“Just, just wait a minute, ok?”
“A minute is all I can give you. I got a seat on a flight that leaves at 7:00.”
He types hastily on his phone and then looks up at me, pain shining in his eyes. God, it’s almost enough to break my resolve, but if I do, I’ll just be putting us both on this hellish merry-go-round again.
“Nate’ll make sure you get to the airport safe and sound, ok. And text when you get in. I might be passed out, but I’ll want to know.”
“Ev…”
“You better go. My minute’s up,” he says and walks into the bathroom, an empty glass in hand. Before I think better of it, I open the door to find Nate waiting for me. Silently, he takes my suitcase, and I follow him down the hall.
Nate hands me a fresh cup of coffee, and I’m grateful. I’d smile, but moving my face hurts.
“Breakfast is on the way.”
“You eat. I don’t even want to think about food.” The champagne alone wouldn’t have been so bad, but then I found a bottle of bourbon in the mini bar.
Just then, there’s a knock on the door. A minute later, Nate brings in a tray overflowing with food. The delicious aromas of sugar and grease hit me at once, and, impossibly, I’m hungry.
Nate laughs. “Yea, I thought you’d change your mind. Eat up. The food will absorb all the alcohol left in your system and then we can get down to work.”
I’d balk at taking orders from my assistant, but we’ve become good friends over the last few months. Also, based on the events of last night, I clearly can’t run my own life at this point, so it’s probably best to let Nate take the reins.
We dig into the food before us, and the room is silent for a few minutes while we eat. I take another sip of coffee before I say, “So, she seemed—”
Drawing the shades, he turns toward me. “Just like the last five times you asked, she seemed broken-hearted. But, physically, she was fine. You know that. You said she texted last night.”
Turning away from the bright light emanating from the window, I take my coffee and my waffle and move to the other side of the suite. Molly did text last night. At 9:15, she sent ‘Landed’ and at 11:30, she sent ‘Home.’ Not much room there for conversation, but at least I knew she was safe. “She did. I didn’t know how to respond without pouring my heart out or starting another fight, so I just replied with the thumbs up both times.”
“You responded with emojis? Good Lord, save me from Millenials.” He shakes his head in frustration, then lifts the tray of food and places it down on the coffee table in front of me. “Help yourself to eggs and bacon, my friend, I’m about to coach you through a breakup.”
“We did not break up.”
“And yet, the fact that I drove a crying woman to the airport last night would suggest otherwise.”
I wince. “We didn’t. We’re just—”
“If you say you were ‘on a break,’ heaven help me, I’ll lose my damn mind.”
I’ve got nothing to say to that, so I shove a forkful of eggs in my mouth.
“So, maybe we’re not quite ready to talk about the...whatever it was. Let’s get some work done. That’ll clear your head a bit.”
Kid’s got a point. “Sounds good. I need to catch up on my emails, anyway. My inbox is likely flooded.”
I grab my computer and top off my coffee. At least my head isn’t pounding anymore.
“Uh, speaking of emails...check the one that just came in from Steve Akers.”
“The Senior VP of International Accounts?”
“Yep. He sent it within the last hour.”
I read through the message. He wants to meet for lunch today to discuss a promotion. He doesn’t offer a ton of details, but it’s clear that this would be a step up.
Nate clears his throat. “If you’ve got a lunch meeting in three hours, we need to get started, so you have plenty of time to clean yourself up.”
I run my hand through my bedhead and down across my cheek, grazing the scruff that’s grown there in the last twenty-four hours. “Yea, sounds like a plan.”
