“Because the corner office is in Chicago.And the life is here.”He opened the door.“And we both know which one you’re going to choose.”
She stared at him.“I haven’t chosen anything yet.”
“Yeah, you have.You just don’t want to admit it.”His face was resigned now, the anger burning out to leave only sadness.“I was falling for you.Really falling.And I thought maybe you felt the same way.But this whole time, I was just the nice distraction before you went back to your real life.”
“Bryan—”
“I need you to go.”
The dismissal was quiet but absolute.She wanted to argue and tell him he was wrong, that she hadn’t been using him, and her feelings were real even if her future was uncertain.
But standing in his doorway with the storm gathering and his hurt filling the space between them, she couldn’t find the words.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
“Yeah.”He wouldn’t look at her.“Me too.”
She walked to her car.Bryan’s door closed before she reached the street.She sat behind the wheel and stared at his closed door.
Her phone buzzed.A text from David:Any thoughts on timing for your return?Team is eager to have you back.
In the distance, she could just make out the lighthouse beam, steady and constant despite the approaching storm.
Bryan’s question echoed in her mind.Do you want the corner office, or do you want a life?
The terrible truth was she honestly didn’t know.
She’d spent so many years building toward that office.Sacrificed relationships, health, peace of mind.The promotion was validation that all those sacrifices meant something.That she wasn’t her mother, settling for less, giving up on ambitions for the comfort of a simple existence.
But the last month or so in Starlight Shores had shown her a different version of herself.Someone who laughed at community fundraisers and learned family recipes.Someone who cared about traditions more than market positioning.Someone who fell asleep without checking email and woke up eager to work on something that mattered for reasons that had nothing to do with her resume.
Someone who was falling for a stubborn fisherman who made her want things she’d never let herself imagine.
