“Yeah, busy day.”
“Understood. No changes to your schedule today.”
She didn’t even look up from whatever she was working on.
So the deep freeze was continuing. “Got it, thank you.”
I walked into my office hoping that my day would be busy enough to block out the memories that kept invading my thoughts, like how stupid I was for assuming that a few new appliances could win Gwen back.
During our final call, she’d done an autopsy on our relationship. I couldn’t argue with her, because she was correct on all counts. But there was no way for me to make it right.
I wanted to, desperately. I had to show her that I could be the man she wanted. That shedeserved. The question was how. Gifts were obviously out of the question. I needed time to figure out my way back to her, because I wasn’t about to fuck up twice. It wasgoingto happen—I just wasn’t sure when or how.
My phone rang with a call from Deb in legal, and my day was off and running. I didn’t lift my head until a couple hours later, when Susan showed up in the doorway looking grimmer than usual despite her cheery yellow cardigan.
“I know you don’t have social media, so I sent you a link that I think you should see. It’s tagged ‘time sensitive.’ Best to check it out now.”
She disappeared before I could ask her any questions. I sighed, then navigated to my inbox and opened her latest message.
It was a video, and the freeze-frame of Gwen was enough to take my breath away.Fuck, I missed her so much that it ached. How could I let her slip away?
I was an idiot, plain and simple.
I pushed play and my stomach twisted tighter as Gwen smiled at me through the screen, looking happy and excited.
“Hey, friends, I’ve been keeping a secret from you, and now it’s finally time to share it! I’m exploring an incredible opportunity to partner with a PR firm in London, because we all know that drama knows no borders, so I’m off for a month-long exploratory session—possibly longer if things go well—with Wakefield and Co. to see if we have synergy.”
She winked and laughed. “Like that jargon? Anyway, I’m literally walking into the airport, way too many hours early because that’s how I roll, so I’ll catch you up when I’m across the pond. Cheers!”
I couldn’t catch my breath. A month? And she was leavingnow? And it sounded like there was a chance that she might move there full-time, or at least for the long term.
So much had happened in the past few days. Her new business was off and running in a big way, and I was nothing more than a spectator to it. I was supposed to be by her side as she launched into this new phase of her life. But then again, she didn’t need my support.
She’d proven that time and again.
I checked the time stamp on the video. She’d posted it just thirty minutes before, and she said she was hours early. Okay, I had her travel parameters—now it was time to act.
“Susan?” I hollered.
She appeared in my doorway hiding a triumphant smile. There would never be another Susan.
“Yes?”
“Can you call in a favor with Jason at Heli-One and see if he can get me to LAX ASAP?”
LA traffic was an unpredictable nightmare, so opting for a ten-minute helicopter ride instead of fighting it out on the pavement was an easy decision.
“Yes, of course.”
She was on her phone before she even turned around to leave.
Okay, perfect. I’d have plenty of time to make it to LAX. I placed a quick call to one of my operations buddies at the airport to figure out which airline she was flying only to discover that their computer system was glitching. He promised to call me back as soon as it was up again.
Not ideal.
The intercom buzzed. Also not ideal, because the only time Susan used it was when she didn’t want to face me. I hit the button to answer.
“Give me some good news.”
