I grinned, winking at Lee. “So I’ve heard.”
“That’s disgusting!” she cried, fresh tears escaping as she pulled me close. “I’m going to miss seeing you every day!”
“We can always videocall!” I assured, rubbing her back. “I won’t even wear makeup, so I look extra busted for you! And we can drink wine together like we’re at Crow Bar!”
“It’s not the same!” she wailed, shaking with sobs.
I dipped my head into her shoulder, not a word more to say. I knew she was right.
Jason
I loathed flying. Always had. I never got used to the rumble of turbulence, security checkpoints, or talkative seatmates.
The latest flight from Tampa to Syracuse brought with it Roger, a real estate broker who flopped into the seat beside me. His mouth didn’t stop moving the entire flight, jabbering away for a solid four hours. I informed him I was heading into the office and needed some shut-eye, seeking peace. It was a gentle lie, one that any decent person would accept, but not Roger. Not even a neck pillow around my ears could muffle his gibberish.
As soon as there was an opening after we deplaned, I took it, disappearing into anonymity on the way to the baggage claim.
It was freezing despite being indoors, a light sport coat doing little to keep me warm. Wearing a coat through security in Florida was just asking for a pat-down and potential cavity search, so it was stuffed in my suitcase. I’d rather chatter my teeth than spread wide.
As I passed a wall of windows, I spied a slushy mixture falling from the sky, sure to make the drive to work a blast. It’d make crossing the parking lot to find my car fun too, the thick goop ready to slide into my socks and soak me to the bone.
I popped my personal phone off airplane mode once I hit the baggage claim. It vibrated and chimed frantically as soon as I did, notifications flooding the screen. Texts. Calls. Emails. It must have buzzed for a solid minute, locking the screen up entirely.
My heart dropped. Elena? Luke? Ethan? If anything happened to them, I would lose it.
I opened the missed call log as soon as it silenced and saw a handful from Croft folk but nothing out of the ordinary. With my time at the branch nearing an end, everyone was desperate for updates regardless of what phone they bothered me on. My work phone’s log likely mirrored what I was seeing.
I bounced over to messages, surprised to see over 40 unread.
I opened the first conversation from 8AM, a slew of texts from Marty. I groaned, knowing an avalanche was coming my way.
Please call as soon as possible. Important.
There is a situation at the office. Please call as soon as you get this.
Jason. It is urgent. I’ve been informed you’re en route to New York. Please call me immediately before coming to the office. This is critical.
Christ. What now? Did he cause another catastrophe with a client?
I scrolled down to Nate.
Call me, dude.
Seriously. Call me. Big shit.
Call me before Corporate.
My gut clenched. Corporate? I’d skin Marty alive if he did something big enough to reach Preston’s desk. I scrolled on, setting work on the back burner for a moment.
A strange number appeared, but I recognized it as a New York area code.
Stay away from her, you pig. If you go near her, I’ll smash your balls and feed them to you like baby food. That’s all you’ll be eating too after I break your jaw, asshole.
I flinched, picturing my crushed nuts. Who the hell was this person? Justin? Did he really threaten me? Where the fuck did he get my number? And I was the pig? Talk about balls.
I didn’t honor it with a response, needing to do some digging first. It could have been a wrong number. I had received weirder texts. At least it wasn’t a sext. Those were the worst misfires known to man.
I scrolled more to see two texts from Elena, a smile tugging my lips and banishing the bad vibes of the ball-crushing threat.
Have a safe flight, handsome. Can’t wait to see you, babe!!!!
I skimmed to the next message, sent two hours earlier.
How could you do this to me? You made me look like a cheap whore. Don’t contact me again.
I almost dropped the phone at the text. What was she talking about?
I dialed her, pressing the phone to my ear in a panic. I was in a cold sweat, suddenly melting despite the icy air.
Her sweet voice clicked on, going straight to voicemail. “Hi, this is Elena Julian. I can’t come to the phone, but if you leave a message, I’ll return your call as soon as possible. Thanks!”
“Fuck!” I roared, hanging up. “Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!”
Those around me turned their attention my way, an older woman beside me taking a quick step back.
Rage and panic set in, demanding release. No amount of profanity or shouting could get it all out. I wanted to ruin something. Anything. Anyone.
Had Justin outed us? Did he say something after realizing who I was? Was this his way of getting back at me since I had his girl, and he was alone? Maybe he was the one behind the threatening text.
I tried calling her again, getting the same voicemail recording. I did my best to steady my voice as the message played out. “Elena, I have no idea what’s going on. I just landed. Please call me back.”
I hung up and stood there, disconnected from the world around me. This couldn’t be happening. I needed to get to her.
I grabbed my bag as it rounded the carrier, tossing it over my shoulder as I hurried toward the parking garage. I dialed Nate on the way, seeing if he’d hint at anything. Maybe it wasn’t what I feared.
“Dude, where the fuck are you?” he roared.
“Well, hello to you too,” I replied, rolling my eyes. “I’ve been on a plane for four hours.”
He grumbled, drawers
