Five years, eight months, twenty-three days, and she had just admitted her wounds were still raw, like mine. As much as I wanted to celebrate it, I hated that she’d suffered for so long. That I had been the reason for that suffering.
“Please.” Her plea was a broken string of syllables, and I lowered my head.
Tucking my hands in my pockets, I said, “You’re right. I deserve nothing but your anger. I’m sorry…for everything.”
I turned and walked away, knowing it was the best for her. All I was doing was causing her pain again, and I didn’t want to ever have her suffer at my hands again.
Returning to my room, I sat in the dark, scotch in hand, and thought about all I’d lost that day and all I would never get back. Knowing I had two interviews to prepare for, I flicked my light on and pulled the two folders out Tina had prepared for me. After flipping through the first one, Liv’s thoughts on the red flags were now my thoughts. I needed someone who would stick with us because restructuring the pieces of our business that we’d broken up through the past few years wouldn’t be easy. I had plans for the company, and that meant a sound financial plan. One I had in place for our part of the business but had slaughtered in my father’s company. It was time to merge the resorts and hotels back together and then segment the other branches into an organized flow.
That meant someone who wouldn’t leave after a year. I dropped his folder to the floor, thinking his interview would be nothing more than a waste of time. My drink fell from my hand when I opened the second folder and stared at the name on the resume.
Victoria Hent.
Chapter 19
Tori
Sleep was what I needed, but it evaded me. Staring at my reflection, I wondered if even concealer could hide the circles under my eyes.
Gabe. Had I envisioned a day when I would run into him again? Yes, but it had gone much differently in my head the million times I’d played the scene. Seeing him, having him that close, smelling his cologne, looking into those gorgeous hazel eyes, turned every scenario to ash. He had changed. I could see it in the hard edges of his features, the icy looks, the expensive suit, and the scent of scotch on his breath. Hardened and refined.
This was no longer the man who drank beer and ate pizza with me while we binge-watched fantasy movies. This was a shrewd businessman. But underneath were glimpses of the man I’d loved, and I thought it would be better if those didn’t exist. If he was the cold man who accused me of having a child with another man, I could easily admit I should never have spent the past years wondering if I could ever forgive him. If there could ever be a second chance for us.
The emotion in those eyes had told me there was. That under the hesitation and steely glances lived the adorable smirk andfiery kisses that had once lit my soul on fire. And that he would give them freely to me again.
“He left you for another woman,” I told myself. Although I didn’t really know if that was the truth or if he had simply moved on. Either way, it hurt because I had never moved on. My heart had never healed, and I didn’t know if it ever would.
Glancing at my watch, I snapped out of it, finishing my hair and makeup. I had taken the train out with Reid and met Brandi earlier in the morning before returning to the city. If I got this job, that round-trip commute would need to continue until I could find childcare for him. He was too young for kindergarten, and the daycares I had contacted all had waiting lists.
One last glance in the mirror had me shrugging my jacket on and grabbing my purse. I considered giving the front desk a piece of my mind for giving Gabe my room number but thought it better to wait until after my interview. I didn’t want to go in fired up.
They had sent a car for me, and so I took the time to look at the city while the driver took me to their headquarters. I couldn’t get over how busy it was, how many people there were in one city. It would take some adjustment, but maybe I would grow to like it.
“Miss Hent.” A woman in her late forties came toward me, and I recognized her from the virtual interview I’d had with her the prior week, Tina.
“Please call me Victoria,” I told her as I shook her hand.
“Noted. Have you had a chance to do some sightseeing?” she asked as she led me to a set of elevators.
“A little. I took my son to FAO Schwarz and Central Park yesterday. But there are so many things to see, I’m sure it will take me weeks to see them all.”
“True,” she said. “The floor we’re going to is reserved only for the higher-up positions. Although we now share this buildingwith two other companies, the top six floors are all functions for Icinda Holdings. The floor you were on is designated for the call center.”
“Is each floor a different division of the company?”
“Mostly,” she said, guiding me out of the elevator onto a floor that screamed luxury. This was not where the employees spent time; this was for the heads of the company. We walked through the glass doors, where a woman answering a phone gave us a smile and a wave.
“That’s Paula. Officially our receptionist but she’s more like the gel that holds everything together, as is Sean, who is William and Olivia’s assistant. He ensures everything runs smoothly.”
“Does the new CFO have the same assistant?”
“Yes,” she said, leading us around a U-shaped hall with a conference room in the center.
At the end of the hall, open space led to three more offices, these decidedly larger than the ones we’d passed. Ones that were two times bigger than my last office. Two massive offices sat across from each other, one with a beautiful woman who was rolling her eyes at the phone and gesturing with her hands as she talked to whoever she had on speakerphone. She looked so elegant, I subconsciously fixed my suit jacket, thinking I now looked underdressed until I realized who she was.
“That’s Olivia Icinda. You won’t meet with her today, but she sometimes takes part in the follow-up interviews.”
Rich beyond belief and handed every opportunity. These weren’t people who had worked for their positions. Their father had handed them everything. No wonder her clothes looked like she spent ten times what I did on my three-hundred-dollar suit. Because she probably had. I glanced at the other office, which was dark. William Icinda the second, the reclusive one but still a man who had never had to fight for his position or his money.
