That was easier said than done. The more time I spent rushing through our clinic and packing our things into boxes, the more despair dug its claws into me. Everyone was tensed and in a rush, so it was hard to think clearly and detach myself from dread and sorrow.

Marissa, Alison and I had spent the whole day moving our things out of the place, in a complete rush because the construction workers were already here with their machines and tools. The contractors barely left us a few hours to pick our things up and leave, and I was livid. I was still processing the fact that we were kicked out of the place just like that—without any prior notice.

I wasn’t sure that was legal. Was that legal?

Anyway, this didn’t seem to bother the Real Estate Silver representatives, who just dismissed me with a scornful laugh when I mentioned they shouldn’t be doing this and we would sue them. Things slightly escalated when Bobby appeared and Alison had fallen out with him. She’d used a wide spectrum of expletives, pissed off because he hadn’t notified us we were going to get kicked out today.

Luckily, I managed to console her, mentioning that we were just losing precious time on arguing when we had more important things to do.

However, no matter how important it was to tame my anger and stay concentrated on getting our entire inventory out, it was difficult to do, so I kept repeating the mantra I used when I needed to calm down.

It’s going to be alright. Today sucks, but tomorrow will be way better. Everything will be solved. Don’t worry about it.

I fiercely hoped Jared would manage to make a deal with the board and get us out of this situation because if he couldn’t... My head hurt just thinking about it.

Daniel, Marissa’s husband, lent us a hand during this crisis, which was much appreciated. He had hired several people to help us with moving out and rented a few storage units for us to keep our things while we decided on our next move.

It was too bad that we had no clue what our next step could be. Marissa had done her best to find a good enough location with low rent, but we were out of time, and the only available locations in better city areas at the moment were overpriced.

I’d spent the last hour calling my clients and canceling their appointments, declining to think about the money we were going to lose until we managed to find a solution. If we managed to find a solution...

No, don’t think like that. It’s going to be alright. It had to be.

Alison and I got inside the building to pick up a few boxes from her office, when Marissa dashed toward us, wearing a dismal expression on her face.

“They are about to start the demolition process,” she notified us, and the hands of panic grasped me again.

“But they gave us a couple more hours—” I started, but Marissa shook her head.

“They said they are running out of time and need to start the process right away. They are moving people out of the building, and they ordered us to get outside ASAP.”

“No, it can’t be,” I said in an almost whining voice. My mind went over the remaining inventory in the offices—several tables, chairs, and cabinets, the boxes with old documents, and various office supplies. We’d taken out the most important things, but still...

This wasn’t right. This absolutely wasn’t right.

“I’m going to kill Bobby the next time I see him,” Alison muttered, her eyes flashing with anger. “If we’d only known about this earlier. I can’t believe something like this is happening to us.”

Marissa shrugged her shoulders. “Daniel is trying to negotiate a new rental price for the building near the bay. He’s currently in a meeting with them, so if he manages to get us a good deal, we can move there right away.”

“But what are the odds he’ll succeed?” Alison asked her. “We talked to them, and they were pretty determined not to rent that building for anything less than what they’re asking for. It would be a miracle if he actually manages to convince them.”

“Have a little faith, will ya?” I told her.

“I’m just realistic. Your optimism can’t pull us out of this now, Claire.”

“Maybe, but Jared can. Wait. I’m going to call him and see if he managed to solve this.”

I scurried out of the building with my phone pressed to my ear, silently telling Jared to pick up his phone. I hadn’t found any messages or missed calls from him, and I didn’t know if that was a good or a bad thing.

It was ringing and ringing, but Jared didn’t answer my call, so I called him once, twice, a few times, until I saw Alison and Marissa coming out of the building, shaking their heads at me.

“It’s too late,” Alison told me. “They’re starting. Damn it. This is one of those days when I wish I hadn’t quit smoking.”

I was left speechless, for what could I say as I watched them move to destroy the building that was like a second home to Alison, Marissa, and me all these years. We’d started here, and I remembered it like it was yesterday. We had been fresh out of college, full of dreams and enthusiasm. We had believed the world was ours, sure that our business would bloom and we would cater to many clients.

We’d gotten so used to this place that we had never thought we’d be left without it one day. And now it was going to be destroyed in a blink of an eye—years and years of memories erased and left in a pile of debris.

Who knew if we were going to pull out of this and get back on our feet?

Standing between Alison and Marissa, I hugged them around their shoulders and watched the workers as they shouted orders at each other. My chest felt heavy, disappointment and a great sense of loss engulfing my heart.

“Wait!” I heard Jared yell, and I whipped my head in his direction, my heart picking up its pace.

He looked unreal as he ran toward the workers, carrying a stack of papers in one hand, his face glowing with triumph.

He’d done it. He’d managed to save our clinic.

“Stop everything!” he yelled from the top of his lungs, making sure everyone around him heard him. The contractors from Real Estate Silver hurried toward him, their scowls showing exactly what they thought about Jared’s arrival. “You can’t demolish this building! So stop right now!”

“What are you doing, Holmes?” one of them asked him. “You’re out of this, so you can’t interfere.”

“Yeah, Holmes. You have no say in this,” the other said, glaring at Jared.

