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Marcus, sitting in the chair across from my desk, folds his arms. "We're just worried about you. All work and no play isn't healthy, even for a workaholic."
I roll my eyes and settle behind my desk. "I appreciate the concern, but I'm fine. Already planning our next big charity event in Chicago."
"Oh yeah?" Ryan asks.
"Yeah."
"Okay, cool. Well, we've been thinking about something else."
I straighten in my seat. "You have? We'll let's hear it."
"Okay, it goes like this..." Marcus's dark eyes drill into mine. "We've been thinking that you're working yourself to the bone, Aidan. And you're going to kill yourself at the rate if you don't stop." He pauses. "You need a break."
I scoff, but a part of me knows they're right. I've barely slept or eaten since Lacey left, and it's starting to take its toll on me.
"Look," Marcus continues, "we know you're going through a tough time. But you can't just bury yourself in work. You need to face this."
I fiddle with a pen on my desk, avoiding their gazes. They were right, of course. Lacey walking out was the biggest curveball life had thrown at me in a while, and I have no idea how to handle it. I don't even know where to begin.
But before I can sink further into self-pity, Ryan chimes in. "How about we take a break and grab dinner tonight? My treat at Tao. Best sushi around."
Marcus nods. "And there’s a new brewery nearby. We could check it out after."
I raise an eyebrow. "Just dinner and drinks, huh? And let me guess, there'll be a surprise blind date for me. I know your tricks."
They exchange looks, and for the first time in weeks, I find myself smiling.
"Come on," Ryan urges, his hazel eyes sparking with excitement, "you deserve a night out. Who knows? You might meet someone special."
I glance back at my work. "I'm not looking to meet someone special. I have events to manage, salaries to pay, work to do." My teeth gently bite down on my tongue. "I shouldn't let distractions sidetrack me."
Marcus leans in, his voice serious. "Is that what you're telling yourself? That Lacey was just a distraction? Or is it that you're afraid to meet someone special because she was the last 'someone special,' and she left?"
His question hangs heavy in the air, thicker than the stale coffee aroma sitting on my desk.
I want to say, "Maybe." But the words just won't come out.
My friends, as amazing as they are, just don't understand. Not fully.
They never knew my ex-wife Rebecca like I did. Before we divorced and before she passed. Nobody did.
How her laughter once filled a room. How her absence now fills my life. How I’d driven her away with my constant work hours and single-minded focus on work.
How finally losing her to lupus left a void in me that work, ambition, anything, really... couldn't fill.
And then there's my dad, the finance mogul, whose fleeting presence has been as consistent as a passing comet—brilliant and awe-inspiring but always leaving me in the dark again.
"Yeah, Marcus," I finally manage to say, the words rough, as if they're too large for my throat. "Because everyone does leave, right? Rebecca left, though not by choice. And dad... his choices showed me exactly where I stand. Maybe Lacey just got there first this time." My attempt at sarcasm doesn't quite land, weighed down by too much reality.
Ryan and Marcus exchange a look—a blend of concern and a stubborn hope. They don't understand.
This deep-seated fear I have
The belief that every good thing is merely a prelude to loss.
That you should box up your desires for connection and closeness because, in the end, people leave. They disappoint you. They abandon you when things get tough.
It's better to be alone, strong, and competent, than to watch another's back as they leave your life.
