Chapter 46

Alex

For the first time in his relationship with Sophie, she had proven herself useful beyond a hole for him to fuck.

When she had come to him almost a month ago, telling him about her encounter with Erica, he could feel his anger rising. Not only had his plan to ruin Marcus' business completely backfired, but now he was gaining more success off of the back of Alex's stunt?

He could have kicked himself.

Had he not stolen that fucking bus, they wouldn't have had TV time, and no one would have offered them shit. And to add insult to injury, Marcus was now poaching his clients? He wanted to punch something. Well, actually, he wanted to punch Marcus, but he had a feeling even that would backfire.

For days, he had stewed.

A TV show for a shitty fucking ghost tour. Money and exposure for a man he couldn't stand. And all he could do was support his client as they threw money at his enemy.

It was almost laughable how absurd his life had become.

Almost.

Sitting in the back of a cab, he made his way back to the office, grateful he wasn't the one driving today. He had just left another meeting with the London Group and plans were well underway for the latest TV project. If Alex had to hear how great Marcus was one more time, he'd dump the London Group as clients before they could fire him.

A fucking ghost show.

As if that was an original idea. Anyone who grew up in the city knew these stories. Hell, even Alex, who hated that kind of shit, had heard tales during wild teenage Halloween nights. It wasn't as though Marcus had done something original. All he'd done was take someone else's stories and narrate them in a spooky voice.

Any idiot could do the same thing.

Any idiot did.

He sighed again and glanced at the driver.

"How strict is your no smoking policy?" He asked, already pulling out his wallet.

"Up to two hundred if you're caught, pal."

"Okay, and how much do you want to let me do it?"

The driver glanced at him through the rearview mirror. "How about I just pull over and keep the meter running? It might be cheaper that way."

"In this traffic? Christ, if we pull over, no one is going to let us out again." Alex sighed a third time, leaning back in his seat. Fuck it. "You know what, pull over. I'll walk the rest of the way, thanks."

"You got it," the driver said with a curt nod. Alex glanced out of the window, pressing his head against the cool pane. Today was not the day to be cooped up in a cab. His lip curled as he unwillingly remembered flashes of the meeting he'd just left, pushing it out of his mind.

He just needed some fresh air, and a cigarette, and all would be right with the world.

Thanking the driver as he finally pulled up, and giving him a generous tip, Alex stepped out onto the street, immediately lighting a smoke. He took three quick puffs, one after the other, his shoulders relaxing as the nicotine rushed through his system. Glancing down the street, he judged the quickest way back to the office and began his walk.

Yeah, this was what he needed.

The noise of the city drowned out everything else.

Walking purposefully, smoking his cigarette, and the light spray of rain against his face, all worked together to rid him of the uncomfortable morning he'd endured. With every step closer to the office, he felt himself relax more and more until he finally felt like a functioning person again.

That was until he rounded the corner and saw the flyer taped to the lamppost.

Phantom Footsteps is proud to reintroduce Anna Bellview .

With a snarl that caused a few heads to turn in his direction, he tore the flyer from the post and scrunched it into a tight ball.

Why? Why did this have to be here?

He glanced down the street and flyer after flyer flapping in the wind.

"I'm very much looking forward to you working for us, Alex."

He clenched his hands into fists, snapping his teeth shut as his neck stiffened.

"Erica and I can't wait to show you around our new place. Though just FYI, our bedroom is off-limits."

He took a deep breath. And then another. He exhaled through clenched teeth, his legs refusing to move as he stared down the street at the line of flyers.

"Oh, I've never been happier than I am now. Thank you for checking in."

Memory after memory assaulted his mind until the anger was so palpable that people started giving him a wide berth on the pavement. Forcing himself to move, he made a beeline for the nearest pub. He needed something stronger than nicotine. Something more soothing than the rain.

"Double whiskey," he said as he reached the bar, slapping down a twenty. "And keep 'em coming."

"Rough one?" The barman asked, reaching for a glass.

"Like you wouldn't believe." Turning his back to the bar and putting an end to the idle chit-chat, Alex stared out at the pub dwellers, curling his lip in contempt. He couldn't believe he'd lowered himself to become a day drinker. He should be in the office, ready to take on the world. Instead, he sat amongst the wasters with nothing better to do than piss the day away.

"I'll pour another when you're finished," the bartender said. Alex glanced over his shoulder and reached for the drink, knocking it back.

"I'll take it now," he replied, leaning back against the bar.

He thought he'd been ready for that meeting. He was ready for it. Sophie had done the right thing by coming to him and making sure they didn't blindsight him. But he never expected he'd see both of them and have to confront how well-suited they were.

It was like a punch to the gut.

For a wonderful but short moment, he'd convinced himself that Erica still cared about him. Why else would she tell Sophie about their TV show? To score points? Maybe, but to what end? Erica wasn't the boastful type. Surely it was better for her and Marcus if he didn't know, leaving him floundering when they revealed just who his clients had taken on.

Erica must have known Sophie would come running to him and spill the beans and give him that heads up. The idea had gripped him and given him some sort of hope that somehow, after all this time, all was not lost.

But then he'd seen them together.

It's very rare in life to look at two people and know how perfectly suited they are for one another. And even then, it's difficult to explain what makes them so perfect. But whatever it was, Marcus and Erica had it. Maybe it was the way they moved together, in complete sync with one another. Or the glances they exchanged, saying a thousand things without speaking one word.

Alex had never really observed them together until professionalism forced him to.

Now he knew there was no chance on this Earth that Erica would ever be his again. In fact, it was painfully obvious she had never been his in the first place.

She was always Marcus'.

Marcus was always hers.

