The dangers of having a group of amazing friends and employees and no family. When push came to shove, those friends would always put their own families first.
Which is as it should be. Anyway, you were the one who gave Kim extra time off.Which was the right thing to do, since a newborn was maybe a bit needier than Akira. Maybe. Not as exciting, though.
Tammy placed the bag on the desk. Thanks to her unexpected lunchtime dessert, Akira wasn’t hungry yet, but her stomach nonetheless rumbled at the scent emanating from the delivery. When she finally went home at whatever hour, there would be a frozen meal waiting for her, prepared by the personal chef who came in twice a week to make her custom dinners, as dictated by her nutritionist. They were good meals, but they never smelled as delicious as this.
Akira inhaled. Chinese, if she wasn’t mistaken. She couldn’t recall the last time she had bitten into an egg roll.
Tammy lay something else on the desk. “This was delivered with it.”
The lush red rose was a harsh contrast to the plain simplicity of the bag, a familiar Post-It attached to the stem with a pink ribbon tied in a messy bow. Anticipation zinged through her. This time she didn’t suppress it.
“Get me the number for Jacob Campbell. I have his sister’s. His may be on the same account.” Akira rattled off Kati’s number, her eidetic memory having captured it from her phone. Tammy produced a pen and pad from thin air and jotted it down. “Use the PI if you need to.”
“Yes, Akira.”
That didn’t mean she would call Jacob, she assured herself. She only wanted to have the option to call him. She picked up the flower and brought it to her nose, inhaling the scent of the fragrant bloom. She had never cared for roses when they were tight and closed up. She preferred them as this one was, at the end of its lifespan—fully blown open, every secret and flaw revealed. Her finger traced a petal, strangely loath to open the note and read what it said. Maybe the words would ruin whatever perverse enjoyment she was getting out of these weird, cryptic gifts.
And she was enjoying them. After all, when had a man ever sent her flowers, a scone, and Chinese food in the same day?
She could keep the rose and throw away the note, avoid any potential unpleasantness. The gifts would stop eventually. Probably after she gained a dozen pounds, but eventually.
Sadly, avoidance had never been a personality trait she laid claim to. She wasn’t about to start now. She tugged open the note.
I’m sorry.
Akira closed the paper before opening it again, as if the words might change.
Nope.
I’m sorry.
Sorry?
Akira ran her forefinger over the word, her nail resting on the period. She tapped that period. Once. Twice.
She bit the inside of her cheek, a warmth settling in her chest.
I’m sorry.
The warmth spread through her, until her cheeks heated. She twirled the rose in her fingers, appreciating that the thorns had been thoughtfully removed.
The petals looked so soft. To test that theory, she ran the velvety rose over her arm.
A knock on her door had her jerking, dropping the rose on her desk as if it were on fire. “What?” she asked, too sharply.
Tammy poked her head in. “I emailed the number to you.”
Akira raised an eyebrow in bemused exasperation. That had been easier than she thought. She supposed she ought to be grateful Jacob had such flagrant disregard for safeguarding his privacy. It was working in her favor so far. “Thanks. Why don’t you head home?”
Tammy murmured her thanks and closed the door.
In her experience, apologies were rarely as unvarnished asI’m sorry.It was alwaysI’m sorry, but,orI’m sorry, however,or the classic,I’m sorry you feel that way but…and then everything would be ruined again, and she’d be forced to destroy him.
That would be messy.
Messier than things already are?
She reached for the phone. Drew her hand back and curled it into a fist.
