One Last Time Read online

  I truly believed that she was everything that Summer had not been. Summer had never shown such adoration and appreciation for the little things that I used to do for her—unlike Emma, who seemed to be impressed and appreciative of even the smallest romantic gestures.

  As I finished putting the final touches on the amorous environment, I heard footsteps making their way down the hall outside toward my door. I had purposely left the door unlocked after calling Emma to invite her over for dinner.

  She had no idea that I had picked out the perfect red rose bouquet and laid out a path of rose petals from the front door all the way to the dining room table. I had also set red and white candles on the table, which was elegantly and flawlessly set up for dinner for two.

  There was a bottle of champagne sitting in the middle of the table between the candles and two wine glasses directly in front of the plates. I had dimmed the lights all the way down to the darkest setting without turning them completely off, and I’d set the surround sound to a slow, sultry jazz playlist.

  As the sound of the stiletto high heels came closer to the front door, I quickly straightened my tie in the front room mirror and ran a hand through my hair. I then made my way over to the left side of the dinner table and posed in my new blue silk shirt and Armani slacks. I unbuttoned the top two buttons of my top in order to give my look a little bit of extra sex appeal, just before the doorknob turned and the front door opened.

  The huge, happy smile on my face immediately turned into a confused look of surprise and shock when my front door opened and the woman who entered was Vivian Mayfield.

  “Vivian?”

  “Wow!’ she said as she looked around the room. She had a folder in her hand and that’s when I remembered that my father had told me she’d be bringing over some paperwork on a new prospective client this evening after work.

  “Uh, Vivian, I—” I began to say but she cut me off before I could finish.

  “When you said you needed more romance in your life, you really weren’t kidding, huh?” she exclaimed as she set the folder down on the small end table near the front door and started walking toward me.

  She was wearing a tight black dress and a pair of black stilettos. Her long blond hair was pulled back away from her face.

  “Well, actually—”

  “I mean, you really went all-out and I must say—it’s impressive. Very impressive indeed.” Her tone changed into a seductive one on the last part of her statement and her plump, shimmery glossed lips turned up into a provocative grin.

  That’s when it hit me. Back when we’d had our little celebratory drink together in my office and I’d been talking about needing some romance in my life, obviously she had thought that I was referring to her. And right now, she was mistakenly assuming that I had laid out this elaborate romantic dinner atmosphere for her.

  Oh, shit.

  I had to get her out of here before Emma arrived. That was all I could think about, yet nothing solid was coming to mind as to what to say or do to somehow make Vivian understand that she was mistaken.

  My mind was telling me that I had to hurry up and do something—or at the very least say something. But never having been in a situation quite like this before, I honestly didn’t know exactly what to say or do. It all happened so fucking fast and caught me completely off guard. Also, the situation was unfolding at such a fast pace that my mind wasn’t able to keep up with everything that was currently taking place. What the fuck what was I supposed to do?

  While these thoughts were going on in my head, Vivian made her way over to where I was standing. She was saying something but I didn’t hear whatever it was. Just as I was about to open my mouth to try and clear up the misunderstanding, her black dress slid down to the floor and she wrapped her arms around me and pressed her lips against mine.

  Chapter 14

  Emma

  I didn’t know what to expect as I made my way over to Declan’s condo. He had told me that he wanted to have a nice, relaxing dinner and that he was going to prepare the dinner for me himself. I hadn’t thought that rich handsome guys like him even knew how to cook, so my curiosity was piqued by his offer.

  I told him that I would be there around eight but that I might end up running just a little bit late because I had a huge stack of papers and unit tests that I had to finish grading before I left the house.

  My body was still on fire from the last hot, passionate night we’d shared, and I was looking forward to another.

  Declan truly was absolutely amazing in bed and the thought that he might want to get serious with someone like me made my heart just about ready to leap out of my chest. I mean, I knew I was a decent looking woman and I had a pretty good sense of style and a good head on my shoulders, but I was nothing like those women in the fashion magazines with their too-perfect-to-be-real breasts, shinier-than-the-sun blond hair, and blemish-free skin. You know, the kind of women that wealthy, handsome men usually wanted.

  To be honest, I was still having a hard time believing that someone like Declan could actually be serious about someone like me. Still, the thought that he might be the real deal made my heart skip a beat and made butterflies start dancing around in my belly. I put an extra skip in my step as I made my way down the long hallway toward his door.

  I gave my hair one last flip and licked my lips seductively as I placed my hand on the doorknob and turned it.

  “Declan, I’m here!” I said sweetly as I opened the door and stepped inside the front room. What I saw made my jaw hit the floor. My heart sank like a rock.

  A blond woman with a perfect Barbie doll body and the longest legs I’d ever seen was in a sexy little bra and panty set, and she had her arms wrapped around my Declan. My Declan. Her black dress was in a heap on the floor below her stiletto-clad feet. Her breasts were up against his chest and her lips were pressed to his.

