Our Love

Quinn

The two nights in Boston have been amazing so far, other than the initial bump. Somehow our reservations were mixed up, and instead of two separate rooms, we were placed into a suite. A king-sized bed only, thankfully, with a sofa as well. Grant was beyond apologetic, trying his best to find an available room for himself, but they were booked. He didn't hesitate to take the sofa in the sitting room and make sure I was given as much privacy as possible. Quite the gentleman.

The first night as promised, Grant took me to an amazing restaurant. Something I would have never gone to on my own or ever before working with him. My eyes nearly bulged out of my head when I saw the prices of the meal, but he assured me that the company was covering it all. I still felt incredibly guilty.

After dinner, we returned to our room and our respective sleeping arrangement. I felt terrible that Grant would have to squeeze onto the tiny sofa though he assured me he would be fine. Once I was settled into bed, I drifted off into a dream-filled slumber. I had dreams about Wade, imagining a beautiful dinner with him in the city and then returning to a hotel room that we shared. It had been so long since I had been with anyone it was hard not to turn to sexy thoughts when thinking of him immediately.

We were at the end of the second night, and both Grant and myself were exhausted. We had sat in meetings all day, myself taking copious notes while Grant worked his negotiation magic. We decided to call it a day and order room service for our dinner before crashing. I was sitting up in the middle of my bed, throwing down one of the best hamburgers I'd ever eaten, when my phone started to ping.

I tried to shove down the giddy feeling I had in hopes that Wade was reaching out, knowing that it was most likely Mr. Asher or Carrie. When I reached over and grabbed my phone, I was quite surprised to see an unknown number had sent me several pictures. I hesitated at first, but the nosey part of me won out, and I opened them up, only to feel my heart sink.

The first picture was of Wade at a dinner with Mr. Asher and some modelesque woman I assumed to be his ex. The other pictures were of Wade sitting around a table with a few other model-looking women at what I thought was the Route. The last one really stung when I saw the picture of Wade kissing a woman who looked an awful lot like the one from the dinner picture.

I had no right to feel jealous or feel any type of claim to him. But I did, and it hurt; it hurt so badly. I was hoping that maybe, just maybe, he and I could work on whatever these feelings were that seemed to engulf the air around us whenever we were near each other. Obviously, I was the only one feeling this because if he had, I don't believe he would've been out acting in such a way.

I immediately text Carrie, partly to keep myself from spiraling and partly in hopes she could explain it all away. Unfortunately, she had no idea what had gone on and was just as surprised about the pictures as I was. She attempted to reassure me that they were not what they seemed, and she told me over and over again that Wade had confessed to having feelings for me not long before these pictures would have been taken. That information made it hurt a little worse.

Me: Can you go by the house and gather my things for me? Just throw it all in a bag and haul it to your place? I think it'll make everything easier.

I text her, hoping to avoid seeing Wade once we return from Boston in two days.

Carrie: Oh, stop. I promise it's not what it looks like. Wade isn't that guy, never has been and never will be. I'll find out tomorrow exactly what happened. So, No, I'm not going to go over and shove all your crap in a bag to haul back over here. Manual labor is not my thing, and I find it completely unnecessary.

I rolled my eyes at her irritating response.

Me: Please, Carrie. For me, I just, I can't deal with that right now.

Carrie: We'll see. I'm holding off until the last minute, though.

Me: However you have to do it, is fine.

Carrie: That's what I thought. Good girl. Enjoy the rest of your trip!!

Me: *eye roll* Whatever. I'll do my best, see you soon.

I laid back on the mattress, holding my phone and hovering over the message that contained the pictures of Wade. I went over the number over and over again, trying to figure out who could have sent them. I fell asleep with the image of Wade and some blonde locking lips in my head.

When I woke up, I felt drained. It took everything in me to crawl out of bed. I had tossed and turned all night. I hated how I felt and felt foolish for even allowing myself to feel this way. Groaning, I got into the shower and prepared myself for another day of work.

I stepped out of the bathroom, barely holding the towel to myself in search of my clothes, when Grant started to walk through.

"Oh my God! I'm sorry." He quickly threw his hand up, covering his eyes.

"Um, Good Morning." I sputtered out like an idiot.

"Yes, Good Morning. I'm sorry. I knocked, I was just going to tell you I ordered breakfast, and it's here. I'll get out of the way. I'm so sorry, Quinn."

"Ok. It's okay. I'll be dressed quickly."

Grant, still holding his hand over his eyes, nodded and backed himself out of the room.

When I came out, Grant had spread out the food options on the small table.

"We've got a long day, so I figured we could use the fuel." He laughed, plating up some of the spread for himself.

"You think today will be the day to seal the deal?" I asked as I sat and grabbed some fruit. I spoke, hoping to avoid any uncomfortableness about the run-in before.

"I think so. Maybe we can get it done early and have a few days for fun." Grant smiled over his coffee mug.

"I'd feel so guilty doing that on company time, but that does sound fun." I laughed.