How He Really Feels (He Feels Trilogy) (33 page)

I took a shower and brushed my teeth and felt my strength slowly coming back. I wrapped my bathrobe around my body and decided to
lay back down in bed, but when I went back into the bedroom, Nick was gone. I must’ve awakened him when I was in the shower. I pulled out some clothes and got dressed in comfy sweatpants and a t-shirt. I blow dried my hair and put on some make-up. Ultimately I decided I didn’t look too bad, and I was thrilled to finally be feeling better.

I made my way downstairs to find Nick just putting on the coffee. We were the only two in the kitchen, and he smiled when he saw me and pulled me close against him. Every nerve in my body awakened in his presence, and I felt the slow burn that I always felt when he was near. “How are you feeling?” he asked.

“A lot better.”

“Good.” He kissed the top of my head. “You look better. In fact, you look pretty sexy in that tight shirt,” he said, eyeing my body and grabbing my butt. He kissed me gently, and I felt myself melting into him. And just when we were about to take it upstairs, we heard someone clear
his throat behind us. We reluctantly pulled apart to see Eric standing there awkwardly.

“Good morning,” he said, heading to the pantry and pulling out some cereal.

“Morning,” Nick and I said in unison.

“Listen, I’m glad it’s just the three of us. I wanted to talk to you two about something,” Eric said.

“Shoot,” Nick said.

“Well I was just thinking. Julianne, you’re good for Nick. I hope you know that. I want you two to be happy, and you probably don’t want extra people around while you start your life together. So I just wanted to let you know that I am planning to move out by the end of the month.”

“Eric, you don’t have to do that,” I said. I enjoyed having Nick’s friend and brother around, and I never even thought about how my moving in would affect that. I didn’t want it to; this was their home, too.

“I know. But it’s time.”

“Are you sure?” Nick asked.

“Absolutely.
Nick, thank you for letting me stay here with you for so long. It’s been fun, and I really appreciate everything you’ve done for me.”

Nick nodded. “You bet, man. I’ll miss you around here.”

Eric laughed. “Yeah, who’s going to do all of the grilling?”

Nick joined Eric in laughter, but I just felt bad. I didn’t want Eric to feel like he had to move out because of me. I said as much. “Eric, I hope you aren’t moving out because I’m moving in.”

“It’s not because of you, Julianne. I swear. It’s just good timing for me.”

I nodded, but I still felt bad.

Josh came down a few minutes later, looking rumpled with a very pretty woman trailing behind him (completely unrumpled), who I later found out was named Tessa and had an on-again/off-again relationship with Josh. Nick took the lead as he, Eric, and Josh made pancakes, eggs, bacon, and toast.

Nick said that he had a plan for the day if I was up for it, but we couldn’t go for a few hours as he had to go into work since it was his last official day at McMillan. Since I was feeling much better, I decided to accompany Nick on his last day despite his protests that I wasn’t strong enough yet to return to work.

We headed to work together; he was dressed up, as usual, in a sexy business suit and tie, and I was still in sweats because I didn’t have many options from the overnight bag Nick had packed for me.

I figured that I would have about a million tasks to accomplish when I went in, and sure enough, I had sixty-seven new emails when I logged into my account. But I also had several “Get Well Soon” cards on my desk, a few boxes of candy, and a balloon bouquet telling me to get well. Holly and Lucy bounded into my cubicle as soon as they saw me.

Holly hugged me gingerly. “Jesus Christ, Jules, you scared the hell out of all of us.”

“I know. I’m sorry. And I’m sorry I haven’t called. My phone was destroyed in the accident and I lost all of my numbers.”

“How do you feel?” Lucy asked, hugging me, too.

“A lot better.
My wrist hurts like hell, but overall I’m much better.”

“Nick filled us in. He said you hit your head pretty hard, too. Does it hurt?” Holly asked.

“The painkillers help. I had a pretty serious concussion, but I’m fine now.”

“Don’t worry about work stuff. We’ve got you covered,” Lucy said.

“You don’t have to do that.”

“We want to. You’ve had a crazy month, and we love you and want to help you.” Lucy’s green eyes were bright with sincerity.

“I miss you both, too. I’m sorry I’ve been so out of touch.”

“Don’t worry about it, Jules. We are here for you. No matter what,” Holly said.

“I have something to tell you both.”

They glanced at each other. “What?” Lucy asked.

“I haven’t put in my notice yet, but I’m leaving McMillan. I’m going to BKG with Nick.”

Lucy smiled. “I’m not shocked.
Congrats, girl.”

“We’ll miss you, Jules,” Holly said.

“I’ll miss you, too. But just because I’m leaving doesn’t mean that our friendship has to end.”

“Agreed.
We just won’t see each other every day anymore,” Lucy said.

“This is like the end of an era,” Holly said.

We hugged, and they let me get back to my email. I couldn’t focus, though; the painkillers were affecting my ability to clearly think, and I wasn’t supposed to be working for at least a week, anyway, per doctor’s orders.

I laid my head down on my desk for just a second since the room was suddenly spinning, and I felt a hand on my shoulder.

“You okay, baby?” Nick asked.

I picked my head up and nodded.
“Yeah. The screen was swimming so I was just taking a break.”

He ran a knuckle gently down my cheek. “Dammit. I knew coming here was going to be too much for you. Come on, I’ll take you home.”

“Nick, I’m fine. Really. It’s not necessary to take me home.”

“Jen has taken over my office, but why don’t you sit in the comfy chairs in the conference room for awhile?”

“I can’t.”

“Why not?”

“Really, Nick? Your ‘surprise’ going away party.” Anytime anyone left McMillan, we had a party in their honor, so it was no surprise that some of the crew were getting a party together for Nick. And these parties always took place in the conference room.

