His gaze immediately locks onto it, doubt making his eyebrows twitch.
“To answer a question you didn’t ask yet, yes.” I pause, long enough for him to get my point but short enough for no one else to catch on, “I can’t come as much as I used to because I’m working hard on my future—the only one I’ll ever want, the one we talked about so often.” To others, this can mean anything. But he knows exactly what future I’m talking about.
Ours.
The gears in his mind spin, awakening from their slumber. His eyes aren’t as dull as they were when he arrived. On the contrary, they’re as sharp as razor blades. “Andrea, what are you doing?” he asks, his tone somewhat imperative.
“Whatever I need to, Lex. I’m ambitious, so I’ve been branching out. Diversifying my portfolio, learning new skills. Staying at your place helps. I get to have the resources I need and uninterrupted days of work and learning.”
“You can’t do this.”
“But I can. You taught me so much, Lex. Including the fact that I deserve the best. And I won’t rest until I have it. Right now, it means focusing on my future. Which is why I can’t be here every week anymore.”
“Andrea,” he warns. The disapproval in his eyes is impossible to miss, his expression condemning. But I ignore it.
“I knew you’d understand. I’m sorry, Lex, and I hope you’ll forgive me one day.”
“Andrea, don’t,” he commands.
“I love you,” I profess, three last, poignant words before I hang up.
He shouts my name loud enough to breach through the tempered glass, and I steel myself. I knew he wouldn’t like this. Knew he’d want me to stop.
But at least he knows, now. He knows I’m staying away so every waking hour of my days can be used to get him out of here.
If he breaks up with me over it, over putting myself in danger to save him, then so be it. All that matters is that he comes out safe and alive.
Oli dropsme off in front of Lex’s building. I thank him profusely for doing this, for allowing me to see Lex and put his mind at ease—to some extent. Then I send him to his girlfriend, who’s growing impatient to see him. Or I imagine she is, since his phone receives several messages during the second half of the drive, Mario Kart-themed notifications punctuating the drive to Seattle.
Feeling better than I have all week, I greet Bertrand, the doorman, with a smile. I step into the building, and as I walk to the elevators, someone calls out my name. “Andy!”
I turn around to find Kevin there, walking up to me. It looks like he was waiting for me in one of the armchairs in the lobby.
“Hey,” I say when he reaches me, confused. “What are you doing here?”
“I, uh…” He lowers his voice, eyeing the camera in a far corner of the spacious room. “Lex called his lawyers, so he could have his attorney-client privileges and no one listening in, then his lawyers called me, told me to redial them because the ‘connection was bad,’ which I took as a hint to use the burner phone, and they asked me to come here to let you know Lex wants you to stop whatever it is you’re doing.”
Looks like Lex kept himself busy after I left. “Wow, that’s… convoluted,” I note.
“Very. Lex didn’t want to risk it.”
“I appreciate him doing this, and the lawyers, and you for coming here, but I know what I’m doing.”
“Although I’d never admit it to his face, Lex is nearly always right, doll. And if he says you should stop whatever it is you’re doing, you probably should.”
“Hm, he isn’t my boss anymore, so I don’t have to obey.”
A grin twitches at the corner of his mouth. “Resigning was a bad move on his part.”
The humorous moment quickly returns to seriousness, and after some seconds have passed, I ask, “Will you try to stop me?”
“Actually, I was about to ask if there was anything you needed help with.”
There’s something in his eyes I haven’t seen there in a while. A glimmer of hope. Contrary to Lex, he believes in me. He’s convinced I can do whatever I’ve set my mind to. And this small show of trust is something I needed more than I realized.
“Thank you, Kev, but I’m not dragging you into it. You have a beautiful baby girl and a wife who need you. I’ll handle it myself.”
I don’t bring up Oli because there’s no need to. This thing needs to stay compartmentalized. The fewer details are out there, the better. “Do you want to come up for a coffee?” I offer him.
