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“Oh!” Her face lit up. “Thank you!”
I swore she dipped her head in a bow before she sped away. Her eagerness drove my nerves insane. What if someone were coming to my lecture like that, eager and willing to learn from a professional who had only worked in one consultant role for one company for two years? A small company that was thriving, of course, but still, I’d barely made it out of intern life, and now I was calling myself a professional, advising people who may have been doing business longer than I’ve studied it.
“C’mon,” I mumbled, tapping my foot. I really needed to check my—Ryan’s—phone. The hour was up, and the clock was ticking. He still wasn’t here, which made my heart feel swollen; it was working so hard.
I had hoped to catch a few lectures myself, but I wanted to wait until I had my phone. Andrew Rock’s lecture was my only priority, but I had seen a few names and topics that intrigued me.
I heard voices murmuring inside the hall and figured it was finally time for questions. They needed to go build their farms elsewhere, or I was about to interrupt. It felt like forever, but finally, the door opened, and people started filtering out. I tried not to shove past them but moved against the current, allowing their praises of Dr. Sims’s lecture to flow through me like their words were meant for me. This was how people would exit my talk, I told myself. This was how I’d be received.
I made a beeline to the corner by the podium when I pushed past the last of them. The phone was off, so I turned it on, praying it had charged enough to last more than five minutes. What kind of businessman had such a crappy phone? Whatever. It wouldn’t be my problem in another few minutes.
The phone turned on, and Ryan’s son lit up the lock screen. I input the code, and my heart sank. Not a single text or call. What was he doing? He said he was in Dallas, right? Short of a car accident, I wasn’t sure what would take him so long to get here.
I called my phone, and for some reason, I wasn’t surprised when it went to voicemail.
“Ryan,” I said with as much patience as I could muster. “I’m waiting for you, and you’re not here. Please hurry. I really, really need my phone. I’m sorry if I was rude earlier, but I’m under a lot of pressure. I just...” I exhaled slowly. I didn’t need to pour out my heart and soul here. “Call me back, please.”
I hung up and walked outside, tapping the phone against my palm. He’d be here soon. I had his phone, too. He didn’t act like he was in a rush for it, but he owned a business, so surely he’d be missing it.
* * *
“If your business depends too much onyou, the growth will end with what you can do. So, before you take any of what I’ve mentioned to heart, make sure you can scale without stacking it all on your shoulders.”
My full room left with small smiles and murmurs that sent butterflies aflutter in my stomach. I’d forgotten my original conclusion but felt I still made do with what I remembered. I grinned with confidence as a few people came to shake my hand, some asking for business cards I handed out before accepting theirs in return. I felt funny about putting “business consultant” on there when I didn’t exactly have that role right now, but I hoped that would all change soon.
I waited outside my room, looking for a familiar face. Ryan still wasn’t here, and I was getting really tired of whatever this was. I could only imagine how crazy Mom would be since I hadn’t talked to her for almost two days. When I called him, it went to voicemail again. I left a seething message that I knew he wouldn’t listen to but wished he’d hear through the speaker. Wherever he was, he’d better come up with an excellent reason why he wasn’t here now. Why he hadn’t shown at all.
But my lecture was finally over, and I felt good about how it went. As unprepared as I had felt at first, it surprised me to know how much I truly knew about my work. I knew how to grow a business and what it would take. I should have believed in myself from the beginning.
Not wanting to ruin the high I’d been on moments ago, I stepped into the crisp night air. It was a time to celebrate. I’d handed out cards, received some of my own, and shared my knowledge like a true professional. With or without company, I deserved dinner, and I didn’t mind making it a table for one.
Chapter 6
Ryan
When I pulled up to the house, something looked different. It hadn’t been that long since I’d been here, so there wasn’t much that could have changed. Still, I sat in the truck for a while, wondering if I was at the right place. Then, when I shook off the feeling, I stepped out, straightening my shirt out and rolling up my sleeves.
Darlene came out of the house in a hurry, not that I should have been surprised. She had work soon, but I didn’t see James with her and frowned.
“Hey,” I said and stepped up to the curb.
She jolted, and her face flushed with anger that hadn’t been there moments before. Without trying, I’d ignited her defensive flame. Before she said something, I gestured to the house, her response somehow making me realize what was different about the place.
“You painted?” I asked.
She just rolled her eyes. “Duke painted. If you remember correctly, I tried to get you to paint for years. It chipped in every part of the siding. Made us look like we were the last poor house on the street.”
I was still processing that her new man’s name was Duke when she said something about a poor house. “Where’s James?”
“With Duke?”
My blood boiled. “Our son’s with some random fool you’re fucking?”
She stopped short in front of me, and I craned my neck to meet her fiery gaze. “Dukeis not ‘some random fool.’ We’ve been dating for six months, Ryan. And seeing how he’s around my son—”
“Our son.”
“—more than you are,” she continued, “it won’t be long before you’re the random fool.”
