And if there was anything I was good at, it was going for broke. Go big or go home. I could pull out all the stops one last time… for her.
“Okay,” I decided out loud. “I’ll see what I can do. But if she doesn’t take me back…”
“We know,” Lucas sighed. “We’ll just get the same old Joshua we’ve grown so used to… and sick of.”
“Who we also love,” Jada offered.
“No,” I told them. “If she doesn’t take me back… I’ll do better. You’re all right. This has gone on long enough. More than long enough. You gave me a chance, and I fucked it up. But… I don’t want to let you all down the way Dad did. I can be a better man than that.”
“First things first,” Camille said. “Go get your girl.”
I tossed out the rest of my spiked coffee in the sink and set out to make all the arrangements in my office. I felt the first rise of determination I had felt since that night when everything first went wrong. I was starting to think I just might stand a chance when several persistent, rather urgent, messages started coming through from the IT team. I tried to ignore them, but they quickly escalated into panicked calls from my secretary followed by a shuffle outside my office.
My door suddenly burst open, and I was shocked to see Christopher the doctor standing there, pushing his way past my secretary.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Meadows! I tried to stop him!”
“It’s okay,” I waved him in, walking over to shut the door behind him. “I’m surprised to see you here.”
“I know what you did,” he fumed. “After running into Abby at the restaurant, I pieced it all together. A little pressure on your IT team, once I knew the right questions to ask, and they caved. You tricked me!”
“I did,” I admitted. “And it was shitty, but… You have to know. I did it because…”
“Because what!?” he snapped. “Because you love her!? I know a thing or two about love, buddy. And I know that’s not it. Cock-blocking me out of her life! That’s crazy!”
“Is it?” I winced.
“Yeah. It is. I just came by to tell you that I had my own good thing going. But I was so bothered by the thing with Abby that she got mad and dumped me.”
“I got dumped too,” I told him. “So if you’re looking for sympathy… you came to the wrong place.”
“Not sympathy,” he shook his head. “I’m just letting you know that I’m going to try and win Abby back. And if you try to stop me this time, I’ll come back here and punch you in the face. I’m a doctor, so I know all the right bones to strike to do the most damage.”
I was close to saving us both the trouble and taking a swing at him right then and there, but then I thought about how hurt Abby was when she found out what I did. I didn’t give a damn about Christopher, but I wasn’t going to make the same mistake with her again.
“I think you should try to win her back,” I told him.
“What?”
“It’s her choice. Not mine. Not yours,” I explained. “I’m going to try and win her back too, of course. But… I won’t stop you. May the best man win.”
“I can assure you if that’s the standard we’re going by, it will be me,” he scoffed, looking me up and down with disgust. I thought he was about to spit at my feet by the way he looked, but instead he just turned and stormed off. The security guards were arriving just as he walked out my door, but he pushed them off. “I’m going, alright? I’m going!”
I swallowed hard, watching Christopher march all the way to the elevators. Things just got even more challenging. I’m sure he did think he was the better man, and maybe Abby did too. But there was no way he felt the same way about her as I did. Hell, I didn’t have her phone number at first either, and I still stopped at nothing to pursue her.
But I had to keep my wits about me and stay focused if I stood a chance. I had a plan, and it was a good one. Or maybe just a crazy one. Either way, I was a man in love. And if any part of Abby loved me back, I just might have been able to pull it off.
I sat back down at my desk and got back to work on the arrangements. If nothing else, I would at least see her one last time. And she would know how I really felt once and for all.
