I can’t find it in myself to care.
I stare down at my hands as she turns the music up a bit and heads for the main road. I try not to think of what I’m leaving behind. There’s already been enough loss today.
My shampoo is still in the bathroom, and my company water bottle is still drying on the kitchen counter. My heart is still in shreds on the floor of the guest bedroom.
I’m wearing heels that don’t match my outfit and wiping my nose with tissues in the backseat of an Uber. The scenery that flies by is no longer unfamiliar, and I feel like every tree we pass is another loss—another thing I’ll never get back.
My phone buzzes, and I look down at the notification, my heart in my throat. It’s an email from my boss, the files for the Luxe Resorts contract. I don’t even open it before I start to cry, fat tears rolling down my face and ruining my makeup. My eyes are going to be red and puffy when I give this presentation, but I can’t bring myself to care.
I have a feeling I just made the biggest mistake of my life, but there’s no going back from it.
MARY
“Thank you both so much for this opportunity,” I say, doing my best to ignore how false the words feel on my tongue. “Excuse me for a minute, I just need to grab one last file.”
The representatives from Luxe Resorts don’t argue as I slip back out of the conference room, and I breathe a sigh of relief. Mr. Jameson is there to keep them engaged in conversation, so I can take a moment to pull myself together.
I got here with minutes to spare and a half-assed presentation written on a few spare notecards I found in my purse.
My heart got left back at the ranch, and I’m only barely keeping my tears at bay. Everything feels sowrong, foreign and unwelcoming. I wish I could turn around and go right back to the ranch, but what would that get me? I already left Everett heartbroken, so there’s no fixing that. And I’d lose my job in the process.
I made my bed, time to lie in it.
Just as I’m getting ready to push off the wall, I hear Mr. Jameson’s secretary talking to one of my coworkers.
“Oh, no, you don’t have to worry about the Black Spruce Ranch assignment,” she says. “I actually just fully closed that file, it should disappear from your task list if you refresh the page.”
I round the corner unsteadily, my eyes wide with panic. Both of them look up at me in surprise, and the secretary flinches back when I plant my palms down on the desk.
“What did you just say about the BSR file?” I ask.
I sound strung out, but I manage to keep myself from shouting, which I’ll count as a victory.
“Um, it got closed?” she answers hesitantly, glancing around like I’m acting crazy. “We’re not re-signing them with another agent.”
I probably am acting crazy, but I don’t give a single shit.
“Why?”
“There were developers or something,” she says. “They got contingent approval from the bank for a buyout since the ranch isn’t making any money.”
Fucking Carter Mallory.He’ll get his hands on the ranch over my dead body.
Her brows are furrowed in confusion, and I realize I’m muttering furiously under my breath. They can’t just pull out! Without help, Everett and Jenny will flounder. They’re both dedicated, but neither of them know how to handle a rebrand of this scale. And after the way I left this morning, I don’t think Everett has the will to try to make it past a roadblock like this.
They’re in a meeting right now that could save everything, one that I’m supposed to be at. If it doesn’t go well, they’re going to lose half the ranch, and they don’t even know it.
It’s all my fault.
The door to the meeting room opens behind me, but I’m frozen in fear and indecision, staring blindly down at the desk I’m leaning against.
“Mary?” Mr. Jameson calls.
The sound of my name breaks me out of my trance, and I snap my head up to meet his eyes. His face is scrunched up in a disapproving frown, and he nods his head sharply toward the meeting room. He raises his brows expectantly when I don’t move immediately.
I manage to force myself to move, and I scramble back to the conference room, muttering an apology to him. He doesn’t say anything in return.
“So sorry about that,” I say as I step in behind him. “I appreciate your patience. Shall we get started?”
