With My Heart Wide Open

Chapter 43

"Are you going to answer me, or are you just going to stand there and look like a douche bag? Oh wait, you are a douche bag." Macy chuckled. "For real though....what are you doing here, Jake?"

Anger didn't quite cover all that Macy was feeling. Her blood was boiling, but she was fearful. Macy wasn't exactly mad at Jake. She had been mad at Jake for years, so that was nothing new, but she was angry that she had to deal with him on what was supposed to be a night of celebration for her and Karim.

The fearful feeling bothered her more though. She didn't know how Audrey would react if she found out that Jake was here right now. It could go one of two ways. Audrey could be so angry that he was here, no matter what his reasoning for being here was, that she would finally snap. Maybe she would finally let all of the pain and heartache that Jake had caused, boil to the surface and she would make him feel as worthless as he had made her feel for so many years. On the other hand, Jake had always been Audrey's weakness. Would she go back to what was familiar, no matter how uncomfortable it was? He had always had a way of pulling Audrey back when she was just out of his reach. Was Spain far enough away that finally, she was out of his reach completely? Macy knew that Audrey loved Sergio; there was not doubt about that. She had never seen her best friend as happy as she was now. If her love for him was strong enough for Jake to now mean nothing to her, Macy didn't know for sure.

Macy stood there and stared at Jake, trying to read the expression on his face. She wasn't sure if he looked surprised or pissed that he was standing face to face with her now. Was he here by coincidence? Was he here on business? Or worse, did he somehow find out that Audrey was here and he was here to try to convince her that she needed to be with him, again. Was he here to try to talk Audrey into continuing to be his door mat? He had walked all over her the whole time they had been together. Jake cheated on her, belittled her, and made her feel like she was worthless. Macy had always been there for Audrey, even when Audrey was in denial about the cheating and all the other horrible things that Jake did. She couldn't say how many nights she had spent with a tearful Audrey.

Macy had always kept her opinion of Jake to herself, even though Audrey knew that Jake was not her favorite person. She had and would always support her best friend in whatever she decided to do. If Audrey would have decided to go to California with Jake instead of accepting the job and moving to Spain, she would have supported her in that too, even though it would have meant an unhappy Audrey. She loved happy Audrey much more. Sergio treated her like a queen and Audrey deserved to finally be treated like gold.

Taking a breath, Macy spoke again.

"Seriously, Jake. What are you doing here?" Her eyes bore into him, again trying to read the expression on his face.

"I am here for business....maybe a little pleasure." He glanced at the woman standing in the doorway leading to the hotel bar. She had been walking out on his arm when Macy had spotted Jake leaving the bar.

Macy couldn't help but think that the woman looked like a hooker, but she knew who she was, so she knew that she wasn't a hooker. She was the bitch that worked with Audrey. Audrey had told her that Camila was a difficult person to get along with. Now, here Camila was with Jake and that worried her. Macy laughed internally. There was no way that the two were connected. Camila had probably just been roaming the hotel hoping to catch a football player for the night and instead had caught herself a snake. She seemed like a jersey chaser, but also seemed like the kind that would take whatever she could get.

"Oh yeah? Business brought you to Columbus at this exact time?" Macy questioned.

"Yeah....what? You think I am stalking Audrey or something like that?" He asked with a cocky laugh. He hoped that he could walk away from this without Macy figuring out that Audrey was the exact reason he was here. Feeling a little tipsy after drinking in the bar with Camila for hours while they waited for Audrey and Sergio to return from dinner, he was afraid Macy would see right through him.

Macy heard Karim clear his throat, pulling her attention away from Jake for a moment. Looking up, she saw Sergio walking towards them. He clearly hadn't made it onto the elevator before her outburst when she saw Jake.

Sergio and Jake in the same room....this isn't going to be pretty, Macy thought to herself, blowing out the breath she was holding