Read Beautiful Surrender (The Surrender Series Book Three) for Free Online Page B

now. But whatever you want to tell me sounds
important. Is it an emergency? Can I meet you later? I’ll try my hardest to be
done by six.”
    “You’re
at work on a Sunday?”
    There
was another mumble in the background. “Yeah, sorry. We have a lot going on over
here right now.”
    I
breathed deeply, reaffirmed in my decision that we were both too busy to make
this work. “I’ll drop by your office at six thirty then.”
    Meeting
him at his office as opposed to his place or my place would make it easier to
leave after the discussion. It would’ve been easier just to tell him over the
phone but I supposed it was more appropriate to handle this in person.
    His
voice brightened. “Can’t wait to see you then.”
    “Bye
Vincent.”

    When
evening rolled around, I gingerly stepped out my front door in jeans and a
t-shirt. It’d been nearly two days since I left the apartment. I made sure to
pack my taser in my purse before I went over to Vincent’s office in case I ran
into any more trouble along the way.
    As
expected, the commute downtown was less crowded than usual since most people
weren’t working. High-powered CEOs were one of the exceptions. I made it to the
Red Fusion offices to find a few people crunching on their laptops. I was about
to ring Vincent when an employee who recognized me from before kindly opened
the glass door. I thanked him and he promptly returned to his desk to work on
his keyboard. Knowing the way to Vincent’s office, I walked down the hall and
stopped in front of his door. This wasn’t going to be an easy discussion, but
it had to be done.
    I took
a deep breath then went inside.
    Vincent
was at his desk, brows furrowed and typing furiously. He was in his usual
elegant New York attire: white shirt with red-striped tie and black pants. When
he saw me—those dark brown eyes piercing me like arrows—he stopped working and
smiled. “Kristen.”
    “Hey,”
I said, returning his smile. I kept one hand in my jeans and waved at him with
the other.
    He
glided around the desk and hugged me tightly, the squeeze making my legs turn
to jelly momentarily. As always, he smelled wonderful. The spicy scent tickled
my nostrils as well as other parts of my body. He kissed me on the forehead
then the tip of my nose. “I’m so glad you’re here. I thought you’d call so I
could let you in.”
    “I was
going to when one of your employees let me inside,” I said as he led me by the
hand to his leather couch in the corner. I was reminded of the first time I
entered this office intending to make another case for choosing
Waterbridge-Howser as his wealth management firm but wound up almost having sex
with him instead. That was a distressing time in my life but not quite as
distressing as recent events.
    “I got
you these.” He reached for the coffee table and handed me a bouquet of red
roses. There was a card attached with a small puffin on the front. It looked
rough, like it was drawn with crayons by a child.
    “Did
you draw this picture?” I asked.
    “Yeah,
you like it?” He sounded proud of his work.
    I had
to stifle a laugh. A smile broke out on my face despite myself. “Let’s just
hope the inside makes up for it.”
    The
card read:
    Kristen,
I’m sorry. I messed up. I lied to you and didn’t respect your choices. Give me
a chance to make it up to you.
    Yours,
Vincent
    “This
is really sweet, Vincent.” I took a whiff of the roses and savored the fresh
fragrance. The gesture touched my heart but gifts could only go so far.
    “I’m
glad you like it.” He smiled, his boyish grin making my insides mushy. “So what
did you want to tell me earlier today? It sounded important.”
    I
carefully put the items on the seat next to me and exhaled, gathering up the
courage to tell him what I’d planned on saying. “I want to take a break.”
    His
smile faded and his dark eyes studied me. “What kind of break?”
    “A
break from us.”
    “Temporary
or permanent?”
    “Temporary.
For now at