3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Meghan

" D id you see how hot the barista was?" Kirsten asks, as she falls into the chair beside me.

We are sitting in one of our favorite breakfast spots in the city, and I was trying to enjoy my toasted bagel and cream cheese.

Kirsten comes from a wealthy family that has social ties to many of the biggest public relations companies in the world. She was guaranteed a job after college, and I couldn't help but envy her for that. For me, I had to work hard for everything I have. Honestly, Kirsten wants to work a few years, then marry a billionaire. With her long, caramel colored hair, striking brown eyes, and tall, lean frame, she is nothing short of a Greek goddess. If anyone could make that goal a reality, it would be Kirsten.

As for me, I knew I would have to work for the rest of my life. Marriage wasn't something that was in the forefront of my mind right now. Don't get me wrong, my parents had a great marriage. But, after getting engaged to my high school boyfriend at eighteen, I thought I had everything I would ever need. Then, one night, everything went up in flames as my love was scorched. I still remembered that night like it was yesterday.

The sound of a phone ringing woke me from my sleep. Rolling over, I reached for my phone on the nightstand, but almost knocked my diamond engagement ring onto the floor.

"Hello," I said, my voice groggy. I wasn't sure of the time, but I knew it must be very late at night.

"He's gone," a voice wailed.

Sitting up, I clutched the phone tightly. "What? Who is this?" I asked.

In my slumber, I hadn't looked at the number calling. Now, looking down, my heart fell into the pits of my stomach as I saw it was Wade's mom.

"Wade, he's gone," she cried out, and then the phone went dead.

A loud scream tore out of me and at some point, my parents rushed into my bedroom. Shaking my head, I tried to wake myself up from this nightmare, but it was all real.

Now, shuddering as the sounds of his mother's cries echo through my head, I closed my eyes to stop the tears from forming.

For me, I never wanted to experience such brutal pain. I'd rather be single forever than love and lose someone that could destroy me. Wade had proposed to me at our high school graduation. He had decided to forgo college and had become a firefighter in our small hometown. I was going to take classes at the local community college for business and Marketing, and we were supposed to be happy forever. But, that changed.

I watched a few more patrons pile into the small restaurant. Glancing at my clock, I realized we needed to hurry or we would be late to work.

"Can't you focus on something other than guys?" I asked her, rolling my eyes and offering a slight smile.

Kirsten narrowed her eyes at me as she whispered, "Never. In fact, I think you should focus more on guys and less on work," she said, eyeing me.

Shaking my head, I took another bite of my bagel. I wasn't even about to have this conversation with her here.

Thankfully, Kirsten's order was up and she was called to the counter to retrieve her food. I was saved for now.

By noon, I had completed over half of my day's work. I had been tasked with editing an upcoming feature article in the magazine that discusses a new trend in food trucks in downtown Sunnyvale. I took a short lunch outside and walked along the busy streets. I never minded to walk, even if my destination was far. I enjoyed the time with myself. It allowed me to think and just enjoy being alone.

Thirty minutes later, I stepped inside the building and made my way to my small cubicle where I had a small desk and computer. My job mainly consisted of organizing emails, editing, and occasionally, working on sorting through manuscripts sent to the publishing house. Everything was completed in one office building-- Melanie believed in keeping her business running more like a family. We all worked on various aspects of the company and to me, it only furthered my knowledge of the publishing world.

I was just opening my email when I heard my name being called.

Sliding into my small space, Stacy had a wide grin on her face. Stacy was working as an assistant to one of our senior literary agents who dealt with more high celebrity clients. She thrived on the juicy gossip stories that she was constantly having to ‘fix' in the eye of the public. To me, it sounded stressful, but she always raved about it.

"Meghan, you have to see the guys out in the lobby," she said, her voice a loud whisper.

"Stacy, I just got here, I can't go run out and oggle guys with you," I teased.

"I am serious. They are here with Lance Salvatore. He was introducing them around as some of the SEALS and men from the military he used to work with," she says, her eyes dancing with giddiness.

Who in the world is Lance Salvatore? I thought to myself.

Part of me was intrigued, but I wasn't interested in looking.

"Why don't you go meet them?" I ask.

"You are coming with me," she says, grabbing my hand and pulling me out of my chair.

I go to fight her, but it's no use. Stacy is freakishly strong and when she has her mindset on something, there is no stopping her. So, I allowed her to drag me down the hall and to the main lobby.

"Who is Lance Salvatore? That name does sound familiar now that I think about it," I ask.

"Duh, Meg. Lance Salvatore is the owner of Salvatore Security Forces. We ran a feature on him in the magazine last month. He started a security company," she said, as though that was something I should have remembered. We ran lots of stories on various people. As we turned the corner, I felt my breath falter as we both stopped dead in our tracks.

Standing by the receptionist's desk, were four of the most handsome men I had ever seen in my life. Then, I spotted the dark-haired, handsome man who I remembered now that I saw his face. Lance Salvatore. The guys were clean-shaven, had large, muscular arms, and towered over everyone else in the room.

One in particular, seemed to draw my gaze straight to him. I could feel him watching me and as I dared to glance at him again, I found myself almost drooling. His dark eyes were smoldering. Dark, brown hair was slicked back and he wore a leather jacket. Never had a man been able to cause such a reaction in me. I wasn't sure what had me more shocked; the glorious man in front of me or my own reaction to his presence.

Nudging my shoulder, Stacy smirked at me. "See, I told you they were hot," she said under her breath.

All I could do was nod.

"Thank you so much for agreeing to be part of this," Melanie gushed, as she shook his hand.

I stood there, wracking my brain as I tried to think of a reason why he would be back at the office again. Then, I remembered a string of emails that went out last week. Lance was bringing in a group of military men to join the ranks at Salvatore Security Forces. These were men who were honorably discharged from service and Melanie thought it would make a great cover story for next month's magazine edition.

Lance was talking to all of us, but I never heard a word he said. Instead, I stood there frozen in place like a lunatic. When the men went to leave, I realized I hadn't even heard their names. More though, the name of the man who was stealing all of my brain cells right now.

Once they were gone, I stumbled back to my cubicle and slumped into my chair. What in the hell had just happened to me?