The CEO (15 page)

On my drive home, my phone rang. I didn’t bother looking at the ID and hit the Bluetooth in my ear. “Hello?”

“There’s the strange voice I haven’t heard in ages.”

“Liam?”

“Yeah, what’s wrong? You sound upset?”

“Kieran is in the hospital.”

“Is he okay?” he said with a genuinely concerned tone.

“No, but I don’t wanna talk about it right now.”

“Okay. What do you want to talk about?”

“I don’t
want
to talk at all,” I retorted.

“I’ll be at your place in ten, Sheila. Please let me in when I get there.”

“Whatever, Liam,” I sighed.

I went inside my condo and headed straight for the fridge. I had a full bottle of tequila and no work tomorrow. I planned on drinking it until I couldn’t properly form coherent sentences.

Countless shots later, I heard a knock on the door. I staggered over to it and unlocked it. “Hey, you! Come on in,” I slurred.

“Sheila, how many drinks have you had?” Liam questioned.

“Does it really matter?” I said falling into his arms. “Scuse me.”

He gently ran his fingers over my cheek, pushing my hair behind my ear. “Quinn, I know how much your family means to you, but you don’t have to drink your sorrows away. You’re better than this.”

“I know—but it’s my fault, I didn’t answer his call.”

“It is not your fault your brother is a drug addict. You could only bail him out and cover his ass but so many times. I know it hurts, but he’ll be okay. Every single one of you Quinns are fighters.”

The way the lights shone on Liam’s gray eyes made him look so irresistible.

I poured myself one more shot, downed it, and pushed him back on my couch. After quickly mounting him, I ripped my top off. “Please make me forget, Liam, just for tonight.”

I was awakened by a loud pounding on my front door. I looked over at the clock on the cable box and it was five a.m.
Who in the hell?

I looked over and Liam was passed out on the love seat. I wrapped the blanket from the couch around my naked body and looked through the peephole.

Fuck, it’s Ryan.
I glanced over at the couch once more and Liam hadn’t budged. I cracked the door open. “What?” I whispered.

“Uh, aren’t you forgetting something?”

I stared hard at Ryan: he was in his workout gear. “Can you give me like an hour and I’ll be ready?”

“Sure, let me in.”

“I can’t right now. I’ll meet you at the reservoir, okay?” I slammed the door shut in his face.

I ran into the back and grabbed my running gear out of the laundry room, then ran into the bathroom to wash the shame and stench of alcohol off of me.

After I got out of the shower, I tossed my gear on, sent Liam home, and ran down to the reservoir to meet Ryan.

“I’m sorry. I had a bad night.”

“I’ll say. You reeked of booze when you answered the door. What’s been going on with you, Sheila?”

“What do you mean?” I asked, playing stupid.

“You’ve been distant. The last few days you’ve been
different.
You hardly even speak to me, and you almost forgot the running date that
you
made today.”

“Look, I don’t know what you think we had, but there is
nothing
going on between us. I had a few vulnerable moments with you, but nothing else. I’m only human and I make plenty of fucking mistakes!”

He walked over to me and placed his hand behind my neck. “You don’t mean that, Sheila. What I felt was genuine, and don’t you
dare
tell me it was
nothing
.”

I could see the hurt in his dull blue eyes.
What the fuck are you getting yourself into, Sheila?

“Let’s just run okay? Run until we can barely stand. See you in two hours,” I said, breaking his hold and slipping my headphones into my ears.

I ran and ran until it became difficult to continue. I sat down on a nearby bench to rest and give my muscles a good stretching. I wasn’t prepared for the run at all, but I damn sure needed it. It helped me clear my mind and also helped me shed some of the emotion I felt deep within my soul.

Ryan ran up and sat down beside me on the bench. “You were in the zone, Sheila. I swore I blinked and you were miles down the road.”

“I had a lot on my mind, I guess.”

“Wanna go and grab a bite to eat?” he asked, extending his hand toward mine.

“No thanks, I’m gonna run a few more miles.”

“Need any company?”

“Ryan, go home. I’ll be fine. I need to clear my mind anyway.”

Ryan, upset, turned around and ran back in the direction we’d just come from, while I got up to run a few laps around the reservoir.

After two full laps around the large body of water, I sat down on a patch of grass in front of it. I looked at my reflection in the water and I didn’t like the image I saw looking back at me through the flowing current.

I’d let my brother’s health issues take me to a dark place that I didn’t want to be. I’d let myself become weak and naïve, two things I prided myself on not being.

I ran my hand over the top of my hair, smoothing a few stray hairs back with it.
Life will always be full of unfinished roads, but it’s up to you to pave the perfect path to fulfill your destiny.
It was a quote my mom had said to me when I was younger, but now that I was older it made a lot more sense.

I looked at my watch: it was almost noon, and I was starving.

After devouring my food and catching a quick shower, I grabbed my phone and had several messages from Liam, Ryan, and John asking me the same damn question:
Where are you?

Frankly, it was none of their damn businesses, but since it was Saturday night, I decided one of them should take me out on a date.

“John, thanks for meeting me.”

“Sheila, wow. You look gorgeous.”

I was wearing a skin-tight black and red asymmetrical dress and black pumps. Waved dark curls bounced on my shoulders and down my back. I’d decorated my lips with my favorite red lipstick and painted my eyes with smoky eye shadow, making my hazel eyes pop.

“Thanks,” I responded, clutching my purse close to my hip.

“Sheila,” he said extending his arm toward mine. “Let’s make our grand entrance, shall we?” We walked into Club Black Widow, the hottest night club just outside of Boston.

Neon lights swirled around the dark fog filled room. The DJ was in front of the dance floor on a stage with huge bass extenders and speakers. An up-tempo remix of “Toxic” by Britney Spears started playing and the drunken crowd went nuts, shaking their rhythm-less nonexistent asses.

John left my side briefly to grab us a few drinks, and as soon as he broke his hold on my arm, I felt like he set off some kind of desperate horny asshole homing beacon. “Excuse me miss, care to dance?” a tall bald gentleman asked.

“No thanks.”

“Well if you change your mind, come find me.”

Several others approached me and were all shot down.
Dammit John, where the hell are you?

There was a soft tap on my shoulder and I rolled my eyes as I turned around to face another potential let down. “Here you go,” John said, handing me a margarita.

“Christ, it’s about time!” I yelled over the song. “I swear ten assholes approached me the second you left my side.”

“Well,” he said scanning my body from head to toe, “I can’t blame them for trying.”