Only One (Ward Sisters Book 2) (6 page)

“And you said no. Right?”

She shook her head. “I said yes.”

“Oh, my God. Why?”

“Because Noah will never forgive me. And if I'm stuck living a life without the one man I'll ever love, it might as well be in comfort and style.”

“Do you even
like
Tony?”

“Sometimes,” she replied, sniffing. “He's not all bad.”

Jenna begged to differ. Tony was a kinky, philandering bastard. “Catie, you know he's just going to cheat again.”

“He said he'd stop going to the bars. And he's moving into his parents' house until we get married.”

As if that will stop a pig like him
, Jenna thought. But she said, “Are you sure this is what you want?”

“No. But I don't think I've got a lot of options. Not good ones, anyway.”

“Catie, you always have options. God, you could come with me to Minnesota. Start over. Find a job. Doesn't your brother live there?”

“He's leaving. Actually, he's gone. Right after graduation, he hopped a plane to D.C. He's headed to CIA training.”

Jenna chuckled. “Guess I missed my chance to meet him, huh?” They'd been trying to get Liam to meet Jenna for most of the last four years and it never worked in their favor.

Catie sniffed and smiled. “Yeah. Guess so.”

Jenna grew somber again. “You don't have to do this. I can help you out financially, Catie. You know I've got the money and I don't care about it. I'd gladly help keep you afloat if it means you won't go back to him. You deserve better.”

“I don't think I do, Jen.”

“Damn it, Catie! You're a good person! Stop saying that!” She pulled her friend in for a hug. Jenna wasn't typically a hugger, at least not with friends, but in this case, she needed it as much as Catie obviously did. “He'll never let us stay friends. You know that, right?”

“I won't let him keep us from being friends,” Catie said. And Jenna knew she believed it. But Tony had money and influence, not to mention parents who catered to his every whim. His mother would keep Catie busy in high society and make it impossible for Jenna to ever see her friend outside of their mutual acquaintances.  Tony knew how much Jenna hated that set.

“What does Liam think?” Jenna asked, sitting back.

“I haven't told him yet. He's out of communication for a while. I doubt he'll be happy. He hates Tony.”

“I've never met him, and I already like him.”

“Jen...”

“Catie...”

Her friend took a deep breath and sighed. “This is just the hand I've been dealt. I have to live with it.”

“If you're bound and determined, then I can't stop you. Just know I'll always be here, okay? You know I don't make friends easily. You're important to me. You always will be. And if he ever cheats on you again, I want you to leave. For good.”

“I promise. If I ever catch him cheating again, I'll leave. No matter what.” She sat up and wiped her eyes. “Got any Ben and Jerry's?”

Jenna laughed. “I might have a little left in the freezer for emergencies.” Which Catie knew, as they'd shared Ben and Jerry's Chunky Monkey during every crisis for most of the four years they'd been friends.

“I think this constitutes an emergency,” Catie said.

Jenna nodded. It did. And as she took out the quart of ice cream and they dug their spoons into the banana flavored goodness, she felt an overwhelming sadness. Because this was likely to be the very last time.

She'd meant it when she said Tony would make it impossible for them to be friends. Oh, he'd never outright say that Jenna and Catie couldn't associate. His mother would never allow that, given her relationship with Jenna's parents. But he'd make it difficult. And with Jenna planning to return to California once she was done with graduate school, chances were better than average that her path and Catie's would rarely cross.

Jenna should know. She was a numbers girl, after all.

**********

Minnesota State University, ten and a half years ago...

Staring at the heavy, cream stationery embossed with a frilly, black script, she sighed. “You know I'd be there if I could,” Jenna relayed to Catie in a rare phone call.

“How is it that you're scheduled for a conference in Budapest the week I'm getting married?”

“This thing has been planned almost since I arrived. I've been killing myself for months to get ready for it. I wish I could be there. You know I would if I could.”

“Are you sure about that? You're not Tony's biggest fan.”

“No. I'm not. But at the very least, I'd be there to drive the getaway car if you decided to play
Runaway Bride
. And you're one of my best friends. One of my
only
friends. You know I'd be there to support you. I wish you'd chosen a different weekend.”

“I didn't choose it. Tony did. Or, his mother did. I wanted Memorial Day weekend, but he said she wanted it to happen outside of their annual family gathering on the Vineyard.”

