“He left?”
“Rushed right out the door like wild dogs were after him. I didn’t have time to stop him. He just… left.”
“Oh, honey.” Stacey’s arms envelop me in warmth and she draws me in close. “I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t think it’s hit yet.” I sniffle. “I’m more scared he’s coming back with a lawyer.”
“Fuck him,” Stacey remarks. “He ran away from a good thing and that’s his choice. He deserves nothing, you hear me? And if he comes back with lawyers, then fuck him even harder, we’ll fight him every step of the way.”
“What if he can provide a better life for Nick, though?” I whisper, barely even able to say it out loud. “All that money and security. I bet he wouldn’t forget to text and leave his friend babysitting.”
“A man like that doesn’t have friends,” Stacey replies sharply. “Listen to me, Calliope. You are a good mother. You bend over backward for that boy. You give him everything you can and more, and look at him. He’s a happy, healthy six-year-old. Youdid that. You’ve created that cool little dude. No one is taking that away from you. Ever.”
As I turn into her arms and hug her back, latching onto the warmth of her hold, I pray she’s right.
A sleepless night leads right into a chaotic morning. I haven’t texted Elijah, far too wary of what he might say, but my plan to bury in my office and work flat out until five is derailed the second I walk through the doors.
“Calliope!” Victoria’s by my side in an instant and she throws her arm around my shoulders. “I’m so sorry!”
“About?” My brows tighten as we walk toward the elevator.
“You haven’t heard? Oh, no. Oh, no, I’m so sorry.”
My already tense stomach flips up into my chest and I swallow hard, my mind racing. “Heard what?” Tiredness threatens to overwhelm me so I bite the inside of my cheek to stop from snapping at her.
“Okay in, in, in.” She ushers me into the elevator and presses the top-floor button. “Jimmy called a company-wide meeting. You’re here just in time.”
“Is this about Valentine’s Day again?” It’s only a couple of days away, although the thought of love now sours on the back of my tongue. “I already told him I was doing everything I could to give him the numbers he wanted, even though my losses are his damn fault. And if something happened yesterday, well, I wasn’t even here because it was Nick’s birthday.”
“Oh!” Victoria’s face warms instantly. “Happy Birthday! Did he have a nice time?”
“He did, actually,” I reply as my shoulders relax slightly. “He had a really nice time.”
“How old is he now?”
“Six.”
“Wow, they grow up so fast!”
“They do. Victoria, why were you saying sorry? What’s happened?”
Her expression once again morphs into one of deep sympathy. “Well… people have been talking and I heard that the meeting today isn’t about Valentine’s. They’re going to announce the merger, and it looks like the website and everything is being axed.” She winces as she speaks. “I’m so sorry, honey. This is why I kept telling you to try and get info out of Elijah, you know?”
“What?” A subtle roaring rises in my ears as I stare at Victoria’s perfectly made-up face. How does she get her eyeliner to be perfect on both sides? I can’t ever get a sharp flick with how my hand shakes.
I blink, and suddenly, all I can think about is Elijah.
What’s changed?
Two nights ago, he told me how much he loved the website and the subscription model I built, how it was his sole reason for sticking around. Now they’re closing me down?
The elevator doors slide open and Victoria loops her arm around mine, guiding me out and toward the conference room already flooded with people. I glimpse Jane standing near the windowchewing anxiously on her thumb and she flashes me a brief look of horror as I pass.
Is this Elijah’s way of punishing me for keeping Nick a secret? It can’t be, but it fits. I imagine him leaving my home in a fury and calling everyone he can in order to get my department shut down, screwing me over and all the workers I care about.
I’m in a daze as I sit and Victoria launches into a hushed conversation about how she found out my department was on the chopping block, but none of her words reach the roaring in my ears.
I need this job. I need the money. Nick needs the money.
