Page 8 of Broken Promises (Soho Knights #5)

They made their way downstairs in the lift.

There was a coffee shop on the ground floor of their building and they were on the twentieth floor.

This was their ritual on a Monday morning.

Many people worked at home on a Monday, but Jason would often come in to the office; it got one of his three days out of the way.

That was the minimum requirement. One of those decisions made by executives who did not know the impact it would have on the ground.

Going up from two days to three days had been a one-bullet action in an exec paper, but had caused months of headaches.

Things were settled now, but to be fair, Jason had loved the project because it challenged him.

“Any hot dates over the weekend?” asked Jason.

He immediately thought of Patrick again. What was that about? He never lingered on any man for longer than a couple of hours. Especially one he hadn’t even fucked.

“Reya came round. ”

“I thought you dumped her.”

“Just the mandatory post-breakup fuck. Not sure it was a good idea.”

Jason could have told him that if he’d called. Reya was intense , which was a polite way of saying she was batshit crazy.

“Stick to men. It’s easier.”

“You may have a point. Have you seen that new security guy? The one with the tattoos. Fuck. I bet he’s the kind who spits in your face when he’s fucking you.”

Jason cracked up laughing, which got them a few looks in the quiet coffee shop.

Most other patrons were still waking up.

Jason loved how out and proud Dexter was in his pansexuality.

He was one of those who was a true vers.

He could throw someone around the bedroom – which Jason was fully aware of – and then happily get railed into next week.

They’d hooked up once at a work event. It had been hot, but they were much better as friends.

Jason didn’t date, and Dexter was happy to “spread the love” as he called it, but he ultimately wanted to settle down with someone.

They collected their coffees and took a seat at a table by the window, watching people rush past on their way to work.

That was all anyone did in London –rush.

Jason rushed because he was always late, but it was the default in London.

There’d be a manic run to get on a Tube, everyone seemingly oblivious to the fact another would be along in a couple of minutes.

“Look what the cat dragged in,” said Dexter.

Jason looked over and saw their colleague Gabriel shuffle over looking bleary-eyed.

They had a “dress for your day” policy, but Gabriel always wore a suit and he looked hot in it.

That suit porn was still very much a favourite of Jason’s.

He and Gabriel had never bumped uglies, though.

The head of talent development was a serial monogamist and was rarely single.

He seemed to attract guys who just had the black guy fantasy, and he was soon cast aside.

Jason wasn’t sure why, because Gabriel was such a lovely guy.

He got intense and serious quickly, and if he were in a romance book, he would need to meet someone else who was also a believer in that insta-love thing.

Jason believed in insta lust, but that was as far as it went.

After Grant, he would not risk his heart in a relationship again.

Grant had rejected him, and he couldn’t experience that sort of pain ever again.

“What’s this meeting all about?” asked Gabriel, sitting down at the table with them.

“What meeting?” asked Jason.

“Jane said I needed to be in the office today for our stand-up. Said it wasn’t something that could be discussed over Teams.”

“When did she say that?”

“Friday.”

“Why didn’t she say anything to us?” asked Jason, feeling hurt.

Why would Jane not tell him something like that?

They were supposed to be friends. When he’d moved to London, Jane had had hired him as soon as she had a vacancy.

He’d already secured another job by then, but left it for the opportunity to work for Jane again.

She was the best boss he’d ever had, as she understood there were barriers to how his brain worked and she didn’t hold it against him.

He’d had bosses in the past who loved the positives that came with having ADHD.

Jason could churn through the same amount of work as three people with no fuss, but if he went through a stressful period, it was used against him.

“You two are always in on a Monday, so probably just needed to make sure I was here. How do you do this every week? It’s criminal starting your week this way. I’m going to get a coffee. Kelly will be here in five as well.”

He walked away, leaving Jason with his spiralling thoughts .

“Stop it,” said Dexter.

“What?”

“You’re imagining something crazy about this meeting. It’s just a regular Monday morning stand-up; that’s all you need to focus on. And she didn’t tell me either, so it’s not personal, it’s just Jane getting forgetful in her old age.”

Jason chuckled. “I dare you to say that to her face.”

“I value my balls too much.”

That made Jason laugh and relaxed him a bit, though he still couldn’t get rid of the annoying doubt in his head that something bad was going to happen.

If he wasn’t aware of this meeting, was it because it affected him?

As an HR professional, he’d often had to pull people into surprise meetings to tell them they were being let go.

The US in particular was brutal with how they fired people.

Even in this company, which was nicer than the average, it was still done quickly.

Jason was late for his lunchtime meeting; the morning had gotten away from him.

Their stand-up meeting had been to share that an executive had resigned, but it was all confidential for now.

They would all have a part to play in managing the exit and finding a replacement.

The view from above was that nobody internally was suitable for the role, which wouldn’t go down well.

Executive roles didn’t come up very often, and they had a business full of high-potential talent who would start looking elsewhere if this opportunity was blocked for them.

He arrived at the solicitor’s office and confirmed his name before taking a seat in reception.

Why had he squeezed this appointment into his lunch hour?

He had a habit of doing things like this, maximising every moment of every day, but then he was constantly running late.

He was fifteen minutes late for this appointment, and had a Teams call in forty-five minutes.

He still had to get back to the office and grab some lunch on the way.

At least meetings stopped after six o’clock, so he could catch up then.

Jason worked long hours during the week, but they had an early finish on Fridays and he took advantage of that.

It was what motivated him to get through the week.

“Mr Morris,” said a woman, who appeared to be in her fifties.

He stood up and shook her hand. She introduced herself as Samantha Jessop.

That’s who he was here to see. He’d assumed one of the partners would send some minion to fetch him, so it was a refreshing chage from the last solictors he’d used.

Jason followed her into a small conference room where there were already papers on the table.

Once the niceties of offering a drink were out of the way, she got down to business.

“You want to start divorce proceedings, Mr Morris?”

“Yes. It’s been two years since my husband and I split up, which I understand is the time to file for divorce.”

He wasn’t sure why he was nervous. It wasn’t like Grant was listening.

Jason had changed his number when he moved back to London, so Grant had no way of contacting him, although he knew if the man wanted to find Jason, it wouldn’t take him long.

There had been no contact from Grant since the moment he asked Jason to leave.

Now it was time to put this part of his life in the history books.

“Do you have the contact details for your husband?”

“We haven’t spoken in two years, so I have no idea if he’s still in the same place.”

Grant didn’t use social media, so there was no way for Jason to obsessively stalk his ex. There was little to be found about him. The man was practically a ghost, which Jason knew was deliberate.

“Give us the details you have and we’ll start there. Do you think he’ll contest the divorce? ”

“Does it matter? We’re at the two year mark. It’s not like I want anything from him, and he’s the one with the money.”

“It matters a lot, Mr Morris. Your husband has to agree to the divorce.”

“I thought you had to be apart for two years to get divorced.”

“That is true when the divorce is not contested. If your husband contests the divorce, you’re looking at five years.”

Five years?

He’d kept this a secret from all his friends bar Charlie for two years, and now she was saying he might have to do it for another three? Langdon would never forgive Jason if he found out. He couldn’t bear to lose his big brother. Langdon being in his life made him feel safe.

“Do you think your husband will be difficult and contest the divorce?”

This was Grant Kincaid. There was no doubt in Jason’s mind he would make this as difficult as possible, especially when he found out he was living with Langdon. This meeting had been a waste of time and money; Jason was fucked!