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Chapter Fifteen

STELLA

“Stella.” Greyson sighs, his eyes never leaving me while he watches me pace the length of the waiting area at SweetHeart Assistance. “It’s going to be fine.”

“You don’t know that.” I stare down the hall toward Garrett’s office, willing him to magically appear so we can get this over with. “I should have told them before we signed the contract. Hell, I should have just walked out the second I saw you! You were the company’s first official client. Garrett’s gonna be mad that?—”

Greyson appears in front of me, blocking my path and forcing me to stop by gently holding me in place by my shoulders.

“Breathe,” he says softly, and I do as he says. “There you go. First things first, I wouldn’t have let you walk away. So get that thought out of your head now. Secondly, I’ve met Garrett a couple times now. He doesn’t seem like the type to get angry.”

“He’s not…” I grumble reluctantly.

“With a business like this, he had to have planned for things like this to happen.” Greyson pauses before shrugging his shoulders. “Okay, well, maybe not exactly this situation, but you know what I mean.”

I do, but it doesn’t lessen any of the guilt that’s taken up residence in the pit of my stomach for the past five days. Dropping my head forward, I let Greyson envelop me in his warm embrace and focus on keeping my breathing in tune with his while we wait.

This job was supposed to be a fresh start for me. I’d always gravitated to assistant roles. Most people hate being told what to do, what to organize, or needing to oversee someone else’s life. But I’m good at it. So jumping in to help with events or public appearances didn’t seem that far off. A client needed someone by their side to schmooze business partners or just make them look good, and I could easily do that.

Now I don’t even know if I’ll have a job. In my defense, what to do when the client is the father of your child, but he didn’t know because his mother kept it from him and tried to pay you off, wasn’t covered in orientation.

“Besides, you’re not alone in the awkwardness of all this. Garrett is technically my boss too, considering he also owns the team,” Greyson teases, but it only makes me panic more.

“Shit, I forgot that he?—”

“Miss Owens…” a deep voice calls out and I stiffen. Crossing my fingers that it is anyone else but my boss, I peek out from around Grey’s torso and silently curse.

Garrett Walker stands in the entryway with his arms crossed. Except it’s not suspicion or anger that’s lining his features. No, my boss looks amused .

Clearing my throat, I back away from Greyson, straightening my shirt and avoiding both men’s gazes.

“Hi, thank you for making time to meet with us.”

“Of course,” Garrett muses and motions down the hall. “Why don’t we step into my office. Paige is just grabbing a coffee refill, but we don’t have to wait for her.”

We follow after him, and while it’s barely a minute walk to his office, it feels like an eternity has passed by the time we’re sitting. Greyson sits beside me on the surprisingly cozy leather couch, while Garrett takes one of the matching chairs.

He watches us carefully for a moment before smirking. “I’m gonna take a wild guess that we need to look at nulling the contract.”

My cheeks burn with embarrassment, but I force myself to shove the awkwardness down and answer him.

“Yes. I should have told you before, but Greyson and I actually know each other. We used to date in high school but then”—I huff out a breath and wave a hand in dismissal—“some stuff happened, and we hadn’t seen each other in five years.”

Garrett’s eyes widen in surprise just as Paige comes barreling through the door.

“Sorry, sorry. Eva was also getting coffee in the break room and then we got talking and well…” She plops down in the chair beside Garrett. “What did I miss?”

“It appears these two were…high school sweethearts?” Garrett’s answer comes out as more of a question, but I nod.

Briefly, I wish I’d worn my hair down, if only to give my hands something to do. I fidget with the tips of my fingers and fill Paige in.

“Yeah, we were. We, um, there was a, uh…” Shit. How do you simplify everything that’s led us here without trauma dumping?

“We got into an accident and my mom used my injuries as an opportunity to split us up. Even worse is that when Stella showed up to tell me she was pregnant with my baby, my mom lied and told her I didn’t want it. Except she never told me, and I only learned about my daughter last week,” Greyson says without hesitation.

Paige’s mug is frozen just in front of her mouth that hangs open, not hiding her shock at what he just said. Garrett is holding up better than her, but it’s clear that’s not at all what he was expecting.

“When I signed the contract,” I start, risking a quick glance at Greyson before continuing, “I thought he knew and that we both silently agreed to leave our personal lives off the table and focus on work. But then when he found out…” I shake my head and try to fight the tears that threaten to spill. There’s no way that I’ll cry in front of my bosses.

“I can’t separate personal and professional knowing what I do now,” Greyson offers, reaching over to take my hand in his, and gently squeezes.

“Nor should you have to,” Paige says, finally shaking the surprise off and sitting forward to set her coffee down on the table between us before pushing to her feet. While she crosses the office to Garrett’s desk, he finally speaks up.

“Luckily, there’s a section in the contract set up in case both parties wish to end the agreement early. We’ll just need you both to sign the form saying you agree to terminate the contract and you’ll be set to figure out everything else without that in the way.”

Paige comes back with a piece of paper and pen, holding it out to me first. While I read through it, she re-explains everything Garrett just said, only in legal terms. I sign quickly before handing it off to Greyson. As he reads through it and adds his signature below mine, I face Garrett.

“What does this mean for me? More specifically, my job.”

Garrett looks at Paige, raising a single brow in a silent question that she understands. With a gasp, she turns to me with an excited smile that almost scares me.

