Chapter 30
Two weeks later, I became gainfully employed again as a marketing planner with a famous retailer whose main office was in Paris, France. Mom had a couple more weeks until her three-week rehabilitation was complete, and life was getting back to normal.
Ha!
It was only normal because I’d been playing my part like an Academy Award-winning actress.
I walked around with a smile on my face, and sometimes it was real, but more often than not it was as fake as the boobs on the gum-smacking girl at my favorite coffee shop.
My new boss wasn’t George, and he wasn’t as hot as Garrett Mitchell, but I had to hand it to him—he was nice.
My third day on the job, I sat behind a glass desk with my first solo assignment, and a soft knock sounded on the door.
One dozen white tulips in an extra-tall vase filled with an assortment of white seashells were brought in by a delivery girl who wore a big smile as she sashayed across the carpeted floor.
“Ms. Sheridan?”
“That would be me,” I said, mortified.
She set the arrangement on the corner of my desk. “This is one of the prettiest arrangements I’ve ever delivered, and I’ve been doing this going on six years.”
I swallowed hard, the card staring at me. “They are beautiful.”
“Have a great day.” She almost skipped away, and my heart skipped in my chest.
Reaching for the small envelope, I trembled as I opened it up.
There’s not a minute in the day that I don’t think of you. –G
My mother’s advice repeated over and over in my mind.
“Don’t let him slip through your fingers—he’ll eventually give up on you.”
I was a complete mess.
I resisted the urge to call him.
What would I say?
I got your flowers. Love them.
A little voice put out the fire of weakness, reminding me how easy it had been for him to use me and how easily it could happen again.
Garrett was a man who could hurt me to the point of no return. He was a constant presence in my thoughts, the smallest things triggering my wandering mind to go to him.
The travel channel…the cooking shows with endless fish recipes…the ads in magazines for the woodsy cologne he wore…the sound of airplanes flying over…and most recently, the summer line of clothes photographed with none other than the topaz waters of the Caribbean.
All roads led my thoughts to Garrett.
I opened a file on my computer and took out my frustrations on the job I’d been assigned, not even realizing it was past five in the afternoon by the time I finally looked up.
He hadn’t called or texted, and neither had I. Staring at the beautiful flowers, I debated whether or not to toss them in the trash, and even circled my hands around the glass.
Holding them in the air, about to drop them in the trashcan, my fingers trembled.
I couldn’t do it.
Sliding the monstrous arrangement back to the corner of the desk, I grabbed my purse and left for the day.
The drive home under the bright blue summer sky in bumper-to-bumper traffic on the freeway didn’t help my already threadbare sanity. Seashells? He’d sent me a reminder of the very place I yearned to forget. When I pulled into my drive, the skies were still bright, the complete opposite of my mood.
No…way.
No. Fucking. Way.
A dozen long-stemmed red roses lay on each of the three steps leading to the front porch of my townhouse, and another vase of two dozen sat in the center at the top.
This has to stop.
He can’t win me back.
Or can he?
Tears brimmed in my eyes as I grabbed my phone and pressed my finger to his name.
Me: This has to stop. You promised. You may not mean to, but you’re hurting me.
He didn’t reply, and I blew out a breath, though I didn’t feel relief. I waited in my car for more than ten minutes, hoping he would respond, but he didn’t.
Finally, I climbed out of the front seat of my car and made my way along the red brick path, picking up all the floral deliveries. There wasn’t a card, but there didn’t have to be one.
That night, sleep didn’t come. Several times, I threw the covers back and marched into the dining room table just to sink my nose into the petals and breathe in the sweet scent.
Each time, I checked my cell for his response, but it never came.
Maybe the day had come when he’d actually give up on me, and the thought twisted my gut.
Was I playing hard to get? Was I trying to make him crawl?
What do you want, Brooke?
By the next morning, I looked as bad as I felt. Sleep-deprived and feeling on edge, I went to work. Thankfully, my immediate supervisor had to fly to New York for an engagement with a new designer, leaving me to stew in my office all alone.
Maybe I needed a Lola’s date with Greta.
Me: Are you up for Lola’s tonight?
Greta: Sorry, I have plans.
Me: Anyone I know?
Greta: Busy right now. I’ll call you later.
The day flew by, and I knew I didn’t want to go home to an empty house with nothing but time.
Me: Would love to see you again tonight.
Jennings: Tomorrow would be better. I have a date tonight.
Me: I didn’t know you were dating anyone.
Jennings: You never asked.
Me: Ha, true. Maybe someday I can meet her.
Jennings: Of course.
Well that’s just great. I supposed it was going to be a night with the cooking channel again. After visiting my mom, I curled up under my blanket, ate some grilled chicken and a salad, and drowned in my own misery. I wondered what Garrett was doing. I wondered if he was thinking of me…
Brooke, you deserve better than that. You don’t deserve to be used, even if it was before he really knew you. I chastised myself, forbidding another trip down memory lane.
The next day came and went. Late in the afternoon, Jennings called.
