Papers for Roses

Chapter Ten

Chapter Ten

Wade

"A rodeo bar?"

Megan asked incredulously as they walked inside the southern-style bar. The place glowed in the darkest shade of red, emitting an enigmatic aura at first glance, but more conservative and quieter. There was a band serenading the crowd with a country song at the stage that blended well with the low hum of chatters around them.

Wade ushered Megan toward the furthest table where the red lights didn't so much as reached them. He waved his hand to demand a passing waitress's attention.

"What can I do for ya, pretty boy?" Wade's brow shot up as the purple-haired woman handed them the menu. What the fuck.

He cautiously peered at Megan's reaction, but instantly regretted it. Her plump, sexy lips lifted slightly at the corners, making him narrowed his eyes at her. Her poorly concealed smile only deepened.

He passed her the menu, "Order up."

Megan shook her head, "You can order for me. I'm not familiar with this place."

He chose grilled-turkey and two bottles of soft drinks. "Gimme' ten minutes to cook yer turkey. Be right back." The Texan waitress winked but Wade's attention was now on the woman in front of him.

The soft, husky timbre of the vocalist filled the silence, the rhythm of the background music made Megan—who was clearly rapt—hum along. "You know the song?" he asked.

Megan smiled, "Yeah, but not familiar with the lyrics. Why bring me here, by the way?" He opened his mouth but she held up her hand. "Wait! I'm not saying I don't like it here, not being choosy at all. Just..."

"No one will think I'm here," he supplied. "That's the point. No one will recognize me. People here don't read fancy magazines or surf the internet. So it's almost completely unlikely that they'll tip journalists or reporters that I'm here."

She glanced around, taking in the cowboy hats and boots, men with long beards and mustaches—mostly older men who didn't give a flying fuck about the business world. There was a young couple in the middle, which both looked geeky and wore colorful outfits. And a few men—wearing dress shirts, tucked in their pants—drinking their beer, as they sat on the bar stools. A perfect place to blend.

She scrunched that cute, little nose, and he had this sudden urge to poke it with his finger. "Yeah, you are right. It's absurd to assume a bachelor who poses for the front cover of People to be here." Wade cringed. She gasped. "Aw, you don't want to talk about it, pretty boy?"

"Can we please forget about that?"

She rested both of her elbows on the table and stared intently at him. "Why?"

"What do you mean 'why'? I don't want to hear a word about it. I'd rather prefer talking about no-nonsense things that we can actually learn from. Understand—?" He stopped as he focused back on Megan, only to see her phone in her hands, typing. "What are you doing?"

"Daniel texted. So I told him, I'm with pretty boy at some bar." She tilted her head, and her eyes widen, her mouth forming into an 'O'. "Oops. Did you say I wouldn't tell anyone about it? I'm sorry, but I couldn't help it. It feels right."

A rush of stream surged inside him as he swiftly grabbed the phone from her hands. He opened the camera and captured Megan's stunned face. Her eyes wide, brows furrowed, her mouth twitching, as soft red lights cast on her body, making her skin glistened. He sent the MMS to Daniel, Autumn and Isabella so fast Megan didn't have the chance to blink. He handed the phone back to Megan, leaving the picture showing on the screen.

Megan's mouth flew open, "Oh my god. I look like a stupid duck. Seriously? This is your comeback?"

He shrugged, ignoring how silly what he did was. "It feels right."

Megan

Ms. Carmichael.

This is Rianna O' Shea from W Industries. Mr. Wade Simon would like to see you at exactly 4 pm today. Please let me know if it's a good time, otherwise we can reschedule. We hope to hear from you.

Megan had been staring at her phone for the last ten minutes. It had been two days ever since their little dinner at the rodeo bar, which was one hundred miles away from the Harris' residence. She never heard from him after that and to say that she was surprised about the text message was putting it mildly. God, he didn't even say a word or look at her when he dropped her off at her apartment an hour later. She spent the rest of the night thinking if she was a bad company or her dress wasn't slinky enough to give him a hard-on. Or he was turned off when she snapped at him for flirting with her, that he refused to hit on her the rest of the dinner.

Her face twisted from all the thoughts in her mind. She reminded herself yet again that it was better that way. She wouldn't want to do something she would regret afterward. But Wade Simon, oh god, that man. Everything he did was so sexy, so smooth and so confident. He was smart, he was huge but not the wrestler type of huge, he also had a deep, sexy voice that made her toes tingle.

He was every girl's wet dream.

If she ever slept with him that night, would she regret it? No. Maybe. She'll fantasize about it over and over again, that her mind would be the one to give up on her.

She immediately scolded herself, hating where her thoughts were heading. She decided to go to the party to forget about Aaron. Why did she have to meet another guy to think about?

"Megan? Are you okay?"

A soft voice sliced through her train of thoughts, making her head lift sharply. Claire Alby, one of the Child Trauma Specialists, looked at her expectantly, worry etching on her face.

Megan smiled and pocketed her phone, "It's nothing. It's just my professor."

The woman gasped and sat beside her. "What happened? What did she say?"

Wrong move. She momentarily forgot that she had been telling Claire about her struggling. "Uhm, it's nothing to worry about, Claire. My professor only sent a reminder about the topic we will go over next week. She knows I'm fifty pages behind so..."

Claire gave her a sympathetic look. "Oh dear, I know it's hard to memorize all that stuff, but do know that you are going to need it, okay?" Megan smiled at her. "All of us are hoping you'll get your diploma in one and a half years. Don't let us down."

She puffed out a nervous laugh, "Whoa, pressure. I'm good, Claire. I vowed to work here as a licensed Psychologist, didn't I?"

They talked for a few minutes—mostly about the things she should expect when she was about to become a licensed professional.

And when Claire finally left, Megan pulled out her phone and decided to know why Wade would want to meet with her.

Wade

"Mr. Simon?" Rianna hesitantly poked her head around the door, checking if Wade finally had his temper in check. He waited for her to speak, giving nothing away. She stood there, phone in her hands. Reluctantly, she peered at him, "Uhm, Ms. Carmichael said she's not sure she'll be here at exactly four pm, but she's assures me that she's coming"

At the mention of Megan's name, Wade's insides churned in delight, but his face remained expressionless as he shuffled the thick set of papers on his desk. "Send the Lincoln Town Car to pick her up."

"Of course, sir."

He sagged against his chair, exhaustion gradually catching up to him. He closed his eyes and relaxed. His mouth quirked up slightly as he replayed what Rianna said. Ms. Carmichael was coming to meet him.

He pulled another stack of papers under his desk and checked if everything he would need were already there. He had been preparing for this meeting, replaying the words that were needed to be said in his mind again and again, after he gave her a ride home two days ago. And now that everything was set, all that matters was that single 'yes' from her.

x please do let me know what you think about the story so far! x