“Okay, hear me out,” she starts as she rushes back over to Garrett’s desk. Considering these two have been dating for a year, living together, and working together, her familiarity with his office isn’t all that surprising.

“That makes it sound bad, Paige.” Garrett sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose even as a soft smile tugs at the corners of his lips.

“No, it’s not! I swear, just hold on,” Paige calls out while sifting through papers. I swear I hear her grumbling about the way he organizes things. I shoot Greyson a sideways glance, only to find him already staring at me.

Ignoring how my heart jumps, I focus back on Paige as she comes back to her seat and hands me a folder.

“If I remember your résumé correctly, you have experience as an executive assistant?” Paige asks, slipping into a more calm and professional tone that doesn’t really hide her excitement.

“Yes. I was an assistant at a law firm in New York before this and interned at a couple different places while getting my bachelor’s degree.”

Paige bobs her head enthusiastically. “Right, so this was basically meant to be.”

I finally open the folder she handed me and read the words once, and then three more times before I speak up.

“I’m sorry, you want me to be your assistant?”

“Yup.” Paige beams.

I look at Garrett for clarification, but he’s too busy smiling at Paige. Greyson leans forward and skims over the paperwork in my hands.

“The hours are going to be more set. It’ll at least be Monday through Friday. We can talk about specific hours to accommodate taking care of a kid. I think it’s a pay increase for you too.”

The only thing I can do is blink.

“I’m sorry, but I just…This wasn’t what I was expecting…” I say, shaking my head and staring down at the paperwork.

“And what were you expecting?” Garrett asks, finally looking away from Paige to eye me with curiosity.

I shrug. “That I’d be leaving here without a job. So to be offered this…”

Garrett leans forward, bracing his elbows on his knees, and holds my attention.

“Would I have liked to know that there was history between you two before the contract was signed? Yes. But I can understand why you both would want your privacy and to just get the work done. Life isn’t always black and white. It would be unfair of me to hold my business to those standards when the whole reason I’m doing any of this is to help people. The way to help you both is simple. In this case, that means ending the contract.” He leans back, smirking once more. “Besides, I’ve been telling Paige for months that she needs an assistant and she keeps putting it off. If shifting you to be her assistant is what finally gives her the help she needs, then I’d double your salary without batting an eye.”

“ That would be a bit much,” I say, knowing the numbers I saw on the job offer were already way more than I’m currently making, but he just lifts a shoulder.

“We’ll see about that.”

We finish up, Paige and I agreeing that I’ll come in tomorrow morning after I drop Harper off at daycare so we can go over the details of my new, new job.

Greyson is mostly silent, aside from answering Garrett’s questions about hockey while Paige and I wrap up our conversation. Neither of us says anything as we make our way out of the building.

“I gotta be honest about something,” Greyson says once we’re alone in his car. My mind is still reeling from what just happened upstairs, but I try to focus on him.

“And what would that be?”

“I never planned on being just professional with you. When I signed that contract, it was with the intention to spend time with you so that I could figure out why you left me.” He turns to me, his brown eyes sparkling with determination. “Then after the fishing tournament, it didn’t matter why you left anymore, just that I had you in my life again. I planned to use the rest of our time fulfilling the contract to win you back.”

His honesty only makes me grin.

“You thought it would be that simple?”

“Hell no.” He chuckles, lifting a hand to gently caress my cheek. “But it would have been enough time to convince you to go on a date with me once it was up.”

I roll my eyes, but before I can answer, a call rings through the Bluetooth in his car. We both glance at the display and I straighten in my seat when I see the name.

Greyson curses, declining his mother’s call and dropping his forehead to the steering wheel. Slowly, I reach across the center console and rub his back in soothing circles.

“I told her not to call me,” he grumbles and I let out a sarcastic laugh.

“And you thought she’d actually listen to you?” I pull my hand back, slapping it over my mouth. “Sorry, that was mean.”

Greyson just laughs half-heartedly, sitting up and grabbing his seat belt.

“No, you’re right.”

I shift the conversation to lighter topics, telling him about the gymnastic classes that I signed Harper up for and the beach birthday party she was invited to. By the time he pulls up in front of my townhouse, most of the tension from his mother calling seems to have dissipated.

I’m about to get out of his car when he stops me with a gentle grip on my wrist.

“Stella, will you…” He pauses, sucking in a deep breath. I twist, noticing how nervous he looks. “These next few weeks are busy. We have all away games this week and the start of next week, but I want to take you out. On a date.”

“A date?” I parrot back. Warmth spreads across my chest, and I push back the hope that begins to blossom. “Like, just you and me, alone…romantically?”

“That would be the definition of a date, yeah.”

I nod, feeling a bit shaky as he grins back at me and leans closer. I hold my breath as he kisses my cheek. The scruff of his trimmed beard scratches against my face and my thighs clench at the sensation.

Greyson grins mischievously as if he knows the effect he has on me but doesn’t call me out for it. Instead, he leans back and acts as if all is normal.

“I’ll call you after practice?” he asks and I’m almost certain I respond before I get out.

His attention burns at my back the entire walk to my front door, and I finally give in once I have the door opened. He’s grinning from ear to ear as he watches me from his rolled down window, reminding me so much of the joyful and carefree boy I fell in love with.

Only now he has the panty-melting muscles and the smile to make him even more dangerous. He shoots me a wink before he finally faces forward and drives off, leaving me grinning like a damn fool who’s about to fall head over heels when she knows better.