“We’ve got the press release ready to go out. Just tell us when.” Margaret popped into Josh’s office and smiled.
“Let’s hold off.” Josh cleared his throat. “We might want to come up with a new one.”
“Why’s that? The one you came up with is brilliant. It’s full of intrigue, scandal—”
And it could make her world implode, which wasn’t anything Josh had intended. He just wanted answers, but sometimes, it was hard to separate the two Joshes and he found himself in predicaments that always put him in the winning position.
“We aren’t even sure she’s going to be able to get us a chapter, let alone an entire book. I want to see what she’s capable of before we start a big marketing push and lose our shirts.”
“Whatever you say.” Margaret’s smile dropped and she slumped away, but he was the boss. If she didn’t like his decision, that was her problem. He was the person who had to live with his choices, not Margaret.
He knew he could get the industry talking if he started now. It was all about creating buzz and getting the people salivating for the story, but if the story fell flat, the reputation of his company was on the line.
Not to mention, he’d suddenly grown a heart after reading Hailee’s responses. He’d always wanted to know why she’d left, but he never expected that she regretted her decision. He also wasn’t sure she had ever really cared. If those responses were an accurate depiction, then she actually had, and there was something more driving her decisions. And he needed to know what that was.
One thing was for sure. Ever since Josh had read her responses—however short—he’d been plagued by guilt and a real desire to see Hailee Howard face-to-face. Since he was in deep with the situation he’d put them both in, he figured the best way to see her was in person so he could explain everything.
As of now, the state of affairs looked really shady, and that was probably because it kind of was. He’d used his position of power to dangle something in front of Hailee that he knew would be nearly impossible for her to turn down. At the time, he didn’t feel so sorry about it, but now he did.
Suzanne walked into his office without skipping a beat and sat in the chair across from him. Today, her bright red lipstick was almost blinding, but it suited her. She was definitely a woman you didn’t want to cross, and the look in her eyes at this particular moment told him she’d just accomplished something.
“I definitely need to get out there and in front of Emilia.” Josh stared at Suzanne.
“I talked to Emilia’s agent, and he got her on a local talk show.” She smiled. “You’re sure that you can go out there and sweet-talk her?” Her expression turned solemn, and she leaned into the desk. “Because you’re not really one to do that well.”
Josh laughed and nodded in agreement. “I doubt what I’ll be doing will count as sweet talking.” The one thing he hadn’t done was divulge the real reasons he wanted Hailee Howard to write this book. If he had, there’d probably be a Suzanne revolt, and that was a headache he didn’t feel like dealing with. As far as he was concerned, it would be a very long time before it came out that the answers Hailee gave had anything to do with him.
“So when do I need to get out there?”
“Two days from now.”
Josh nodded and texted his brother, Sam. If he was going to make the trip, he ought to make it worth it and head up to Silver Ridge after Hailee’s interview.
“Is there anything else you need from me? I was thinking about heading out early.” Suzanne grinned slyly.
“I think I’m set. I guess this is our last shot at getting something out of this writer.”
“Seems that way.” Suzanne blushed.
“What did I just see?” Josh’s brow rose. Never in his life had he witnessed a blush, a flush, or any such thing surface on Suzanne’s porcelain white skin, and here she did both.
She pulled her dark brows together. “What are you talking about?”
“Your cheeks are red.”
“I’m going on a date tonight.”
“Seriously?”
“You don’t have to act so surprised.”
“It’s just that I’ve worked with you for over five years and I’ve never heard of you dating.”
“I happened to be reading some of Emilia’s posts and realized why I might be single.”
Josh rolled his eyes. “Well, good. I’ll be sure to let Emilia know that while her editor has no book to read, she’s had plenty of time to invest in reading her blog.”
“I’m telling you, she really gets to the heart of the matter.”
“Well, good. I look forward to seeing that in about eighty thousand words or so.”
Suzanne stood up and laughed. “I’m sure you do.”
“Let me know how it goes.”
“Not in a million years.” Suzanne smiled, and Josh laughed just as a reply came back from his cousin, Sam.
Austin confirmed it. Hailee bought back her grandparents’ home. She’s a bit wishy-washy on whether she’s staying or not, but I thought you’d be interested.
Josh didn’t know whether to be excited or freaked out about this news. He liked visiting Silver Ridge because it was complication-free, and Hailee’s moving back to town certainly caused complications. He’d just have to wait to see how the conversation went. She might decide to leave and change her name again.
He shot an email to his assistant to make plane reservations right when Suzanne suddenly appeared in his office doorway again.
“I thought you were off to—”
“Emilia did it. She sent over a chapter, and it’s awesome. It’s unbelievable. The best stuff she’s written. I guess you were right. She just needed some writing prompts. Maybe you don’t have to go out there after all.” Her eyes sparkled with delight as she marched into Josh’s office holding a stack of pages. Looking completely satisfied, she slapped them on his desk. “I guess that’s why you’re the boss.”
Josh could barely hear Suzanne. All he cared about was what Emilia had written. He reached for the first page and began to read the words he’d been waiting eighteen years to see.
There once lived a boy who stole my heart, and I broke his in return. But sometimes, life isn’t that simple, and love certainly never is. When I made the decision to leave the love of my life, I made one promise to myself.
Never look back.
And I’ve spent eighteen years doing exactly that.
Charging forward and promising myself I’d made the right decisions along the way.
Maybe I have. Perhaps I haven’t. The one thing that is certain is that I’ll never know. I can’t live in the past. I wouldn’t survive there. I barely survive in the present, and who knows about the future?
I’ve been determined to put my demons behind me and hold onto the fresh start and new beginnings I’ve clung to since I made up my mind to leave my hometown and never return.
But that’s the problem. I came back.
I returned to the one place that held more heartache than one person should ever have to bear, and I revisited the one place that held more beautiful moments than are fit for this world.
I see the town as an outsider, filled with the very people I left behind, but I suppose that was always part of the problem. I was an outsider.
And I’m not sure much has changed. I still watch the world go by with curiosity only strong enough to make me a witness, not a participant.
I’ve spent most of my life watching. I suppose that’s why I might be able to lend some advice. I’m busy watching others’ mistakes and failures while refusing to analyze my own.
But like I’ve mentioned, the demons that sent me far away from the little town I once loved have now pulled me back, and I don’t understand why.
And I’ll never expect the boy I left to understand me because I’d imagine that now, he’s grown into an amazing man with an amazing family, living in an amazing home, all without me.
Because the world will go on without me, which is why I’m no longer me.
I’m Emilia Hudson, and the world I created needs me.