Abby had never been a morning person, and there was a part of me that enjoyed it.
I enjoyed the little attitude she cocked when she was tired. I enjoyed the way she couldn’t keep a coherent conversation going until she got enough caffeine into her system. I enjoyed watching the way caffeine seemed to perk up her eyes. Once clouded by darkness and slumber, her eyes brightened with every milligram of the stuff she put in her bloodstream. Her voice came to life and her skin took on a healthy glow.
It was as if caffeine was her life source.
I looked over at the clock and saw it was approaching six thirty. We were three hours outside of Wichita, but if the weather was bad it would easily be a six-hour trip. I felt a renewed sense of vigor to make the last leg of this trip bearable. The first leg had been spontaneous and full of apprehension, and yesterday had been a living nightmare.
I wanted to send Abby off with positive memories, just like I had the last time.
The truth was, we couldn’t be together. No matter how much my body rose to her affections and no matter how much I missed her when she wasn’t around, she was an employee of mine. It was unprofessional, to say the least, but if something did strike up between us it could jeopardize the position she wanted within my company. Every promotion would be seen as nepotism at its finest, and she would have to work twice as hard and be twice as qualified just to be justified the promotion in the first place.
I didn’t want to put her through that. Especially given what she went through last year.
“What time is it?” Abby asked, groaning.
“Six thirty. We should start stirring and get on the road. And don’t worry, we’ll stop to get coffee,” I said.
“Good boy.”
I chuckled at her before I slipped my arms from around her body. It ached to leave her. I slept better when I was beside her. Work fell from my mind and my soul seemed much calmer when she was around. It was a sensation I wasn’t familiar with. I experienced things with Abby I’d never experienced with anyone else before.
But I owned the company she worked for, and her boss reported straight to me with matters of media urgency.
Well, my secretary. But that was essentially the same thing.
I slipped into the shower quickly and cleaned myself up. I shaved my face and made sure I was ready for any media exposure that might happen when we landed into Wichita. I picked out my finest suit as Abby dragged herself around the room, slowly piecing her life together with one eye still closed.
Even in her sleepy stupor, she was a beautiful woman.
By the time seven thirty came around, we were finally loading into the car. The snow had stopped, the sun was shining, and the roads had even been plowed. The snow banks were almost four feet high and coated in ice, but people were buzzing down the roads as if it was the middle of summer. My chest swelled with relief as I pulled us out of the hotel parking lot, and I pulled in across the street to get us some coffee and breakfast.
Abby didn’t make a sound until she had gotten halfway through the large coffee I had purchased for her.
“I could’ve paid for this,” she said.
“I don’t think you could’ve even found your card in the state you were in,” I said.
“Hey, it’s not my fault I’m not a morning person. I get it from my father.”
“How is he, by the way? And your mother?” I asked.
“They’re good. On a Valentine’s Day cruise. It’s what my father surprised my mother with for Christmas.”
“I’m sure they’re having fun.”
“I hope they are. They deserve it after helping me out of my little hidey hole,” she said.
“And how is that going?” I asked.
“What do you mean?”
“Just, with everything you went through last year. Are you—bouncing back?”
“What am I, a rubber ball?” she asked.
“I just meant—”
“Settle down, Colin,” she said, giggling. “I’m just teasing you.”
I looked over and caught a glimpse of the Abby I remembered. The annoyingly vivacious woman with stars in her eyes and an entire life ahead for the taking. There was a smile on her face as she began to talk, her lips moving in tandem with her smile as my eyes flowed over her body. She was so full of life in ways I had never been. She had overcome so much, yet still found a way to keep a jovial smile on her face.
I had no idea how she did it.
“I’m doing well,” she said. “Still with my parents, but hopefully not for long. If I don’t encounter any other financial problems, I’ll be in my own place come summer.”
“There’s nothing wrong with being with your parents. I built my business in a corner in my mother’s garage. I lived with her until this thing took off,” I said.
“Yeah, well. You were building a conglomerate. I’m in my childhood bedroom after my life imploded,” she said.
“Was there anything anyone could do about all the money your ex took from you?”
I watched her face grow somber and I regretted ever asking the damn question.
“No. Because his name was on the account, the money was his for the taking. I could’ve gone through some massive paperwork and taken him to court, but I didn’t have any money to
