Out of Nowhere Read online

  Taking the mic from the DJ, I clear my throat. “Evening all. I’m here to let the woman I love know that I’m here—ready and waiting.” Nodding toward the DJ, he presses a few buttons and the opening bars of “Die A Happy Man” by Thomas Rhett begins to play. Ems knows that I’m a huge Thomas Rhett fan, and I know that from spending time with me, she is now also a fan. The lights on stage are bright, but my eyes are locked on Emerson as I begin to sing.

  Everything and everyone else in the lounge fades away. It’s just Ems and me. I sing every word to her and mean every single one of them. When the song ends, I stand there on stage and continue to stare at Emerson. She stands up. I smile and say, “Emerson James, I love you.” The bar is silent as I hand the mic back to the DJ. I jump off the stage, walk over to Ems, wrap my arms around her, and dip her back like they do in the movies. She gasps as I whisper, “Ems, I love you. No more running. You and me, together forever.” I don’t give her a chance to reply and smash my lips against hers. She moans into my mouth, nibbles at my lip, and I open my mouth to let her in. She flicks out her tongue and licks my lip. Breaking our kiss, she whispers, “I love you too, Chase, but…” I don’t give her a chance to finish that sentence as I plunge my tongue back into her mouth.

  The crowd around us erupts into a chorus of cheers, but I don’t hear any of them. I’m solely focused on Emerson. Lifting her back into a standing position, we stare at one another before she jumps toward me and wraps her legs around my waist. She plants her lips on mine again and I pull her tight against me and deepen our kiss. We break apart and I finally register the applause from everyone in the bar. I had totally forgotten that we were in the middle of a bar. Lowering her down, Ems looks to the floor in embarrassment. I grab her hand and lead her over to the booth where I was sitting. We sit in silence, staring at each other. Ems opens her mouth and says the one thing I didn’t think I’d hear, “I’m sorry, Chase, I have to go.” She jumps up and runs out of the bar. I sit here stunned, watching her red hair dart between the other patrons as she exits the bar.

  Bella storms over to me. “Go after her, you fool.”

  That snaps me into action and I race after her. I reach the outside just as I see her red locks climb into the back of a taxi, “Emerson!” I shout. She looks up, our eyes connect and she freezes. Sadly she smiles at me before she turns and climbs into the cab. I’m left standing on the sidewalk, watching the girl of my dreams drive off.

  A hand lands on my shoulder and I look over to see both Bella and Sheridan standing there. Sheridan is the first to speak, “Chase, give her time, you know she has a lot going on at the moment. Not only is she contending with the board, she’s also processing her feelings for you. Might have been better to do this grand gesture after tomorrow’s meeting.” She places emphasis on the word after.

  Nodding my head, I mumble, “Probably.”

  The three of us fall silent. Bella breaks the silence when she says, “Chase, if she doesn’t fall for you then she’s a fool. That was the most romantic thing ever, that song was perfect, even if it was country crap. Give her time. I know she feels it too, because that kiss between you two was electric. I could feel the heat radiating between you guys from where I was sitting.”

  “I hope you’re right, Bella, but Sheridan is correct. I should have done it after the board meeting. I’ve just dumped this on her too; it’s going to overwhelm her. I hope I haven’t ruined my chance with her.” I pause, then turn and hail a cab. Before I climb in, I look back at them and I say, “I love her so much. I need tomorrow to go as we planned, Sheridan, otherwise I think I’ll lose her forever.”

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  Emerson

  I’M SITTING IN THE TAXI, and as it takes me away from the bar—and Chase—tears are pouring down my cheeks. My lips are still tingling from Chase’s kiss and my heart is torn, once again. I love him so much that it hurts, but is love enough to make us work? And what if I lose him, like I lost Brian? I don’t think I could handle it if I lost him. Before I know it, the cab has pulled up to the loft. I swipe my card through the credit card machine, add the tip, thank the driver, and hop out.

  As soon as I get inside, I walk into the kitchen, grab the tequila left from when Bella and I had margaritas last week, and take a swig directly from the bottle. Placing the bottle back on the counter, I lean on my hands and whisper, “What am I going to do?” As another round of tears begins to fall.

