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I shook my head. “There is no way that man is still single. He probably has a beautiful wife and two kids in his beautiful home with the perfect backyard. I bet they live in a mansion with maids and cooks. I missed my one chance.”
“Are you mad you missed the chance with the man or the life the man could give you?”
“I don’t care about the mansion with a swimming pool and a huge gourmet kitchen,” I said. “That would be nice, but he might be perfect. I can’t say that heisperfect because I don’t really know him.”
“It was a long time ago,” she said gently. “I doubt he’s still mad at you.”
“I doubt he cares,” I said, sighing. “He’s gorgeous and happy. I’m single with a cat named after him. I live in a tiny apartment with my best friend. I’m still twenty-one. He grew up, got better looking, and runs a damn company. I remember his watch from that night. I remember him saying it was his. I should have connected the dots.”
“There is no possible way you could have guessed the CEO was the guy from Vegas,” she said. “Just like he couldn’t have known it was you he was going to be interviewing. I imagine you were both shocked. That doesn’t mean you can’t work for him. You’re still good. He would be stupid if he ignored your application because you guys hooked up once forever ago.”
“He was pissed,” I said. “I felt his anger while I was sitting across from him. He was not happy with me. It felt arrogant at the time to think he would want me, but after today, maybe it was real. I just don’t know. I’m so confused. I looked at him and I wanted nothing more than to jump at him. I wanted to throw myself at him. He’s this guy that I would never normally meet. He’s so far out of my league it isn’t even funny.”
“I don’t know if leagues are a real thing,” she said, shrugging. “You guys had a connection.”
“We were drunk.”
“But you’re still hung up on him,” she said. “And if he’s mad at you for walking out, I’m guessing he might feel a little something. He wouldn’t be mad at you if he didn’t care a little. Maybe you should talk to him. Both of you can say your piece. If there’s no chance of rekindling that fire, then you can at least get some closure.”
“I think me walking out on him a second time was about as much closure as we are going to get,” I said with a sigh. “I don’t know why I’m so bothered by all this. I haven’t seen him in eight years. Not a word. It just feels like I got kicked in the gut.”
“Because maybe there was a secret part of you that was holding out hope you would see each other again and have a Vegas repeat,” she said with her hand on mine. “You wanted a chance to go back. You feel like you made a mistake and you want to correct it.”
“I don’t know,” I groaned. “I never actually planned on being with him. I never believed we would get together, but I guess it was the hope. It was a fairytale. Now, the fairytale is over. He knows who I am. He knows I’m a girl desperate for a job as an assistant. There is no way I would ever stand a chance with him. It’s over. My hopes of being swept off my feet by my white knight are over.”
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I really am. What about the job?”
“What about it?”
“Are you going to try and get it still?” she asked.
“Haven’t you heard what I’ve been saying?” I asked. “I saw the look in the man’s eyes. He was seriously considering dropkicking me out the door. There is no way in hell he would ever consider hiring me. I saw it the moment I looked into his eyes.”
She blew out a breath. “I’m sorry. We’ll figure out another job for you. If I would have guessed, I never would have put you in that position.”
“You were doing me a huge favor,” I said. “And in a way, I’m glad I saw him. Now I know what happened to him. The hope of one day running into him and him sweeping me off my feet is over. It’s been put to rest. I don’t have to hold out for the man I fell for in Vegas. The door has closed. The chapter has closed. All the things. It’s over. It’s time to move on.”
“Alright, that’s it,” she said. “We’re having the breakup ceremony. I have to finish this file and then I’m all yours.”
“I’m going to take a shower,” I said. “I have to wash him away.”
“I’m going to finish this and then clear my schedule. We will have abona fidepity party complete with ice cream and pizza.”
“And wine,” I said. “Lots of wine. When I drag my ass into work tomorrow, I want to look sick.”
“I’ll put the order in,” she said, smiling. “Skip the shower. Take a bath. Add lots of bubbles.”
“I think I will,” I said.
I took off the outfit I thought was going to land me the job. There were some things in life that couldn’t be explained away. Seeing Jon again was one of those things. Of all the places in the world for him to live, it had to be my city. Before getting into the bathtub, I opened my laptop and did a quick Google search.
I sat on the edge of the bed and read through his bio on the company page. He’d been in San Francisco the whole time. I couldn’t believe I had been this close to him. It was a small world, but San Francisco was a big city. It was easy for us to miss each other day after day. So close but yet so far away.
I closed the laptop and got into the tub. Sometimes, life was just not fair. I couldn’t really blame life for this problem. I had chosen to get out of that bed and sneak out of that hotel room. I did that. I had to own it. Everything that happened the moment after I closed the door was on me.
After sulking in my room and pretending to search the classifieds for a job posting that suited me, I rejoined Trisha in the living room. My excitement to find a new job was gone. The job I really wanted was never going to happen. This was part of my punishment for leaving him. Fate had put him in my path, and I ignored it.
“I’ve got The Notebook pulled up and the pizza was just delivered,” Trisha said. “I’ll pour the wine.”
