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“Do you have any idea how many times I went home after a show and cried when I lived in Manhattan? Or how scared I was sleeping in random hotels when I toured? Some nights I didn’t sleep at all because I didn’t feel safe! But all anyone saw was the successful dancer who was living her dream!” Tears were falling fast now, but she didn’t bother to wipe them away. “I dated crappy guys so I would always be the more successful one. At first, it was just fun dating the bad boy types, but the older I got, it was more about just having fun and knowing I wasn’t really investing anything in the relationship. I didn’t care if they ended.”
“Lily, I…”
“This injury? I didn’t know what to do! When I went to the orthopedic urgent care, I really thought they were going to tell me to ice it and rest and I’d be good to go the next day. Nothing like this has ever happened to me before! And even when I did all the stuff everyone told me to do, it wasn’t enough!” Then she sobbed harder as her mother pulled her back into her embrace. “Why wasn’t it enough?”
But her mother didn’t have an answer.
No one did.
And she’d never felt more lost and alone in her entire life.
* * *
He’d gone home, showered, and then gone to the office.
Somewhere around three, Jason called to let him know that William was out of surgery. They’d removed the tumor and sent it off to pathology, but so far everything looked good.
“Thanks for letting me know,” he said gruffly, the relief washing over him. “I appreciate you taking the time to call. I’m sure you have a lot of family to talk to, so…”
“Listen, Noah,” Jason said. “Everyone was just…emotional today. I’m not making excuses for Lucas or Lily, but just…know that today has everyone out of sorts.”
He nodded, and it took a moment before he felt like he could respond. “Thanks, Jason. Is it okay for me to let Sara and everyone know that William’s out of surgery?”
“Um…yeah. Sure. But…”
“Look, I appreciate what you’re saying, but there’s more to it than what you’re thinking. I get being emotional over everything, but there comes a time when the truth comes out and it’s not the truth we want to hear.”
Ugh…why am I talking in circles?
With a small huff, he shook his head. “So, um…I need to go. I’ve got a call starting in ten minutes and I have to look over some files. Please give William my best, and I’m sure I’ll be seeing you in the office soon.”
“Okay. Thanks, Noah,” Jason replied before hanging up.
There was no call he had to get on and he had been sitting miserably in his office trying to figure out just what this argument with Lily meant.
Liar.
He knew what it meant.
It meant she saw him as someone who wasn’t man enough to deal with her father’s bullshit—even though he had said right to the faces of the entire Montgomery family that he had been in bed with Lily when they got the call about William. It didn’t matter how much time they’d spent together or what he had just done right in front of her; in her mind, she still saw him as that boring, numbers guy who never stood up to his boss.
And until this morning, that was probably true.
He’d spent so much time whining about her father giving him grief for the last few years that it’s a wonder Lily ever slept with him at all. Just thinking about how he must have sounded had to have been a turnoff.
Not that much, since she slept with you repeatedly.
Yeah, well…sex was one thing. That was a physical act that you could have with someone even if you didn’t particularly like them. But for a relationship to work and last, there had to be respect, and it was obvious she didn’t respect him.
Raking a hand through his hair in frustration, Noah turned in his chair and stared at his screen and decided to send out an email to the company with William’s update rather than going out and talking to Sara. His door was shut and he wasn’t in the mood to talk to anyone.
Once the information was sent, he forced himself to do reports and updates for Mac, Jason, and Lucas on their clients so they’d have everything they needed without having to talk to him. Then he spent several hours running reports on clients who they hadn’t spoken to directly in the last six months and started making appointments with as many as he could for the coming weeks.
After that, he went through all his emails, scrolled through the news, and did everything he could to avoid actually getting up and leaving. At six, there was a knock on his office door and his heart kicked hard in hopes it was Lily.
“Hey,” Sara said as she opened the door. “Do you have a minute?”
He shrugged. “Sure.”