  In autopilot mode, I change into my pj’s; which since returning from Nels Cove is Chase’s CU sweatshirt. Climbing into bed, I stare at the ceiling thinking about him. About how sexy he looked tonight in his dark jeans, black button-down, and his signature cowboy boots. I think about how much I miss him and about that kiss, that amazing spine-tingling kiss. He’s the last thought I have before I drift off to sleep.

  BEEP BEEP BEEP

  My alarm blaring scares the utter crap out of me and I jump with fright. Rolling to my side, I stare at the wall and immediately think about that kiss with Chase last night. Closing my eyes, it all comes flooding back: the feel of his arms around me, the pressure of his lips against mine, the heat from our skin touching. Slamming my fists against the comforter, I sigh in frustration—sexual and emotional.

  Last night, I wanted nothing more than to bring Chase back here and lose ourselves in each other, but I can’t think about that right now. Currently my mind is running around in circles with all the possible outcomes for today’s board meeting. It’s physically making me sick. Jumping up, I quickly run to the bathroom and make it to the toilet, just in time before I empty my stomach.

  Sitting back, I lean against the wall, close my eyes and whisper, “Please Mom and Dad, help me today. I’m so sorry that I’ve let you down.” The first tear drops, and before I know it, I’m a sobbing mess on the floor, hugging the toilet bowl for support. All of a sudden, a warm arm wraps around me. Opening my eyes, I see Bella.

  “Oh, Ems,” she says as she tightens her arms around me.

  “Bels, what if I fail today? What if everyone loses their jobs today ‘cause I couldn’t deal?”

  “Shhhh, Ems, you and Sheridan have this. I’m sure of it,” she confidently tells me.

  “I hope you’re right, Bels, otherwise this whole mess will be my fault and I will have let everyone down,” I tearfully reply.

  We sit there in silence for a few moments, Bella stands up and when I look up at her, I see that she is in boss mode. “Okay, before you go and kick ass today. You need a shower and coffee.” She squeezes my arms, “You get in the shower and I’ll get on the coffee.” She turns to leave and looks back at me. “Emerson Grace James, you are going to be totally awesome today, I feel it in my bones.”

  After my shower, Bella works her magic and twenty minutes later I look all professional and damn hot, even if I do say so myself. We grab another coffee at the coffee shop around the corner from the office, and before I know it it’s go time.

  Confidently, with my head held high, I walk into the boardroom. As I walk toward the head of the conference room table, I confidently smile at the members already here—while on the inside I’m shitting my pants. Taking my seat at the head of the table, I open my briefcase, but I can’t concentrate. My mind is elsewhere, my mind is on a six-foot, sexy country boy who melted my heart last night. Chase is all I can think about, but I should be focusing on this meeting and saving the company. My head just isn’t in it, it’s still in the bar with Chase. He is all that I can focus on. His sexy-ass voice singing to me and that kiss.

  Shaking my head, I try to focus. Thank God Sheridan is here, she is a damn rock star and has taken control of this meeting. It should be me, but my mind just isn’t in it. This is all my fault, me running away has put the company in a precarious situation. Because of me, seven hundred jobs and the James Corporation are on the brink of collapse. I need to focus. I need to stop thinking about Chase Archibald and concentrate.

  All of a sudden, I realize that everyone is looking at me. I have no idea
what they want from me when, thankfully, the doors to the boardroom fly open and Sheridan hops up and walks over to the one person I never expected to see here, Chase.

  “Mr. Archibald, thank you for meeting with us today,” Sheridan says, as she stretches out her hand to shake his, a pang of jealousy hits at her touching him. She turns to the board and with a huge smile on her face and declares, “I’d like to introduce to you Chase Archibald, CEO of Archibald Holdings. He and I have been in talks over recent weeks, at the request of Emerson here,” she nods toward me and my head pops up in shock, “to save the James Corporation. We have come up with a plan to increase revenue, and with the help of Archibald Holdings, this will be possible. Mr. Archibald, would you like to address the board and tell them what we have been working on?”

