“I can’t wait. Do you think I should tell Mom?”
He took a deep breath and considered his next words carefully. “You tell her as much as youwantto tell her. I’m not asking you to keep this a secret. But it’s your call.”
“Okay. I better run; I have to get to class.”
“We’ll talk soon. And Ryder? I love you,” he croaked.
“I love you, too, Dad.”
Aurora closed her eyes, massaging her temples. The numbers were blurring together on her computer screen. Next year’s budget was due to the Operations Committee for preliminary planning on Tuesday. But concentration wasn’t an option today. Sleep had been elusive because of her nightmares. And her appetite was near non-existent, which hadn’t happened in years.
A knock came at her office door. “Come in!”
Her boss, the executive director, opened the door. “How’s it going, Aurora?” Sue slid into a chair next to Aurora’s desk, crossing one leg over the other.
“It’s going,” Aurora sighed. “These numbers are conspiring to give me a migraine.”
“I didn’t actually come in here to talk about the budget meeting.” Sue looked over her glasses at Aurora, her dark brown skin emphasizing her silver hair. “What is going on with you? You look like you haven’t slept since you got back from California.”
Aurora turned away from her computer screen. “That’s pretty accurate.” It had been almost two weeks since that awful morning where she left Duncan at the airport. She could still see the confusion and pain on his face when she closed her eyes, and it ripped her heart to shreds.
“Why don’t you take off for the weekend? You need some time to decompress.” Aurora opened her mouth to argue, but Sue shut her down. “The budget will be there on Monday when you get back to the office. Take a mental health break this weekend. No cleaning, no work. Just you and a nice bottle of wine.”
Aurora faked a grin. “Okay, boss.” She put her phone in her purse and started shutting down her laptop. No texts from Duncan today. And she hated how she missed them.
“And, Aurora, as a friend?” Sue’s voice caused Aurora to turn her head. “After the reunion, you seemed happier, more alive than I’ve seen you since Jeff got sick. But since you got back from California, you seem depressed again, and you don’t deserve that. I don’t know what happened, but you deserve all the happiness. I hope you can find whatever that was again.” She smiled and rose from her chair. “I’ll email the finance team that you’ve left for the day. Take care of yourself this weekend.”
Aurora choked back tears. “Thanks, Sue. I’ll see you Monday.”
“Isn’t that right, Duncan?”
Duncan’s awareness came back to the conference room with a jolt. Carlos stood at the helm, running the new presentation they’d put together last week. He met the other man’s dark brown gaze; he’d been caught zoning out, and Carlos needed him to back him up.
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Where do you plan on manufacturing the products?”the Kaiser rep asked him from across the conference table. What was his name, again? Bob or something? “Real estate is pricey here.”
“Absolutely, and to keep costs down, I’m looking into factories outside the area. I have a few in mind that I’ll be going to visit soon.”
“Who will be overseeing the process?”
“I will personally oversee the development and manufacturing until we are off the ground. I don’t expect it to take longer than a year at most.”
The Kaiser rep looked over the prototypes Duncan’s R&D team had sent. Syringes, blood collection tubes, and a bag for transfusions had been their first foray into the field of medical plastics. He seemed pleased, and reached out a hand.
“You have a deal, Mr. Sullivan. I’ll have the legal team draw up a contract and send it to yours.”
Duncan clasped his hand and shook it, a smile spreading across his face for the first time since Aurora left ten long days ago. “We’re looking forward to working with you.”
The rep turned and shook Carlos’s hand as well.
“Thank you for coming, Mr. Vega.” At least Carlos was paying attention.
“My pleasure, gentlemen. You’ll hear from my team by the end of next week.” Mr. Vega packed the prototypes in his briefcase and walked himself out.
Duncan released the air from his lungs with a whoosh and leaned back in his high-backed leather chair after the door shut, and they were alone. “I don’t know what I’d do without you, Carlos. You pulled me out of the fire today.”
“No offense, boss, but what is going on with you? You haven’t been yourself.” Carlos sat down across from him where Mr. Vega had sat, and leaned into the table. “I’ve been getting worried.”
