Page 19 of Captivating Mr. Second Chance

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After yet anothertext message from Bobby, this one saying he needed Laney,No one can take the place of you at home or at the company.Please call me, she had turned her cell phone off and grabbed her laptop, updating her résumé on different job recruiting sites. However, nothing quite struck her fancy. She’d majored in marketing and communications, graduating at the height of when companies across the globe were expanding their digital footprints with social media directors. The role was a perfect fit for her, but with the 180 her life had taken, she wasn’t sure she was interested in spending so much of her life online anymore. She’d given everything she’d had to Bobby and his growing food conglomerate. She hadn’t been afraid to post photos and updates of them together, and he basked in the attention of strangers from around the world.

Bobby Magnate was a magnet for the spotlight, not unlike Laney. Although, while he craved it, she didn’t much care either way. The number of followers she had didn’t matter. The people she kept around her were the most important, and that was why she found herself down a Google rabbit hole.

Dean opened the front door of his house and shook off some snowflakes from his hair, a few shades darker than Laney’s since she paid top dollar for her balayage. “Why aren’t you answering your phone? Mom won’t leave me alone because she can’t get a hold of you.”

She snorted a breath and rolled her eyes.

He removed his shoes and put them on the little rack by the door. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing.”

He knocked the top of her computer down on his way to hang up his coat in the closet. “Liar.”

“Bobby keeps texting me,” she said once he plopped down next to her.

“For what?”

She shrugged, and he threw his arm around her, quiet for a few moments. Then he met her eyes, the exact same as hers. “I know you’re feeling pretty low right now, but he’s going to suffer the rest of his life knowing he lost you. He’ll be old and wrinkly on his deathbed, wishing he wasn’t such an asshole. You are worth fighting for. He doesn’t deserve you.”

That was the thing, though. Bobbywasfighting for her, at least a little bit, and that was what kept her from blocking him. Maybe she wanted to see him suffer, to know he was struggling. Or, maybe, a tiny piece of her still wanted to feel wanted.

“But seriously,” Dean said, breaking up her thoughts. “You need to call Mom.”

He tapped the screen of his cell phone a few times and held it out, speaker on. Their mom picked up right away. “Are you home?”

“Yeah, I’m with Laney.”

“Hi, Mom,” she said when he poked her in the arm.

“Delaney, why aren’t you answering your phone? You have me nervous. I’m ready to get in my car to make sure you’re still alive over there.”

“I’m alive.”

“Then answer your phone!”

“All right,” Laney said, dragging the words out like she was thirteen again. “I’ve got a lot going on.”

“Yeah? Like what?”

Dean sucked his lips between his teeth, so they disappeared in his short beard, and Laney elbowed him.

“I was looking up jobs today.”

“Really? How did that go?” their mom asked.

Dean removed his arm from around Laney’s shoulders to study her laptop screen, but she moved it away. “Um, okay.”

“Why do you sound unsure?”

Laney blew out a silent breath. Katherine Hargrove was not an overly demonstrative person, but she thrived on making sure her kids succeeded. “Because I’m not exactly sure what I want to do anymore.”

Her mom let out a curious sound on the other end. “What are you doing for money? You have some in savings, right?”

Dean and Laney both laughed. Their father had drilled assets and interest into them since they were kids.

“Yes, I have a bit stored away.”

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