Authors: Kori Roberts
Noah blew out a frustrated breath. “God, it seems that lately Rylee’s canceled more weekends than she’s actually spent with us.” He met Noah’s eyes. “We both know that Rylee is too good for us. I always knew that it was only a matter of time before she figured that out as well, before she woke up and realized that she could do so much better. And, I…” Nick paused and swallowed hard, feeling hesitant to put a voice to his real fears. “I just can’t help but feel like that day has arrived, and she’s finally gotten tired of being with us.” Jesus, saying those words hurt more than he would have imagined.
They both got quiet for a moment, before Noah spoke. “I don’t believe that, man. I can’t…” Noah shook his head. “I just think that this whole distance thing is getting to all of us. It’d be so much easier if we didn’t live so far away from her. Then, it wouldn’t matter if she had to work, because we’d still be able to see her.”
“That’s why this weekend was so important.” Nick ran his fingers through his hair.
“But, now…”
“Well, I don’t know about you, but I refuse to let it end here.”
Nick looked at the determined expression on Noah’s face. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?” he asked.
Noah nodded. “I think we need to take a trip to Chicago.” He stood up and headed toward his bedroom. “I’ve waited too damn long for this weekend to let it go to hell just because Rylee has to work.”
“Uh-huh.” Nick was right behind him. “If we can’t get our redhead to come to us, we’ll just have to go to her.”
*
“What do you mean, Rylee’s not working tonight?” Nick frowned at the receptionist.
“That can’t be right. Check it again. Are you sure?”
“Um…y-yes sir. I-I’m positive.” The flustered young woman stuttered out. “I’m sorry, sir. Ms. Putnam isn’t on the schedule for this weekend.” Nick turned and looked at Noah, who looked just as perplexed as he.
“Come on,” Noah motioned toward the restaurant in the hotel. “Let’s go and see if Drew’s working tonight. Maybe she’s with him.”
They walked away from the front desk without a backward glance and headed straight to the restaurant. Once inside, they maneuvered their way through the crowded room until they reached the bar. Nick tapped Noah on the shoulder and nodded toward Drew, who was busy making drinks.
“Yo! Drew!” Nick yelled out and waved his hand in the air to catch Drew’s attention.
Drew looked up and smiled. He finished the drink he was making and then headed over to where they were standing at the end of the bar.
“Hey, what’s up?” Drew reached out and shook each of their hands. Then, he looked around. “Where’s Rylee?”
Nick and Noah glanced at each other. “We were hoping you could tell us.” Noah spoke.
“But I take it you haven’t seen her?”
Drew’s expression immediately became concerned. “No…not since earlier today. She told me she was spending the weekend in Wisconsin with you two.”
“Yeah, well, she told us she had to work this weekend.” Nick’s voice was laced with worry. “We decided to surprise her and come here so we all could still be together this weekend, but we can’t find her anywhere. She’s not at work, she’s not at home, and she’s not answering her cell phone.” Nick could feel his anxiety rising as he tried not to envision Rylee lying by the side of the road somewhere between Chicago and Wisconsin.
“I could check with Mya.” Drew offered. “Maybe she knows where Rylee’s at.”
Nick glanced at his watch. It was already after ten o’clock at night. Mya was probably asleep already. He didn’t want to disturb her unless it was absolutely necessary.
“Nah, it’s okay.” Nick turned to Noah. “Let’s check her place again to see if she’s back.” Nick could see a customer trying to get Drew’s attention. “Listen, I gotta get back to work,” Drew told them. “But I get off work at midnight. Let me know if you need for me to do anything, or if you hear from her.”
Nick nodded as he and Noah headed out of the restaurant and back to the elevators that led to Rylee’s apartment.
Rylee was so tired; it took all of her energy just to put one foot in front of the other without falling flat on her face.
“So, is this little job going to be enough to give you the extra money you need for the offer?”
She sighed and glanced at Ethan, regretting that she’d ever told him about her part-time job. He’d made a point to show up at the club on several weekends that she’d worked.
He always claimed he had something to discuss with her about the deal for the property that was so important, he couldn’t wait until normal business hours to talk to her about it.
