Page 73 of Falling for a Grumpy Hero

I didn’t have feelings for him anymore and the way I’d felt about him even years ago didn’t compare even remotely to how I felt about Ford. Knowing I’d failed to end things amicably with Ben still didn’t feel great, though. Maybe I really am too nice.

Already feeling rough, I sat down at my desk and opened up my computer to find a new email from Eliza. I’d sent her the finalized plans for Heritage House yesterday, and I’d been waiting on pins and needles for her response, but when I opened her message, my heart stopped.

Why is it that just when you think things can’t get any worse, they inevitably do?

38

FORD

When I finally managed to pull myself up by my bootstraps on Monday, it was well after lunch, but I headed into the office anyway with one mission and one mission only—to see Lila and to speak to her alone.

She wasn’t at her desk when I got there, though. She wasn’t at mine either. Or in the break room, the bathroom, or at the copier.

Everyone else was around, waving as I passed or giving me small, fearful smiles before they averted their gazes, but nobody seemed to know where she’d gone until I ran into Jared. After I asked him, he pulled me aside and grimaced.

“She left for the day about thirty minutes ago,” he murmured, a somber look in his eyes. “I’m not sure what happened, but she looked pretty upset. You might want to call her.”

Shit. “She didn’t mention why at all?”

“Nope. Just that she was going home. It was pretty weird since she’s usually so talkative.”

Weird indeed. “Okay, thanks, man. I’ll talk to her.”

As I went back to my office, I sensed that something was amiss. If Lila had come in today at all, it meant that whatever had caused her to leave early didn’t have anything to do with what had happened between us over the weekend.

Setting aside everything else for the moment, I sat down behind my desk and opened my emails, intending on getting caught up before I went to track her down. As it happened, however, it didn’t take me very long at all to find out what had gone wrong.

Eliza had copied me on an email about an hour ago in which she’d pulled out of the agreement to use Lila as her interior designer. She claimed to have decided to go with somebody else, and immediately, I saw red.

Lila had been so excited about this that it broke my heart that she wouldn’t be doing the project after all. That heartbreak eradicated the anger, leaving me feeling achy inside and strangely feeling the need to comfort her.

I leaned back in my chair, taking Dan’s advice to breathe through an initial onslaught of emotion and work through it all before reacting. In the end though, I got up and headed to Jared’s office, sticking my head around his door without even going inside.

“I’m leaving,” I said. “If Lila comes back, call me immediately. Otherwise, I’ll see you in the morning.”

He frowned. “Are you okay?”

I shook my head. “I’m fine. Just call me, okay?”

“Yeah, okay.” He sighed, fixing me with a look so concerned that I immediately spun around and walked away.

I got that he was worried about me and I didn’t blame him. Hell, I was worried about me and how infrequently I’d been in the office lately, but that would have to wait.

Ultimately, Lila needed me right now and my anger, indignation, or frustration about Eliza’s behavior didn’t change that. She’d been canned from the job and I knew that had to have been hard on her.

Rushing to my truck, I slid my phone out of my pocket and called her, but she didn’t pick up. Three times in a row, I got her voicemail, and when I got to her apartment, she didn’t answer her buzzer either. I was just about to break down the front door when a neighbor of hers came out and I acted like I had every right to be there as I nodded and caught the door behind him.

The guy didn’t look at me twice, leaving me to question her safety in the building, but now wasn’t the time for that either. When I got to her door, I banged on it until my fist was stinging, but finally, she opened up.

Her eyes were watery and red-rimmed, the tip of her nose red, and her cheeks blotchy. She was still the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen, but she’d very obviously been crying and I hated that. I’d never seen her look anything but happy and it sucked.

“Ford?” Her eyes narrowed and she put her hands on her hips, tilting her chin up just slightly. “What are you doing here?”

“Eliza copied me on the email. I’m sorry, Lila. I⁠—”

She cut in sharply. “Did you only come here to rub it in my face? I get it, okay? You warned me about this and I didn’t listen. You were right.”

“Can I come in?” I asked, keeping my tone as gentle and patient as possible. “I didn’t come here to rub it in your face, but I’d like to speak to you while not standing in the hallway.”