Which, as Jenna knew, was a total crock of shit. Her mother said Tony's mother wanted the events on the same weekend because of the logistics. But though she'd grumble, Mrs. Donati would never deny her precious baby boy anything he wanted.

“Why'd he choose that weekend?” she asked. Jenna suspected it was Tony trying to drive a wedge in her friendship with his fiancée, but she didn't want to help him by pointing it out to Catie.

“Oh, well, he said that since it's Mother's Day weekend, Liam can come home for both the wedding and Mother's Day. He knows I won't get married without Liam there, so he figured he'd make it easier on my brother.”

“Is he going to come?”

“He promised he would. Damn, you'll miss him again.”

Jenna chuckled. “He's probably got a girlfriend anyway.”

“Nah. He hasn't seriously dated anyone in a while.”

“Well, I'm dating someone right now. Who knows if it'll last, but I'm technically not single.”

“That's too bad. One of these days, I'm going to get you two together.”

Jenna laughed. “Okay. Hey, I have to get back to work. I'll send an awesome gift. And I promise it won't just be a car on standby to rush you to the airport. Or tickets to come see me in Budapest.”

“Very funny,” Catie replied. There was a hint of amusement in her voice, something that Jenna hadn't heard in ages.

“I thought so,” she joked. “Don't be a stranger, okay?”

“I won't. I promise. Bye.”

As she hung up, Jenna sighed. Catie had meant it when she'd promised. But it didn't matter. In less than a year, they'd gone from talking daily and living down the hall in the same apartment building, to phone calls like this that occurred less than once each month. If it wasn't for e-mail, they'd hardly talk at all.

Her best girlfriend, her only girlfriend, was slipping away, and there was nothing Jenna could do to stop it.

Chapter 4

Mankato, Minnesota, seven and a half years ago...

Jenna was working late, tweaking the code for the security programming she'd started as part of her Master's thesis. It had been logical to jump on board at CyTech once her degree work was complete. Not that she desperately needed the money, but it was nice to get paid for real and to be capable of supporting herself.

Her office door was open, but there was a knock anyway. Jenna looked up to see Chad Nelson, her boss.

“Still here? You know, we pay you well because you're talented. There isn't anything that says you have to kill yourself for the company in return for your salary.” He smirked at her.

Jenna smiled. “Ever think that I'm here because I enjoy what I do?” She looked back at the screen and continued to type.

“Come on, don't tell me someone at home isn't wondering where you are right now.” He perched on the edge of her desk.

“Nope. Just me, myself and I. We're all present and accounted for, so no worries. I'm not jeopardizing my relationship.”

“There's no one?” he asked. She shook her head. “Oh. Good. That's good.” His stare made her feel self-conscious.

“What?” she asked, pausing her work.

“Noticing how beautiful you are, even after a 12-hour day.”

Jenna blushed and looked down. “Hardly.”

“It's true. Look, do you want to get out of here? Maybe have dinner with me?”

Jenna's heart raced. Was he actually hitting on her? No. He couldn't be. That was wishful thinking on her part. She'd had very few lovers since Eric and it had been months since she'd said goodbye to the last one. At this point, almost anyone could have enticed her into bed. Almost.

Except, she'd found Chad and his talent attractive since she met him at the same cybersecurity conference where she'd encountered her thesis advisor, Pat Deacon. Chad's enthusiasm for the company they were launching had inspired her to work with Pat in grad school. It had also encouraged her to invest in the startup. Jenna worked on the programming end of the security-oriented research and assisted with the hardware segment. When Chad and Pat suggested she continue her efforts in a paid position at CyTech, Jenna jumped at the chance.

Not that she'd ever envisioned anything between the two of them. Chad was a friend and former colleague of Pat's and was only two years younger than her father. But he was handsome, in the way some older men are – like Harrison Ford or Sean Connery, better with age. Chad didn't look like he was in his late forties, with a full head of thick, blond hair and an athletic physique. But what Jenna found most attractive about him was his mind. He was a brilliant programmer.

He must have sensed her discomfort, because he said, “I was thinking we could talk about the testing phase for the programming.”

Surprised to be slightly disappointed, Jenna replied, “Of course. Let me just finish what I'm doing and I'll meet you in the lobby in a few minutes.”

