“HEY, I’M HERE! Where the hell are you?” Lisa sang into the phone.

“I’ll be right in. Opening the door now.”

Lisa waved her to a nearby table. “Finally! You know, I’m actually a busy woman, too, Jessie! You think you’re all mighty and powerful now that you’re running a multi-million dollar organization. No regard for the little people anymore, huh?”

Jessica pursed her lips, feeling the early morning migraine intensify with each passing minute. “I’m sorry. I’ve just got a lot going on right now with budgeting and forecasting for next year.” She fumbled in her handbag for a bottle of Excedrin and popped two in her mouth.

“I know, sweetie, don’t be so sensitive. I’m only kidding. Here, I got your fave.” She slid a chai latte across the table. “How are you feeling? You don’t look too hot…”

Jessica glanced at her phone. “Thanks, I feel like crap actually.”

“Did you go to see Dr. Martin? Did you get the test results yet?”

“I’m going this afternoon.” She rubbed her temple. “I know something’s wrong, Li. These headaches are practically blinding. The numbness and tingling haven’t gone away either. I don’t understand how the MRI didn’t show anything a couple of weeks ago. When Dr. Martin called me in California, I thought for sure they found more lesions. But there wasn’t any change. These other tests have to tell us something.”

“Do you want me to come with you?”

She shook her head. “My dad is taking me. I think he feels guilty for his behavior. How ironic is that? We finally turn a corner where he’s okay with my romantic endeavors and while we’re on the road to recovery, bam! Jessica and James are no longer.”

“I take it you haven’t heard anything from him?”

“No.” Jessica frowned at her nails and sipped the latte. I need to put all this behind me. It’s time to focus on my health and my career, just like Dad said. I only wish I’d listened to him before. Could have saved myself a lot of grief. “It’s better this way. I’m not going to turn myself inside out to get him to listen to my side. He made rash judgments and obviously has no interest in knowing the truth. So, whatever.”

“Do you really mean that? I’ve barely seen you since you got back from California. You’re burying yourself at work, not going out at all, and the few times we’ve been home together you look and act completely lost, Jess. Don’t you think that means something?”

Jessica sighed and held her head. “It doesn’t matter, Li. He doesn’t want anything to do with me. I tried reaching out, calling him, emailing…he doesn’t care. It’s like I’m dead to him. So how I feel is kind of irrelevant. I have a lot going on right now anyway and I need to be focused. This is a great career opportunity, everything that I’ve been working so hard for. Thankfully, it all came together even after that bastard Charlie stabbed me in the back. I almost passed up this job because of James, and for what? It’s over.”

Jessica wriggled her toes in the new ballet flats. How did things go from perfect to hellish so quickly?

“You have to appreciate how it must look to James. He gets the picture, confronts you about it and finds out you conveniently forgot to mention you knew Paul and oh by the way, slept with him. If the tables were turned, would you be so willing to listen to him?”

Jessica’s eyes widened. “You even agreed I shouldn’t say anything! Are you on his side now?”

“No, no! Of course not. I think you were right not to say anything. I knew it would be ugly if you told James the truth, but I never imagined it would come back to haunt you like this if you kept it quiet.” Lisa shook her head. “But maybe now, since a little time has passed, you could try to reach out again. Isn’t it worth another shot? I never saw you happier than when you were with James and I want you to think about that before closing the book on him forever.”

“Look, Li, I’m really not sure why you want to open up old wounds, but the bottom line is, I can’t be with someone who doesn’t trust me and whatever relationship I thought we had was just rubbish. I didn’t do anything wrong here! I withheld information, hurtful information yes, but I didn’t have a malicious intent, nor did I cheat! So, screw him if he doesn’t want me any more. It’s his loss, not mine.” Tears stung her eyes and she looked at her watch. “I have to go. Justin wants to meet with me in half an hour and I need to finish up my documentation.” She picked up the cup and gave Lisa a rueful smile. “I’ll catch up with you later.”

Jessica stepped into the crisp afternoon, blinking back the tears that threatened to fall. Lisa’s right. I’m an emotional wreck. And even though he crushed me, I miss him so much.

Work can’t fill this void anymore. I don’t care about the promotions or the accolades. None of it matters if the one person I want to share it with doesn’t want me around. James changed me, gave me hope when I really needed it. He made me feel happy, fulfilled and inspired. He didn’t care about my MS or the challenges it posed. He promised we’d work through it together.

But he lied. He said he loved me and then he walked away, just like Drew.

JESSICA HUNCHED OVER the desk with a pocket mirror attempting to repair her smudged eyeliner. She ransacked her drawers in search of some concealer and breathed a sigh of relief. The tube was about three years old and it looked a little cakey, but it would have to do. Never know when your roommate is going to initiate a line of questioning that will drive you into hysterics before a meeting with your boss.