He slammed his glass down as he finished the second drink, gesturing to the barman to get him another. After all this time, he still wasn't over her. He doubted he ever would be. Another fact that slapped him in the face today.

While Erica was buying houses with Marcus and expanding their business and gaining more and more success every day, his finances were taking a hit. His clients were looking elsewhere. He only had to listen to Marcus in that stupid fucking meeting to understand that he was losing this game .

Erica had been his good luck charm, and now she gave that luck to someone else.

It wasn't hard to see what was happening and how the right partner could elevate you into something more. Especially as he and Marcus had shared the same two women. Success followed Erica and impending bankruptcy seemed to cling to Sophie.

He thanked the barman as he placed the third and final drink in front of him.

It had to be the last one of the day. He still had an afternoon at the office to get through and then dinner with Sophie this evening. Holding back a sigh, he swirled the amber-coloured liquid in the glass, watching as it washed over the ice. Knocking it back, he rapped the bar with his knickers and waved his goodbyes.

Those drinks had done the trick.

His anger was long gone, and now all he felt was sadness and regret.

He had been here before, back when he had finally signed the divorce papers, only to hide them in the desk drawer once more. At least this time, he wouldn't pretend his sadness was enough to do the ‘right' thing. Those papers would stay in his drawer, out of sight, out of mind. He may never have the chance to be with Erica again, but he'd be damned if he let anyone else have her, either.

Reaching his office building, he glanced up towards his window and took a moment to compose himself. Now it was time to put his game face on and be the boss he knew he was. His team needed a leader, not a morose moron holding on to divorce papers in the hopes his wife wouldn't move on more than she already had.

He took the elevator, though the stairs would have given him more time to prepare, shooting Sophie a text to let her know he was on his way. He'd asked her to gather all their minutes from previous meetings with the London Group.

His relationship with them was fragile at best, and he wanted to remind them just how much he'd given them throughout their years of working together. One terrible year shouldn't cast such a dark cloud over his company .

The elevator pinged as he reached his floor. He grabbed his mouth spray from his jacket pocket, covering the smell of whiskey as he checked himself out in the mirror behind him.

Perfect.

Stepping out of the elevator, he frowned, immediately on edge.

The corridor was silent, with not even a whisper of his team hard at work. It wasn't unusual for things to be quiet, but complete silence was unheard of. There wasn't even the ringing of a phone or the low hum of a dozen computers all running at once.

Just complete nothingness.

Straightening his back, he walked with more purpose, ready to take on anything.

His first thought was Marcus had found some way to get back at him for the stolen tour bus. What he didn't expect was the onslaught of blue and pink decorations covering every inch of the workspace.

"Surprise!"

The chorus of cries was deafening as his employees stepped out from behind their desks. His gaze whipped from one face to another, his brain racing to catch up.

Just what the fuck was going on?

"Darling, you look so surprised!" Sophie said, with a beaming smile as she approached him. She looked radiant in her blue and pink dress, fitted perfectly to show the beginning of a perfect and tiny bump.

Oh god, no.

"What's going on, Soph?" He said with a nervous chuckle. He was very aware of every face staring at him, observing him.

"Isn't it obvious?" She replied, resting her hand on his chest. "You're going to be a daddy!"

Oh god, no!

No, no, no!

"That's…" he hesitated, staring down at her beautiful, perfect face. Fuck her. "Amazing," he said finally. "That's amazing, Sophie."

Leaning down, he brushed his lips against hers in the briefest of kisses before glancing swiftly around the room at their audience. Everyone was smiling and seemed to be supportive.

He caught the eye of Justin Fletcher, his heart sinking as he realised there were representatives of the London Group there to witness this entire spectacle. Why had she invited them?!

"Why don't we go into my office so we can celebrate together in private—"

"Nonsense," she said, taking his hand. "People are waiting for the big reveal."

"The reveal?" He asked, his jaw hurting from holding his fake smile in place. He was getting irritated now. Why couldn't she sense his need to talk to her? To clear up a few things. "Surely the reveal happened when you shouted surprise!"

A small chuckle went around the room as Sophie shook her head.

"No, silly!" She said, leading him to the centre of the room where the most exquisitely decorated cake sat surrounded by blue and pink balloons. How much had all this cost her? "That was your surprise. But the real reveal is inside this cake. Blue or pink. Boy or girl."

"I see," he said, not caring either way. "Well, why don't we cut—"

"Not yet, silly!" She giggled. He wanted to throttle her. If she called him silly one more time, he'd lose his shit. "This is a party, Alex. We can't skip to the main event."

Sure enough, now that Alex was looking, he could see the buffet table laden with food. A pile of presents stood, piled against Sophie's desk. The large group that had watched his reaction had tapered off into pairings of private conversations.

She had monopolised his office, stolen a working afternoon and thrown herself a fucking party.

"Did you get those minutes I asked for?" He asked, holding on to hope she had at least done the one thing he'd asked from her today.

"Later," she said as Justin approached. "Game face on."

Frowning down at her, he missed his chance to question her as Justin thrust his hand into Alex's face. " Congratulations, Alex," he said with a curt nod. "And to you too, Sophie. From all of us at the London Group."

"Thank you, Justin," Sophie said with the perfect amount of charm. "You'll forgive us for not telling you sooner."

"Nothing to forgive," Justin said easily. "We're very much looking forward to the two of you becoming a family."

A family.

Alex felt his stomach lurch, the three double whiskeys settling uncomfortably. He felt sick. Panicked. Completely trapped.

He glanced down at Sophie, that stupid, fake smile a permanent fixture on his face.

The bitch had done it.

She'd tied herself to him forever.