This time, she doesn’t respond right away.
Last night it took her three minutes.
Now ten minutes pass, then twenty, then thirty.
After an hour passes, I have to wonder if she’ll respond at all.
It’s going to be a long night.
14
Amara
Ispend the next few hours lying on my bed and staring at the ceiling fan in my resort villa.
My mind keeps replaying last night’s dinner. The way Corin admitted he’d burn down his career to save my mentor if he’d known how things would end between us. The way his hand felt in mine. The way he immediately pivoted to “I need to protect you from any fallout” like I’m some delicate flower who can’t handle a little professional arson.
Men.
By three AM, I give up on sleep entirely and open my laptop. I’d heard an audible ping earlier, but ignored it. Sure enough, the email sitting at the top of my inbox is from Corin, formally proposing a one-week clinic extension with proportional compensation adjustment, CC’ing Marisol like this is just another professional request.
Classic Corin. Emotions? Let’s wrap those in a formal proposal with adjusted compensation terms.
The worst part is, I can read between every careful line. He’s asking me to stay. Not demanding. Not assuming.
Asking.
My Manhattan caseload stares back at me from another browser tab, and I should probably focus on that. Work is safe. Work makes sense. Work doesn’t look at you with those stupidly vulnerable dark eyes and then immediately construct emotional barricades.
But instead I keep staring at his email.
Additional week. Proportional compensation. Please confirm availability.
Finally I set aside my laptop and lie back on my bed.
That man is going to be the end of me.
By the timedawn rolls around, I’ve had maybe forty-five minutes of sleep. I get up, have enough coffee to fuel a small litigation team, then hit reply all on the email from Corin, so that Marisol will be included.
My fingers hover over the keys.
This is a terrible idea.
I should just leave.
Pack my bags, go back to Manhattan, find a nice therapist who specializes in women who keep falling for men with issues.
Instead, I type:
Marisol,
I’ll extend the pilot program for one additional week. The Morrison family case needs follow-up, and there are three pending lease renegotiations that require oversight.
Let me know the revised timeline.
Best, Amara
I reread it three times to make sure it sounds appropriately professional. No mention of Corin. No acknowledgment that this decision has anything to do with last night.
