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I’ve been brainstorming different ways to gently reveal a secret I’ve been keeping from her, but there’s no good way to tell her. Maybe I’ll finally be able to breathe again once I get this off my chest.
Will she hate me? What if she never wants to speak to me again?
I should have told her the truth the day she confronted me in the park. I’ve never cared so much about a woman’s feelings before, and now here I am agonizing over the best way to ensure I don’t hurt her too badly. Damn it, I should have told her that same day. Telling her now makes me look guilty and I don’t want her jumping to the wrong conclusions.
I’m the idiot who said we should start fresh, but then proceeded to continue seeing Jade knowing I wasn’t being completely honest. Honesty is key, but I’m nervous that too much honesty will ruin this relationship.
I should be the one to tell her everything before she hears it elsewhere, because if somebody else breaks it to her she’ll likely hate me forever.
“Knock, knock,” says Amelia. “I have a few things that need your attention. Are you busy right now?”
I turn around to face her and see she holds yet another stack of papers in her hands.
“No,” I say heading back to my desk. “Have a seat.”
As she walks over to sit down, I notice her previously tight skirt is hanging on to her hips with a hope and a prayer.
“Are you still using the fitness tips I gave you?” I ask.
She plops down in the chair and drops the stack of papers on my desk.
“Absolutely, with my anniversary coming up, I want to be ready for all the time I plan to spend in my bikini on the beach,” she says.
“I almost forgot about your vacation. Believe me when I say it is well-deserved, but I don’t know how we’re going to make it without you. You’re really the glue that holds this place together,” I say.
“I know,” she says, “but if you’ll just listen to reason and let me take my work phone and laptop, I’m sure I’ll be able to help keep this place going.”
“Absolutely not. I want this office completely forgotten. Focus on keeping sand out of your suitcase and which lobster to have for dinner,” I say.
Amelia’s dedication to her job is one of the many reasons we work so well together, but I refuse to ruin her vacation.
“Fine,” she says. “I’m going to keep working you down until I change your mind, though. In the meantime, let’s jump right into the schedule changes we need to go over for today. Oh, and I have these documents that need your signature immediately. I have to get them sent back before the end of business today.”
I take out a notepad and get comfortable, knowing from experience this is going to take a while. Usually Amelia just sends the schedule changes to my phone, but she gives me a personal visit when the changes are overly important. Major money deals require my immediate attention and an in-person meeting to approve the financial transfers. I prefer doing things this way so the buck stops with me, and if anything detrimental happens, the fault is completely mine. The last thing I need is a loophole or slip-up that will cost me millions of dollars happening without my knowledge.
“Mr. Tanaka is waiting for you to sign those documents he sent over yesterday. Please, let’s do this right now because his incessant phone calls are getting on my nerves,” she says before handing me several papers with neon labeled tags where I need to sign.
“Gillian Hallows needs these back signed and notarized today, and I also need your authorization to release the two hundred and fifty million to her.”
I nod, take notes, sign several documents and then nod some more. I’m so zoned out and focused on the task at hand that I don’t notice the long break of silence.
Amelia loudly clears her throat. “Are you okay, boss?” she asks.
I look up from my notepad and study her for a moment. A motherly look of concern with a furrowed brow is plastered all over her face. I struggle to keep my own face neutral as I answer her question.
“Yes, of course. Why do you ask?”
She folds her arms across her chest and leans forward. “For starters, you come in here some days practically skipping around the office. I get nervous you’ll eventually burst out into song and dance or something, but then other days you seem so distant and spaced out. Those days are when I worry about you, and today is no exception. It’s like you’re here, and then suddenly you’re not. I’ve never seen you like this before, not even during your wild Asher Jordan party days.”
