‘You say that every time.’ I tut, but at least I know I’ll have a drinking buddy for a week or so.
‘I took your advice. I’ve always believed I’ll know right away, so why am I wasting time on settling for anything less?’
‘Brilliant, let’s drink to that.’
‘Email me your flight details. I’ll pick you up from the airport.’
I’m about to protest, before I remember the new me. The one who gave up carrying guilt and shame. The one who used to risk assess every possible outcome. ‘Thank you.’
If Ruby’s surprised, she hides it well.
‘Chin up, honey. See you tonight.’
I check in to first class and head straight to the lounge area, trying to focus on anything other than the hot mess that’s my life right now.
As I wait, I deal with a few emails on my phone, mostly enquiries from Sydney and LA. Ruby’s proving her weight in gold, managing the entire Middle East, opening a brand-new office in Abu Dhabi as well as securing new, larger premises in Dubai to incorporate our hugely expanding staff. I don’t know what I’d do without her.
Finally, my company’s a truly global business. All I need now is to stir up some interest in London, and then I’ll have achieved all my ambitions. I should be excited. Instead, I’m deflated.
I can work myself to the bone for the rest of my life, but truly, what’s the point in any of it? Do I even want to leave Dubai now?
Before I met Jayden, absolutely. While I was sleeping with him, deluding myself we had any kind of future together, absolutely.
Now?
Now I don’t know what I want because nothing else in my life will ever compare to what I thought we had.
‘I thought it was you,’ a friendly voice rumbles from behind me.
A wince creases my face and my shoulders hunch as I try to place it in the brief few seconds I have before etiquette demands I turn around.
Nope. No idea. Maybe if I wasn’t so sleep deprived and twisted with turmoil, my mind would be more focused.
Inching around slowly, it’s a relief to see Levi, my travelling companion from all those weeks ago. His light brown hair falls in those same floppy waves. Bright eyes dance with amusement.
‘Levi, what are you doing here?’ I gesture round the first-class lounge, but what I actually mean is what’s he doing in Ireland.
‘Same as you, I guess. Waiting for a plane.’ He shrugs, flashing that happy-go-lucky smile I remember so well.
He presses a kiss to my cheek and his gaze rakes over my tear-stained face. I can only imagine what kind of state I look after the last twenty-four hours.
Sympathy softens his expression. ‘You look like a woman who’s been mixing business with pleasure again.’
My phone lights up. Jayden. I swear the man has some sort of radar when it comes to me moving on. I reject the call and switch the phone off.
Levi winks and pulls up a stool beside me. ‘Do you think there’s a reason we keep meeting like this?’
‘One hundred percent. The universe has conspired, so I have someone to drown my sorrows with.’
Levi shrugs and signals a passing waiter.
ChapterThirty-Six
JAYDEN
It comes to me on the flight. I know who the Johnsons are. They’re the parents of Chardonnay Johnson, the talentless wreck I refused to sign. It has to be.
Unbelievable. Welcome to Hollywood, where the drama is high, plots are poor and the cash to produce is plentiful. If there’s a bigger motive than my refusal to sign their darling Chardonnay, I’m still waiting for Declan to uncover it.
