Chapter 49: Chapter 14: She Moved On. I Should Too.

Mason

I pulled my phone from my pocket and looked at the screen. Still no reply! She didn’t even bother to return my call.

Does she really think she can just ignore me, especially when I’m staying at the hotel she fucking works at?

I walked into the hotel with no intention of going straight to my suite. I wanted to talk to her, and I was going to try to be nice about it since I was planning on asking her for a favor.

She wasn’t at the reception desk; a blonde woman was. It was a little after lunch, so I expected she would still be there.

The blonde woman smiled as I got closer. “Hi, Mr. Knight. What can I do for you?”

“I’m looking for Jamie. Can you tell me where she is?” I asked, nicely in fact.

The door to the back office was open slightly, and I couldn’t see her inside. That’s usually where she is.

“Jamie. I think she’s in the ballroom setting up for a wedding. I’ll call her for you and find out.” The blonde picked up the phone, intending to call Jamie.

“No, it’s fine.” I didn’t want her to know I was coming. It would just give her the chance to sneak away. “Will you just let her know that I was looking for her?”

“Sure, I will.” She was a bit too eager in her smile.

It was obvious that she wanted it, that she was up for anything fun. I hate women like that.

I found myself taking the elevator to the ballroom, hoping that was where she was.

Jamie was standing in the center of the room, looking down at the iPad she was holding while a DJ on stage played loud music.

She turned around and saw me coming and then signaled the DJ to lower the volume. “Put that one on the list. What’s next?” she said, and a new tune started to play.

“I’ve been calling you for two days, Jamie. Why are you ignoring me?”

“I’m not ignoring you. I’ve just been busy, I have a job and a baby to raise, you know.” Jamie held the iPad against her chest. “So, what do you want?”

“Well, I wanted to ask you…” I paused, unable to concentrate because of the racket that was playing behind her.

“You’re not going to choose this one, are you? It’s terrible. I mean, who would want to listen to that willingly?”

She turned around and looked at the DJ. “That’s a no for that one. Maybe try something a little more mellow.” She turned and looked at me again. “So, you were going to ask me something?”

“Right. Well, my aunt and uncle are renewing their wedding vows in a couple of weeks, and I want to take Penelope with me. They want to meet her.”

She looked at me like I was out of my goddamn mind. “Where? I mean, how long are you planning on staying?”

“They’re doing it in Napa, so we’ll be gone for a couple of days. Three or four, maybe. My father will be going too, obviously.”

~Even if she doesn’t trust me alone with Penelope for so long, I know she trusts him.~

“A couple of days. I don’t know. We haven’t been apart for that long before.”

I could tell by looking at her that her mind was going crazy. She was already thinking of every bad scenario that could possibly happen while Penelope was in my care.

“What’s the verdict on this?” the DJ shouted from the stage. “I’d like to see if it’s slow enough for the bride and groom to dance to. Why don’t you two dance together? Just so I can have an idea.”

She looked at me, pulling her bottom lip between her teeth. As gorgeous as she was, my answer was no.

I shook my head. “No, I don’t dance.”

“You can take a five-minute break, Eric. Thank you.”

I’m sure she hated the idea just as much as I did. She hated being around me, after all. Jamie looked at me, red-faced and embarrassed.

“So, about this trip away. I’m going to have to think on it for a couple of days.”

“It’s not for a couple of weeks. We have time.” I looked down at my phone as it started to vibrate. It was an incoming call from Eoin. “I have to take this.”

He was handling a work meeting. Knowing the man, he probably fucked it up, and now he was calling me to fix it. ~Typical! Why can’t people do what I ask of them and do it right?~

“Well, I have things to do, so I’ll just let you know when I have my answer.” She turned around and walked toward the stage. Everything about her was attitude.

It was hot, of course, but I would have preferred that she not be angry with me.

I answered the phone to Eoin as I walked out of the ballroom, stopping a few steps away from the door to talk quietly. “What is it?”

“Meeting is over, man. It’s in the bag. I told you I could do it.” He cheered over the phone and talked with such pride in his voice.

It had me reminiscing years ago when I first started in the company, back when I loved what I was doing.

“Well done! You pulled it off.” I glanced up, hearing footsteps down the hallway. I saw his face as he walked past me.

I couldn’t remember his name, but I remembered him. ~She’s still seeing him, obviously.~

I listened to Eoin rant and rave over the phone as I walked toward the door of the ballroom. Jamie and the guy were chatting and laughing in the center of the dance floor.

She looked happy with him. It certainly wasn’t a side to her that she would show me. Not anymore anyway.