  When the two of them heard me walk in, she quickly turned around to face the front door, and Declan’s mouth dropped open almost as wide as mine had.

  It seemed like time slowed down and everything was moving in slow motion. In that quick moment, which couldn’t have been more than just a few seconds, it felt like an eternity. I couldn’t speak because my mouth refused to move, and I couldn’t move because my legs refused to budge. I just stood there like an idiot in the doorway, frozen in an awkward silence.

  “Who’s that?” the blonde suddenly said, removing her arms from around Declan’s neck.

  When she finally spoke, it was like her words broke the awkward silence in the room and my body was instantly snapped back into the reality of the situation.

  I turned around on my heels and started running as fast as I could back down the long hallway toward the elevator. My eyes were quickly filling with tears and I didn’t want to give either of them the satisfaction of seeing me cry.

  “Emma!” Declan called out to me as I reached the elevator and pressed the button, frantically, over and over again. “Emma, wait!”

  The elevator door opened and I hurried inside, immediately pressing the “L” button, causing the doors to start closing. I could hear his footsteps coming down the hall. But it was too late for him. The elevator doors had closed and I already was on my way back down to the lobby.

  Tears filled my eyes and overflowed as the elevator dropped down toward the bottom floor. As they ran down my cheeks I sobbed silently, wiping my face with my hands. I couldn’t believe what I had just witnessed. But the worst part about was that it didn’t make any sense at all. Why would he call me and invite me over to dinner just to do something like that?

  Maybe that was how rich playboys rolled. Maybe they played games with regular Janes like me. That woman in her underwear looked just like one of those blond-haired, blue-eyed Barbie doll models that I always saw in magazines. Maybe that really was what he preferred. Maybe I really was just a fling, just something—or someone—to do, to pass the time with until he found what he really wanted.

  Who fucking knows. The
elevator doors finally opened up on the lobby. I raced out the front door of the high-rise building and ran to my car as fast as I could. When I got to my car, I started it up and sped out of the parking garage. My tears were still falling down my cheeks as I drove down the street toward my apartment.

  My cell phone started to ring almost immediately. I didn’t want to check it but my curiosity eventually got the best of me. While sitting at a red light, I pulled it out of my purse. Looking at the LCD screen, I saw that it was Declan’s number. I pressed the button to send it to voicemail.

  After I got back to my apartment, I speed dialed Chloe’s number on video chat. I really needed someone to talk to and she was the only person I trusted right now. Thankfully, she answered on the third ring. Chloe was always there for me whenever I needed her.

  “Hey, girl, what’s up?” she answered cheerfully.

  Her face instantly appeared on my LCD screen. She was all dolled up like she was getting ready to go out on the town—again. Sometimes I envied her free-spirited, doesn’t-give-a-fuck-about-anything attitude—especially in times like these.

  “You’ll never believed what just happened,” I said, holding back my sobs.

  “Oh, my God, Emma. Are you crying? What’s wrong?” she asked.

  “Chloe, he was there with another woman. I thought he was making me dinner, but when I showed up—he was kissing someone else.”

  Chapter 15

  Declan

  “Damn it!” I shouted at my empty apartment.

  I had just tried calling Emma’s phone for the umpteenth time and my calls were still going directly to her voicemail. I must have called her at least five times last night after she’d left my condo, and then I’d called her at least another six or seven more times today. I hated talking to answering machines and voicemail prompts, but I didn’t know what else I was going to be able to do since she refused to pick up the goddamned phone and actually talk to me—or at least fucking listen to what I had to say.

  She hadn’t given me a fair opportunity to explain the situation. I hadn’t even had enough fucking time to react to everything that happened. I mean, shit, I was still sitting over here wondering exactly how the hell such a small, seemingly-innocent misunderstanding turned into something so goddamn catastrophic.

  At first, I had wanted to be angry with Vivian because she was the one who had come onto me. But then I had to be completely, one hundred percent honest with myself and realize that I very well could have led her on with my laid-back attitude toward her blatant advances.

  I replayed the situation over and over in my head, and each time I had thought about a different way that I could have handled it. But it had all happened so goddamned fast that I hadn’t even had enough time to react—let alone explain the misunderstanding that had taken place just before Emma had arrived.

  The moment that Emma had turned around and run down the hall, I had immediately run out after her, but she made it to the elevator before I could catch up. I had then rushed back down the hall to my condo and Vivian had still been there, pulling her dress back up over her hips and clasping it back together at the top, behind her neck. I was almost certain that the expression on Vivian’s face was outright, obvious confusion—and perhaps also a little bit of embarrassment.

  Even in the dim candlelight of my front room, I could tell that a slightly reddish tint had appeared on both of her cheeks and she was looking downward as I came back in and gently closed the door behind me.

  “Vivian…” I had started to say—but she had raised her left, as if to silence me and stop me from saying anything that may have offended her or maybe embarrassed her any more than she clearly already was.

  “No, it’s my fault,” she had said softly, taking the brunt of the blame. “I just assumed…” Her own voice had trailed off as the gravity of what had just taken place began to set all the way in.

