Chapter Twenty-Nine
Tristan
“I want the ten floors at the top. Make the service elevator available to me too.” I barked commands at my leasing manager.
“Yes sir. And your noon meeting is here.” She tucked her dyed blonde hair behind her ear. When I hired her a week ago, she was a brunette.
She was young. A business major in college, so I decided to throw her a bone.
“Thanks. Did anyone call back?” I hoped.
“Nope. Is that all?” She stuck her chest out, her black, tight dress wasn’t necessarily workplace attire. I knew she was trying to get with me, but I was extremely unavailable.
“Yes.” I answered shortly.
It had been a month since the wedding. Levi and Gab were living it up in Cabo, and I was struggling with my second start up. I was currently working out of borrowed office space but was moving into the office I just bought the next week.
And of course, I thought of Emilia every day, just like in the beginning. It took me one night to go crazy for her, one month to find her, three weeks to fall in love with her. And now a month of torture for doing so. I felt like shit.
Yeah, the wedding almost fell behind. But it worked out in the end. I hadn’t thought she would stay, if she really needed to go…
She blamed me. She looked at me like she hated me. I told her I loved her, and she left.
I know what she said. She couldn’t sacrifice her business and I respected that. But it was still hard. She must not love me too. I had always been intense, but I knew how I felt about her. When she wasn’t around, it was like I couldn’t breathe. And I couldn’t think. The only reason this business was going well was because it was a welcomed distraction.
Otherwise I couldn’t sleep. I ate less. I looked ten years older.
I had called her every day since then. Sometimes twice a day, then three, and then so much it went straight to voicemail. I started calling on the office phone. She answered the first time and hung up when she heard my voice. I think I cried for the first time in years when that happened. She was angry, and I thought she hated me. When you love someone, that hurts more than anything.
She wouldn’t answer the phone. And I just wanted to know how she was, let her know I supported her. It’s why I sent those girls to help her the day of the wedding. And when nearly everyone at that wedding asked about a florist, I sent them her way.
It was no secret her business was doing well. Mom heard from Sasha that she bought that bigger space she wanted in the city. At least someone knew she was okay, and that brought me some comfort. But I wanted to talk to her myself. Hear that voice of hers, see her beautiful eyes.
They haunted me. I would close my eyes and see them and see her smile. I was in hell and the only way out was to be with her.
I grabbed my suit jacket and headed to my meeting. I was trying to buy an app startup company, something about an app compilation software. I just knew I wanted it, and I was keeping it. I didn’t plan on selling it off. The guys behind it were young and impressionable, but I didn’t plan on cheating them.
They were sun tanned and fresh out of college. It reminded me of myself. We met in the conference room and went back and forth.
“You’re worth ten million, tops.” I leaned back, exchanging looks with both of them.
“We hadn’t expected it to be that high.” Jason, at least I think that’s his name, was the head founder. The other one handled the business side of things.
“Yeah, but I’m only offering eight million and you keep three percent ownership, two percent of profits.”
They asked to discuss it and when I got back, I bought their company for eight million. Everything was looking up.
Until I was home, exhausted, and staring at my phone. Willing it to ring. I did the same thing every night.
Natalie called me, breaking up the noise on the action movie.
“You’re sulking again.”
“I’m not.” I sounded dejected as hell, so of course she was right.
“You know, you weren’t even like this after Vivian. You really loved Emilia.” My throat lumped at the sound of her name.
I had to tell myself to calm down, that it wasn’t that serious. But it was. I didn’t even miss Vivian. I wasn’t mad at her anymore. I felt nothing when I thought of her, but when I thought of Emilia, I felt everything.
“I still do. Maybe she’ll answer the phone one day.”
What I couldn’t believe the most was that I opened myself up to this pain again. The heartbreak. I told myself not to get involved with any more women but Emilia forced her way into my heart. I was defenseless, and we didn’t stand a chance.
“I’m sure she will. She just…probably feels bad about blaming you. Because it wasn’t really your fault at all.”
“I don’t know. Maybe it was. I don’t really want to talk about it anymore.” We would be at it all night if I didn’t shut it down now. Her psychoanalysis skills were dangerous, I ended up divulging every dark secret of my life.
“Okay. Well, Kevin has stopped travelling. Maybe one day we can have dinner.”
“I don’t know, I’m real busy with work now. Maybe.” I downed my third beer. For a time, I was getting drunk almost every night. But then I started getting serious with work, and I was getting too old to do that. I did like my liver. So I started just giving myself a good enough buzz to let me get some sleep.
I missed her body against mine. Her softness, and her warmth. I would do anything to get it back.
“I understand. Just try to keep your head up, Tristan. It will get better.”
“Thanks Nat. I’ll talk to you later.”
“Okay, bye.”
My sister, she was kind of the best. Sometimes. I honestly didn’t know what I would do without her. I couldn’t talk to mom about it because she wouldn’t really understand. Her and dad didn’t jump through any hoops to be together.
I kept willing my phone to ring. For Emilia to text me. Anything.
But like every night since Emilia left me in that room, it never did.