The Arrangement | Book 2 | Completed

36

Matty's POV

When I wake up the next morning, I check my phone only to find about five missed calls from Evan. No text messages at all. Only five missed calls.

He answers fairly quickly when I finally call back.

"Hey, man. Sorry to wake you." He says.

"You clearly didn't. Hence all of the missed calls." I laugh.

"Valid point." He laughs in reply. "So, I was just needing to run something by you." He says, sounding guilty of something.

"Okay..." I say, waiting for whatever this may be.

"I'm calling in sick today." He states simply.

"Is that it?" I ask, waiting for something worse.

"Not exactly. Clarissa will also be calling in sick today. This is our call to let you know." He says innocently.

"Clarissa is going to be out sick today too, huh." I mumble, understanding the situation now.

"Yeah, yeah. We're both just kind of staying in bed right now." He tells me.

"Oh yeah, I'm sure staying in bed with each-other is exactly what you two need right now." I laugh.

"Yeah, for sure. I just think some sleep is all we need." He says, and I can practically see the smirk on his face from here.

"Uh huh. Sleep. Yeah, i'm sure that's all that's happening." I say, clearly not convinced at all. "I'm taking that you two finally just accepted the fact that you belong together?" I ask, assuming what I hope is true.

"Yeah, hopefully." He says. I figure Clarissa is right next to him and wondering what is being said. I'll interrogate him about it later.

"Well, I'm fine with the two of you taking your 'sick day.' Really, you should take the next few days off. I want you two to enjoy your time together. But, I'm going to need you both in the office for a brief meeting." I say.

"About what?" He questions, having no recollection of a meeting.

"Well, Melissa is coming into work today and I would like for you to meet her before you're gone. Frailey will also be in town. Actually, he'll be here in about an hour or so. I want you to meet him as well. We also are pushing our holiday party early so you will be able to attend. Melissa usually organizes and plans all events here, so we're going to break it all down in this meeting. Say...in a few hours? Let's call it good at 3ish?" I offer.

"Okay, yeah. We'll be there for sure." He says.

"And then you two can go back and sleep all you want." I smirk.

"I plan on it." He laughs. "Anyways, we'll see you in a bit." He says before hanging up the phone. I turn over and feel Candace shift next to me.

"Good morning, Sunshine." She says in a sleepy voice. I smile down at her and lean over to kiss the top of her head.

"Good morning." I tell her. I love waking up to her in the morning. I absolutely love it. It has been an unspoken agreement that she is staying with me while here in Seattle, and I love it. But, I know that with Melissa already in town that it is bound to create a tension.

"Who were you talking to?" She asks.

"Evan. He called out." I tell her. "I guess he's with Clarissa now." I chuckle.

"Good. I'm glad they worked things out." She says.

"I am, too." I sigh. "Listen, can we talk?" I ask, already dreading this conversation.

"Yeah, about what?" She says, already getting nervous.

"Melissa came back into town early." I tell her.

"Okay..." She says, waiting for me to continue.

"She's going to be at work today." I say. I hear Candace inhale deeply and lean her head back into the pillows beneath us.

"Okay." She states.

"I love that you're here, Candace. I absolutely love it. But, tonight I am going to invite Melissa over so we can discuss some things. I'm just being completely honest with you in all of this. This isn't a case of us getting back together or anything, but there are things that we just need to discuss." I explain.

"Like what?" She scoffs.

"Like the fact that before you were here, she was here. There are things in this apartment that belong to her that I would like for her to get. It feels like she's still here while those things are still here. Also the fact that we need to discuss what we are going to do with our phone plan and bank account. I need to know if she wants me to buy her out of the contract or something. I also need her to sign the paperwork at the bank so we can split and close our joint account." I tell her. I'm sure all of these things are things that she already understands, but the more I discuss them the more I begin to dread them.

Candace sighs and nods her head, understanding that this isn't going to be easy for me. Physically it is all fairly simple, but emotionally it's going to be hard on everyone. I hate that I'm putting Candace through all of this. I hate that I'm putting Melissa through any of this, too.

"I understand. I'll go back to my place tonight." She says with sympathy in her voice. I lean over and kiss her softly. I truly love Candace with everything that I am capable of being. I know that this is going to be hard on her, and she deserves better than all of this. She deserves so much better.

She deserves someone better than me.

"It will only be for the night." I assure her.

"Do you promise?" She asks softly.

"I promise." I tell her and kiss her once more.

As I get ready for work, I feel a heavy weight in my chest. As I get dressed for my day, I quickly realize that I'm taking a little bit longer to make sure that I look my best. I pick one of my nicest suits and my best shoes to wear. I take longer to style my hair and even go as far as to spray one of my most expensive colognes. As I fasted the watch Evan has been letting me borrow on my wrist, it is completely apparent that I am trying my hardest to impress Melissa. I hate that I'm completely aware of this and do absolutely nothing to stop it.

As Candace kisses me goodbye, I can't help but shake this terrible feeling that it will be our last kiss.