Page 76 of Wicked Takeover
Lauren couldn’t keep her news in any longer. She didn’t want to be dishonest with him. “I have an interview Thursday.”
Surprise and another emotion she couldn’t read crossed Dante’s face. They passed quickly. He grinned even broader this time. “That’s fucking great. What’s the job? Is it what you’re looking for?”
The position was way better than her wildest fantasies. Now that her dreams were almost within reach, she couldn’t do anything except shrug. “Sure. It’s a senior HR position with a huge company.”
“Jesus, that’s wonderful.” Dante hugged her.
She held him as hard as she could and fought tears as she had earlier. “I might not get it.”
“Bull.” He shook her gently. “No more talk like that. The second they make you an offer, I want to know. I’ll give you one helluva going-away party.”
Lauren tightened her arm around him. Dante did the same with her. She figured now was the perfect opportunity to tell him about the potential buyer for the parlor. Dump everything on him at once.
She couldn’t bring herself to do so.
Their silence stretched and lingered, the previous magic gone. They dressed, cleaned up, and left, an uncomfortable air hanging over them.
Each time their eyes met, she forced a smile. He returned it, his grin not quite genuine. She pulled up to his modest apartment complex a few blocks from the parlor. Before he got out of the car, Dante kissed her deeply. Like he couldn’t bear to let her go.
Or maybe she merely hoped for that.
She waited for him to look back at her before she drove away. Once he reached his front door, he did. His face was too shadowed for Lauren to catch his mood. She figured it couldn’t be as sad as hers. To him, she was merely a friend with benefits who would be taking a new path away from the parlor and him.
He lifted his hand in farewell.
She did the same.
When Lauren got home, she perched on the sofa, unable to sleep. She reminded herself that she had to get out of the financial hole she was in, snag a great job, pay off her bills, and move forward rather than letting the present sway her.
She couldn’t dwell on the past, either.
The box she’d gotten from Frank’s attorney rested on a shelf below her TV. She had shoved it there, not interested in anything it contained, especially Frank’s note to her.
She rocked and relived tonight’s date with Dante, the last she’d have with him. Even if she didn’t get the job on Thursday, she couldn’t keep doing this. It hurt too badly. She needed him too much. Just as her mom had needed Frank. Look how that had turned out. Uh-uh, misery at that level wasn’t for her.
She pulled out the box and put it on the cocktail table, not sure if she wanted to throw up or scream. This was dumb. She’d had a lifetime to get over what Frank had done to her. Opening a box shouldn’t make her sweat and get dizzy. She paced until her legs hurt. Her anger, beginning tears, and yearning for stuff she’d always wanted but would never have battered her relentlessly. Yet she still hoped for a man to love her forever, to share a home with her, to help her create a family no one could take away.
She yanked off the lid and tossed it aside.
Frank’s glasses and watch rested on top. Personal items that proved he’d existed.
Her throat tightened. She swallowed down grief she hadn’t expected and riffled through the legal documents, searching for his note. Once she’d found it, she had to gather enough nerve to open the damn thing.
She warned herself not to expect much. This was from Frank, after all. The man who’d caused her mom countless tears and a hard fucking life as a single mother.
Renewed outrage washed over Lauren, giving her the courage she needed to unfold the paper and read:
I was wrong.
Her mouth trembled. She pushed sorrow aside and wanted to crumble the note, throw it away, maybe burn the thing. Holding onto her anger was what mattered.
She couldn’t.
Outrage drained from her, leaving her tired and sad. Sagged against the sofa’s cushions, she read what he’d written to her.
Nothing I can say will ever make what I did better. I don’t deserve your forgiveness and would never ask for it. You have every right to hate me. Please don’t let what I did to you and your mother get in the way of what will make you happy. There are good men out there, Lauren. I wish I could have been one of them. I wish I could have been the father you needed and deserved.
Frank
She covered her face with her hands and wept.