An hour and a half later, they'd finished a bottle of wine between the two of them and they were laughing as they talked about things that had nothing to do with work. When their desserts arrived, Jenna said, “Oh, your cheesecake looks delicious. I should have gotten that instead.”

“I'll let you try a bite,” Chad offered.

“You don't have to do that. My chocolate mousse looks great, too.” She took a bite and couldn't help the moan of pleasure that emanated from her. “God, this is fabulous.”

Chad's pupils had dilated when she looked at him. He cut a piece of cheesecake from his slice and leaned forward, bringing the fork to Jenna's mouth. She automatically opened and savored the rich, smooth texture, the bite of cherries tart on her tongue. He reached toward her mouth with his hand and wiped a tiny bit of cherry syrup from her lip, then licked his finger. Her tongue darted automatically to where he'd found the sauce and he groaned in response.

Leaning close again, he whispered, “You're killing me.”

Jenna licked her lips again unconsciously. “Why is that?” she asked, taking another bite of her mousse.

“I'm jealous of your spoon,” he admitted.

“Chad...” she began.

“I'm sorry. That's out of line.”

“No, it's not that. I'm not so sure we should go there.”

“Because I'm too old for you?”

“Because you're my boss.”

“In only the strictest sense of the word. You run your own projects and I trust your judgment as well as your capabilities. Not to mention that you're a pretty big stakeholder. In some respects, you're
my
boss.”

When he put it that way, it sounded reasonable. “Wouldn't it be weird? At work, I mean?”

“Who says anyone has to know about it?”

Jenna didn't like the sound of that, but for some reason, she still found herself entertaining the idea. “I don't know...”

“Just think about it.”

“Okay. I will.”

Three months later, she'd felt like she'd done the right thing, declining any sort of non-professional relationship with her boss. It felt wrong on a whole host of levels. But, then she found herself on a business trip to Chicago with Chad, and everything changed.

They'd scored a huge contract with a security firm in Chicago metro and they were celebrating at the hotel's restaurant. Knowing that neither of them had to drive, they thought nothing of ordering a second bottle of wine. By the time they were finished with it, Jenna felt more than a little tipsy. Chad paid the check and helped her to her room. She couldn't get the damn keycard to work, so he did it for her, slipping inside the room under the guise that she needed help getting to bed.

Right. His idea of getting her to bed was getting them both to bed. Naked. Not that he took advantage of her. Part of her had regretted the decision to turn him down almost as soon as she'd said no. So, when he kissed her, the first time she'd been kissed in months, she responded with enthusiasm. It didn't hurt that he was a decent kisser, and given how long she'd gone without anything, Jenna didn't care.

The next morning, she woke with a pounding head and was surprised to find herself completely naked. She rolled to a sit and was shocked to see Chad in bed next to her, also naked. After a few hazy moments, memories of the night before flashed through her mind and she tried not to smile when she thought about that thing he'd done with his tongue. She closed her eyes and shook her head, grinning at the recollection.

“I hope that smile is because of me,” Chad's gravelly voice said.

Jenna's eyes opened and she said, “Maybe.”

“Does that mean you don't regret it?”

She shook her head. “No.”

“Is it too much to ask you to reconsider us?”

“You want this to happen again?”

“I want it to happen over and over again.” His nostrils flared and his breathing escalated.

Jenna thought,
Why not?
It seemed like a great idea, though she might regret it later. She kissed him in response, after which they tumbled in the sheets until they had to leave for O'Hare.

**********

Mankato, Minnesota, six years ago...

She'd been sleeping with Chad for a year and it was getting old, the fact that they kept their relationship under wraps. Her parents knew she was seeing someone, but they thought they had never met the guy and Jenna constantly made excuses for why they couldn't. It didn't matter that each of them had been to visit her in Minnesota and had met Chad, she couldn't tell them that she was dating her boss. Her mother would be appalled and her father wouldn't approve. Pat knew Jenna and Chad both well enough that she suspected he was aware of the secret, but he'd said nothing.

Fed up with the lies, Jenna planned to discuss making things public with Chad that weekend. He always arranged romantic getaways at inns and B&B's, showered her with gifts, sent flowers to work that were supposedly anonymous. A few times, after hours, he'd made love to her on his office desk. Despite it feeling naughty, it was hot.

