Marrying the Billionaire - Macie St. James Page 0,45

done enough damage here. Mom, we’ll get together and discuss things. I’m sorry for any distress I’ve caused. I’ll be going.”

He only realized once he was halfway to his room that he didn’t get a chance to say goodbye to Charlie.

19

Nicholas had left without even saying goodbye.

Not only had he stranded her at the hotel without a ride, but she hadn’t gotten a chance to see him one last time. The ride was no big deal. She just called for a rideshare. San Francisco had no shortage of those. But not being able to have that final moment with him was a problem.

And now she had to face Brooke.

“So?”

Charlie winced. She’d expected Brooke to wait at least half an hour after arriving to pounce. Instead, she’d plopped down in Charlie’s guest chair—the one intended for employees to discuss their benefits and workplace issues.

“So?” Charlie repeated. Obviously, delaying was the tactic she was going with here.

“Did you talk to him?”

Charlie shook her head. “Apparently Justin slipped up while he was talking to Caroline. Nicholas had to confess everything. Then he stomped out, leaving me there with a roomful of people who were suddenly very uncomfortable with me there. I left.”

Shrugging, Charlie returned her attention to the numbers she’d been double-checking on her screen. It wasn’t that this work was all that urgent. She just wanted a way out of this conversation.

“Oh. Oh, my. I’ll have a talk with Justin. I can’t believe he’d do that.”

Charlie shook her head, not taking her eyes off the screen. “No need. It’s all over now. I’m ready to move on.”

One good thing about everything that had happened—no way would Donna show up for their lunch date. She truly could move forward without having to worry about the Shaw family being in her life. Things had gone back to the simple predictability she preferred.

That was what she told herself, anyway.

“That’s rough. I can have Justin talk to him for you.”

Charlie turned, giving Brooke a half-smile. It was the best she could do at this point. It felt like all the energy had been sucked out of her. Time would fix that, she figured.

“I’d rather just forget about it.” Charlie turned back to her screen. “Thanks, though.”

Seeming to get the hint, Brooke hopped up to make a phone call. They had a staff meeting that morning, so they all had things to do. Charlie had to get these numbers together to show her boss how much they were spending on payroll. It kept her busy, which helped occupy her mind. That was what she needed now.

What she didn’t count on, though, was that Justin would remind her so much of Nicholas. Not that they were all that much alike, either in looks or personality. But he knew Nicholas better than most people did. They’d been friends for a long time. She couldn’t help but think of that when she looked at him. She only hoped that would go away over time since she definitely didn’t want to switch jobs right now.

As they exited the conference room, she got an even more direct reminder of Nicholas Shaw. A text from his mother.

I’m out here.

What? Charlie came to a dead stop outside the conference room, nearly causing a collision with the development team streaming out behind her. Donna was out there? Outside the building? She searched her mind for anything else that could have meant and came up with nothing.

“I’ll be right back,” Charlie said to nobody in particular, slipping the phone in pocket of her suit jacket as she rushed toward the door. She didn’t need her purse or sunglasses. She wasn’t going anywhere with this woman if she was, in fact, waiting outside the front door of the building. Charlie had no need to go to lunch with Donna Baker Shaw now that things were over with her son, but even if she did, the last thing Nicholas would want was for his mother to meddle again.

The passenger-side window stayed rolled up as Charlie approached. She waited for it to roll down. It didn’t, so she knocked on it.

A millisecond later, the window lowered with a gentle whir. It stopped when there was about a few-inch opening for Charlie to peer through.

“Get in!” Donna ordered.

Wow. This was a side of Nicholas’s mom that Charlie hadn’t seen. Physically, she looked like the same Donna that Charlie had experienced all along, complete with her hair pinned up in something straight out of the nineteen-fifties. There was something interesting about