“Want to grab something to eat?”
“Sure. Have you ever been to a place called Lola’s?”
“I’ve been there a time or two.”
“If you’re game, it’s my treat.”
“Want to go right now?”
“I’d love to.”
I arrived before him and was seated in the corner of the terrace at a bar-height bistro table. The waitress brought the bottle of wine I’d ordered, placing it in the center of the table and assuring me she would return as soon as my date arrived.
When Jennings walked through the entrance, it took me a minute to realize he wasn’t alone.
He was with…Greta.
I bit back a fit of giggles and hopped off the tall chair, throwing my arms around her.
“I don’t believe it.”
“You look so good, Brooke.”
“You do too. I’ve missed you.” I eyed Jennings. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“We thought it would be better if we told you together, in person,” he replied with a smile.
“She’s been crazy about you for a while now.”
“Our age difference doesn’t bother you?”
“Not at all. She didn’t tell you I encouraged her to be a little more persuasive?”
He laughed. “She told me.”
While eating, we talked and laughed a lot, and when the sun ducked behind the buildings, I thought of the sunsets on the island. The memories tore at my heart, and my facial expression must have shown a hint of misery.
“He’s not the same,” Greta said.
“Greta,” Jennings warned.
“Are you trying to say he’s more of an ass or just more of a jackass?”
She shook her head. “If he comes into work at all, he stays locked up in his office. He orders me to hold all of his calls, unless they’re from you. He’s weary and has dark circles under his eyes. This morning, his Gammy called, and he wouldn’t even talk to her.”
He didn’t talk to Gammy?
Holy hell.
“Did he have you send the flowers?”
“He sent you flowers?”
“A vase of tulips filled with seashells at work, and dozens of roses at my house.”
She shook her head. “No. That was all him.”
I squeezed my eyes closed. “It’s getting harder to deal with this.”
“There’s something else.”
“Greta, I think you need to let this be between Brooke and Garrett. It’s not our mess to fix. It’s his.”
“What? What else?”
“He…he called off the deal with La Amory.”
My jaw gaped; I was baffled, in shock. I felt as though I were free falling into an abyss, a cleft of no return.
“Why…why would he do that?”
“He didn’t say, but Jennings sent over the final review of the paperwork, relinquishing the money.”
“The escrow money?”
“Gone. He can’t get it back.”
“Oh my God, I saw the amount on the contract—it was millions of dollars.”
“I know. We tried to reason with him, but he simple walked into his office and slammed the door behind him…after he reminded me he was the CEO and I was the secretary.”
“When did he do this?”
“Last night, but technically this morning. It was after hours when he sent out the announcement.”
“Are you still his attorney?” My head whirled to Jennings.
“For a few more weeks. I terminated our business relationship, but I’m locked in for ninety days to give him enough time to establish a legal agreement with another firm.”
“Can you stop this? Can you reinstate the contract?”
Frown lines extended across his forehead. “No.”
“Call Salvatore as his attorney. Stop the freaking default.”
“I can’t do that.”
“Can’t or won’t?”
“He made his decision very clear. It’s his choice.”
“Stall it for one day, that’s all I’m asking—one day.”
“I don’t have anything to stall. I’ve already had the documents delivered to Garrett’s office.”
Greta wore a sheepish grin. “He might not be able to, but I can. I haven’t faxed the papers or put them in the overnight envelope.”
“He’ll fire you, Greta,” Jennings warned before taking a sip of wine.
“I’ll find another job.”
I grabbed her hand from across the table. “I gotta go. Greta, I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” Hopping to my feet, I scrambled for my purse where it hung on the back of the wrought-iron chair. “I’m going to see him before it’s too late. I have to stop him from making this huge mistake.”
“When I left, he was at the penthouse in his office. I don’t know if he’s still there,” Greta explained.
“Is this what you want, Brooke? You can’t do this because of guilt,” Jennings said, concern lacing his tone.
“It’s not guilt. If I didn’t care about him, I wouldn’t care if he drained his accounts dry and lost everything he possessed. I love him. I really really love him.”
Jennings stood, and I flew into his embrace. His strong arms held me tight against him, and there wasn’t even a hint of the threat of tears. For the first time since coming home, I knew exactly what I wanted—and what I didn’t want to lose.
Jennings repeated my declaration. “You love him.”
“I do. I think I fell in love with him that first day, if that’s possible. I’ve never believed in love at first sight, but I’ve proven to myself it can happen.”
“You can love another and not even know them—I know that for a fact.” His warm eyes raked over my face.
I drank in his words, and an all-consuming warmth spread through me. He loved me.
“I believe that too.” I kissed his cheek and whispered, “Dad.”
Greta dabbed her eyes with her napkin. “Oh my God.”
“Uh, if you two marry someday, don’t expect me to call you Mom—ever.”
Jennings threw his head back in laughter, and I caught a glimpse of Greta’s dramatic eye roll before I scurried to the exit.
I wanted Garrett, and I was going to go get him… if it wasn’t too late.