She dabbed on some of the liquid and evaluated her appearance. Not too horrible. At least the concealer erased all physical evidence of her anguish.

The phone rang, jolting her from a series of unpleasant thoughts. She wrinkled her forehead when Justin’s name appeared on the display.

“Hi Justin, what can I do for you?”

“Jessica.” Panic was evident in his voice. “Can we push our meeting up? I need you to come down here right away.”

“Of course.” Jessica grabbed her notebook. “I’ll be right there.”

She bolted out of her office and opted for the stairs in light of the apparent urgency. Gritting her teeth, she flashed a bright smile at Pam as she passed. Bitch can’t even smile back? What the hell is up with that?

Justin hung up the phone as soon as she walked in. “Thanks for coming down so quickly. We’ve got a problem.”

She sat in a chair and waited for the bombshell to drop.

Justin sighed. “There’s an issue at Barclay Investments. The consulting team over there is really screwing up the engagement.” He ran a hand through his hair. “Charlie’s handpicked team has done a fantastic job of alienating the very people paying us to reengineer their systems. I’ve gotten a boatload of complaints in the past two days and I just got off the phone with Michele Hanson. She wants you out there as soon as possible to manage the rest of the engagement or they’re going to pull the plug.”

“How can I possibly go out there right now? We’re in the middle of budgeting for next year and I’m still—”

“I know, I know. The timing isn’t ideal. But Barclay is a huge client and you were the one who landed the account. Michele knows you can turn things around and she specifically requested you to come on point.” Justin smiled. “You have to rescue this engagement. Everyone is counting on you.”

Jessica’s eyes widened with alarm. Can’t go back there…too many memories, too much hurt…need to stay away.

Justin shot her a questioning look. “Are you okay with this plan of action?”

She cleared her throat and forced a small smile. “I just don’t feel comfortable walking away from all of the work I’ve prepared over the past couple of weeks. We have a strict timeline for submitting forecasts for next year and I—”

“Don’t worry about it. You won’t need to stay out there for the length of the project. Take a week, get things back in order, make Michele and her team feel comfortable with our direction and then head back. If needed, we can look into you doing periodic visits. We’ll figure that all out later. Right now, I need you to do damage control, asap.”

Jessica nodded, defeated. “Okay. I’ll leave as soon as I can.”

“I’ll have Pam make your travel arrangements. Really appreciate it, Jessica. Let’s touch base when you’re out there. I can hold off on sending anything to Finance until we finalize everything.”

“No problem.” She exited the office in a daze.

“Jessica, I’ll make sure your tickets and confirmations are emailed to you before the end of the day so you can prepare to leave first thing tomorrow.” Pam addressed her in a clipped tone and Jessica stared at her, open-mouthed. “How did you—”

Pam gave her a curt smile. “Justin already informed me of the immediate need for this trip. I’m making arrangements now.”

“Thanks, Pam.” Jessica slinked back to her office and collapsed into her chair.

So much for moving forward.

PETER CLASPED JESSICA’S hand as Dr. Martin flipped through her chart. “Whatever it is, we’ll get through this, Jess.”

She leaned into him, her pulse racing. What do the results say? Are my worst fears about to be confirmed?

Dr. Martin folded his hands. “Jessica, as you know we did two additional tests to track the progress of the MS – a spinal tap and the evoked potentials test that measures electrical activity in the brain. I’m afraid both confirm the disease has progressed since your initial diagnosis. There are new lesions causing the migraines and numbness. Sometimes the lesions don’t appear in the MRI and we need to use these other tests to get an accurate diagnosis. I’m so sorry.”

Jessica’s eyes welled up. “Oh my God…”

Peter looked at Dr. Martin. “Geoff, what can we do? She’s in a lot of pain right now. Do you have any idea how long these symptoms will last? What’s the long-term prognosis?”

“I know this is really difficult for you. Unfortunately, there’s no way to predict any future disability resulting from the disease. We can try different treatments to relieve the symptoms but unfortunately, I can’t tell you much more than that right now.”

Jessica sniffed and she wiped her eyes. “I want to find out more about these treatments. I need something that can make the symptoms more manageable. I have a job, I can’t be incapacitated all the time.”

Peter put his arm around her shoulders. “Is it safe for her to begin the medication right now? What are the options?”

Dr. Martin folded his hands. “There are injections you can take. The drugs won’t cure you, but they will reduce the frequency and severity of attacks. They can also prevent new brain lesions from forming. Basically, the drugs slow the progression of the disease. At this point, I recommend we proceed with this form of treatment.”

Peter looked at Jessica. “What do you think, Jess? Are you good with this?”

Jessica nodded and let out a shaky breath. “Yes, I’m ready. I’ll do whatever you think is best, Doc.”