Chapter 15

Tyler

I felt like I was living a double life. Stretched thin, and tired out from airlines. I found myself back at the airport, ready to bolt across the continent all over again. Glancing at my phone, I remembered the conversation I’d just had with Quinn. I’d ranted like a lunatic about Marnie, sounding probably insane and angry; so unlike the man I truly was. I was falling for this woman. There was no doubt about it.

Would I allow it though?

It seemed too complex to consider, now. I boarded the plane and kept myself busy with work emails, connecting to the business class Internet and prepping for the afternoon of meetings. A new client emergency. My ass! Probably several too many beers with Hank, and then falling into another sterile hotel bed.

“You should probably just get a place out here,” Samantha had joked again, sounding sultry, as if she were telling me to get undressed.

After the long meeting, I met with the other partners and Samantha to divulge what had happened. Miraculously, the client had agreed to our terms, after initially getting cold feet. As I read through my notes, flashing the presentation on the white board, I held their attention.

And when it was over, Hank began to clap. His face was red-blotched as if he’d already slung back a few. Then he said, “Listen, Tyler. I think we need to have a serious chat about your performance here.”

The others nodded their heads, shifting in their chairs. Dropping my finger over the power button, I turned the presentation off, sensing a darkness falling around us.

Then Roger began. He was over sixty and dominant and spoke with the air of someone narrating a documentary. “We know that you took this job with the idea that you would spend the majority of your time out east. But, I’ll tell you, Tyler. In the past few weeks, we’ve been incredibly impressed. The performance at this office has increased dramatically. And for this reason, we’d like to request that you move out west. For good.”

Shit!

I hadn’t expected this.

“Wow,” I began, spreading my hands wide on top of the table. The five of them blinked at me, leaning in close. Samantha’s fingers were poised on top of her laptop, taking rapid notes.

“We didn’t expect it would come to this, either,” Carlos said. “But honestly, we’re going to be moving away from the eastern offices more and more over the coming years. And the money is over here, in the west. Your problem, I take it, is with your daughter? You don’t want to uproot her?”

“Yes, it is,” I said, shrugging slightly.

“With the money, you’ll be making over here; you can send her to some of the best schools in the city. You mentioned she’s interested in science? You can send her to one that will basically fast-track her into whatever field she’s into. Medical, research, whatever. You can afford to send her on a fucking safari to study elephants, you know? You should consider that before you say no.”

Exhaling deeply, I glanced toward the wide floor-to-ceiling window, which stretched out toward the bay. With one, single flash, I felt I could see our entire future out west, away from the treachery of her mother; far from those kids who wouldn’t stop teasing her.

“I’ll have to speak to her about it,” I responded. After a long, empty pause, I added, “But honestly, guys. It sounds like it’s probably the right move.”

Standing up, I shook each of their hands, avoiding eye contact with Samantha. I spun out of the room, thinking about an evening alone, perhaps with a burrito and beer, simmering the events of the previous day.

This career move would be beneficial for all of us. It would negate the need to send Marnie all those horrible ‘custody’ checks (which I knew she spent on gambling). And it would help Rachel on her quest to rule the world.

But—and I hated that this thought even formed in my mind—what would happen to Quinn?

She was gradually becoming a part of our family even in the short time we had known her. The person I called when I was stuck.

The person I’d wrapped my firm arms around at night, inhaling the gorgeous scent of her hair that left me absolutely intoxicated and wanted more of her.

Could I really cut off the first relationship I’d had in the years since my divorce? What was the point of life, if I couldn’t accept love? What was the point if I didn’t pay attention, when a chance at living again reared its gorgeous head and requested my love, in return?

But in reality, I knew Quinn was in no position for this. She’d just been deceived. Her opinion of love was slight, if in any way existent, as she tried to repair herself after her boyfriend had cheated on her.

I didn’t know what to do about us, or if there was even an ‘us’ to consider. And so I spent the evening alone, nibbling a burrito and sipping a beer. Knowing that across the continent, Rachel and Quinn were collapsed in front of my television, each of them anticipating my return for very different reasons. My damn heart ached for both of them.