“If I’d have known, I would have insisted my wife and I take the two of you out for a celebratory dinner.”
I’m blushing now. I can feel the heat creeping up my cheeks. “Oh, that isn’t necessary, but thank you so much. We’re only here for such a short time, we wouldn’t want to put you out.”
Troy shakes his head as we make our way back up to the conference room. “It wouldn’t have been any trouble. Next time you’re here, we’ll schedule something. I have a good feeling about this meeting and suspect we’ll be working with each other moving forward.”
His easy confidence soothes some of my nerves, but not for long. They ramp up again as we walk into the conference room to see two other large men and an elegant woman already seated around the table.
No Griffin, yet. But the meeting doesn’t officially start for another ten minutes. He’ll be here. He promised.
“Thankyou so much for your time,” I say to Troy, trying to keep my lower lip from trembling.
“We’re looking forward to working with you.” The older man gives me a friendly, encouraging pat on the shoulder. As he walks away, I look at my phone for the hundredth time and wince when the coach looks back at me and catches me doing it.
Griffin never showed.
I won’t say I bombed the pitch, because I didn’t, but it could have gone better. I must have checked my phone and the clockevery thirty seconds as it got closer and closer to the official start of the meeting, and I hated the sympathetic looks Troy kept shooting my way. I texted Griffin several times, only to have them go unread.
I was so distracted by wondering where he was, so out of sorts because he’d promised he’d be there, that I fumbled my words for the first five minutes and nearly knocked my laptop on the floor with an ill-timed swing of my arm.
And now, here I am, hurrying out of the arena, trying not to cry like a little baby because my husband missed the meeting he promised he’d show up for. I don’t know if I’m more worried, upset with him, or angry at myself.
What if Griffin is dead in a ditch somewhere? He’d never stand me up for something this important. And if, god forbid, he is, what kind of person does that make me that I’m upset about a missed meeting and angry at him for not calling?
You can’t make phone calls if you’re bleeding out on the side of the road.
Get it together, Mira. This is not helping.
With shaking fingers, I unlock my phone and call Griffin. It goes straight to voicemail. I know his battery was low, but he promised not to use it so he could get in contact with me. It hasn’t been long enough for the thing to die. So why isn’t he answering? When his voicemail message plays in my ear, I let out a frustrated little growl, hang up, and try again.
Straight to voicemail. Again.
This time, I leave a message. I hate the way my voice shakes. Hate the way it feels like everything inside of me shakes as I push through the arena doors and stumble outside into the cold.
“Griffin? Where are you? I’m done with my meeting. I… You weren’t here. Are you okay? Did something happen? How am I supposed to know where you are or if you’re okay if you don’t answer your phone?” Glancing up at the darkening sky, I shiveras wind whips through my hair and bites my skin through my coat. The weather is taking a turn for the cold and gloomy, matching my mood. And making my worry increase. “Just… Call me when you get this. Please be okay.”
Unable to sit still, I pace the area outside of the arena while I stare at my phone. Five minutes go by, then ten, then twenty. It’s freezing, and I can’t stand out in this cold anymore. I order a ride back to the hotel because I don’t know what else to do. Maybe they’ll have a message from him?
By the time I get back to the hotel, I’m practically vibrating with worry, and it only increases when the front desk tells me they don’t have any messages from my husband. Hurrying to our room, I throw the door open but find the suite empty. Griffin’s bags are still here, so I know he hasn’t left, but he’s not here.
“What if he’s hurt?” I tug at my hair, pacing the room. “What if he’s hurt and I’m not there?”
My phone vibrates in my hand, and all the air leaves my chest in awhoosh. It has to be Griffin.
Except, it’s not.
Lexi
I thought Griffin was done with the hookup stuff? He better not be ditching you for random women while you’re on this trip together.
Bile rises in my throat.What?Why would she say something like that?
Lexi
The stupid Rogues’ fan sites are all speculating because he hasn’t been pictured with a woman like this in months.
What is she talking about?My pulse roars in my ears and my hands shake as I type out a response.
Me
