I fucking hate it.
I’m pissed. I’m so fucking pissed that this is all happening.
To make matters worse, I had to fly to Las Vegas by myself because she had to stay back in the city to catch up on the budget shit she pushed off to stay in London. I should have never given her the time off.
I’m acting like a petulant toddler, and I know it, but fuck if I don’t hate the fact that she isn’t with me right now.
I hate traveling without her. She helps me deal with the itching sensation under my skin. She sits on the aisle so I don’t have to be brushed by some stranger. If she were here, I wouldn’t have had to deal with the chatty woman in business class who was in the seat meant for Iris. I also wouldn’t have had to deal with the flirty hotel receptionist who made sure to insinuate that she would be available for all of my needs.
Not only is it all of that, but now there is an added layer. She is dating someone serious. Serious enough that he had her flightinformation. Sure, he bought the wrong flowers, but they are getting more intimate.
With her being thousands of miles away, my mind is replaying the same questions.
Is she with him? How serious is it? Do they kiss? Have they had sex? Is she watching our shows with him now? Has she replaced me with him?
Jealousy is a living, breathing thing inside of me right now, and I hate myself for it. It’s all becoming too much, and I feel like I’m starting to come out of my skin. I don’t know how much more I can take.
I’m tapping a pen on the hotel desk as I think about Iris when my cell phone rings on top of the charging plate.
“Yeah?” I snap.
“Uh, is this Mr. Maximilian Williamson?” a man on the other end asks.
“Depends on who’s asking,” I grumble, knowing I’m being an ass.
“This is Rick from the Astor Conglomerate. I’m calling regarding the employment of Iris Howard.”
Him asking about my girl makes my skin crawl with dread.
“What about Iris?” I ask gruffly.
“Well, she recently interviewed with our company, and while she has not accepted the position yet, I have been asked to go ahead and get her hiring paperwork sorted.”
The words have me frozen. She interviewed with our competitor. The one who has an office in London.
Is that why she stayed? Why she seemed like she was keeping something from me?
She wasn’t dating. She was looking for a new job.
My jaw clenches.
“I’m sorry, what did you just say?” I ask.
“Iris Howard. She interviewed for our London location recently for the position of liaison between hotels and guests. We put you down as her current employer and as a reference. I have sent documentation over to your human resources department to confirm her employment information but wanted to know if you would be willing to provide a reference.”
I feel like I can feel my heart beating in my head.
She’s leaving me. She is going to put an entire ocean in between us for more than a few days. She wants to make it permanent.
For half a second, I consider letting my anger out on this man, but I can’t. I won’t do anything to threaten Iris’s opportunities. Even if that means I lose her for good.
“She’s an amazing employee. I’ve never known anyone who works as hard as she does. She helped me build The Williamson Hotel in Boston to what it is today for nearly a decade, and for the past two years she has been helping me do the same with The Williamson Group. Anyone would be lucky to have her.”
The guy asks me a few more questions, but I zone out and answer him absentmindedly. One thing keeps replaying through my mind.
She interviewed for someone else. She’s thinking about leaving not only me but also the company. To make matters worse, Iris is thinking about leaving the country. Would I ever see her again?
What. The. Fuck.
