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I glared at her in utter disgust.
“Grayson, look.” She held up her hands. “I know right now that you’re looking at what I did from an emotional angle, but—”
“What else have you lied to me about?” I wasn’t interested in hearing her side of the story. I’d heard enough from Charlotte.
“I didn’t lie,” she said. “I just held back a few things so you could focus.”
"A lie by omission is still a goddamn lie." I glared at her. "Did you hire an investigator to look for Charlotte when I asked you to?"
“Grayson...”
"Answer me," I demanded. "When I gave you twenty thousand dollars and told you to use it to do whatever it takes to find her, did you?"
“No.”
“All the years since when I told you to hire a different firm and I paid you even more to get results, did you use the money for that purpose?”
“No.”
“So, you clearly lied to me when you said she’d moved overseas...Where did all that money go, then?”
“My daughter’s college tuition.” She mumbled. “But I can definitely pay you back today if it’ll help you trust me again.”
“There will never be any trust between us, Anna. Ever.”
She opened her mouth to say something else, but I held up my hand.
“You knew she was living in New York this whole time?”
She looked away from me and nodded.
"So, why point out that she was going to be at the reunion at all?" I asked. "Why do that if you knew there was a chance we would talk?"
“Personal atonement,” she whispered. “I wanted to try to make it right since you still asked about her all the time.”
“Was Jasmine in on this, too?”
"No, it was just me.” She shook her head. “If there’s anything I can do to make you forgive me or—”
“You can get the fuck out of my condo and stay the hell away from me.” I opened the door. “I’m sure you’ll do an incredible job with that since this won’t be your first time keeping someone away from me.”
“Grayson...”
“Leave or I’ll press charges for all the money you’ve stolen from me.”
She picked up her purse and sighed. Then she walked into the hallway. She turned around to face me, looking as if she was going to try and say something else, but I slammed the door in her face before she could get a word out.
I sent my building security manager a message, telling him to make sure that Anna was removed from the condo and never let inside again. I emailed Jasmine and asked her to put out an immediate statement to the press and all my business partners to let them know that Anna was no longer my agent. Then I slumped on my couch and tried to keep my composure, tried not to break down and lose it over all the years I’d missed with Charlotte.
It didn’t work.
GRAYSON: ON A TUESDAY
Present Day
New York City
DEAR CHARLOTTE,
I met you on a Tuesday.
Became your best friend, then your lover, on a Tuesday.
And if I’m timing this right, you’ll receive this letter on a Tuesday.
I’m going to do my best to keep this simple.
1.) I’m still in love with you. You are the most beautiful woman I have ever met—inside and out, and the day I fell for you, I knew no one else would ever stand a chance. Seven years later, this still holds true.
2.) I miss you and I have missed you. During my first season, when I won the Offensive Rookie of the Year Award (Was there ever any doubt I would win this?) I wanted nothing more than to look out into the crowd and see you standing there. During my second season, when I won The Most Valuable Player Award for the regular season, I wished that you were sitting next to me at the ceremony. Not Anna, not Kyle, not my teammates. You. (For brevity purposes, and since you haven’t been watching me on the field: you should know that I’ve won an award every single season. (Because yes, I’m that good :-)) And every single time I felt as if someone was missing from the moment.)
3.) I want to be with you. Period. I haven’t had a good night’s sleep since I saw you in Pittsburgh, haven’t been able to get through a single day without wondering what you’re up to, and I don’t want to go another day without having you by my side again.
If you feel the same and if you think what we had in the past is worth a second chance, please write me back and let me know.
I’ll wish you well and I’ll still love you no matter what you choose.
Grayson
PS—Is the name of your café & art gallery (“Rosy-gan”) an anagram for my name or is that a coincidence?
PSS—I wanted to call you and say all of this over the phone, but I forgot to ask for your current phone number. (What’s the wait time on getting that from you these days? :) )
