Page 68 of The Compass Series

CONNOR

I f you looked up the definition of a people person, you would find a picture of me smiling ear to ear.

I prided myself on my extrovert ways and how I loved meeting people of all types.

One of my superpowers was my ability to find common ground with anyone and everyone—except for Jason fucking Rollsfield.

When it came to my disdain for an individual, he was at the top of my list. He was the only one on the list, honestly.

The unstable hothead had recently been placed in charge of running our West Coast division by yours truly.

Thankfully, now he wouldn’t be in New York, and I wouldn’t have to cross paths with him as often as I had over the past few months, but knowing he was taking her with him to California sent a silent rage through my whole system.

How in the world had an asshole like him landed a woman like her?

Her.

Red.

My Red.

Not mine, but still.

My thoughts began to flood with anguish as the realization that Aaliyah was his settled inside me.

Even worse, I thought about how he hadn’t even flinched when she tripped.

He had stood there glaring like the disappointment he thought she was and then passive-aggressively put her down instead of asking if she was all right.

How did she think that kind of treatment was okay?

Surely, she knew she deserved more than someone like Jason out of life.

I stood at the bar with him as we waited for our drinks, and like a creep, my eyes darted across the room, looking for her.

She stood with a group of wealthy individuals, ones Aaliyah was too good for.

I knew each one of them. They were all snakes, but Aaliyah appeared too nice to walk away from their trap.

I noticed the hesitant discomfort weighing heavily on her shoulders as she engaged with them, and my sudden sense of protection shot through the roof.

I took a step in her direction but I stopped the moment I saw Marie move into the situation.

The moment that happened, Aaliyah’s shoulders relaxed, and an authentic smile spread across her lips.

Good. She seemed more at ease. Unlike her dick of a son, Marie was a good person. I knew she was standing up for Aaliyah based on how the rats scurried away. Once they were all gone, it was as if the light came back to Aaliyah’s eyes, and she began to shine once more.

Aaliyah.

What a perfect name for her. It was very fitting and beautiful.

She was beautiful, even more so than two years before.

Her long, now ombre hair was in microbraids and had golden string woven throughout.

She wore a skintight black satin dress with a high slit highlighting her long brown legs with her gold high heels.

With those heels, we were almost eye to eye with one another.

Her eyes…

Still as powerful as they were back then.

“Did you hear me?” Jason asked, patting me on the back.

I broke my stare away from Aaliyah and turned to take the drink from Jason. The smile I hadn’t even known I was wearing as I stared at Aaliyah evaporated once I looked at him.

“Sorry, what were you saying?” I asked even though I didn’t care. I wanted my stare to move back to her. I wanted to talk to her. I wanted to ask how she’d been. I wanted to ask her why out of seven billion humans on the planet, she’d chosen him.

“I said did you notice the bombshell to your left wearing the blue dress?” he said, nodding in that direction.

I turned to spot the person he was looking at, and the minute my eyes landed on her, I wanted to claw my eyes out. “That’s Rose, my new intern, and she’s only nineteen. She’s barely of age.”

“But she is of age.” He smirked and nudged me in the arm. “I gotta tell you, old Jason would’ve been all over that woman if he had the chance.”

“She’s a girl, not a woman. A bit young in age, don’t you think?”

He shrugged. “I’ve dated younger.” He paused and tossed his hands up in the air. “They were always at least eighteen. I’m not some creep.”

Could have fooled me.

“Besides, I wasn’t pointing her out for me. I’m a happily taken man. I was pointing her out for you, big guy. Plus, with her being your intern, I bet she’d do anything to please you.” He nudged me again, and I wanted to slam my fist into his face.

God, Red. Why him?

I rolled my eyes and looked away from Rose. “That’s disgusting, unprofessional, and completely out of line, Jason. And I hope you don’t plan on running the company in that manner when you get out west.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Easy there, buddy. I was just joking with you. From the rumors, it appears you don’t date much. I was just trying to be your wingman.”

He was drunk, already stumbling a bit, and I could tell that with a few more drinks in, he’d be his normal mess of a self.

“I’m good, Jason.”

He tossed his hands up in surrender. “All right. Suit yourself.” He glanced once more in the direction of Rose, and I watched as his eyes moved up and down her figure. What a piece of scum. He caught me watching him, and he smirked. “Just looking, not touching.”