  “Thank you, Sheridan. It’s a pleasure to be here today…” I totally zone out on what he is saying. They have been chatting? He’s been here for weeks? I have so many questions right now. I glance around the boardroom, and I see the board members nodding and jotting things down madly. Whatever Chase is saying is working, the anger from the board has dissipated and the air no longer feels hostile. Focusing on Chase, I hear his closing sentence, “…this will increase revenue and our market share by the end of the financial quarter.”

  Before I know it, the board has unanimously voted in favor of Chase’s proposal. I also agreed, but I have no friggin’ clue what I just agreed to. I’m too much in shock right now. I’m stunned that Chase is here. I’m shocked that he and Sheridan have been chatting. I’m speechless because the company is still mine. I was sure I was going to lose everything this morning. I’ve been back in New York for five weeks now, and she never once said anything. She and I have met most days to discuss and brainstorm this, but she never mentioned a knight in shining cowboy boots. Since I returned, I have been unable to see a light at the end of the tunnel, but within ten minutes Chase has my board eating out of his hands and a steadfast plan is proposed to save the James Corporation.

  Next thing I know, everyone has left and it’s just Chase, Sheridan, and I left in the boardroom. “I’m going to head back to my office and finalize everything. I’ll chat with you guys later, and we can sign and finalize all of this.” Sheridan collects her things and leaves.

  As soon as the boardroom door closes, the air becomes thick with lust. “Chase, what? How? I’m so confused right now.”

  “Ems, before you left I reached out to Sheridan, but she was tight-lipped and refused my help. A few days after you left, she called asking for my help. She knew what was happening between you and me. She knew that you were ignoring my calls, but she knew that I would also do anything to help. It took a very expensive bottle of scotch and a few weeks for her to spill on what was happening. As soon as I heard, I jumped on a plane and came here. Together, she and I came up with this idea, and as you can see, the board loved it. Now the James Corporation will be safe.”

  My eyes well with tears, Chase is always rescuing me. “Thank you, Chase, thank you for saving my family company.”

  “Ems, I would do anything for you. I said it last night and I’ll say it again, I love you and I would do anything for you. If you want to stay here in the city, then I’ll move here. If you want to move to the Sahara Desert I’d move there too. I just want to be with you, Emerson.”

  Tears are now cascading down my cheeks. “Chase, I love you too. Can you forgive me for running away? For hurting you?” I tearfully say. Chase walks over to me, grips my cheeks, and kisses me deeply. My eyes close and I’m lost in everything that is Chase. Pulling away from him and breaking the kiss, I whisper, “Let’s get out of here.”

  “I’d love nothing more than that, Ems, but we have to stick around and finalize everything for this deal. But I promise as soon as we are done, I’m whisking you away from here and we will be celebrating…naked…together…for the next few days.”

  “You don’t play fair, Archibald.” Stepping away from him, I grab his hand and start heading out of the boardroom. Before I open the door, I look over my shoulder and I say, “Thank you, Chase. You not only saved my company but you also saved me.”

  As I’m reaching for the door handle, he spins me around, wraps his arms around my waist, and his lips crash against mine. He presses me into the door and we lose ourselves in each other. “To hell with the paperwork, let’s go now,” he breathlessly whispers against my lips.

  Shaking my head, I say, “Nope. If I have to wait, you have to wait.” Glancing down at his crotch I laugh and say, “I’ll give you a few moments.”

  Placing a kiss on his cheek, I turn and walk out of the boardroom. My steps are now much lighter than they were forty-five minutes ago when I walked in.

  * * *

  After finalizing everything to do with the joint venture, Chase, Sheridan, and I head over to The Ty Bar, it’s a cocktail bar at The Four Seasons hotel over on East Fifty-Seventh Street, to celebrate. Unbeknownst to me, Sheridan and Chase had been speaking with Bella and when we arrive, I am greeted with a chorus of “Surprise!” Followed by a round of cheers and applause. The three of them had managed to arrange a last minute surprise celebration. Many of the staff from the office are here. As well as my friends, who, many months ago, I had shunned and shut out, were all here to celebrate too.

