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And there was that scarf again. Tossed around her neck.
I stared at the picture for a long time. I didn’t know what it was, but I saw something in that photo, something I couldn’t explain. It was like I was reminded of a time long ago.
Hurriedly, I scrolled down to the bottom of Jamie’s social media posts. There was a lot. She posted something almost every day or so. Hundreds of photos slipped under my thumb, but I couldn’t stop now. I knew I had to find out.
At last, I found it. In the picture, Jamie was in bed. And in her arms was a baby. A dark, protective instinct rose in me, and for a moment I didn’t know what I was thinking. Was it right to be creeping on her social media like this? And what was I doing anyhow? But I saw the date. Towards the end of November. A little over nine months after we …
I put the phone down. I pressed the button and locked the screen. It went black.
“Would you like another one?” asked the waiter as he arrived at my table to gather up the coffee I’d ordered.
“No,” I said. “Actually, I think I’ll take a vodka martini, if you don’t mind.”
Duringthereception,Icould do nothing but scan the crowd. It was unusual for me to be out in public like this. Normally, I was on site, visiting a mining operation, or meeting with my technicians. And if I wasn’t there, then I was normally cooped up in the office in Boston.
I knew I was the wealthiest man in the room, one of the most successful people. But it still surprised me that so many people wanted to talk to me, from lowly junior executives and PR managers to the CEOs of some of the biggest businesses in the world. After fifteen years of hard work, I guess I still felt like the new kid on the block.
When I saw Tom, I couldn’t help but draw him aside. We hadn’t seen each other in a while, but he looked every bit himself. He was strong and wiry, with steel-gray hair in a crew cut.
“This is crazy,” I said. “They’re treating me like a movie star or something.”
“Well, to them, I guess you are one,” laughed Tom. “Relax and enjoy it. You can get back to one of your jungles tomorrow.”
“I feel like I’m about to say or do something that is going to land me a one-way ticket there tomorrow,” I chuckled.
“You’re kidding. They love it when you don’t pay attention to them, anyway. It makes you seem more focused on your business.”
I rolled my eyes. I didn’t want to bring it up, but I knew I was going to have to eventually and that I’d need to keep an eye on Jamie and her father, to make sure that none of the tension between us got back to him. “Have you seen your daughter yet?”
“She’s around here somewhere,” said Tom. “Hey, would you go find her for me?”
“Tom …” I said, “You know, Jamie and I don’t exactly get along. I’m not sure she’d be interested in speaking to me.”
“Oh,” said Tom, and I could hardly bear to look at his gray eyes, which glazed over with sadness. “Sorry. I didn’t know.”
“It’s really fine,” I said. “I just, I’m not sure we’re ever going to be friends. I said some things, she said some things …”
Hopefully, if I could disguise the animosity between me and Jamie, Tom wouldn’t pry any deeper. But I knew it hurt him for me to say this. We were so close that we were like family. I knew it wounded him to know that Jamie and I didn’t get along, and I was feeling increasingly despondent when I went to fetch us some more drinks and saw Jamie in the crowd.
She was … surrounded by people, all laughing and joking. I saw her in profile first, the gentle curve of her cute nose and her hair worn loose around her shoulders. Just like the day we’d first met. She was wearing an elegant blue dress and looked like she belonged perfectly in the grand ballroom.
I could see she was talking to Alan Morgan. He was younger than me by at least ten years, suave and sophisticated, Ivy League. I could see he was standing close to Jamie. At one point, he broke into a story, and I felt myself burning white hot with rage as I saw his arm around her shoulder.
“So then,” he chuckled, “Miss Reed goes up to the third floor herself and does the entire day’s work for Martha and the rest of the team! It was amazing. I’ve never seen anything like it!”
I wanted to spy more, but then Alan caught my eye and waved. I waved back and wandered over to their group.
“Hi, Alan,” I said, extending a hand.
“Well, Eric,” said Alan. “Nice to see you here.”
“I haven’t been to one of these things before,” I said.
“Why’s that, Eric? Not fond of crowds?” chuckled Alan. Jamie looked away. I could see she’d turned to stone since he’d called me over.
“Not fond of talking about my work,” I said, practically through gritted teeth. “Would prefer to be doing it.”
“I understand,” laughed Alan, holding up his hands.
