I watch as he pulls away, shocked and excited. My first thought is that I wish I could tell Paige what just happened. But I can’t. I don’t even have her phone number. Besides, she’s probably landing in New York right about now, and going back to her real life. The last thing she’s going to want to do is hear about my little plans when she’s got big things cooking for herself.
I climb on my bike and start it up, then head for home, a feeling of dread coming over me in place of the usual happiness. I’m just tired. Tomorrow morning, when I wake up, it’ll all be okay again. And each day, the memory of my time with Paige will fade more and more.
I spend the ride home doing my best to convince myself of what I know are lies, but by the time I pull up, my heart is telling me the truth. The first thing I do when I get home is look for Steve, but he’s nowhere to be found. I crouch and look under the porch swing and lift the side table, but he’s not there. “Steve, where are you, buddy?” Iask, even though logically, I know geckos don’t come when they’re called. I also know he doesn’t know his name. Somehow, I can’t bring myself to go inside just yet. Instead, I sit on the swing and wait for Steve to appear, only he doesn’t. Finally, I tell myself to accept the fact that he’s gone. Just like Paige. And I know that nothing is going to be the same again, because I’m not the same guy who left here all those days ago.
29
You Can’t Teach an Old Narcisist New Tricks…
Paige
“Ms. Chadwick,”the flight attendant says, tapping me on the arm.
I open my eyes to see her standing over me with an apologetic look. “Mr. Prescott has asked for you to please call him immediately.”
“Oh, okay,” I answer, sitting up and blinking. I pull my phone out of my handbag and turn it on, then wait while it powers up.
We’re on the last leg of the flight, having dropped my family off in Philadelphia. As soon as we took off again, I realized how exhausted I was and went straight to sleep. Although if I’m honest with myself, I might admit that it was heartache more than exhaustion that overtook me.
Since the moment the Coast Guard showed up, it felt like we were swept away by a flood that we couldn’t resist. The momentum of my family, my boss, my real life. We didn’t even say a proper goodbye. The last thing he said to me was that he knew I could do it, and the last thing I saiddirectly to him was to mouth ‘we did it.’ And somehow that’s where we left it. It’s all just hanging in the air. After everything we went through together, everything we did and said, we just dropped out of each other’s lives without a word about what we were doing.
Sighing, I look down at my cell phone, preparing myself to cross over completely to my real life again. The phone rings before I can call him, and Guy’s name appears. Of course he’s calling me. He’s not one to wait for anything.
“Hello, Guy,” I answer.
“Paige! Paigey, I am so happy you’re alive. You have no idea how thrilled I am. Honestly. I put the brakes on everything to try to get the word out about you. It was a full-on celebrity-fest. The biggest thing I’ve ever pulled together in my career, and it was sheer hell to have to do it without you. Honestly. Hell,” he says. “How’re you feeling?”
“I—”
“The doctor said you’re fine. Do you feel fine? Well rested and all that? Ready to get back to work?”
My stomach churns at the thought of going back. “Yes, of course.”
“Excellent. That’s what I wanted to hear. I need you back up to full strength because we’ve got a ton of shit to do. Big clients coming in from all the publicity. Huge accounts. And we’re way behind on what we were already working on because of stopping everything to find you.” His words come out fast and loud, which is his M.O. If you don’t let anyone get a word in, they can’t disagree with you. “Totally worth it though to have you back. Listen, I loved what you did with that bridesmaid’s dress, and the flags. The news chopper got footage around the entire island. Great use of whitespace. A real guerrilla campaign. Edgy stuff with the hanging people, and all the blood onthem? Perfect for grabbing attention. We’re going to spin it to bring Prescott to the next level. Honestly, world domination is our next stop.”
“Wow, that’s great,” I tell him, trying to muster up some enthusiasm.
“Yeah, it is. It’s more than great. Amazing. We could not have planned this better,” he answers. “Well, maybe I could’ve. But the point is, we’re going to take the ball and run with it.”
I chew my lip while I listen to him. This is it. It’s now or never. If I’m going to get a promotion, this is the best time to fight for it. “So, Guy, I think we need to talk about my future with the agency.”
“Absolutely. I was thinking the same thing,” he says. “But not on the phone. That’s an in-person convo. I’m assuming you’re not keen to come into the office tonight?”
Tonight? Seriously? It’s almost ten p.m. “Uh, no. I’m going to need to go home and sleep. I also don’t have anything appropriate to wear.”
“Gotcha. Bummer,” he answers, clearly wanting me to know I’ve disappointed him with my decision. “Can you be in by seven?”
“Let’s say eight. By the time I land and get home, it’ll be after midnight.”
He pauses for a second, then says, “Sure, yeah. Eight o’clock it is.” He’s putting on a cheerful tone but I can tell he’s a little pissed. Maybe he expected that, by arranging for the jet and the medical team, I’d be forced to say yes to anything he asks. Probably for the next ten years, and instead, he just got a no. A reasonable no, but still not the answer he wants.
“Okay, see you tomorrow morning. Thank you so much for everything, Guy, really. You went above andbeyond what any other boss would have done. I’m touched that you would do all of this for me.”
“Well, I know you. You’re the type to pay me back. You’re loyal, and that’s hard to find these days.”
“Sure is,” I answer vaguely.
“All right. I’ll let you go. Sleep fast. I’ll be in the office by six, just in case you wake up early.”