  “Listen,” I said, and cleared my throat. “I—I’m sorry, really, for whatever it was that I did or maybe said to lead you to believe that I had an interest in you that was anything beyond strictly professional.”

  “I—I, um, I guess I’m gonna go, then,” Vivian said in a voice that was barely more than a faint whisper. Then she turned around to head toward the front door.

  I didn’t make any attempt to stop her—mostly for fear that my action would possibly have been misconstrued. The miscommunication had already gone much too far already, and had already caused way too many problems. Therefore, I was determined not to take a chance at letting these wildly incorrect misinterpretations and assumptions continue to happen.

  I watched Vivian walk out my door and proceed down the hall toward the elevator. She had paused for one brief moment, and it appeared to me that she really wanted to turn back around and look at me. But then she must have thought better of it and continued on her way.

  I had sighed deep and long, feeling completely overwhelmed by everything that had just taken place. I shut the door behind her without saying anything else.

  After all that last night, I was still devastated. The combination of emotions and feelings that I was currently experiencing were entirely new and unfamiliar to me. I had never felt so ridiculously and undeniably out of my element before, and for the first time as far back as I could possibly remember, I realized that I didn’t have the slightest idea what to do to rectify the misunderstanding, or where to even fucking start.

  This was all very unlike me because I was usually so in control of every situation and every emotion that I allowed myself to portray. But, this—this was very different. Seeing Emma so upset had really stirred something up inside of me. I had to find a way to fix this—to make things right—but for the first time in my adult life, I felt completely at a loss for words and I had no clue what to do.

  * * * * *

  On Monday, I decided to go over to the elementary school to see if she was at work. At least there, she couldn’t just leave and refuse to speak with me. This time, I took my gold Mercedes Benz instead of my black Rolls Royce, since she would most likely recognize the Rolls Royce right away if she happened to see me pull up outside the main entrance.

  I went inside the building and into the main office but this time, the black woman at the front desk told me that Emma had taken the week off and had gone out of town due to a personal family emergency.

  I was perplexed. She had actually left town over this? A part of me felt like she was overreacting, but the part of me that truly loved her realized that she must really be hurting over what she’d seen—even it was a misunderstanding, and I knew I was going to have to do something major to prove my love to her.

  “Yeah, you really screwed up this time,” a female voice called out from behind me as I was walking back out to my car.

  Surprised, I turned around to see a tall, angry-looking redhead coming out of the school’s main entrance.

  “Are you Chloe?” I asked, eyeing her as she walked over to where I was standing.

  She folded her arms across her chest. “Yep, I’m Chloe.”

  “What are you doing here?” I asked.

  “Same as you. I came to see if Emma was at work, but she wasn’t.”

  “Listen, Chloe, I know I screwed up, but it’s not what either of you are thinking,” I explained.

  “Really? You do know that that’s what almost every single asshole says when he gets caught red-handed?”

  “Actually, no, because I’ve never been in a situation like this before. I’d always been a playboy up until I met Emma, but I never screwed around with more than one woman at a time. I never had a reason to. My flings usually never lasted more than a few weeks or so, and then I’d break things off and move on.”

  “Mm-hmm,” she said, cocking her head to the side.

  “Look, I know you have no reason to believe me, but Emma is different. She’s everything those shallow, superficial women weren’t. I would never have done anything to purposely hurt her. What she walked in on was a misunderstanding, no
thing more. That blond woman works with me, and she had come by to drop off some papers for my father. She saw my place all set up for a romantic rendezvous and mistakenly assumed that it was for her. Emma walked in right before I’d had a chance to set things straight with my coworker.”

  Chloe raised her eyebrows.

  I continued, “Still, the part of it that was my fault was the fact that in my excitement about my date with Emma, I had completely forgotten that Vivian was supposed to be bringing that file over. That’s where I messed up and that part of all this is definitely my fault. I just want a chance to explain that to Emma. After that, she’s welcome to make her own decision.”

  Chloe looked at me thoughtfully, as if she was trying to decide whether I was lying.

  “Well, that’s definitely one I’ve never heard before—and I’ve heard a lot of excuses from men in my day,” she said.

  “If you do happen to hear from her, would you please have her call me? If anyone can convince her, it’s definitely you.”

  As soon as I left the school, I went straight over to the meeting I had set up with a property owner in the area. It was a very important meeting that took top priority over everything else in the works. I had already decided that I was going to purchase this property, no matter what, and I wanted to get the documents signed and cleared immediately. I had a highly important deadline to keep.

  Chapter 16

  Emma

  “I just don’t understand!” I exclaimed loudly, between sighs, breaths, and sniffles.

  I was at my mother’s house down in my old hometown in Virginia. When I’d seen Declan with that half-naked woman, I had literally almost lost my fucking mind. I hurried straight to my apartment, packed up a suitcase with everything I needed for the next several days, and jumped right in my car and started heading south.