“I knew it,” Nadine whispered triumphantly. “Maybe I’ll get a chance to go to LA soon after all!”
And that’s when Emma was struck by her second epiphany of the day: Nadine Pittman was really, truly in love with George Knightley.
CHAPTER 28
EMMA
3/20
Knightley. This is a text message. It comes through your cellular telephone. I know you probably enjoy strolling to the mailbox and reading your correspondences on paper like the olden days, but this is how people stay in touch. Write back and I’ll tell you all the things you are missing in New York.
3/22
I read today that it hasn’t rained in Los Angeles in one month. How boring. You would never believe what’s happening here. Did you drop your phone in the Pacific Ocean?
3/31
Knightley - I found your stash of Thin Mints in the freezer. Am holding what’s left for ransom. Write back or I’ll have to resort to sending a carrier pigeon.
EMMA
4/10
Hey. Hope you’re well. Wondering if you’ll be back before the baby is born? Margo was asking. Take care.
Knightley’s fingers hovered over his phone’s illuminated keyboard. A litany of possible replies ran through his head, but his hands didn’t move. They never did. It was a routine that was becoming a habit. His phone would ping with a new text from Emma, and then he would stare at it for too long before finally deciding to reply later. Later would come and he would convince himself it was now too late to reply at all.
Per usual, he abandoned his response to the latest message after another minute, letting his phone fall onto the glass top of his desk with a loud clang. Then he spun around in his chair and looked around his office. It was new enough that the smell of paint and plaster still tinged the air. The newly installed windows on the far side were still painfully clean too, highlighting the sharp lines of downtown Los Angeles just outside Knightley Capital. He stared out at the glass-and-steel buildings, trying to ignore the din of activity outside his closed door. Everyone out there was busy. Each person had their specific task and was doing that task well. It was good news. At least it should be.
He swung back around, pressing a button on his desk phone’s intercom.
“Yes?” Nicole answered. She was his new assistant out here and sitting only a few feet beyond his door.
“Hi, Nicole, has Blaxton sent a redline of that contract to Legal yet?”
“Yes, it came through end of day yesterday. Legal reviewedthis morning and has a call to discuss with the Wentworth team tomorrow. Did you want me to add you to the invite?”
“No, that’s fine,” he murmured, mulling over whatever else could be outstanding. “And how about the final site visit to the new office space?”
“Still scheduled for Thursday afternoon. Our team has a meeting at four to review the lease.” She hesitated. “Did you want me to add you to that invite?”
He ran a hand down his face. Did he? Of course not. He couldn’t give two shits about the final details of an equipment lease contract. Or walking around an empty office building yet again. He already had a capable team handling both, along with dozens of others on hand to lend their support.
“No. Thank you, Nicole.”
“Of course. Let me know if you need anything else.”
He pressed the red button on his phone, hanging up, and allowed his eyes to slide to the window again.
What the hell was he doing here? He might as well be back in New York. He faced the same problem there, but at least he could wander over to Ben and Margo’s if he got bored. Grab Emma and go to a movie or the museum. Walk through the park with her and hear about her day. Just go next door and see her face.
His head fell back against his chair. He missed home. He missed her.
Despite running away, burying himself in work, there was no escaping it: he was in love with her.
But this was for the best. Wasn’t it? He had to get away, give her space without his constant hovering. The Wentworth acquisition gave him the perfect excuse; he had to be on the ground here to manage it. Except that after barely twenty-four hours it had been blatantly clear that the LA team had the acquisition under control.Will had intimated as much when Knightley had called him before he left, but he didn’t let that stop him from inserting himself in meetings, phone calls, approvals, anything to justify his presence. In the end, it was only a hindrance.
Why couldn’t he let go? It seemed like he needed to control every element of his life, when all he really needed to do was take a step back. He knew this, so why couldn’t he actually do it?
