Ashley

“You did the right thing,” Cass said.

“I told you he wouldn’t believe me,” I said.

“He had to know. Despite how he reacted, he had to know the truth.”

“I’m not crazy, right?”

“No. Now that you’ve explained it, it makes perfect sense. Now, because of his stubbornness, he’ll lose his company over it.”

“He doesn’t deserve that.”

“And you don’t deserve the way he talked to you,” she said.

I laid in bed with Cass at my side. I didn’t go to work, nor did I call in. I didn’t care to be there any longer. I didn’t care what happened with Big Steps. I was still reeling from how Jimmy talked to me, the anger in his eyes and the aggressiveness of his actions.

“He said I was the same as Nina,” I said breathlessly.

“Listen, you’re nothing like that bitch. This falls on his shoulders now. You did your part and washed your hands of all this,” Cass said.

“I can’t be with someone who talks to me like that,” I said.

“I agree with you, but is that what you want? To break up with him?”

“It is. But I want to do it face-to-face.”

“No text message breakups here?” she asked.

“No. I want to look him in his eyes before I walk away from him. I want him to know this was all because of him. We allowed the stress of Nina and his company and this entire situation get in the way of something beautiful.”

“Do you love him?”

I felt tears brewing at the back of my eyes, but I refused to cry. I wasn’t going to shed any more tears over this man. I had cried enough, and it was time for me to move on, even if it meant leaving the company altogether.

“I think I could have,” I said. “Given enough time. I do care about him, but I don’t know if we can come back from this. I don’t know if I’ll ever feel safe around him again.”

“Do you want me to go with you when you break up with him?” Cass asked. “I could sit in the car or something.”

“No. I need to do this on my own. I need to start being able to make these moves without people pushing me to do it. We’ve run our course, and who knows? Maybe I’ve run my course with Big Steps in general.”

“That’s a serious step, Ashley. You’d have to find a job and quickly. You can’t afford this apartment otherwise.”

“I’ll figure it out along the way. I’ll make sure my mother’s taken care of, and I’ll make sure I have a roof over my head. I always do. It’s not fair the way he treated me, and I know it’ll affect our working relationship from here on out.”

“If there’s a company after the end of this week,” she said. “When are you going to do it?”

“I’m going to call him and see if he can get drinks with me tonight. I’ll do it then.”

“Want me to stick around here? For when you get back?”

“Will you?” I asked.

“Of course, I will, Ashley.”

I reached over and grabbed my phone. I sighed as I dialed Jimmy’s number and held the phone to my ear. I was honestly shocked he picked up, but I could tell he wasn’t happy it was me.

“Ashley.”

“Hey, Jimmy. Listen, are you free tonight?” I asked.

“Why aren’t you at work?”

“For the same reason you weren’t yesterday,” I said.

“You should’ve called in if you wanted a personal day.”

“Well, I’m calling now. We need to talk,” I said.

There was a silence on the other end of the line before I heard Jimmy shuffling around.

“What time and where?” he asked.

“Seven? There’s a place near my apartment called—”

“Seven at The Shack. Got it. See you then.”

Then he hung up on me, and I tossed my phone across the room.

Cass stayed with me for the rest of the day before I headed out to meet Jimmy. I knew this wasn’t going to end well, but it needed to end. Whether it cost me my job or not, I wasn’t sure we could ever come back from this. My hands were shaking as I walked into the bar, and I scanned the room to see if Jimmy was there yet.

And when I didn’t see him, I headed for a booth in the back.

I was sipping on a glass of wine when he sat down in front of me. His eyes were cold, and his face was stern. He was still in his business suit, and he was distant.

I knew then and there I was making the right decision.

Because he had already shut me out.

“Thanks for meeting me,” I said.

“Thanks for finally calling in,” Jimmy said.

“Do you want anything to drink?”

“I’ve already got something coming. I’m ready whenever you are.”

“How are things going with the detectives?” I asked.

“You mean have they found anything to support your insane claims?” he asked.

I drew in a deep breath as I cast my gaze out the window. I wasn’t going to let him get to me. I wasn’t going to let him intimidate me like he could other people.

“I’m ready for your apology whenever you’re ready to give it,” Jimmy said.

“Apology?” I asked. “For what?”

“Isn’t that why we’re here? So you can apologize for barging into my office and claiming my mentor’s behind all this?”

I gawked at Jimmy as I turned my gaze back to him.

“You thought I brought you out here to apologize?” I asked.

“Only logical explanation,” he said.

“No, it’s your logical explanation based on your out-of-control emotional demeanor, but I didn’t ask you to drinks to apologize.”

“Well, it certainly isn’t a date,” he said.

“No, it’s not. Because we aren’t together.”

I watched the life drain from behind Jimmy’s eyes as his posture faltered.

“What?” he asked.

“I told you the truth yesterday about Markus and the proof I had. Whether you choose to believe it or not is on you. If you don’t believe, you’ll lose your company. It’s that simple, but I’m done here.”

I watched him clench his jaw as he straightened back up.

“With us,” Jimmy said.

“Yes. With us. After watching you morph into ... whatever it was you were yesterday, I could never feel safe with you again. I don’t think you will ever trust me again, and I know I’ll never trust you enough to come to you with anything. Nothing important, anyway. I have a feeling this will undoubtedly affect our working relationship, but I’ll focus on that another day.”

Jimmy’s eyes locked onto mine, but he didn’t pipe up with anything of his own. I drank down the rest of my wine, pulled out my wallet, and threw a fifty-dollar bill on the table.

“To cover you and me,” I said.

I scooted away from the booth and turned my back on Jimmy. He didn’t come after me, and he didn’t call out my name. He didn’t try to stop me nor did he run up behind me. I walked out of the bar and stood at the curb, allowing the cold air to dry the tears threatening to spill over my cheeks.

A part of me still wanted him to come after me, but I knew he wouldn’t. I was nothing more than a thorn in his side, a “Nina” he needed to get rid of. I wondered if this was how the breakup between them went down, if he left her or if she got fed up and left him. I ran across the road, taking the only opening I had as I reached the sidewalk on the far side of the road.

I turned back to see if I could see him, to see if he’d thought about things and decided to come looking for me.

But he wasn't coming out of the bar, and he wasn’t standing on the edge of the road. He wasn’t calling out my name or asking me to come back. I stood there for a few minutes and finally watched him emerge, and my heart soared.

Maybe he was coming to find me.

Maybe he was going to cross the street and come to my apartment.

But instead, he flagged down a cab and got in. He disappeared into the dark, dank atmosphere, and the cab drove off down the road, leaving me standing there as I pined over a man who didn’t deserve me.

He didn’t care, and it was obvious what I had to do, even if it was going to make things difficult for a while.