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“If you knew Titan Steel was mine?” Avery guessed as she packed a cart with extras. “You didn’t know I’d be here, did you?”
“No, you’re the last person on earth Ieverwant to see again.” She shook as she grabbed the invoice. “Payment’s due when we pick up the airpots. Your secretary can arrange that with my assistant.”
Colleen started to hand it over but knew she couldn’t begin to touch him, go that near him.
“Colleen, wait,” Avery said, when she changed her mind and sat the invoice down on the table. “I didn’t mean to come across as though I were accusing you of anything. I’m sorry.”
“For what? What on earth could Avery Montgomery, master of the right choices, be sorry for?” She fought against the pain that seeing him instantly created. She’d thought she was over it, but this was too much, far too much.
“For thinking you came here to purposely aggravate me, and for more than you’d ever imagine.” Avery sat down on the edge of the table to not tower over her. She had always been small but she looked infinitely fragile. The bones in her wrists protruded and he could see shadows under her eyes beneath the concealer she wore.
“Have no worries, I willneverpurposely seek you out and your sorry can rot in hell with you Avery.”
“I…you started your own business?” He wondered who gave her the money for it. She hadn’t touched a penny of his settlement and owning a business wasn’t easy.
“Small talk was always beneath you, wasn’t it? Why don’t we agree right now that neither of us will bother the other with things we truly don’t care about, hmm? You’re simply my mistake of a lifetime and I’m simply the woman you betrayed. Do whatever you want with that knowledge.” Colleen moved the cart from the room as Margret opened the door. She let her know to call her assistant as they settled the cart into an empty space and she hurried back to the bakery.
“What on earth is wrong?” Meredith asked coming into it to find her in the back prep room wiping tears away as she laid out the work to be done for the next day.
“Titan Steel…” It was all she could manage before breaking down, sinking onto the floor as Meredith shut and locked the door so the other employees couldn’t come into it.
“Shh, honey it’s okay, whatever it is, it’s okay,” Meredith said hugging her letting her cry on her shoulder the way she always did, making Colleen feel worse because she was always leaning on her. Meredith dried her eyes, wiping the tears away giving her a smile. “What happened?”
“Titan Steel is the reimaged Mont Industries.”
“Mont Ind…as in…”
“Avery Montgomery, the man who destroyed my entire life, the man I pray is Tommy’s father because if not that means…”
“Shh, don’t think that,” Meredith said brushing the hair from her eyes. “Don’t go back there, honey.”
“I can’t help it. Running into Julia and his sisters two weeks ago…ohgod.” She groaned covering her face with her hands.
“What?”
“I wondered who’d referred us to Titan remember? They said someone had been to a party we’d catered but when we asked who for our normal thank you of ten percent off their next event they wouldn’t tell us.”
“You don’t think Julia,” Meredith said and Colleen nodded. “Why would she refer your company to Avery if they thought you’d left him for someone else?”
“I don’t know, maybe she realized I was telling the truth and…I don’t know. I don’t know why she’d try and hurt me more by putting me in his path. It’s not bad enough that he left me but to potentially have to deal with seeing him, seeing him happy with someone else…I thought she once loved me but who does that to someone they loved?”
“I don’t know honey, but it’ll be okay, I promise. Tommy loves you and you know I love you,” Meredith said which again made things worse for her.
“Mere…”
“I know, you’re not in love with me the way I am you but I will never leave you, your side. Even if you would find a new man, I would still be with you. You know I’ll protect you and Tommy, always.”
“I know but it’s not fair to you, knowing I’ll never return your feelings,” she said her eyes showing the haunted depths. “It’s not fair I lean on you so much.”
“I don’t care Leen. You are everything to me right now, you and Tommy. We’re in this together. I’ll go get the payment and pick everything up. You stay here and take it easy. I’ll pick up Tommy from the daycare on my way back.”
“Mere…”
“It’s okay honey,” Meredith said kissing her forehead after standing her up looking at the list of caterings and pre-orders they had the next day. “You start on these and I’ll get Dana to deal with the actual baking once you have everything mixed that way you can focus on the decorating.”
“Thank you,” she told her squeezing her hand before she left trying to let the baking soothe her tattered heart.
Meredith let Dana know to keep an eye on Colleen before she took the van to pick up the platters and airpots. She finished loading them into the van and went back upstairs to get the check finding Margret away from her desk and Avery Montgomery standing in the middle of the office looking through a file.