Each time it turned out to be complete bullshit, and Rylee knew that he was only doing it so that he could spend time with her. Usually, she was able to get rid of him of him by the time the club closed. But tonight he’d gone a step further and insisted on walking her home.
And Rylee was just too damned worn-out to even argue with him.
“It’s fine.” Rylee’s response was short and clipped. The lack of sleep had her feeling downright pissy, and she was barely able to refrain from biting Ethan’s head off. Her body was running on fumes, and she felt like it was about to shut down on her at any second. All she could focus on was getting to her apartment and collapsing into bed for a few hours.
Well, you don’t look fine. You look exhausted.” Ethan told her as they reached the hotel elevators.
“What I don’t get is why this guy isn’t helping you.” She could feel Ethan studying her closely as she pressed the elevator button. Finally, he said, “You’re doing all of this, and he doesn’t even know, does he?”
Rylee ignored his question. “Look, Ethan. Thanks for walking me back. I’ll talk to you later.”
Ethan reached for her hand and held on tightly. He moved closer to her until their bodies were practically touching. “You know, I would have given you the money if you’d asked me.”
“I don’t want your money, Ethan.” Rylee pulled her hand away. “I never did.” God, why couldn’t he just let it go?
“Yeah, I know.” His laugh was filled with resentment. “Just like you don’t want me, either. Right?”
“Don’t do this, Ethan. You’ve shown me a different side of you these past few weeks that I really like. Please don’t make me regret trusting in you again.”
“He doesn’t deserve you.” Before Rylee could respond, he leaned forward and kissed her. As she pushed against his hold on her, she was vaguely aware of the elevator door opening.
“What the fuck?!”
She snatched away from a startled Ethan and looked into Nick and Noah’s angry faces.
*
Nick and Noah had been upstairs for hours, practically out of their minds with worry as they tried to figure out where Rylee could be. Finally, at nearly three o’clock in the morning, they’d gotten so frantic, they couldn’t take it anymore, and they’d decided to go and drive the route Rylee would normally take to their house in order to look for her.
Nick couldn’t believe his eyes when the elevator doors opened, and he saw Rylee standing there, dressed like she’d just come back from a date with that bastard, Ethan, who was kissing her like he couldn’t wait to get her upstairs and into bed.
He didn’t know what hurt more; knowing that Rylee lied to them so she could be with another man, watching that same man touch what he considered Noah’s and his, or seeing the look of guilt on her face when she saw them.
Nick heard Ethan’s shocked laughter. “Jesus, there’s two of you? Well, I guess it would take two boys like you to be man enough to handle a woman like Rylee.”
“Ethan, don’t —” Rylee tried to intervene, but Noah’s fist shot out before she could finish her sentence, hitting Ethan in the mouth, knocking him to the floor, and wiping the smirk off his face.
Nick ignored the shocked gasps and startled screams from the few onlookers in the mostly empty lobby as he wrapped his arms around Noah’s midsection to hold him back when he lunged at the prone man.
“You got something else you wanna say, motherfucker?” Noah yelled, and struggled against Nick’s hold on him. “I’m right here, and I’m more than happy to take you down again!”
“Noah, please!” Rylee begged. “Don’t do this! It’s not what you think.” Nick watched Rylee help Ethan off the floor, and he felt a brief moment of satisfaction as he watched the blood flow from Ethan’s busted nose and split lip.
Nick released Noah before he turned his attention to Rylee. His heart ached as he looked at the woman he loved so much. “If it’s not what we think, then tell us what it is.” He spoke through clenched teeth.
“Tell us you didn’t lie about having to work this weekend, so you could be with somebody else. Tell us you weren’t just standing here, kissing another man, and letting him touch you.”
Nick’s voice cracked, and he fought to control the hurt and anger that threatened to overwhelm him. “Because that’s what we think, Rylee. So, go ahead. Tell us we’re wrong.”
He and Noah stood there waiting for Rylee to respond. And, with each second that passed, Nick died a little more inside. He secretly wished that she’d deny everything, tell them they’d imagined what they’d seen, and put them both out of their misery.
He could feel the box that contained her ring in his pocket, practically burning a hole through his thigh as he remembered why he and Noah had come here to begin with. He thought about everything they were willing to do, everything they were prepared to give up for this woman, and it made him want to cry.