He walked away, and the second he turned away from me, my stare moved back to Aaliyah—at least where she had been, but now she was gone. I looked around the space, on a mission to spot her, but she was nowhere to be found.

“Looking for someone?” a voice said, breaking me away from my search.

I turned to see Walter approaching me with a smile on his face.

Since Walter and Marie had adopted Jason, they shared none of his facial characteristics, which I was thankful for.

If Walter had looked like his son, I’d have wanted to punch him on the regular.

“No. Just surveying the event. Seems to be going well.”

“I’m just thankful the photographs were taken before Jason got hammered.”

I snickered. “You noticed, too, huh?”

“I always do. I don’t want you to think this is any representation of how he’ll perform once he’s in California. After hours, he’s a mess at times, but during business, he’s levelheaded.”

I wasn’t sure who Walter was trying to convince—me or himself.

Instead of commenting on how incorrect Walter was about his son, I smiled and lied. “I’m not too worried.”

“Good. Plus, after the wedding, I’m sure he’ll settle down from his old habits and be the husband Aaliyah deserves.”

The wedding.

I still couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that Jason, the scum of the earth, had somehow landed Red as his wife-to-be.

He didn’t deserve her. Honestly, I wasn’t certain any guy deserved her.

Even though it’d been so long, I hadn’t forgotten how she made me feel that night.

Hell, after our Halloween night of escapism, I’d had dreams about the girl for weeks.

The one who got away.

Really, though? After our intense soul connection and deep, meaningful conversations, she ended up with Jason?

Jason . Jason Rollsfield. The man who thought global warming was a myth.

The one who’d pissed on the Washington Monument.

The one who had spent a few nights in jail for groping a police officer’s butt.

Yeah, that was the man she was choosing.

Christ, Red. We taught you better than to settle with Jason.

I couldn’t stop trying to figure out how she’d ended up in the position she was in, but hell, there we were.

“Speaking of the wedding…I have a favor to ask you,” Walter said.

He brushed his hand against his fully gray beard then pushed his round glasses up the bridge of his nose.

“Aaliyah and Jason decided not to have groomsmen or bridesmaids of any kind for the ceremony, but there is the issue of the night before—the bride and groom aren’t supposed to see one another.

Now, normally, I wouldn’t think anything of Jason spending the night alone, but I know he gets anxious at times, and I don’t want him to freak out the night before his big day.

So, I was thinking, perhaps he can stay with you that night? You can have some guy bonding time.”

I blinked a few times, trying to comprehend exactly what Walter was asking of me. “You want me to keep him on a leash?”

“To be frank? Yes. I don’t want him ruining this one this time around.

The last two Vegas crash weddings left a bad mark on his name, but Aaliyah is different.

She’s a good girl, and she could be really good for Jason.

So think about it as an IOU from me to you, Connor.

If you do this for me, I’ll do something for you. ”

And he could be very toxic for her.

“I can do that. Not a problem,” I agreed, knowing an IOU from a person like Walter would come in handy.

“Also, I heard about the Brooklyn property. It’s a shame. We’ll get them next time, though.”

He nodded once, then walked off, leaving me alone to down my whiskey before venturing off through the crowd. I got stopped a few times for conversation, and I engaged, even though my mind was focused on one thing and one thing only: Red.

I found her on the rooftop.

Her eyes were shut as the late-night breeze swept across her skin. Other people were on the rooftop, but I wasn’t paying them any mind. In my head, she was the only one standing anywhere near me.

She looked beautiful. It wasn’t that I was looking, but holy shit, I was looking. She could’ve walked out wearing a trash bag and still been the prettiest woman alive.

The more I thought about it, the more irrationally irritated I grew about the fact that the following week she was going to walk down the aisle and marry Jason. Was I in the twilight zone?

Nothing makes sense anymore.

I hesitated a few moments before building up enough courage to walk in her direction.

“If memory serves me right, you owe me two dollars,” I said as her back was to me.

She jumped, looking startled as she turned to see who was standing behind her.

The moment she realized it was me, her eyes grew gentle, and she smiled.

“Hi,” she said as she breathed out.

I smiled. “Hi.”