Chapter 25

Linny

The only productive thing I did all weekend was telling Roland that our second date was our last.

I couldn’t bring myself to do it Friday night. I was emotionally exhausted from coming clean to West.

I knew that when I said his name, he’d take it as an admission. It was.

There were so many people at the Nova tasting party that after Roland and I left him in the corridor, I didn’t see him again.

When it was time to leave, I told Roland I’d text him on Saturday. We said goodbye outside the restaurant the same way we did a week before. Our hug this time wasn’t any less stilted or awkward.

Harmony watched from where she was standing a few feet away with Reuben.

Once she was back at her hotel for the night, she sent me a text message telling me that she’d made a mistake thinking Roland was the guy for me.

On Saturday, over brunch at Crispy Biscuit, I told him that I thought we’d make better friends than lovers. He agreed with a confession.

Our first date at Nova was supposed to be his fifth date with another woman.

He’d made the reservation more than a month ago and when she broke off with him that afternoon, he asked Harmony to see if I was available.

We parted with the promise that we’d stay in touch, but it won’t happen. I won’t reach out, and I doubt Roland will either.

“You’re here bright and early, Linny.” My dad walks into my office with two cups of coffee in his hands. “I picked up your favorite from the café around the corner.”

My dad still thinks I drink my coffee the same way I did back in high school, with five teaspoons of sugar and almost as much cream.

I’ve scaled it back since. I order it without anything added since all I’m really looking for each morning is a caffeine jolt.

I take the cup from his hand and sip it. I can almost feel my teeth decay as I swallow.

“How was your weekend, dad?”

He scrolls through the messages on his phone. It’s his usual morning routine. He doesn’t look at his phone until he’s in the office, instead devoting the earliest moments of his day to his wife.

“We had dinner with some friends.” He tips his head to the side. “Diane’s friends. It was good.”

He still makes the distinction, even though they’ve been married for years. They brought two lives together, complete with kids and homes. It’s taken time for them both to adjust to their new normal of building a life together.

“I spoke to your sister yesterday.” A smile blooms on his lips.

I did too. Bethy called me just as I was leaving the diner after saying goodbye to Roland. I saw no reason to mention him to her. I know my sister. She would have told me to turn back around and reconsider the relationship.

“I wish she’d come home,” I say quietly. “I miss her.”

It’s not a lie. We may have fought with everything we had while we were growing up, but the last few years, we’ve become closer than ever. When she was offered a temporary position with a pharmaceutical company in Australia, she took it immediately.

My sister’s passion is travel, so being handed the opportunity to spend a year on another continent was too good for her to pass up.

“I miss her too,” he chimes in. “She’ll be back when the time is right.”

That may be never. She hopes to land a position in New Zealand once her current job wraps up.

I could use my saved vacation days and visit her, but that would give Mitchell an advantage. I need to keep my feet firmly planted in Manhattan until my dad makes a decision about the next CEO of Faye & Sons.

“What’s on your agenda today?” I ask before I take another sip of the sugary sweet lukewarm coffee.

“Mitchell and I are meeting with a potential new client.” He doesn’t look up from his phone. “It’s one of the major players in footwear.”

My mouth drops. I’ve been waiting for that call for months, and I’ve somehow been left out of the introductory meeting.

I’m the one who stalked the owner to pitch our ideas for their upcoming winter boot campaign.

“I’ll clear my schedule so I can be there,” I offer with a smile.

He finally looks up, his eyes bright. “No need, sweetheart. Your brother and I can handle it.”

My stomach knots the way it always does when he refers to Mitchell that way. I don’t consider him my brother.

He’s a guy who is gunning for the same promotion as me, and it sounds like he’s taking things to a new level.

“I want you to sit down with Trent and Jeremy and go over their campaign.” He picks up his coffee cup before he darts to his feet. “Why don’t you call Rizon and set up a meeting for later today? I’d like an update by tomorrow morning on where things stand with that account.”

I’d like an update on where his head is at regarding the CEO position.

I studied marketing because I expected to take over the family business one day. I never imagined that the only child of his second wife would swoop in and threaten that.

“I’ll take care of it.” I paste on a smile. “If you need anything for your meeting let me know.”

Translation: I can be in the conference room in thirty seconds flat. Ten if I kick off my heels and sprint.

He leaves my office without so much as another word.

I pick up my phone and text a message to Trent.

Linny: Are you available for lunch? Let’s meet and go over the campaign.

His reply takes less than a minute.

Trent: Spent the weekend with my brother’s family. Six kids. All with the flu. I’m stuck in bed. I’ll set up something for you and Jeremy at noon. Details to follow.

I drop my head onto my desk, resting my forehead against the wood.

Great.

That conversation West and I started to have in the corridor at Nova is about to continue over lunch today.

My Monday just went from bad to worse.