The waiter came to take our order. I hoped we could move on to chatting about the weather, or how delicious the bread was.
Denise glanced around the room, then hunched closer to me again. I braced myself.
“It’s not my place to say anything, so I apologize in advance. But I think it’s important that you know that you changed him for the better. We all saw it.”
We were still going there, to my dismay. I stared at the breadbasket because I knew if I looked at either of them, I’d fall apart again.
“Agreed,” Susan said. “His personality shift since you’ve been here has been like a vacation for all of us. We know he’s a good person, deep down, he’s just so single-minded about what he wants that sometimes there’s collateral damage.”
“But lately?” Denise picked up the thread. “He seemed reborn. And happy! Or, hewas.”
I slumped down. “I’m sorry.”
“Stop,” Susan shook her head at me. “We’re not going to harass you for the gory details about what went wrong, but we know you wouldn’t have done anything that you’d have to apologize for. Sometimes relationships just don’t work out. We just wanted you to know that your presence at Ashford has been pure sunshine in so many ways. Thank you for that break from reality.”
“Trust me, Harrison will be fine,” I said with more bitterness in my voice than I’d intended. “I was a speed bump in his life and nothing more.”
“I disagree,” Denise said softly.
The waiter came back with a charcuterie board before the soft inquisition could continue, and I was relieved when we moved on to chatter about our stance on blue cheese.
It didn’t matter that we were derailed—they’d made their point. I didn’t believe I’d changed Harrison in any way, but if they wanted to give me some credit, fine.
I knew the truth. He hadn’t changed at all from the guy who left me behind in Aspen, and he never would.
My goal for my last day was to say my goodbyes, clean my office, and pack my stuff, then sneak out before running into Harrison. My mission wassoclose to accomplished, until I rounded the corner by the elevator bank and ran right into the one person I wanted to avoid.
I came to an abrupt stop, jostling the contents of the box I was clutching.
“You’re leaving,” he said, scanning me quickly.
I hated that his eyes on my body still made my heart rate kick up a notch.
“Looks that way,” I said as I shifted the box.
“Face is healing up nicely,” he jutted his chin toward me. “I can barely see it.”
“I guess.”
I’d managed to avoid him for days, but seeing Harrison again ripped off the scabs I’d grown, leaving me newly raw again. How was it possible that despite all the pain he’d caused me, my bodystillached for him? It hurt to stand so close and not be able to fall into his arms.
Of course, Harrison was unmoved. He watched me with a steely expression, wearing his usual slight frown. The man had perfected his own version of RBF, only in his case it was “resting boss face.”
“Well, thank you for all of your hard work,” Harrison said. “You were an asset to the team.”
Detached. Unemotional, like I was just another employee heading off for greener pastures. Fine, then. If that was how he wanted it, then two could play that game.
“Thank you. I think the whole campaign worked out beautifully. Oh, and Ashford the dog was adopted last week, in case you didn’t hear.”
Of course, I assumed he’d checked out of the Scarlet Rush-o-sphere once his need for her was over.
“Yes, I’ve been in touch with her team about Ashford,” Harrison replied. “I wanted to make sure my namesake dog made it into the best home possible. They sent me a photo of him with his new family.”
I focused on the small succulent in the box to hide my surprise. “Oh good, I’m glad you’ve been in the loop.”
Since we were in corporate jargon land, I was tempted to mention “circling back” and “putting a pin in it.” Anything to keep the conversation from straying into more painful territory.
After all, there was nothing left to say. We both knew Harrison couldn’t give me what I needed, which just happened to be the bare minimum of emotional support from a partner. And honestly, it was better that I found out now, before I could bring myself to admit the word that kept reverberating in my head.
