I sat there a moment, staring at nothing, really, until I felt a hand on my shoulder. “Hey,” Cal said. “You okay?”
I nodded, wiping away a few tears. “Gabby’s not coming back.”
“I’m sorry, babe.” I couldn’t even find it in me to care that he’d called me babe. I simply didn’t have the energy for anything more.
My eyes stung, and his nose was swollen. “Aren’t we a pair?” I joked.
He took a seat next to me, wrapping his arm around my shoulder. “We always did make a good team.”
I blew out a raspberry. “The only good thing we did together was Sophia.”
He gave me a squeeze. “She’s the best thing we did, and all the credit goes to you.” He turned me so I was facing him. “You’re a good mom, Alexis. I don’t tell you that enough.”
“You’re going to make me cry again.” I glanced toward the ceiling, trying to stem the flow of tears. It had been an emotional rollercoaster of a day.
He smoothed my tears away with his thumbs. “I love you. I never stopped loving you.”
I looked away, unable to handle the intensity of his gaze. There were so many memories wrapped up in those blue eyes—both good and bad.
“I can’t do this, Cal.” I swallowed.
“I know.” His tone was solemn. “I know I’ve already lost you. Hell, I lost you long ago. But I had to at least try.”
“You’re leaving, aren’t you?”
“I can’t miss any more of the tour,” he said, standing.
“Well, I really appreciate you coming for Sophia’s birthday. It meant the world to her.” I smiled to myself, thinking of just how happy she’d been to see him. How proud she was to have him at her side when she blew out her candles.
And then it hit me—everyone was leaving. Preston, Gabriela, Cal. They were all gone. And I didn’t know how I was going to survive.
Chapter Twenty-Four
“Thanks for coming in today,” Renata said when I arrived at the Hartwell Agency. “Please, take a seat.” She gestured to the chair across from her desk.
I had a feeling I knew what this was about, and I didn’t think it was a new position.
“Your placement with the Blacks ended early and unexpectedly. Would you care to explain?”
I crossed my arms over my chest. “Not really.”
What was there to say? I slept with my boss. I fell in love. I fucked up. She chose her ex. Not really the type of thing I wanted to share with the agency.
“Preston.” She leaned forward. “I’m really at a loss for what to do here. For the past year and a half, you’ve been an incredible asset to the Hartwell Agency. But now…” She huffed. “You assaulted a parent at a child’s birthday party, and someone posted a video of it online. I assume you’ve seen it?”
I nodded. There was no use disputing it. I couldn’t. The video titled, “The Manny Strikes Back,” had gotten hundreds of thousands of views. Fortunately, you couldn’t see my face in the video, but it was still damning.
“I apologize for my behavior. I’ve apologized to the parents, and I’m deeply sorry for how my actions reflect on the Hartwell Agency.”
Her shoulders relaxed slightly. “Thank you for saying that. Unfortunately, we’re still going to have to let you go.”
“I understand,” I said, and I did. It didn’t matter what Cal said—not that anyone knew the truth—I was the one who’d struck first. I’d punched him.
“Despite the incident, Ms. Black was generous enough to pay out the rest of your contract and then some.”
I shook my head. “I don’t want it.”
She frowned. “What do you mean, you don’t want it?”
