There was a Post-it note inside.
I fucking miss you…
& you’re still mine.
Please call me.
Please.
FORTY-FIVE
ANDREA
An hour before the sun touched the sky, I sealed the largest box in my former office.
To force myself to stop thinking with my emotions, I’d checked Harrison’s schedule and noticed he wasn’t coming in until five a.m. today.
It was time to finally close this chapter.
As I picked up my “Best Executive Assistant Ever” mug, a memory slammed into me—Harrison bending me over my desk, his mouth on my neck, his voice in my ear. My breathing slowed, and my lips ached with the ghost of him.
Focus on leaving, Andrea. Just focus on leaving.
Not wanting to hold on to memories, I set the mug on the windowsill and picked up a stack of books.
“Ready for me to take these boxes down for you, Miss Stone?” Dave called from the doorway.
“Yeah.” I nodded. “Thank you.”
“What about that one on your desk?”
“I’ll carry that one down last on my own.” I forced a smile. “I still have a few more things to check.”
“Take your time.”
He stacked them all on a cart before rolling away, and I checked the remaining shelves and drawers.
Stepping in front of my bookshelf, I yanked the golden Andrea Stone, From Sweet Seasons Barista to CFO nameplate off the wood. I sighed as I tucked it into my pocket.
Before I could talk myself out of leaving, before my stupid heart could sabotage me again, I grabbed my last box and ventured downstairs.
I headed to the main fountain lobby when the front doors swung open—and Harrison walked in.
Dressed in a new gray suit I’d never seen before, my heart raced at the sight of him, but I kept moving.
Before I could look away, his eyes met mine, and my body reacted before my mind. I stopped dead in my tracks, and he stopped right in front of me.
For several moments, neither of us said a word, and if he’d reached for me, I would’ve gone.
“You look good, Andrea,” he said, finally. “Glad you’ve decided to come back to work.”
“I came here to pack up my office,” I said, pointing to the cart he had somehow missed.
He looked at it—slowly—then back at me.
“I see…” His jaw flexed, but his expression stayed rigid. “So you’re going to continue to play games with me?”
“No one is playing games with you,” I said, my chest aching more than I wanted to admit. “You lied, and I can’t be around you anymore—not as your employee, not as… whatever the hell we were.”