“Mason. Are you there? Hellooo?” Eoin called over the phone.

I had gotten so distracted watching the two of them that I wasn’t even listening to him.

“I’m here. What did you say?” I asked, and I poked my head around the door again.

The two of them were dancing now, arms around each other and bodies pressed together. It made my blood boil.

“They want you to show your face, man. So, you’re coming down here, right?”

I looked at them both, and I felt anger. Fuck it! I’ve nothing better to do.

“All right, I’ll be there soon.”

~She doesn’t care about me. About us being a family. Why the hell am I still hanging around and waiting?~

She’d moved on. She was making it quite clear that there was no chance for us no matter how hard I tried.

I found myself at a bar standing alongside Eoin. What I thought was going to be one drink turned into many, and I was feeling a little looser than normal.

Brent was here too, and it was turning into a guys’ night.

“I’m telling you, man, this girl was crazy. But once her mouth was on my cock, that sure as hell shut her up,” he gloated, smug as could be.

Clearly, the man hadn’t changed one bit in the time that I’d been gone.

“Aren’t you supposed to be getting married soon?” Eoin asked.

“I’m not married yet!” He chuckled. “How about another round? I’ll get these.” Brent turned to the bartender and ordered us another round of beers.

I moved my beer in front of me and glanced around the room. I had the attention of a blonde standing at the other side of the bar. She moved her straw around in her glass and smiled.

“So, Mason, what’s it like being a dad? I never thought you, of all people, would have a kid, no offence or anything. I never pictured you as the settling down type of guy.”

“I wouldn’t call it settled. You’re more settled than I am. I have a kid. I still have a life.” Besides taking care of Penelope, all I do is work. But he doesn’t need to know that.

“Well, we all tried to find you before Jamie had the baby, but I guess you didn’t want to be found. How are things with Jamie?” Brent asked and swigged from his beer bottle.

“It sounds like she hasn’t been making life easy on you since you’ve come back.”

I shook my head. “No, she’s not. But nothing is ever straightforward with a woman. Jamie wants nothing to do with me. She’s moved on already.”

“Wait. With who?” Eoin asked. “Last I knew, she was single.”

“Some guy, I don’t know who he is. I’ve seen her with him a couple of times, but I don’t know anything about him.

“I guess as long as he’s not around my daughter, then it’s none of my business what she does with her life.” I picked up my bottle from the bar and drank.

“She moved on. That means that you can too. I’m not allowing you to go home alone tonight. Let the old Mason Knight loose for one night.” Brent said. “Just like old times.”

I chuckled. “If you say so, just remember I’m not putting you up for the night. I don’t live in the penthouse anymore.”

Brent wanted old times. The old Mason Knight. The party animal.

I thought I’d put that wild side behind me, but after everything that’s happened since I came back, I’ve given up all hope I had of her forgiveness.

***

I woke to the sound of knocking coming from the door of my hotel room. My thought at first was to ignore it until it got louder and more annoying.

I groggily got up from my bed and left the master bedroom toward the door of the suite.

Last night was wild, and now I was paying for it. My head was fuzzy, and I couldn’t remember much of the night before.

I opened the door with little care that I was only dressed in a pair of black boxer briefs and a white shirt that was unbuttoned.

“Jamie, what are you doing here?” I asked and opened my eyes wider.

“It’s your day to have Penelope, remember? I called you a couple of times, and you didn’t pick up, so I thought I’d bring her to you.”

She looked at me and furrowed her brows. “Are you okay? You look a little pale.”

Not that she really cared.

“I’m fine.” I heard movement behind me and looked back and saw Eoin asleep on the couch. “I’m sorry, I was up late last night working. I overslept, I guess.”

“It’s fine. I was thinking about the conversation we had last night about you taking Penelope to the wedding. I, um…” She paused mid-sentence, looking behind me.

I turned my head and saw the tall blonde woman from last night walking through the hotel suite. A white hotel robe was hanging from her shoulder, revealing the red lace bra she had on underneath.

She walked into my room.

I turned around and looked at Jamie, holding my daughter in her arms. I couldn’t even say that it wasn’t what it looked like since there wasn’t much of last night that I could actually recall.

“I guess now I know why you didn’t answer the phone when I called. We’re just going to go. I’m running late for something.” Jamie turned around and left with Penelope.

~Fuck!~ I closed the door, not bothering to chase after her since it wouldn’t have done me any good anyway. I mean, did she even fucking care if I was sleeping with other women?

I was sure it couldn’t have helped when it came to Penelope at least. Jamie might decide to hold this against me now, to deny me access.

~This whole thing is a fucking mess!~