The Arrangement | Book 2 | Completed

4

Matty's POV

"Why did you take the day off?" Melissa asks into the phone.

I begin to panic. What the fuck do I say? Do I say it's because of Candace, or do I say it's because of....fuck, I don't even know what I would tell her. She's smart...really fucking smart. She always assumes I'm cheating, too. I have given her absolutely no reason to assume that I'm cheating, but she always expects the worst from me.

I understand why, though. Her last relationship ended in shambles. She was completely broken by her ex, so I can't really blame her for the way she is. She's like this for a reason. For the longest time, she only had herself. She went from being completely dependent on some fucking asshole, and then he left her without any real reason as to why. He cheated on her with an older woman who worked in his department. She was crushed. Absolutely devastated.

That was the first time I ever saw real emotion from her. I always viewed her as this stubborn, uptight, but confident woman. I thought that for the longest time, but it wasn't until we were locked in the office together during the first few weeks of owning the building that I saw something else in her. There was something completely submissive and vulnerable about her, and I wanted to be the person to lift her from whatever hole she felt she was trapped in.

I try my hardest with Melissa. I pick her up when she is down, and as harsh as she can be...she does the same for me. She comforted me when Candace was gone for the final time. We were only friends then, so she didn't know the extent of everything that happened yet. It wasn't until we went on our first date that we kind of opened up to each other fully. I remember telling her the entire story, and she listened the entire time. She didn't make any snide remarks when I told her I went back to her. She didn't judge me at all. She just...listened. She listened and understood to the best of her ability.

But, she doesn't like Candace. Actually, if Melissa hates anyone in the world, it would be Candace. But I can't really blame her for that, either. She is only being loyal to me. She has only heard the bad sides of Candace, but she never saw how amazing we were together.

But that's just it. We were amazing. We aren't anymore. Candace is the past, and Melissa is my future. I truly think I love Melissa. I love her in a different way than I did with Candace. For awhile, I was Candace's lifeline. I was her source of income, I was her place to stay, I was her shoulder to cry on. Candace was very dependent of me and my family. I don't blame her for any of this, but there are clear differences between her and Melissa.

Melissa has her life established. She has a life without me, and that's comforting. She doesn't need me in her life, and she has made that very clear. She doesn't need me, but she enjoys having me there. I can honestly agree. We have a different relationship because ours is very...mature. We aren't able to go on week long vacations when I decide I want to get away, and we have a ton of work to do even after our workday ends. Something about this is...nice. Something about this feels different because of how mature it is. I feel like a real adult now, even though I am twenty five, almost twenty six. Fuck, I'm almost twenty six. That's completely insane to me.

"Hello? Earth to Matthew?" Melissa says, completely bringing me back down from wherever my mind went off to.

"I'm sorry, babe. What were we talking about?" I ask, knowing exactly what we were talking about.

"I asked you why you took the day off." She tells me, seemingly frustrated.

"Oh, yeah. I just wasn't feeling too good." I mutter.

"You weren't feeling good?" She asks, not convinced.

"Yeah, I just started feeling like shit. I still don't feel too good right now." I say, some truth behind this lie.