might seem out of character doesn’t mean you have to call my big brother to save me.Seriously, I just need to take care of something.Okay?”she asked, her voice a little more energetic than it had been all morning.
“Okay.If you need anything from me, I’m here, though.”
Her face softened.“I know that.Just like I know you have a lot more on your plate.We love you, you know.”
“Jamie,” I began.
“No.Yes, this is a place of business, but a lot of us are family.You’re just going to have to deal with it.Now, I am going to let Mr.Burson back, and I will talk to you later.”
And with that, she turned on her heel and left, leaving me confused as hell.Maybe Iwouldtalk to Leif about his little sister.But she might hate me for it.Maybe I’d talk to Cullen, one of her other older brothers.He and I hung out the most whenever he was in town.Because if something was wrong with Jamie, they would want to know.Or maybe I was just thinking too hard on it.
A Black man with wide shoulders, a wide smile, and an expensive suit walked into my office.I held back a frown for a moment, until his name finally clicked with the face and when we’d spoken last.My brain clearly wasn’t firing on all cylinders if it had taken this long.
“Mr.Burson.It’s good to see you.”I held out my hand, and he shook it, nodding.
“It’s nice to see you, too, Mr.Montgomery.”
“Call me Lexington.There’s more than one Montgomery underneath this roof and it gets confusing.”
“So I hear.We’re a family business, as well.Well, we have been for the past one hundred years.”
“You guys do great work in the furniture building sector.And well, every other sector you’ve moved into in the past few years.”
