Wife and Girlfriend

Chapter 21

Otanyi

I'd let things go too far. I knew that now.

The following day, I saw Hunter in the office right before we were about to meet with the rest of the senior editing staff for the weekly 'wrap-up' meeting, summarizing current events that hadn't been covered in our pages or Solaris' online reach.

"I have all the mark-ups for the stories that didn't go to print, but I'm still waiting on Stephanie's run-downs. So perhaps I'll swing by her office to see whether she's set with everything before we head to the boardroom," I said before turning away from his desk.

We'd been in a one-on-one meeting for the past thirty-five minutes, and I was eager to put some distance between us before we ended up in front of the audience for this meeting.

It was becoming more difficult for Hunter to keep his hands to himself, and I didn't trust my own body not to react. But it was all hands on deck for this meeting, and I didn't want to be closed up in a boardroom with him and other work colleagues right after we'd just made out hot and heavy in his office.

I'd almost made it out the door when I saw a hand reach by me to close it.

"Where were you last night?"

I knew I'd missed his phone call. Or rather, phone calls plural. But Tiger hadn't left until the wee hours of the morning, and I wouldn't take a chance of speaking to one man while I was still in the other's company. This was getting trickier than I thought, and I'd need to make a definitive decision soon.

"I fell asleep early last night. I guess I was just too tired to do anything," I offered, trying to be as convincing as possible. I was the wrong person to be juggling two men because I didn't have the capacity to lie.

And why should I lie anyway? No one had bothered labeling what we were doing with one another. But as time went on, one of us was bound to get hurt feelings, and I was determined that I'd be able to have a clearer idea of who I'd want to be with ultimately.

As if it's just your decision.

It wasn't likely to be just my decision alone. They were both such different people, especially behind closed doors in that quiet time when it was just two of us.

It likely wasn't going to be. But neither man was an easy choice.

"Do you sleep with your ringer off or something? I called you several times," he countered.

"Wait, were you deliberately trying to wake me up?" I tried to make it seem playful, but this was one of the things I'd noticed that differed from Tiger, the obsessiveness. Expecting me to be at his 'beck and call' not only during my professional work hours but during my personal time as well.

"I had something to share with you, and it couldn't wait. But, I guess now I'll have to tell you and see what you can put together," he said, turning his attention back toward our meeting as he re-opened the door and walked out, expecting me to follow.

He couldn't see my face and the look of absolute confusion it held, so perhaps that's why he didn't miss a beat with what he said next.

"There's a private function happening tonight that I need for us both to attend. It's a charity event hosted by the North Carolina Press Association to support our local children's hospital. It happens annually at the Ritz Carlton, and this year, we'll be honored with a special award, so I'll need you there with me, of course," he'd barely taken a breath as we came to a stop beside each other and he swiped his keycard to open the boardroom. We were the first to arrive.

"Um, is it fancy?"

"Of course, it's the Ritz. Black tie all the way," he answered as I was beginning to place the binder of mark-ups at what would be each editor's place at the table.