Chapter 17

Mia

My eyes burned as I stepped onto the waiting elevator car. I didn’t even have it in me to banter with Stan as I arrived at the office. He didn’t push it.

I was bone tired after my week in California. I needed at least another week on a deserted island to get my head on straight and my game face on.

Despite my parents’ protests, I’d accepted a ride from the driver Hudson had sent over and had flown back to Portland in his jet. Alone.

It was horribly depressing that I had only noted the opulence of the thing once its devastatingly handsome owner was no longer around to see it. It had plush carpeting and intricate designs in the wooden trim, inlaid with gold threads.

The seats were more comfortable than my bed, and I drifted away into a fitful sleep shortly after takeoff.

The meal smelled delicious, but I was incapable of tasting anything. I ate it anyway. Never one to give up a great meal, even if I couldn’t taste it.

It stunned me I’d been on the same jet days before but I hadn’t noticed my surroundings. I blamed Hudson’s commanding presence and my mild panic attack of introducing a man to my family.

I wanted to speak to Hudson, to ask him how he’d gone from poverty to owning such a luxurious jet, but his phone was disconnected. I hadn’t heard a word from him since he’d strutted out of my parents’ house on Friday afternoon. I doubted that I ever would.

The elevator car was abuzz with gossip on the way up, and as soon as the doors opened, the reason became clear. A part of my heart shattered when a graying head of hair became visible over the top of Hudson’s chair.

Henry Carson was a striking man, but he lacked the presence of Hudson Blake. Without Hudson in it, his office seemed smaller. Less significant.

“Doyle, you hear the news?” Clive asked as I neared my cubicle. He wore a ‘cat who ate the canary’ grin and was making no secret of the fact that we were standing around talking instead of working.

Mr. Carson still had his back turned to us as he sat in Hudson’s chair.

In fact, it dawned on me that the entire office had a jovial vibe to it. Everyone seemed relaxed, and no one even seemed to have turned their computers on yet.

“What news?” I played dumb, dumping my stuff in my bottom drawer and reaching for the power button on my computer.

“Blake’s out, Carson’s in.” He raised his hand for a high five. I stared at it until he dropped it back to his side.

“Blake’s out?” I asked, needing to know as much as everyone else did.

“Yup.” Clive was giddy with excitement. “No one knows exactly why yet, but Carson arrived this morning, told us the good news.”

“Good news?” Things already seemed to be going to shit without Hudson there. The phones were ringing off the hook, there were piles of paperwork being delivered to each desk, but no one seemed to take notice. At that rate, the company would go belly up before the gossip simmered down.

“Okay, okay.” Clive grinned. “Great news, I grant you.”

“How is Hudson leaving great news?”

I honestly didn’t know why he was so excited. Hudson hadn’t been an easy boss, but at least the office had felt like one with him in charge. With Mr. Carson there, it felt like a high school cafeteria.

“Come on, Mia. You know better than anyone how big of a prick the guy was.”

He didn’t need to know how big of a prick the guy had. Or the fact that he knew how to use it, which was one of the many reasons why I didn’t share in his excitement.

I’d seen a side of Hudson no one else had, and it made me sad to think they probably never would. Hudson really was a good guy. He deserved tears at the news of his departure, not joy and a gossip fest.

“I understand your sentiments, Clive, but he was a hell of a person to learn from. Wouldn’t you say?”

Clive scratched his brow in contemplation. “I guess, but I’ll bet Carson is better. It helps that he’s already less of a fucking tyrant.”

“Yeah, but—”

Jenny appeared at my elbow, cutting me off from defending Hudson more. “Mr. Carson would like to see you, Mia. Immediately.” Her tone was clipped. At least one person was still focused on getting their damned work done.

“I’ll be right there. Thanks, Jenny.” Jenny smiled at me in gratitude and headed back to her post, where she was madly answering phones and scowling at the secretaries who weren’t.

“I guess I’ll see you later,” I said to Clive, who had finally turned on his computer, even as he turned to speak to the man who occupied the cubicle on the other side of him. It was the first time I realized I didn’t even know the man’s name. I couldn’t care less.

“Later, Mia,” Clive said, but was clearly immersed in the conversation with someone far more receptive to his bitching about our former boss.

I sighed, locked my bottom drawer out of habit, and set off to Hudson’s—no, Carson’s—office.

Carson saw me approaching and gestured me into the office without the need to knock. He grinned as I stepped into the familiar office that felt entirely alien without Hudson’s presence occupying every inch of it.

“Good morning, Ms. Doyle.” Carson rose when I entered and extended his hand to me.