Nick rolled his eyes. “I forgot. I just have a few loose ends to tie, and after the party we can head out.”

“You know the only reason I wanted to come in today was so that I wouldn’t miss the party.”

He smiled. “Thanks, baby. Love you,” he said, kissing my forehead. Jake popped his head into my cube just as Nick’s lips were pressed to my head.

“Hey, you two,” Jake said.

“Hey man,” Nick said, slapping him on the back.

“Nick, we’re going to miss you around here.”

“Thanks, Jake. I’ll miss this place, too. It’s been a hell of a year.”

“I’ll say,” Jake said, winking at me.

“Apparently I have you to thank for this happening,” I smiled at Jake, motioning between Nick and myself.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean Nick told me that you told him I was interested. And if you hadn’t done that, we might never have gotten together. So thank you.”

He grinned. “So it’s my fault he’s leaving, then?”

Nick nodded. “I guess it is. Thanks a lot, dude.”

The three of us laughed, and Jake went back to work and Nick headed up a few floors to start wrapping things up with Human Resources and the big bosses.

Lucy came by to entertain me since I couldn’t even look at the computer screen, and she told me how well
things had been progressing between her and Jake. Apparently they had made plans to move in together; she was tied into a lease for three more months, and he still had six months to go, but they spent nearly all of their time together at her apartment anyway. She seemed very much in love, and I was so happy for her and Jake. And when Jake came by again to check on me, I could see the love in his eyes for my friend.

An hour later, we were in the conference room, “surprising” Nick with his going away party. There was cake and chips and balloons and lots of well-wishes. Everyone stared at us as we held hands in front of everybody, people really seeing us together for the first time in a lot of cases. The attention was a bit overwhelming, particularly in my already groggy state.

Before I knew it, the party was over and I was helping clean up. Nick was finishing some details with Jen, and then he grabbed my hand. “Come with me,” he said, mischief in his eyes.

I followed him to the elevator, and we got on alone. The doors closed and he hit a button for a floor higher than ours, and then suddenly my back was against the wall as his lips found mine and his body crushed against me. I wrapped my good arm around him and kissed him back, feeling the familiar butterflies doing somersaults in my belly. God, I loved him. Everything about him was perfection.

He backed away as the elevator slowed, and then the doors opened. He held his hand out, signaling that I should go first.

“Where are you taking me?” I asked.

He leaned in close to my ear and whispered, “I’m accompanying you to Davidson’s office so we can give your notice.”

“What?” I squealed and stopped dead in my tracks. I wasn’t ready for this. I was, for crying out loud, in sweats, and I had nothing prepared to say.

“Babe, it’s like a bandage. You need to just rip it off. I’ll be by your side the whole time.”

“Fuck, Nick. Thanks for
the blindside.” Suddenly I felt dizzy again, but I wasn’t sure if it was because of the medicine, the concussion, or the nerves that I was about to quit my job.

He grabbed my hand and pulled me toward Davidson’s office, and then we were there and Nick was knocking on the door and there wasn’t anything I could do to stop him. This was for the best; I was there and I needed to get it done anyway, but I was just not at all prepared in that moment.

Davidson’s door opened a moment later, and he looked surprised to see me standing behind Nick.

”Tom, can we have just a moment of your time?” Nick asked smoothly. He was so sexy when he was in his business mode.

“Sure,” he said, motioning us in the room. “Have a seat.”

We did, and he sat behind his desk and crossed his arms.

“Julianne, it’s good to see you back. I heard about your accident.”

I nodded, and Davidson got to the point. “What’s this about?”

“Sir, Julianne has something she wanted to say.”

I glared at Nick. “Mr. Davidson, I am here to give my two week’s notice.”

Davidson didn’t look at all surprised. “Poaching my best creative consultants, Matthews?”

“Sorry,” Nick shrugged, not looking at all apologetic. “BKG doesn’t have a ludicrous relationship clause in their contracts.”

“I see. Well, Miss Becker, we will be sorry to see you go. We are prepared to fight to keep you.”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Davidson, but I just don’t see what you can do that will keep me here. I want to keep working with Nick.”

“I tried to keep him, too, but BKG is cutthroat. What if I offered you, say, thirty percent more than you’re making now?”

Nick spoke before I could. “She’ll be making more than that on my team.”

Davidson nodded. “Well then my hands are tied. That’s all I can offer. Best of luck to you both.” He turned back to the work on his desk as if to signal the end of our conversation.

Nick and I stood to leave and he placed his hand on the small of my back to guide me to the door. Davidson never glanced up from his paperwork. Nick was already through the door and I was almost through when Davidson spoke again. “Julianne, your two weeks will begin when you return full time from your accident.”

“Tom, don’t be ridiculous,” Nick defended me, turning back to Davidson.

Tom looked up at Nick. “It’s business. I need her to close out her accounts and finish her current projects.”

“You know she can’t be back full time yet.” He leaned on the desk on two fists.

“I don’t give a fuck, Nick. You can have her when she’s finished out her commitments here.”

“Nick, it’s okay,” I said, pulling on his arm so we could leave.

“No, it’s not okay. Tom, don’t be a dick.”

“Excuse me, Mr. Matthews?”

“You heard me.”

“You’re some big shot now that you’re at BKG?”

“Tom, don’t make this personal.”

“You made it personal when you decided to sleep with one of your consultants.”

“Nick, let’s just go,” I said.

His eyes never left Davidson’s. “You made it personal, Tom. You made it personal when you talked to me about my relationship with Julianne in the first place.”

“You knew what you were getting into. You signed the contract and you voided it when you fucked her.”

“I don’t know what your problem is, but I’m going to fucking bury you.”