“Actually, I can. I’m the new owner of this building.”

“What?” the first one said.

“The new owner?” a few people repeated in hushed whispers, while Alison, Marissa, and I looked at each other in relief and joy. He’d bought it. He’d actually bought the building and saved our clinic.

“That is not possible,” the third contractor joined them, his mouth curled inwardly. “Real Estate Silver had made the purchase, not you.”

“Actually, they haven’t signed any papers. So there was no purchase.” He sneered at them. “Since when did you become so sloppy? Were you so desperate that you were ready to demolish it without even acquiring all the necessary papers?”

What? So they were going to tear the building down before they even bought it? Were they nuts?

“We’ve made a deal with the owner,” the first contractor defended them.

“Which wasn’t documented anywhere. That’s not how the things are done, Meyers, and I thought you knew it. This is a rookie mistake. It’s something that can send you to jail and give Real Estate Silver a bad reputation, and that’s all because you and”—he pointed at all of them—“The rest of you are all goddamn greedy.”

They were fuming, and if looks could kill, Jared would already be lying dead on the ground.

“So where is the proof that you bought the building?”

With a punishing smirk, Jared flipped through the papers he was holding and turned one paper at them. “Take a closer look. Here is your proof. A signed contract of the purchase. This building is now mine.”

Meyers’s eyes had doubled, and he snatched the paper away from Jared to study it closely. “Impossible. Where did you find this amount of money?”

“The price is almost double from what we were ready to pay,” the second guy muttered.

Wow, wow, wow.

Double? Jared’s and my eyes met, and my chest expanded with love and gratitude. He’d actually given such a large amount of money to help us. He’d done this for me.

“I can’t believe this,” the third contractor said. “Are you hoodwinking us?”

Jared looked at him as if he was the dumbest person he’d ever met. “We aren’t in a gag show, Gonzales. This is real. As real as it can get. So you and your workers better leave this place before I involve the police.”

Meyers threw him a dirty look, his hands clenched on his sides. “You’re going to regret this. You shouldn’t have left Real Estate Silver.”

Jared got in his face, hovering above him by a few inches, and the difference in their power was evident, which made Meyers shrink.

“Don’t threaten me, Meyers. You’re all bark and no bite. For years you’ve been trying to sabotage me, fighting for my spot, but you’ll never get it, even with me out of the picture. Do you know why? Because you’re a greedy, incompetent fool who knows nothing about business. You’ll never be able to achieve what I’ve achieved in Real Estate Silver. Besides, there are plenty other people more competent than you, so you can kiss the CEO’s position goodbye.”

Meyers was visibly shaking, but he couldn’t say anything, defeat visible on his face.

“Nothing smart to say? I didn’t think so.” He looked at all of them. “Good. So, gentlemen, now that we’ve discussed this, get your asses out of here.”

In a minute, the workers and the contractors dispersed, taking their machines away, and I felt ecstatic, grinning at Marissa and Alison like a Cheshire cat.

Jared turned around and our eyes connected. As if some invisible string was pulling me toward him, I rushed into his embrace and pressed my lips against his. The hand that was holding the papers snaked around my waist to hold me flush against him, while his other hand pushed through my hair, keeping my head at an angle.

His tongue thrust into my mouth, claiming me, and I lost myself in him and our passion. He’d saved Pathways. I had no words good enough to express my gratitude to him.

“Thank you so much, Jared.” I cupped his face, staring at him fervently. “Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

“That’s nothing, babe. I’d do anything to make you happy. Now you don’t have to move and worry about it anymore. Everything is settled.”

Happy tears came to my eyes, blurring my vision as I returned his smile. “I’m sorry for accusing you and for insulting you. I was so unfair.”

“That doesn’t matter. You were understandably hurt, so you don’t have to apologize about that.”

“Still, it wasn’t right. This means a lot to me. You saved my clinic. I... I don’t have the right words to thank you.”

He nuzzled my cheek. “You don’t have to. All I need is you.”

“You already have me.”

He raised his eyebrow. “Oh? So does that mean you’re my girlfriend? We haven’t talked about this, but it’s pretty much a given, I think.”

My lips stretched into a gigantic smile. “Cocky much?”

He pulled me against him, his darkened eyes taking my breath away. “You’re mine, Claire.”

I nodded to him, having an urge to dance around from happiness. “I’m all yours. And yes. I’m your girlfriend.”

“I love you.”

“And I love you even more.”

“Look at you two. So sweet,” Alison said from beside us, grinning at us. She winked at Marissa, who was standing next to her. “Aren’t you going to introduce us to this wonderful man, who has just saved our clinic and who is, by the way, really, really hot?”

We burst into laughter, all of us finally able to relax. The worst had passed.

“This calls for a celebration,” Marissa said a while after.

“For sure,” Jared agreed. “Let’s throw a party.”

“Did someone say party?” Alison winked at me. There she was. The party girl. “This is going to be good.”

I looked at Jared and slid my fingers across his shoulder. “You’re amazing. I was so lucky to have met you.”

“I bet you didn’t think that way the day we met.”

“Yeah. But, boy, I was never more glad to be wrong about someone than now.”

“Me too, love. Me too.”