AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I’m done.
Chapter Three
JACK
I’mwaitingtocrossFifth Avenue and the cars rush by me like seconds on a stopwatch. It’s times like these that I feel like I should have someone to hold to protect me while I maneuver across a busy street, but all I care about is the one thing I can’t protect.
My idiotic heart.
All week, my phone has been rudely jammed up by call after call and I’m aware that some deals are going to need to be made today. The thought rejuvenates me.
I haven’t yet grown tired of hustling. Ironically, making deals gives me insight into how well-built my intuition is and, at the same time, how far-sighted I can be.
Horns honk, jarring me. I jog across the street a little faster. I wonder why they’re in such a hurry. Maybe they’re late for work. Maybe they’re on the way to the hospital. Maybe someone is frantic because this moment is all life gave them control over.
Boy, am I in a mood today.
The clouds seem to be covering the city today. I wonder what messages the heavens are trying to tell us. I’m about halfway down the street when a light mist falls over the city. I pull my jacket up futilely as I jog the rest of the way to the office. As I approach, the guard notices me and rushes toward me with an umbrella. I thank him but wave it away. A little drizzle never harmed anyone.
I make my way to the elevators. The building is never as crowded on weekends, and the ambiance is calm and composed. I notice a few women eyeing me along the way. They’re all pretty attractive. I give them a thrill and smile back, familiar with the attention I often receive from women. Sadly, none of them entice me. They rarely do these days.
I’m in the elevator alone with nothing but the faint sound of some easy listening playing through the speakers. For the umpteenth time since that surreal evening, Sarah invades my thoughts.
She isn’t just any woman.
My mood dims again as I ponder.
The most beautiful things in my life have also been the most tragic, and I never want her to be one of those tragedies. I made mistakes with her, and I don’t want to make them again. For once, I want to see if I can live life as fully as I want to - like I’m supposed to.
As I walk into my office, the executive who’ll be leading the meeting follows me.
“Sir, the meeting with Tricon has been finalized. Their executives will be here at one o’clock.”
“Good. We have time to prepare,” I say.
He hands me the files, and I skim through them. Pretty pieces of paper with lots of fancy graphs and charts attempting to convince Tricon to partner with us. I nod, and he exits the room.
We’ve been working our asses off for the past two months to finalize this contract, and here it is, finally. Sure, anyone could have worked on the project, but I insisted that it had to be me if only to make sure they knew my face. Them knowing who I am is just as important as all these pretty pieces of paper.
The contract with Tricon Company is extremely important to me. It represents a significant opportunity for the business to grow and expand. This funding will allow us to reach new markets, increase our revenue, and improve our overall success. I invested a lot of time and effort into negotiating the terms of the contract and ensuring that it was going to be mutually beneficial for both parties. I’m confident our partnership will be a game-changer for my startup and be an opportunity to make us richer than our wildest dreams. For the first time since I started this whole deal, I’m confident in what lies ahead.
That’s the thing, though. I exceed in everything I do except the one thing in which I should have succeeded.
Sarah.
I try not to think about her all day but to no avail. I can’t seem to get her out of my mind. That evening with her renewed the memories I had been trying so hard to push down for the past several years. Now, I find myself thinking about her more often than not. The memories of our time together flood my mind, and I can’t help but feel a sense of longing and sadness.
I miss her laugh, smile, and the way she looks at me. I miss the touch of her skin when she held my hand and the warmth of her sweet embrace. I miss the way she would listen to me, understand me, and the way she would make me feel so special.
We had a special bond. Or at least I thought we did until it all disappeared.
The truth of the matter is that forming connections with women has never come naturally to me. Somehow, though, I managed to have that with her. Someone I could hold close, feeling that even if the world ended, there would be nothing to be afraid of. No regrets because even in death, I’d feel blessed to be with her.
It’s funny how I started out my life with a father who couldn’t show affection if you paid him and a mother who found warmth in the bottle of a vodka bottle instead of her husband’s arms and somehow, I managed to find the one person who made me believe that we could never be them. For a while, I really believed in love.
And then, somehow, she slipped through my fingers. I start to think that maybe it doesn’t have to be that way, though. Maybe I could get another chance with her. If that last evening was any indication, I might actually have a shot. I know that if I ever do get that lucky, I’ll be more careful not to be like my father. This time, I’m going to be the man she needed me to be. Loving, kind, and present.
Can I make it happen? I’m going crazy thinking about the idea.
