The front door slams. She's gone. It's over. I finally ended something that should've ended months ago.
I don't think I'll lose my job over it. I'm too valuable to the firm. I make them a lot of money. Roger knows that, and he's not one to let personal issues interfere with his business. It'll be awkward for awhile but we'll get past it.
I pick up my phone, wanting to call Sophie and tell her the news. I want to do more than that. I want to see her. It's only been a few days since we said our goodbyes at the inn but it seems like forever ago.
I'm about to call her but then decide not to. It's too soon. If people saw us together, or even found out we were talking, they'd suspect she's the reason I broke up with Celine. I don't want them making Sophie the enemy, saying things that aren't true.
I call up Pete.
"Hey, man, what's up?"
"It's over. I broke up with Celine."
"No shit? When?"
"Just now. She didn't take it well."
"Yeah, I bet. How about you? How are you feeling?"
"Better than I've felt in a long time. I didn't realize how much that relationship was weighing me down."
"Does she know about Sophie?"
"This isn't about Sophie. She's not why I did it."
"But does she know? Did she accuse you of anything?"
"She accused me of cheating but not with Sophie. She doesn't see Sophie as a threat. She can't imagine me being with someone like her, which just proves my point that Celine never took the time to know me."
"Have you talked to Sophie?"
"Not yet. I think I'm going to wait a few days. Let things settle down."
"Have you talked to Tanner?"
"Not since Saturday. Why?"
"Sophie broke up with him. I guess it happened last Sunday. I didn't talk to him. He left a message on my phone. I called him back, asking if he wants to meet up for a drink but you know how he is. He likes to be alone after a breakup."
"I'm the opposite. That's why I'm calling. You want to go out?"
"Sure. What time?"
"Like ten minutes? The usual place."
"Yeah. See you soon."
We meet up at the bar and order our drinks.
"It's on me," Pete says, handing his credit card to the bartender.
"You sure?" I ask. "There's a good chance I'll be drinking a lot."
"Don't worry about it. Next time I break up with a girl, the drinks are on you."
The bartender returns with our drinks.
Pete takes a swing of his beer. "So what are you thinking?"
"About what?" I ask, drinking my whiskey.
"Everything. You only drink hard liquor when you don't want to think about whatever it is that's stressing you out." He smiles. "But you know I'm going to make you talk about it."
"I just broke up with my girlfriend."
"Yeah, but you've been wanting to do that for months. I don't think that's why you're downing whiskey right now."
"I'll have another," I say to the bartender.
"So what's going on?" Pete asks. "Is this about Sophie?"
"Maybe." I swig back the rest of my drink. "I want to call her but I don't know if I should. For one, she just broke up with Tanner and if I start seeing her this soon he'll know something's up."
"Tanner's a big boy. He can handle it."
"Celine can't. If she finds out I'm seeing Sophie, she'll cancel the client dinner and try to get Sophie fired."
"I didn't think about that but you're right. I could totally see her doing that." He pauses. "Are you sure Sophie even wants this? Have you two talked about it?"
"No, but we don't need to. It's a feeling. It doesn't need to be said."
"I wouldn't bet on that. You might want to talk to her before getting all worked up about what's going to happen if you two start seeing each other."
"And if I'm right?"
He shakes his head. "I don't know, man. You're in a tough situation. If I were you, I'd hold off on doing anything until this client dinner is over. And even then, you may have to hide your relationship with her."
"Why would I have to hide it?"
"You want Sophie to lose her job? Because you know Celine will go after Sophie when she finds out. You know how jealous she gets."
"Celine's not going to get Sophie fired. She wouldn't do that."
"Aiden, seriously?" Pete turns to me. "This is Celine we're talking about. She got that girl at the shoe store fired for not ordering the right size."
"She didn't get her fired. She just complained to the manager."
"And the girl got fired. You don't think the two are connected?"
"Okay, fine, so maybe I'll hide it until this dinner is over, but after that, there's nothing Celine can do to get Sophie fired."
"She could hire them for another event. And you know she would. She'd do it just to get Sophie fired."
I hate to agree with him but he's right. If Celine was angry enough, she would totally do that.
"And what about your job?" Pete asks. "You just broke up with your boss' daughter."
"Roger isn't going to fire me for that. I make him a lot of money. I'm always bringing in new contracts, more than anyone else there."
"It may not matter if you've upset his little girl."
"He's not like that. He doesn't let his personal life interfere with his business." I slide my empty whisky glass to the side and replace it with the full one. "I'm not worried about my job, but I do think there's some truth in what you said about Celine going after Sophie. Maybe I could talk to her. Stop her before she does anything."
"Aiden, she's not going to listen to you. She hates you for leaving her, and when she finds out there's someone else, she's going to hate you even more. And to get back at you, she'll go after the person you care about."
"Sophie." I blow
