Falling For My Playboy Boss
Chapter 57

Cora's POV

I sent Catherine a text this morning asking her to come to brunch with me and the girls. I got there first and got to our booth. I have their shoes and macaroons for them. I saw them coming and burst out crying first thing. I didn't think I was going to, but as soon as I saw them, I couldn't stop crying. Livi slid into the booth next to me and started hugging me, rubbing my back, and saying soothing words. Livi was always the comforter, and Iris was always the one who took up for any of us, including getting into a fistfight if needed, but she was always the best fighter among us. Catherine walked up slowly seeing me crying and motioned to the booth as if asking if it was OK to sit and I wiped my eyes and nodded at her.

I gave Livia and Iris their shoes to unwrap and gush over to give myself a minute before I had to talk. We made our breakfast order with the waitress and then everyone just sat looking at me and waiting for me to start. "Honey, you were fine yesterday, what happened?" Catherine finally said to me.

"I slept with Collin in Paris. He told me he loved me, everything was fine, it was so beautiful, and I was so happy. But last night when he was supposed to tell his parents that we were together, he told them instead that he was getting back together with Maddie again", I said, and then burst out crying again. Livi is shocked and angry. I know her, and her wheels are spinning right now with her making plans that are not good at all for Collin.

"Oh, no, I am so sorry Cora, I knew he liked you. Why would he go back to Maddie? He didn't want her, he wanted Shae, the whole time, and he was attracted to you as well. He couldn't figure out why he was so attracted to two women at the same time. Didn't he replace out that you were Shea? Catherine asked me.

"No, thankfully, I didn't tell him on the plane ride back like I wanted to. Which makes it hurt worse because he picked me, he picked me". I taper off in a whisper. I took a shuddering breath and continued on, "I didn't want to mess anything up, as this was so new and fragile, so I was going to wait to make sure it was going to last. I texted him last night as he was supposed to come and get me and take me to his apartment for me to spend the night, but he never replied to my text".

"Cora, then he was serious about you, he had never allowed any of his girlfriends to come to his apartment. He would always go to their place or use his office. He never took any of them to his apartment. I don't know what is going on right now, but it has got to be something big. He never told anyone before that he loved them, never Cora. So, something bad has got to be going on for him to turn it around like this. I will try to look into it, but I don't know if I will be able to tell you anything about it or not, honey", Catherine told me.

"Catherine, it is OK, you don't have to look into it. I just wanted to tell you what happened on my end and that I will not be staying in my position. I cannot sit and watch Maddie come in and out of his office and have to wonder if they just had s*x again in there. I can close my eyes right now, and still see it in my mind from when I caught them when I first started. Now that I have had him, it would kill me to see them together like that. I cannot. I was just giving you a heads up. I will be vacating the job; I will not be going in to see the show tomorrow. They will probably have to call you in to train Lyra, but I won't be able to stand to see her throw herself at him, or Maddie trying to set me off. I can't, my heart is already broken, and I cannot allow any more damage to occur to it. I have to guard it and protect it right now, so I am. I already texted Jerry bright and early this morning because I couldn't sleep. He contacted Alderidge and it was a done deal as far as anyone was concerned. Alderidge has given me permission to work from home, so I don't have to worry about Collin dropping in on me. I am sure Hamilton will want Lyra in the position and I am going to be glad for her to take it. I can't stand Lyra, she won't be able to do the job, but hey, that is not my problem anymore, is it? I am so sorry for disappointing you, Catherine. I did try my best, but there were mitigating circumstances. I am so sorry that you will have to come back, especially to train that i***t, because she is never going to be able to do his schedule", I told her and started crying again, because even though I am trying to block my heart from my emotions, I feel like the weight of the world is on me again.

"Honey, don't you worry your pretty little head over this. I can just come back. I am thinking that I will just come back and do it for a couple of months. I was bored anyway, and I can either start looking for someone in a few months, or I can just wait until we see how this all shakes out because I have a feeling that Collin is already working on this problem as we speak, and it will be over and done before we know it.

"Cora," Iris says gently and then stops speaking while our food is delivered to the table. "Cora, did you use protection when you were with Collin?" Iris asks me. I stiffened up, and then finally shook my head no.

"It was my first time, and I didn't plan on sleeping with him. When we got back yesterday, I picked up some condoms from the store on the way home. But whatever thing happened, happened after I picked them up. I won't be needing them anytime soon", I told her. "Cora, please tell me that you are on some type of birth control?" Livi tells me.

I shake my head slowly and I know that is the worst part. I may end up with a constant reminder of my 36 hours of Collin being mine, and me being happy. One that will last a lifetime, and I pray that it doesn't happen, as I don't want to be tied to Collin like that, he might just marry me for the sake of the child, and that is not how I want him. I want him to want me because he loves me.

"It is OK Cora, if you do get pregnant, I will help you with the legal paperwork, if you need it. He is busy right now, so he might not want to have a child slowing him down. I do know this. That child will have two built-in aunts that love him, or her, from day one. We will be there with you every step of the way, Cora. It is going to be fine, either way, but without a child is the much, much, easier route, believe me," Livi tells me, and I smile at them through watery eyes, because I couldn't be more grateful for any of them.

"I will message Alderidge and tell him that I will be there in the morning, as I am sure that Collin is going to go sideways when he arrives, and Cora is not at the desk. I will also give Jerry a heads up because when Collin replaces out that this isn't a temporary change, he will be blowing his top. I may even bring some popcorn in to watch it play out because there is going to be a show tomorrow. I am going to be glad to see it as I have been kind of bored at home. I had a break, and it will be good to be back at work for a little while", Catherine tells me.

I nodded at her and said, "Catherine, I am so sorry for you to be drawn into this, but I cannot sit and watch Maddie all over Collin. I am truly thankful that Alderidge and Jerry are willing to take a shot on me and let me work from home. I plan to do a good job for them. I can't say that I will come back to relieve you or let you fully retire, Catherine. I am hurt right now, and I cannot, and will not, be making any further decisions right now. I will say that I will try to be fair to both you and myself. But seeing Collin right now would break my heart knowing that he is back with Maddie.

I stand up and hug them all because I love these ladies. I stopped by a local bakery on the way home to get something for us to snack on during the week, and I headed home.

I feel like someone is watching me, so I stop walking and turn, but I don't see anyone. I can't shake the feeling that I am still being watched when I finally arrive at my house. So, I put my bags down on my porch when I get home, to get my key out, and I stop and glance around again, and I see what looks to be Collin's Mercedes at the end of my block, but due to the window tint, I can't really tell. I just shook my head and went into the house. I don't have time for fun and games with Collin. My feelings are valuable to me, and I won't allow Collin to just use me and then toss me aside like I have no value. Because I do have value, and I won't act like a sad little girl. My head is on straight, and I will not allow Collin to mess me up. I know how to do my job and I started to write down some "out of the box" ideas as Jerry said that they had three investors that still hadn't gotten the type of investments that they wanted to make. Jerry also told me that I couldn't have come to him at a better time either and not just because of those three investors still needing help. Victoria had put her notice in two weeks ago and was moving to Atlanta to work in finance and was leaving this week. She had family there and her mother wasn't feeling well, so she decided to move. Jerry had already assigned the Adam's Family portfolio to me and then gave me all three of the investors that needed someone to work with them, to replace out about where they wanted to put their money. They had not decided anything yet. I would be glad to focus on something other than Collin breaking my heart.