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“Is it broken?” I ask.
“No,” he snarls, and I glare at him.
“Look, I know you’re stressed out. And I’m sorry for whatever is going wrong at the office. But don’t take it out on me.”
“I’m not,” Ragnar says in a raised voice. “I’m just trying to express some frustration! I should be able to do that in my own damn house to my own damn boyfriend!”
“I thought this was our house,” I say quietly. “And don’t talk about me like I’m just some possession of yours, Ragnar.”
“Don’t be so sensitive,” he says. “You know that’s not what I meant.”
“I’m not sure I know that much about you at all,” I shoot back. “Ever since we came to Atlanta, this whole different side of you has come out. And frankly, it’s not a great side.”
“This is who I am,” he says. “You knew that about me before we even got together.”
“Yeah, and I thought that you left your asshole side in the past,” I say hotly. “I guess I was wrong.”
“I’m not doing this,” Ragnar snarls. “I need to go back to work.”
He slams out of the condo, closing the door so hard that the glass in the windows rattle. I stare at the door, feeling my heart break just a little.
26
RAGNAR
Ihad no idea that the company was in such bad shape. Every communication I received when I was in Green Haven, up until the last few days, made it seem like things were running smoothly in my absence.
Now that I’m back, though, the gravity of the situation has hit me like a blow to the head. I feel like I’m spending the better part of each day in meetings, which means I don’t have time to attend to the hundreds of emails and dozens of pages of documents that have piled up. And each meeting leads to more emails and documents.
It’s so bad that I’ve just resigned myself to working until midnight six days a week. I get up at dawn, not even needing the alarm to wake me up. I’m so wired and overwhelmed by the need to right the company before it’s too late that I can’t relax, even when I try. And even when it’s clear that Bradford wants me to.
I know that he’s right; I can’t keep up this pace indefinitely. But more than that, I know that Bradford’s patience is running out.
I don’t blame him. This isn’t what either of us expected when we talked about coming back to Atlanta together. At the same time, though, my own patience is running out, too. Don’t I deserve a partner that will understand the situation I’m in? That will have some sympathy for me?
Not that I know how to talk about any of this without blowing up. I’ve never made it to this stage in a relationship, so I’m operating without a map. Add to that how stressed out and tired I am, and the only real surprise is that it took Bradford and I so long to have a fight, not that we had one to begin with.
I know I shouldn’t have stormed out of the condo. But now that I’m back in my office, and the rest of the building is dark and quiet around me, I feel like I can breathe. Like I can think.
Unfortunately, all I can think about is what I should have said to Bradford. I should have told him that I’ve noticed all the little changes and additions he’s made to the condo to make it feel like a home. That I love waking up next to him every morning. That this is just temporary, and if we can get through this, we can get through anything.
It’s after midnight now, and I don’t want to call Bradford. Best case scenario, he’ll be dead asleep and not even hear his phone. Worst case scenario, I wake him up and we’re both so tired that we go straight into round two.
I need to talk to someone, though. So I call Gorlag, who is usually a night owl.
Sure enough, he answers on the first ring. “Ragnar! How’s life in the big city treating you?” he asks in an exaggerated country drawl.
I smile. “It’s hectic. The company is in dire straits, man. I’m up to my ass in meetings and crisis strategy sessions. Think sixteen-hour days and mountains of paperwork to sort out.”
Gorlag whistles. “That’s intense, dude. But admit it. A part of you is thriving on the chaos, on being the only one that can right the ship.”
“Yeah, you’re right,” I confess. “There is a little bit of sweet revenge in seeing how much everything went to shit without me.”
“There’s the petty bastard I know and love.”
“Hey, you’d feel the same way.”
“Damn straight.” He yawns.
