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As soon as I step out of Park Towers, I notice how the sidewalks are alive with the bustling energy of commuters. I take the stairs down to the station to wait for my train. On the platform wall across the way is a large Calloway Diamonds poster stretched out. The family logo—the diamond shape surrounded by a triangle—is simple but iconic. Immediately, thoughts of Weston flood my mind.
I quickly eat the food Lexi packed for me, then toss the container in recycling.
I snap a quick picture of the poster and attach it to a text message to Weston.
Carlee
Thinking about you. Also, am I the decoy?
Is that too much? Am I being that annoying girl?
I don’t immediately hit Send, my finger hovering over the button.
My insecurity takes hold of me, and I hate that it nearly chokes me.
He told me to text him when I was thinking about him, but I’m so fucking hesitant, and I don’t know why.
Communication is his love language, the bridge he builds to connect with those around him. The years of therapy I took after learning about my dad’s other family taught me that a person’s love language often stems from what they didn’t receive in childhood. My heart aches as I think about Weston, who listens to every word someone speaks, and how he potentially wasn’t heard as a kid.
That thought makes me hit Send because he deserves to receive that, and I hope it puts a smile on his face. However, my hesitation and relationship trauma makes me contemplate my issues, and I wonder if I’ll never be capable of having a healthy relationship because of it.
The onlyhealthyrelationship I had exacerbated my fears of abandonment that my father had caused. No wonder I don’t trust men or believe anyone when they say they love me. My jaw clenches instinctively, and my body fills with tension. I try to push the thoughts away, but they’re too overwhelming. The only thing that pulls me out of it is the sudden buzz of my phone.
Weston. He saved me again.
Weston
Might consider increasing the advertising budget so you’re forced to think about me anytime you’re out. And decoy for what? I fucking love how your mind works.
A smile creeps across my face, and my anxiousness almost disappears. Almost.
Carlee
A decoy for your secret girlfriend—to take the attention away so you two can continue to be together.
Weston
You’re adorable.
Carlee
Ignore that. I’m being THAT girl, aren’t I?
Weston
It’s okay to show your cards every once in a while. I’d be raging with jealousy right now if our roles were reversed. It would drive me fucking insane to see another man holding you. I thought you said you wanted to be my dirty little affair?
I imagine his smirk and find myself chewing on my lip as my heart races.
Carlee
Weston Calloway, it is too early in the morning for all of that.
My blood pressure rises as thoughts of him fill my mind. Seconds later, a picture of him standing in his office, sleeves rolled to his elbows, comes over. My eyes slide down to his cock, rock hard in his suit pants. Damn. Memories of us last night flash in my mind.
I wouldn’t last a day at Calloway headquarters.
Weston