I Walked Away Seven Years Too Late But Right on Time novel Chapter 26

But Sophie had completely refused to treat him like a potential client the entire night.

And when she walked in earlier, she had blatantly avoided sitting by them, trailing Leo to the opposite side of the room.

Even with an empty seat between them, Gwen could feel the suffocating intensity radiating off Luke. She had caught him glaring at them, his fists clenched so tight the veins bulged against his skin.

There was absolutely no way they were just coworkers.

When Sophie didn't text back, Gwen's suspicions were entirely confirmed.

'You're a better woman than me. I would've slapped him across the face by now.'

Sophie just stared at the text. What right did she have to slap him?

She was twenty-nine years old, not some naive little girl. Could she really blame him for dragging her along for seven years, or for keeping his childhood sweetheart a dirty secret?

She was the idiot who fell for it. She had no right to throw a tantrum, and she definitely didn't want to drag an innocent woman down with her.

Her only desperate wish now was to never, ever cross paths with Luke again. She just wanted him completely erased from her life.

'Well, we aren't letting him off that easy. We're locking down Weaver's deal, and we are absolutely shaking down Lawrence's company for a contract too. I thought he was just an arrogant prick before, but now? Now I'm going to make him bleed.'

'Gwen, I'm serious. I want nothing to do with him. Not even professionally.'

'What did money ever do to you? Why turn down his cash? Stop being an idiot. Use your history as leverage and bleed him dry.'

'If you want to chase him, you do it. Keep my name entirely out of it.'

Frustrated, Sophie tossed her phone down, catching Gwen leaning past Mr. Weaver to shoot her a look of utter disgust.

She snatched up a beer and downed a massive gulp. Fine. She was pathetic.

She couldn't pretend to be friends, and she certainly couldn't put on a fake smile and hustle him for a contract.

It had been seven months, but just the thought of him still made her chest physically ache. Seeing him in person threw her entirely off balance, leaving her spiraling for hours.

She just wasn't cut out to be the heartless, badass career woman. Sometimes she morbidly joked that there were at least a hundred Gwens standing between her and being a true girlboss.

"Drinking alone? First you blow me off for your phone, and now you're brooding."

Leo tapped his beer against hers, leaning in ridiculously close to murmur, "Trouble in paradise with the boyfriend?"

"No," Sophie forced an awkward laugh. "Just getting ripped apart by my boss over text. She told me if I don't close this deal tonight, I shouldn't bother coming back to the office. Must be nice being an executive—you guys don't know what it's like in the trenches."

She plastered on a pitiful, utterly defeated expression.

"Why didn't you say so? My company needs to order a batch of liquor for our end-of-year corporate gifts. It won't be a massive order, but it'll at least keep your boss off your back."

Leo poured two glasses of wine. Getting the hint, Sophie eagerly raised hers, clinked it against his, and threw it back like a champ.

"Thank you so much, Mr. Lancaster."

Striking while the iron was hot, she practically yanked the letter of intent from her purse and slid it toward him.

While Leo flipped through the pages, Sophie shot a desperate look over at Gwen.

"Sounds like you're having fun," a bright, familiar voice teased from the other end.

"Gavin?" A genuine smile broke across her face. Seizing the opportunity, she bolted from the room and headed down the hallway. "What's up?"

"I just landed. I'm on my way to you right now."

She couldn't believe Gavin had actually managed to wrap up his trip early to rush back to her. She opened her mouth to rattle off the address, only to realize she had been completely zoned out on the drive over. She had absolutely no idea where they were or what this bar was even called.

Pacing slowly toward the end of the dimly lit hall, she replied, "I'm actually out right now, but I'm heading back to the hotel. Just meet me there."

"Sounds good. See you soon."

Before she could even say goodbye, she felt a sudden, suffocating presence loom up behind her. The sharp, expensive scent of his cologne practically punched her in the lungs. She didn't even have to look—it was Luke.

"Bye," she gasped, spinning around. Sure enough, he was standing barely a foot away, absolutely towering over her.

The sheer intensity radiating off him made her heart slam frantically against her ribs. Faking total oblivious shock, she tilted her head completely past him, waving wildly at the empty space behind his back.

"Hey, Eileen!"

Luke's head instantly snapped around. By the time he realized he'd been played, Sophie was already backing furiously away, a smug, triumphant grin plastered on her face.

The second he whipped back around to glare at her, she spun on her heel and bolted straight for the women's restroom.

She couldn't fight him, but she could damn well hide.

She just completely underestimated how far he was willing to go. She never expected him to actually follow her inside.