“I don’t like answering all these questions, Kari.”
The sound of ice in his voice sent a shiver of dread down her spine.“I’m sorry, sir, but I figure if I’m giving you information, I should know some things.”
“All you need to know is we are still together.She thinks we’re taking a break, so I’m giving her time.I’m doing what’s best for Jennifer.Please do as I’ve asked.I want her happiness above everything, and if I thought I couldn’t fulfill it, I’d let her go.”
“Yes, sir.”She heard him disconnect and set down the phone with shaky hands before sitting.She hoped she was doing the right thing.The fact that he was calling Tessa helped.
****
Jennifer
Jennifer got some paperwork done.If she had to take half a bottle of aspirin and drink a pot of coffee to get through the day, that was okay.She held it together.Barely.
That ended when Tessa barged through the door.Jennifer looked at the concern in her friend’s face and burst into silent sobs.
Tessa pushed the door shut, rushed to her, and put her arms around her friend when she shakily stood.“I’m so sorry, Jen.What can I do?”
Jen shook her head.“Just being here is enough.”
Tessa pulled Jennifer to the old sofa in the office and sat with her, holding her while she cried.She handed Jennifer one tissue after another until this bout of crying stalled.Tessa’s gaze ran up and down and narrowed in concern at the visible weight loss on Jennifer.
“First of all, how long has it been since you ate, Jen?”
Jennifer looked confused at first, then shook her head.Her gaze stayed glued to the crumbled tissues in her hands.“I don’t know.”
“Jesus, Jen.You left here Friday afternoon, right?”she asked, then continued when Jen nodded.“Did you eat that night?”Jen shook her head.“Saturday at all?”Again, another shake.“Sunday?Today?”Another hesitant shake.“Hold on.”She growled, stood, and walked out of the office.A minute later, she came back with some crackers.“You can’t starve yourself, Jen.”
Jennifer looked at the cracker she was handed, and tears started to pool in her eyes.
“I don’t think I’ll be able to swallow it, Tessa.My throat is too tender, and my stomach feels like it’s full of lead.”
Tears stung Tessa’s eyes as she pulled her into her arms again.“Can you tell me what happened?”
Jennifer sniffed and wiped her eyes.“Madlyn called, and I guess you could say she woke me up and made me make the decision I should have made months ago.I’ve thought several times that Grant and I are so different from each other.We live in two separate worlds, and I can’t see our lives meshing for the long run.”
“You know that bitch lied, right?”Anger vibrated through her words.
Jennifer snorted a small laugh through her tears for the first time in days.She wasn’t used to hearing Tessa cuss.“Yeah.I don’t know why she did it, but it doesn’t matter.It sounded so real at the time because she used the name Vanessa.Remember when I told you about that fiasco?But she said things I’d been saying to myself all along.”
“Like what?”
“The relationship will end.It’s just a matter of time, and I’d rather it ends now because I don’t think I’d survive if it happened later.I already love him, Tessa.So much.But we’re so different from each other, I just can’t see it working.”
Tessa straightened her back and looked confused.
“What makes you think it will end?Just because he’s rich?What?For God’s sake, Jen.I wish you could have heard Grant.It was awful.He was losing it.Did you know he called all the hospitals when he couldn’t find you?”
Jennifer’s eyes widened in shock before they filled with tears.She shook her head, unable to speak.Was it possible he loved her as much as she loved him?Was he telling the truth at the cabin about how he felt?He’d never told her how he felt before or talked about the future, besides her moving in with him a few times, and she always thought most of the time he was joking.
Jennifer looked at Tessa, confused.Tessa almost sounded like she wanted Grant in Jennifer’s life when she’d been against them all along.Jennifer opened her mouth to ask.
Tessa interrupted her thoughts.“Yeah, he did.I don’t know where you got the idea it would end.I’ve never seen a man more in love with a woman than him.If you’d see him and talk to him about this...”
“You don’t know for sure he loves me.He’s never said anything about love until yesterday, and we’ve never talked about a future for us.He’s called me ‘Love’ as an endearment, but that’s not the same thing.”
“If that man isn’t in love with you, I’ll eat my shoe.”
Her lips tried to smile but froze.“He found me.”
