“You should see if you can move to one of the ones upstairs,” Talia says pointing.
“We’re good here,” I say.
“A little birdie told me you sleep on a pull-out couch when your sister is in town. The two apartments on the third level have three bedrooms. They aren’t huge, but they have closets.”
It’s like the mention of more bedrooms causes my back to think of mornings after sleeping on the pull-out couch. Then again, sleeping on Max’s old couch was worse.
A pang in my chest hits me as I think about him.
It will get better. I’ll be able to function normally again and move on.
Except I can’t keep my mouth closed to get that process started.
“Did he head back to New York?” I ask.
“Yeah. He left yesterday, I think.”
“I’m sure Victoria will make him a very happy man.”
Talia frowns at me. “Who’s Victoria?”
I wave her off. “It’s not important. I’ve got to clean up my apartment, but it was really good to see you, Talia. We’ll have to hang out sometime.”
“You want to hang out with me?”
I sag against the wall. “Yeah. We can start up a club called Women Who Survived Frustrating Men.”
“Max is one. Who else are we talking about?”
I pull my lips in, trying not to spill the beans. If she can’t see Aiden likes her, then I’m not going to be the one to tell her now.
“I’m sure we can round up a few others. See you,” I say, ducking into my apartment before I say something else I’ll have to explain.
At least I have my own business to keep me from wallowing too much during this heartbreak.
It almost sounds true when I say it out loud.
Almost.
39
MAX
I’m back at the penthouse in New York, and while this is still all my stuff, it doesn’t fit me anymore. Most of the furniture isn’t as bad as what was delivered to my flat in California, but it looks a lot like it.
A call comes through from Charlie, and rub my eyes to try and stay awake. It’s almost nine p.m. but I’m used to different hours these days.
“Hey, Charlie,” I say. “What are you doing up this late?”
He chuckles. “Late? This is early for me when you’re in town.”
“Something we’ll have to change. I’m putting together a plan to hire a few more people to help divvy out the workload. No one should be working as much as we’ve been the last few years.”
“Are you sure you can let go of the control?” Charlie asks.
I let that sit for a moment. “I don’t want a heart attack at forty-five. If we pick the right people and train them well, I’ll be able to focus on what’s more important.”
“What’s that?”
