Uncontrollable Bachelor (Bachelor Tower Series), стр. 42
“Okay. And what do I tell them?” the temp asked.
“I don’t fucking care. Just clear it.” I flipped off the intercom and turned back to the window. I was where I worked to be. None of this was handed to me. So why couldn’t I enjoy it? Because part of me is still in that cabin.
I needed to get back there – this time by myself. Carlton was right. I needed some time to think, and I wasn’t going to be able to do it here.
Turning back to my desk, I closed my laptop and left my office. I hadn’t totally unpacked my truck from the last trip, so all I needed to do was gas it up and hit the road. I wasn’t coming back until I knew what I really wanted. It was time for me to gain control and not spend the next decade filled with regret.
God knows right now, I’m riddled with it.
Chapter 20
Shannon
“Betsy, I need to take this call. I’ll be right back,” I said, now knowing who Carlton was. Once I was out of earshot, I answered it. “Hi, this is Shannon.”
“I have some news. Are you free to meet?” he asked.
“I have a friend over. Is it important?” I asked, knowing that it had to be if Carlton was calling me instead of my father.
“We can do this over the phone if you have a minute.”
“I do.”
“Guess the short version is, it’s over. Prince Babboo won’t be coming after you any longer.”
My heart practically stopped. “Like never calling me or showing up when I’m on assignment?”
“He’s…deceased.”
That wasn’t what I expected to hear. “What happened?” God, please don’t tell me Jace or my father did something stupid. Both had a protective nature that could also be deadly.
“There was a plane crash. I know it’s hard to hear, but at least now you can sleep at night and not worry.”
The only time I slept well in the past three years was when Jace and I shared a bed. “I’m…surprised Jace didn’t call to tell me.” There was no secret about his involvement any longer, so why pretend there was.
“He’s out of town. Do you have a message you’d like me to give him?” he offered.
There was plenty I wanted to say, just not through Carlton. “Do you know where he went?” I asked.
“No. Just said he needed some time away.”
So do I. “Well, thank you for calling me with the news. I know it’s wrong, especially because I’m a doctor, but I’m glad he isn’t around to hurt anyone else. I know I was lucky. Other women, not so much.”
“Shannon, he put you through hell. If given the chance, he’d continue. Some people can’t be fixed. Thankfully you and other women don’t have to worry about him any longer.”
“Guess it’s going to take time to get used to that,” I said. “Even now, looking out the window, my eyes scan the area, waiting to see him.”
“The only place you’ll see his face might be the world news.”
“Good thing I don’t watch much television,” I said. Before ending the call I added, “I’ll let you update my father now.”
We talked, but not much, and definitely nothing to do with Babboo or Jace. I didn’t want things to be awkward, but things were still…tense. That’s why having Betsy over was so good for my mental health. And so far, she hadn’t mentioned Jace once.
Once back in the bedroom, Betsy asked, “Anything you want to share?” I shook my head. “How can I help if you don’t talk to me?”
“There is nothing I need help with,” I said. That wasn’t totally true. I still had questions about Jace. Not sure she was going to know the answers. I was about to break my own rule and mention his name. “Carlton said Jace is on vacation.”
“So I heard.”
That’s it? Now you’re going to shut your mouth?
“Sounded like it was a…last minute trip.”
“Seems so. I didn’t know anything about it until the temp called me to figure out how to clear his schedule.”
“Oh. I wanted to ask him something,” I said, thinking Betsy might divulge some more information.
“Maybe I know the answer,” she said confidently.
I snickered. “I’m sure you don’t know the answer to this.”
With a serious expression, she said, “Try me.”
“Fine.” What did I have to lose? If she didn’t know, it didn’t really matter. “Can you think of any reason Jace wanted to talk to my father?”
“No one wants to talk to Ralph. He’s so…dull.”
That’s not how I would describe my father. “Well, I had gotten the impression they had talked, and I can’t figure out why.” If Carlton was giving Jace all the information he needed, then there was no reason for Jace to speak to my father.
“Well, there is one thing that comes to mind. But it doesn’t matter anymore.”
“Betsy, please tell me and let me be the judge of that.” I had asked my father, and he wouldn’t tell me. No shock there.
“Well, it might actually be my doing that suggested he speak to your father.”
Gee. You butting in? “What did you tell him?”
“That your father has connections at the Bachelor Tower. Jace has been on the waiting list for a few years, and I told him that Ralph might be able to help expedite getting accepted for a place.”
Jace wanted to live there? I knew what that place was about: men living a wild life from booze to women, both in endless supply. If that was, in fact, where Jace wanted to live, then I knew he and I were definitely not on the same page. I might not be out looking for a husband, but I wasn’t opposed to marriage.
“And you’re positive that this is what he wants?” I asked.
“You wouldn’t doubt if you saw his face when he received a denial. Guess he’s given up.”
Not that I wanted him living in a place