Page 8 of The Mistaken Bet

“On my way,” I said, heading straight to the reception, rounding the corridor before my feet locked into position, unable to move as if stuck in quicksand.

“Kara.” Her name fell from my lips but with a nasty taste mixed in, as I saw her standing next to my best friend. I couldn’t have stopped the surging emotions that rose in my chest as I wondered why she was here. Was she hear to hurt me again—to finish what she had begun?

“Logan.” Her voice hitched, sounding the syllables of my name.

The tentative steps they both took along the corridor towards me made my heartbeat faster.

Andrea stuck her neck around the corner staring directly at me.

“Better go. Duty calls,” I said as Daniel looked behind him.

I scuttled away, so shellshocked at the woman I had seen before me. I double glanced behind me to ensure it wasn’t my mind causing lucid hallucinations. It wouldn’t be the first time my mental state had concocted visions when my obsessions had overcome me. I pinched my forearm just in case.

“Andrea, which ones?”

She pointed and said something, but my mind drifted off, unable to focus on the words. “Sorry which?”

“Logan, the blue please.”

I passed the stack down and my shoulders slumped, deflated, and confused as the weight of the world hit me.

“Coffee?” Andrea questioned as if she knew I needed to let off some steam.

I hadn’t realised how much I’d needed the five minutes sitting down in the empty staff room—time to think and reflect on what the fuck had just happened. It had been a fantasy that one day Kara would be in my sights again, but the reality had never formulated, until now. I hoped this wasn’t another fucked up dream.

Andrea knew how we all took our coffee, and for that I was thankful as I didn’t think I could articulate that just now. She placed a steamy cup and my favourite chocolate digestives in front of me. I knew she was buttering me up, and something felt amiss. This woman was the source of all knowledge after being at the company twenty years. She was the motherly figure we all loved, and she had taken us all under her wing. I was about to be struck by either twenty questions or a steam roller, I wasn’t sure which direction she was heading yet.

She went straight for the jugular.

“Who’s the woman, Logan?”

I needed to control my breathing so counted my breaths in order to focus on something—anything to stop the tears I felt forming at the back of my eyes from escaping.

“My past. The girl. The one that got away.” My heart constricted and ached at the thought of her so close by, and I ran my hands through my hair and sighed in frustration.

“Talk to her, it can’t be that bad. Trust me. You only have one heart, and it looks like she has been brought back to you. Everything happens for a reason. Embrace it whilst you can. Don’t live with regrets.”

“Oh, it can be that bad, Andrea. I better get back—I don’t need Daniel on my case, too.” I made my way back to my desk. I knew tensions would be high.

I walked in through the door to find her settled and joking around with ‘Alan the dick’ as he was known—awarded the nickname for being a prized player and the twat of the bloody department. Fuck. Why did the slimy bastard have his hands all over my woman? The desire to go caveman on her whilst I stormed over banging my chest and claimed her mouth screamed through my veins, but Daniel’s hand on my shoulder grounded me straight into my seat before I made a fool of myself.

“Calm it mate,” he whispered, trying not to raise the suspicions of our colleagues. “He’s just talking to her,” he said as my head whipped around to face him so fast, I could’ve given myself whiplash.

“His reputation precedes him. Look at what he was like with the previous agency girl, Kellie,” I said, leaving Daniel wincing. “I vividly remember her throwing her resignation at Wendy before storming off, stating he was a chauvinistic two-timing cockwomble and that she couldn’t stand being here any longer—after she undertook a slight act of revenge to the twat.”

“Okay, you have a point. You need to sort this thing between you,” Daniel stated as his pinpointed gaze locked onto me, making himself clear. “You’re certainly not over her.” He shook his head from left to right as if it was the craziest thing ever.

“Nope. I know I’m not. I never have been,” I mumbled as an audible sigh left my mouth. I felt the world was balanced on my shoulders as Daniel marched over across the room diffusing the situation before I had a coronary and took matters into my own hands.

Chapter8

Kara

Logan hadn’t changed in appearance. If anything, just like a scotch, he had refined in age over the last two years. My mouth salivated the moment I saw him, and I squeezed my thighs together, hoping he hadn’t noticed my reaction to him. As the vision of beauty staggered towards me, his shock was evident at seeing me, just as Daniel’s had been.

I just hadn’t expected his immediate attempt to get away from me, even if Andrea had called for him. It spoke volumes. He looked torn, as if he were calculating the situation, but it didn’t stop him. He stomped all over my heart in the process. I couldn’t blame him: I was the ghost of the past and had hurt him, but what about the original plan he had constructed against me? I knew I should’ve questioned him about it—I would’ve spotted a lie a mile off—but the opportunity had gone now, and I wasn’t exploring that avenue with the guy standing next to me.

With my game face quickly fitted into place, I followed Daniel’s lead and met the team—a lovely set of people it seemed at first glance until a guy named Alan attached himself to me the moment, I found my seat. With Daniel surveying the room I hadn’t wanted to make a fuss at Alan’s over the top attitude, but when Logan walked in, I could see jealously etched over his face because a guy who wasn’t him was in my physical space.

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