I apologized profusely before I packed up my things and left. I told her she had a few more days before she needed to be in L.A. and I told her when the moving truck was going to be there. I could see the disappointment in her eyes as I walked towards the door, and it every part of me ached to leave her. But if we were going to make this work, then these types of distractions were what we needed to get used to.
She kept in touch with me the entire time the move was taking place. I instructed the drivers to bring all of her things to my address, then paid them overtime to haul them up into my penthouse apartment. I convinced Abby to fly to L.A. and let me ship the car to my place, and I was thankful she let me do it.
I was not keen on her driving a twenty-eight hour trip by herself, and neither was her father.
Meeting after meeting took up my attention as my cell phone rang off the hook. Every time Abby stopped, she sent me a message. Every time she ate, she sent me a message. I wanted to be with her. With every picture she sent me, I tried to imagine myself at her side. I understood these meetings were necessary. I knew this European marketplace bullshit was becoming more complicated by the second.
But I hired specialists to take care of these problems so I wouldn’t have to oversee every single one of them. What was the point of paying them if I couldn’t even enjoy moments like my engagement?
Three days later, Abby was flying into Los Angeles. I was in yet another meeting I had no business being in, and I was two and a half ticks shy of firing the person sitting in front of me. I had hired an outside project manager to come in and try to work out the kinks in this project. It seemed like every time we jumped one hurdle, there was another one waiting for us to slam right into it.
He had reassured me he could get this done, and now I was staring at his guilty-ass face from across a table.
Reluctantly, I sent a car to pick up Abby from the airport. I sent her a message apologizing for not being there, and all the while my blood was boiling. I hadn’t even announced my engagement to anyone yet because I was neck-deep in meetings I’d hired someone else to field!
What the fuck was going on?
“Excuse me,” I said. “Just—can I have a second?”
I looked over at the man sitting across from me and I motioned for him to meet me outside. He followed me like a lost little puppy, his head hanging low and his lack of a spine showing for all the world to see.
He knew what was coming, and I knew it had to be done.
“I hired you to keep these issues under your own management,” I said.
“Yes, Mr. Murphy. I know.”
“So why am I now sitting through days of non-stop meetings?” I asked.
“These issues, they’re far more complicated than I expected. It’s going to take all hands on deck in order to get this done,” he said.
“Well, your hands won’t be on that deck. I’ll pay you for the rest of the week, but you’re dismissed as of now.”
“Mr. Murphy, let me—”
“Goodbye.”
I watched as the man straightened up his back and sighed. He handed his notebook over to me and I took it before I watched him backtrack down the hallway. I could feel everyone in the meeting room staring at me as I cracked my neck, then I turned towards them all and sighed.
I was so ready to be in the arms of the woman I loved.
The meeting wrapped up within the hour and I took all of my former employee’s worthless notes and tossed them. I walked into my office and grabbed my things, thinking of all the ways I would lose myself in Abby’s beautiful body. I couldn’t wait to caress her skin with my fingertips and bury my face into her hair. I couldn’t wait to feel her sit in my lap and steam the room with our desires and intimate passions.
But when I stepped out of the office building, I saw a familiar car pull up in front of it.
“Fancy seeing you here,” Abby said.
I felt a grin spread across my cheeks as she made her way up the stairs.
“You didn’t think you could lock me away in your ivory tower until my first day of work, did you?” she asked.
“I suppose I should’ve known better,” I said.
Wrapping my arm around her, I tried to draw her in for a kiss. But what I got instead was her quickly pulling her face away from mine. Her eyes looked hesitant as they darted around, and she quickly scrambled out of my arms. She straightened herself up and cleared her throat, a smile plastering itself back onto her face.
“We should probably keep it professional here,” she said.
“Oh. Right,” I said. “That’s probably a good idea.”
But the hesitant gaze was still there even as I ushered her into the building.
I gave her the guided tour and showed her all the conference rooms. People waved at her and welcomed her with open arms as I introduced her, letting everyone know that she was my new P.R. representative. I was elated that she was here and it warmed my heart to watch her interact with everyone, but I could tell she seemed a bit off.
She was a bit stiff and a little more removed than I’d expected.
“Want to see your office?” I asked.
“I’d love to,” she said, smiling.
But her smile didn’t reach her eyes which didn’t go unnoticed by me.
I took her up to the top floor where my office was. I was beaming as we walked off the elevator. This was the best part and I couldn’t wait to show her. I’d