I shook it politely, slightly shaken by the complete 180 in the management style of the two men who’d held the office in my time there. “Good morning, Mr. Carson.”

“Call me Henry, please.” His eyes crinkled with a kind smile, fatherly almost. “Have a seat, Mia. May I call you Mia?”

“Of course, Henry.” I followed his instructions and perched on the seat nearest to the door. As suffocating as I’d once found Hudson’s presence, I felt the lack of it with a painful intensity.

“Would you like some coffee?” he offered, settling back in Hudson’s monstrous power-chair. It didn’t suit Henry, even if he did radiate his own brand of control.

“Yes please, if it’s not too much trouble.” I desperately needed caffeine if I was going to get through one more second of this godforsaken day.

Henry waved his hand dismissively and pressed a button on his phone. “Jenny, please fix two cups of coffee.”

“I can just get it, Henry. There are a few machines in here.” It annoyed me that he might not even know that much.

“Yes, but I prefer the coffee from the machine in my office. Though, I suppose I’ll have to have it moved into this office for now.” He sighed.

The man looked like he’d aged since I’d seen him not two weeks earlier.

It was clear that Hudson’s leaving was taking a toll on him, too. I vowed to take it easier on the guy. I didn’t know him well, but his name was on the label, so there had to be a story there I’d never gotten around to hearing.

“As you might have heard by now, Mr. Blake has taken a leave of absence.” Well, at least he didn’t beat about the bush.

“I did. I was sorry to hear it.”

Henry’s eyebrows shot up so high I thought they were about to disappear into his receding hairline. “You were?” He sounded surprised.

“I was.”

I was relieved to see Henry’s expression soften and his face relax. “That makes two of us. That boy deserved a god damn marching band for everything he did around here, yet everyone seems overjoyed that he’s gone. I haven’t been able to even turn my chair in the direction of their celebrations since I arrived.” The despair in his voice was almost sad.

It seemed like an inappropriate time to point out that Hudson was very much a man, he had left any traces of boyhood behind a long time ago. “That’s true, but I doubt anyone knew him the way we did.”

Henry’s eyes regarded me with a careful assessment. It was clear he was a man who knew more than he let on and saw more than his gaze betrayed. He reminded me of my grandfather, who had insisted, even after the wedding had gone up in spectacular flames, that they hadn’t seen the last of Hudson.

“I think you may be correct, Mia. As sad as that might be.” Henry looked tired, beaten. A little like I thought I looked. I wondered if I’d dodged a bullet or lost the man who might have become the love of my life.

“I’m sure you’ve heard that Mr. Maxwell is retiring in a matter of days,” Henry continued.

I cleared my throat, which was suddenly threatening to close. “Yes, I have heard. It’ll be a huge loss to BC Records when he leaves.”

The old man’s eyes narrowed contemplatively. “It will yes. Have you thought about your future here?”

“Some,” I admitted. I wasn’t about to tell him how much.

“I spoke with Hudson before he left.”

That surprised me. My heart started hammering. I didn’t know why I’d thought he hadn’t spoken to anyone before he’d disappeared. Of course, he would’ve spoken to Henry, at the very least.

“You did?” My voice was more breathless than it should have been.

“I did. We agreed it would be best if you took over Mr. Maxwell’s position. Hudson even left some notes for you before he left on client files he needed you to take over immediately.”

My heart should have soared at the news, but it didn’t. It felt like a hollow victory. Even if I didn’t know whether Hudson had instructed Henry to give me the position because he thought I deserved it and not just because of our deal, it felt wrong not having him there promoting me himself. I needed to know.

“Thank you, Henry, but I just don’t know—”

He cut me off. “He was quite insistent, Mia. As was I. You’re the perfect fit for the position. The only reason we didn’t offer you the job the moment Mr. Maxwell turned in his resignation was because Hudson thought he could handle it himself.” Henry was surprisingly forthcoming, but his shoulders sagged, and it was clear he was just relieved to have someone to speak to.

He had answered my question though. It meant more to me than I could explain to Henry to know Hudson trusted me with what he’d thought was a job only he should be doing.

“Thank you, Henry. To both of you. I’ll do my best. Please tell Hudson that, when you speak to him.” I was pretty sure he’d hear from Hudson before I did.

“I will, Mia. Does this mean you’ll accept our offer?”

“Absolutely.” He breathed an audible sigh of relief at my answer.

I said my goodbyes and swept back into the fishbowl, finding the chatter had died down a little, but not nearly enough. It took everything I had not to get up on my desk, whistle, and tell people to get the fuck back to work.

I was definitely not as happy as I thought I’d be at being promoted.