“It wasn’t for the reasons you think,” Rylee finally said. “Please, Nick…Noah…” She looked between them. Nick could see the tears shimmering in her eyes, and he wanted so badly to pull her into his arms. But then he looked at Ethan’s bloody face, and he felt the rage return and his resolve harden.
“Please,” she begged. “Let’s go upstairs and talk. I’ll explain everything. Just…not here.”
Nick looked at the two security guards and the small crowd of people who stood along the perimeter and watched their little group. He knew that they’d already caused enough of a scene, and he didn’t want to embarrass Rylee any further in front of her staff. But he had no desire to talk to her at the moment, either.
As if he were reading Nick’s mind, Noah said, “Fuck this shit.” Nick saw him give Rylee a look filled with disappointment and disdain. “Come on, man. Let’s go.”
“Yeah, let’s get the fuck out of here.” Nick shot Rylee a withering glance of his own.
“There’s nothing here for us any longer.”
Rainy days and Mondays. Rylee sat in a large overstuffed chair outside of her boss’s office and stared out the window as the rain poured down outside.
The crappy weather was appropriate, really. It matched the crappy mood she was in, the crappy weekend she’d had, and the crappy direction her life had suddenly taken in just a matter of days.
After making sure that Ethan was okay and convincing him not to file assault charges against Noah with some none-too-subtle warnings that she’d tell how he’d provoked the entire incident with his comments, Rylee had spent the rest of her weekend trying to reach Nick and Noah.
She’d worked the speed dial on her phone nonstop, calling both of their cell numbers and their home number, leaving message after message, filling up the voicemails for all three phones before finally giving up and acknowledging that they didn’t want to talk to her.
It hurt Rylee more than she would ever have imagined, knowing that they wouldn’t speak to her, wouldn’t give her a chance to explain. But, in spite of the hurt, she understood how they felt, knew how it must have looked to see her with Ethan of all people — especially after his confrontation with Nick several months ago. Looking back, Rylee knew that she had no one to blame but herself. She’d handled things completely wrong. If she’d only been honest and up front with them about the property and the job from the beginning, so much of the pain and anger she saw in their eyes could have been avoided. Instead, she’d lied and kept secrets, and destroyed any trust they probably had in her.
In so many ways, Rylee felt no better than their mother. She’d treated Nick and Noah like they were her children, instead of her men, lovers, and partners. They had a right to know what was going on, and deserved to have input on a decision that was going to affect all of them.
Now, Nick and Noah both probably hated her, and she waited to be reprimanded — or worse — by her boss for the little floor show she’d been a part of the previous Friday.
“Rylee, Mr. Spencer will see you now.” Rylee was pulled from her musings by the voice of her boss’s assistant, and she forced a smile, in spite of the trepidation that coursed through her.
“Thank, you, Elaine.” She stood up and walked toward the closed door. She knocked briefly before she opened it and went inside.
Jeff Spencer had been the General Manager since Rylee first started working for the hotel ten years ago. He’d always treated her with fairness and respect. Rylee just hoped he’d be as kind today.
“Good morning, Rylee.” Jeff was seated behind a huge mahogany desk, and he smiled warmly at her when she walked in.
“Good morning, Jeff.” Rylee stood in front of his desk. “Before we start, I’d like to say something.”
“Of course” — he removed his glasses and sat back in his chair — “go ahead.” Rylee took a deep breath before she rushed on. “I’m sure that you’re already aware of the incident on Friday, and I wanted to apologize for my role in that situation. I can assure you that it was an isolated event, and I guarantee that it will not happen again.”
Jeff was quiet for a moment. “Are you finished?” he finally asked calmly, and Rylee could see a slight smile on his face.
“Uh, yes, sir. I am.” Her own voice was filled with uncertainty.
“Good.” Jeff nodded. “And, you’re right. I had been informed about the incident on Friday, and I accept your apology. I appreciate your honesty about what happened, and your willingness to take responsibility for your actions. However” — he paused and put his glasses on again — “that is not the reason that I wanted to see you this morning.”
“It’s not?” Rylee was suddenly overcome with a sense of dread.