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My heart plummets. I stand rooted to the spot, my fight-or-flight response doing cartwheels.
I'm teetering on the edge of bolting, my interview prep scattering to the wind.
"Please, Lacey. Hear me out. Stay."
If someone had said Vanessa Wellington would plead with me, I'd have laughed or cried. Not sure which.
But here she is, asking me to stay. And curiosity forces me forward, gluing my butt to the chair in front of her.
"Of course," I reply, surprising myself with my calmness.
Vanessa leans in, her hands clasped like she's in a confessional. "I called in a favor for this...encounter," she starts, locking eyes with me. Aidan, her usual ally, is clueless about this meeting.
"He fired me," she reveals, and I'm genuinely surprised. "Aidan does this when overwhelmed. It's his way of coping, isolating himself. He did the same when Rebecca, his ex-wife, died."
This shades Aidan's actions differently. Then Vanessa hits me with, "This means he must really love you, Lacey."
I blink back tears, a chuckle breaking the tension.
"Well, isn't that the perfect cherry on top of the bizarre sundae that is my life?"
Vanessa almost smiles. "I don't want Aidan to be hurt," she says earnestly. "You need to think hard before you decide what you have with him is worth throwing away."
I balk. "Why do you even care?" I challenge, unable to make sense of this unexpected ally—or whatever Vanessa is becoming.
Her laughter, light and genuinely surprising, fills the gap between us. "I've always cared about Aidan," she admits, making my throat tighten. "We were in school together, you know, from elementary through high school. I was head over heels for him. Hell, wasn't everyone? I kept thinking he'd realize he felt the same about me one day. So, you see," she goes on, "I just want what's best for him. And right now, that's you. I'm smart enough to know when I've been outmatched by someone better suited for him." She pauses, then adds, "Maybe not the better woman, but definitely the better match."
Against all odds, I find myself laughing along with her.
For a moment, Vanessa seems more human, like an actual person. Not the best person, maybe, but real.
Unrequited love is tough, especially when it's for someone as stubborn as Aidan.
Perhaps I judged her too quickly, just as she had judged me.
"Wow," I say, clearing my throat. "Complimenting me must have been painful."
"Like swallowing glass," she quips, her eyes sparkling with humor. "But I mean it, Lacey. Aidan is a good guy, and he deserves happiness. And you make him happy."
My heart clenches, tears threatening to spill.
"Thank you," I somehow whisper.
"Don't mention it. Just don't mess it up."
I laugh, shaking my head. "Trust me, that ship has already sailed, crashed, and burned."
"Maybe not completely," she suggests, and our laughter, unexpected and strangely comfortable, fades as she adds, "And if you don't believe me, maybe you'll believe him."
"Who's 'him'?" I ask.
The door opens, and a man exuding sophistication steps in, wearing a suit that looks more expensive than my rent. His confident presence says more than words ever could. His familiar face sends me scrambling through my memories to place him.
His salt-and-pepper hair is impeccably styled, his dark eyes intense as they meet mine. A smile plays at his lips, as if privy to a secret the rest of us aren't.
"Lacey, it's good to finally meet you. I'm Gerald Sullivan," he introduces himself, offering his hand.
Aidan's father. The realization hits me hard, unexpected and slightly disconcerting.