  We’ve been at the bar for just over an hour when Chase taps his glass, whistles, and says, “Folks, I just want to thank you all for being here today to celebrate the joint venture between the James Corporation and Archibald Holdings. But most of all, I want to toast this lady here.” He points to me and beckons me over to him. Standing next to him, he wraps his arm around me and continues, “Emerson James here has had a rough year, but she’s tougher than she knows she is, and she has come through on the other side stronger than ever. I have the most amazing woman by my side and by having her on my team, she makes me a better person, and my life—as corny as it sounds—is now complete. So, I propose a toast.” Everyone raises their glasses. “To Emerson James, the love of my life.”

  “To Emerson!” everyone cheers.

  My eyes are solely focused on Chase’s, I blow an air kiss to him before I turn to everyone, step forward, and clear my throat. “I’d also like to say something. Thank you to all of you.” I point out to everyone and circle my finger. “Without you guys, I wouldn’t have anything. When I hit rock bottom, you were all there in different ways to help. Without many of you, the James Corporation would have sunk. When I was too chicken to face everything and ran away, you, especially you guys.” I point to Bella and Sheridan. “You both stepped up and went above and beyond. Shez, looked after my family company when I couldn’t, and I will forever be grateful for that.” I hug Shez before looking at Bella. “And Bels, I’m surprised you are still talking to me after I disappeared. I’m sorry for leaving how I did, but I just had to and I knew that you, of all people, would understand that. I’ll forever be in your debt.”

  “Just name your first child after me and we will call it even,” she says as we hug. She wipes the tear that has fallen on my cheek and grins at me.

  Nodding my head, I smile. “Deal, Bels. And you,” I say, turning to face Chase. Reaching out, I link our fingers and stare up at him. “When I first met you, I thought you were an arrogant asshole with an ass that I wanted to bite.” Everyone laughs at that. “But turns out, my first impression of you was wrong, your ass isn’t really that biteable after all.” Again, everyone laughs. “But seriously, no matter how rude I was to you, you were always there. You bought me back to life. You healed the gaping hole in my heart, and I will forever be grateful for that. I don’t know where our future will take us, but I know that together we will get through anything that the universe throws at us. After all, we are an Archibald and a James, and nothing will stop us.”

  Chase pulls me to him and hugs me tightly to his chest. He whispers to me, “I love you, Emerson Grace James.”

  I whisper back, “I love you too, Chase Archibald.”

 
Chase and I stay and mingle for a few more hours. We call it a night just before midnight. It’s such a nice night out, Chase and I decide to go for a walk to sober up a bit before we get home. We link our fingers together and we walk toward the loft. We find ourselves walking through the park, and before I know it, I’m at the spot where it all happened. Stopping, I stare at the memorial and I sadly smile. “Give me a minute,” I say to Chase. He sadly smiles back and squeezes my hand before letting go. Slowly I walk over to it and I sit down, lifting my hand, I rub my finger over the plaque. My eyes well with tears. “Hi, guys,” I blubber. “I’m sorry I haven’t been here before, but know that there is not a day that goes by that I don’t think of you all.” Swallowing, I then add, “I feel guilty saying this, but I’m happy and I’m in love again. Brian, I think you’d really like Chase. He treats me like a princess, just like you used to. I hope you can forgive me for falling in love with someone else, but know that I will always and forever love you, and our lil’ peanut.” Turning to Chase, I beckon him over, I grab his hand and quietly say, “Guys, this is Chase.” I look up at him, “Chase, this is everyone.”

  “I know, we met yesterday,” he says, “Hi again, guys. You would have been so proud of Ems today, she kicked ass with the board.”

  Shaking my head, I refute, “I disagree, Dad. Shez and Chase came to the rescue and saved me. They saved everything. It’s them you should be proud of, not me. It was my fault it got to this point.”

  “Stop, Ems. It’s all sorted now, let’s look to the future.”

  We both stare at one another, my eyes again welling with tears. “Chase, can I have another moment alone with them, please?”