The afternoon before they were set to leave for their trip, Jenna went to Chad's office with a file on her latest project. They needed to determine the final budget, she had an opening in her day and his schedule said he was free. It seemed odd that his secretary, Heidi, wasn't at her desk. Odder still, Jenna thought she heard voices in Chad's office.

She knocked briefly and then stepped into the room, only to find something no woman wants to see. There was Chad, naked at the waist, fucking Heidi on his desk just like he'd done to Jenna before. Unlike Chad, Heidi was completely naked with her ankles around their boss' neck and she was moaning in between cries of, “Yes! Fuck me harder, honey!”

Jenna stepped toward the desk, dropped the file on it, said, “Goodbye, Chad,” then swiftly left, closing the door softly behind her. She walked as calmly to her office as she could, shut off her monitor, grabbed her bag and left. When she got to her car, she backed out of her space slowly, drove a few blocks away to the coffee shop and parked her car. She called the receptionist, asked to be signed out for the day – a personal emergency had suddenly required her attention – and then she dialed Pat.

When her mentor answered, she couldn't speak.

“Hi, Jenna,” Pat answered. Because she still said nothing, he asked, “Are you okay?”

“No,” she whispered, trying desperately to hold in the tears.

“Where are you?”

“Cafe Italiano,” she said, her voice now trembling. Pat knew where it was because they often met there for coffee.

“I'll be right there. Sit tight.” He hung up and Jenna sobbed.

Half an hour later, Pat was rapping on her window. She thought she'd cried all the tears she had, but as soon as she saw his face, it started anew.

Pat pulled her from the car and into his arms. “Hey, whatever happened, we'll deal with it. Okay?”

Jenna nodded. “Can we go inside? I need chocolate.”

Pat smiled and led her inside, where he had Jenna sit down at a table away from the windows while he got them coffee and pastries. He placed a mint mocha and a chocolate croissant in front of her – he always remembered her favorites better than her own father – and sat in the chair across from her.

“Does this have anything to do with Chad?” he asked.

Jenna hung her head in shame, but she nodded.

“How long?”

“A little over a year,” she whispered.

“Let me guess, you thought you were the only one?”

She nodded. “Apparently not.”

“What happened?”

“I went to his office. He was working his secretary.”

“Working with her on what?” Pat asked. Then he realized Jenna's choice of words. “Oh.” He ran his hand through his very short hair. “I'll take care of this,” he said.

“You don't have to do that.”

“Yes, I do. I introduced you to him. I should've warned you. He's my friend, but he's a bastard sometimes. Both of his wives left him for cheating. He's gone through numerous assistants over the years and last summer, I dealt with his fling with Sonja.”

“Sonja? The intern who worked on the Richmond project?”

Pat nodded. “I wasn't sure if you and Chad had something going on then, so I asked him. He said no. I took him at his word. I should have known better.” He shook his head. “I'm sorry about all this.”

“Don't be. I'm a grown woman. I knew it was probably a bad idea, for lots of reasons, and I did it anyway.”

“Well, nonetheless, let me take care of it. I'll talk to him. Why don't you take a couple days away from the office.”

“Okay. I will.”

“We'll tell people you had a family illness.”

“Good. That works because I already made a similar excuse as to why I left early today.”

“Don't worry about work, okay? I'll call in a couple days.”

She nodded and said, “Please don't mention it to my parents. They don't know. I never told them who I was seeing. I don't want them to be disappointed in me.”

He hugged her. “Don't worry, sweetheart. I won't.”

**********

After she'd been away from work for a few days, Jenna had time to think about what she wanted to do. When Pat called and asked her to meet him at his office on the MSU campus, she agreed.

She hugged Pat and sat down in the chair at his desk where she'd sat so many times she couldn't even count. Tears sprang to her eyes because she hated the mess she'd gotten herself into and that things had come to this.

“I'm moving back to California. I'll find a Silicon Valley job.”

Pat nodded. “Okay. If that's what you really want, I'll support it, but I hope you'll reconsider, give it through the weekend.”

“I can do that. What should I do at work in the meantime?”

“Your job. I'll take care of things with Chad, okay? Come to the house on Saturday. We're having a barbeque. Robbie is here this week. You can finally meet him.”