Risqué Business (Club Risqué #8)

Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

“ W hat am I doing wrong?” Micah asked Joel, Jake, Connor and Logan that evening as they sat in his office going over the monthly club reports.

He hadn’t meant to bring it up like this, but he was just so frustrated. “I know I have zero insight when it comes to Melody - too close, and all that - but I must be missing something, surely?”

“I think you’re right about having one of the girls go with her to the next viewing,” Jake agreed. “I’m sure Charlotte wouldn’t mind. She’s been in a similar situation to Melody with incarceration and having to learn to fend for herself after having everything controlled. Perhaps she can offer some insight, or at least serve as a sounding board.”

“I don’t understand why the two of you don’t just move in together,” Connor commented, demonstrating just how far he’d come from being the extremely commitment-phobic man he was just twelve months ago. “You’re in a committed relationship, aren’t you? Why not just buy a house together, instead of looking for two?”

Micah rubbed his hands over his face. “I’d like nothing better,” he admitted. “But I can’t be yet another person who takes away her control and makes decisions for her. Melody’s been in that situation her entire life from foster care, to living with Thomas Sutton, to being abducted by Vinny and held against her will for years. It’s important she knows she has autonomy at this new stage in her life. That she understands the control is hers and she can wield it any way she wants.”

“Honestly, if I put myself in Melody’s shoes, that sounds incredibly daunting,” Logan remarked, taking a sip of his coffee. “Like being thrown in at the deep end.”

“I agree,” said Micah with a nod of his head. “That’s why I’ve been trying to make things as easy as possible for her by finding suitable properties and setting up the viewings.”

“So, what’s your plan for the future if you’re both buying separate properties?” Joel asked with a frown. “You just going to…what? Sell again, rent one of the properties out? Buy somewhere you both like?”

Micah rolled his lips together and turned to stare out of the window where the bright September sun picked out the gold of leaves just starting to turn. “We haven’t discussed that,” he finally admitted.

“What?”

“Why the hell not?”

“Okay, who are you, and what have you done with Micah?”

“You have got to be kidding me!”

Four incredulous responses tumbled over each other.

“What the hell, Micah?” Joel demanded when the ruckus had died down. “You’re the one who always tells us communication is key. How can you not have discussed something so important with Melody?”

Micah turned back to face them. “Because she’ll go along with whatever I say. You know that. If she thinks it makes me happy, she’ll agree to anything, whether it’s what she wants or not. It’s important Melody makes decisions without my input, so she can find what she wants. She deserves that much, at least.”

“I don’t know, man,” Connor said with a shake of his head. “The one thing I’ve learned from the situation with my dad is that when people don’t talk, one or the other - or both of them - gets the wrong idea.”

“It’s not the same,” Micah denied. “I will talk to her when the time’s right. I just don’t want to influence her decisions. But you’re right, all of you. I’m sure it is daunting, although she never complains. And Jake, you’re right. Perhaps Charlotte could help since she’s been through this process herself.”

Jake nodded. “I’ll have a word with her. Just let me know when the next viewing is, and I’ll make sure she’s free.”