AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I wish I could. But it’s been a while since I took a look at any of my stocks and bonds. Think I’m gonna be pretty busy.”
“Figures.”
“Take care, buddy.”
“You too, man.”
I put the phone down, and braced myself for what was coming.
Zeke had texted me Lola’s phone number, along with a silly emoji. I called it, and felt my body tense.
Two rings. Three rings. Nothing.
Then, the receiver clicked.
“Hello?”“Lola? Is that you?”
“Alex?” I heard a rustling sound, as though she was running over to the other side of a room.
“How did you get this number?”
“Uh, Zeke gave it to me. He wanted me to speak to you.”
“About what, Alex? And why did you storm out this afternoon?”
“I didn’t storm…” I snarled. And then, I took a deep breath.
“I’m sorry about the way our meeting ended,” I said, suppressing my anger. “But the truth is, Zeke thinks you’d be great for the job atThe Blue Orchid.”
“I don’t think I can.”
“Zeke says—”
“I don’t care what Zeke thinks. What I care about is you, Alex. You’re the issue. Not Zeke.”
I frowned, and looked down. I was practically clenching my fist, trying to rein in my temper.
“Lola, it’s a great job.”
“And?”
“And the salary’s good.”
“You think the money is the issue?”
“No. But if it is, we can talk about that.”
“How would you feel, seeing me every day?”
I knew what Lola meant. We hadn’t discussed it openly, but neither of us could deny the force of attraction between us. I’d missed her. Had she missed me too?
And then, it hit me.
How Lola must have felt, when I didn’t respond to her all those years ago. When I paid her off to keep quiet, when I ignored her request for help. I felt crushed. I thought I’d been feeling guilty about sleeping with a young girl on vacation all those years. But what I was really guilty about was ignoring her. I took a deep breath.
“I know that what I did was wrong,” I said, in as even and measured a tone as I could muster. “But I want to make it right. I want to show you that there’s more to me than that. I know I ran off on you. But this job’s going to be the perfect chance to—”
“—If the next word that comes out of your mouth is ‘reconnect,’ I swear…”
