The Wrong Right Man - Aurora Rose Reynolds Page 0,2

a little of my life back.

I get into Jamie’s Escalade that is parked in front of his building and hear my phone beep in my purse. After finding it, I pull up my messages, expecting to see something from Kathy, the woman who hired me two weeks ago to be an on air host with IMG one of the biggest home shopping television production companies in the US. Instead, I see a message from Troy asking me to call him.

“Who is it?”

Startled, I look over at Jamie, whose eyes are fixed on the phone in my hand.

“Troy, he wants me to call him,” I explain as the phone begins to feel heavy in my palm.

“Fuck him. You need to change your number.”

“I’m not changing my number.” I sigh, hoping he’ll drop it. I don’t want to talk to Troy, but after spending four years of my life with him, I feel like I owe him something, which is stupid, considering what he did.

If someone would have told me Troy was cheating on me, I would have laughed and told them they were crazy. I thought he loved me. I thought he was going to be the man I spent the rest of my life with. I had no idea that when I was planning a wedding and getting ready to spend the rest of my life with him, he was searching for something else.

“Do you need me to show you the pictures again?” Jamie asks, bringing me out of my thoughts as the city moves by swiftly.

“No.” I don’t need to see them again; the images are burned into my brain. I still have no idea who sent me the photos of Troy and his colleague together, but I’m thankful to them, grateful I found out the truth about who he is.

Four months ago, I had gone home and checked the mail like I always did, and tucked between bridal magazines and junk mail was a plain envelope with my name scrawled across the front in black permanent marker. No address or any other identifying information, just my name. That envelope sat on the counter for a few hours before I opened it. I had no idea the contents were going to change my life.

Someone had taken multiple pictures of Troy and a woman he worked with in different locations. In some, they were out in public, but most of the pictures were grainy, like they were taken at night, and the two of them were intimately intertwined in the throes of ecstasy.

When I saw the photos, I called Jamie and explained to him what I had received, and even though he may be my little brother, he has never acted like it. He showed up an hour later with boxes and all of his bandmates. They packed up everything that was mine and took my two suitcases to Jamie’s apartment and everything else to one of their storage units. When Troy came home the next day, I was already gone, but I did leave the pictures along with my engagement ring on the counter for him.

“We’re here,” Jamie says, giving my leg a pat, and I turn to look out the window, my eyes traveling up… and up. The building with black glossy windows looks intimidating against the backdrop of the dark, cloud-covered Seattle sky. I open my door and follow Jamie out, knowing I wouldn’t be able to afford this place if it weren’t included as part of my job package.

“So this is where you’re going to live?” Jamie asks as the doorman opens the door for us to walk into the building.

“Yeah, crazy, right?” I look around. The lobby is beautiful with sleek lines and modern furniture. It looks like part of a set from a movie. “The CEO of IMG owns this building, where he houses most of the employees, he also owns a building down the block where the offices and the sets for filming are located.”

“I’m proud of you, you worked your ass off to get this.” He takes hold of my bicep to pull me out of the way of someone walking toward us as I look up at him.

“Thanks,” I tell him quietly, looking around a little overwhelmed.

“Don’t get that look. This isn’t the time or place for tears,” he says and I try not to smile, because he really cannot stand when I cry—something I can admit I’ve done a time or two on purpose to make him see things my