Around three, I send the offer letter over to my lawyer to review, then take a minute to relax. I've been going nonstop since leaving work this morning.
Sophie texted earlier that she'd made it to the inn but I didn't have a chance to call her until now.
"Hi, Aiden." She sounds happy.
"Hey. How'd the move go?"
"It was fine. When I got here, Tom had the maintenance guy help bring in my stuff, then he drove me to the rental place to return the van."
"When is Tom putting you to work?"
"In a few minutes." She laughs. "I'm going to help prep for dinner. I'm actually looking forward to it."
"You are? I didn't know you liked cooking that much."
"I don't, but I'm not really cooking. Just doing prep work. I just love being here. The inn. The town. I'm really going to miss it when I have to leave."
"You don't have to go."
"Aiden, you know I don't want to leave you, but until I come up with a better solution for making a living, I need to take the job back home."
I want to tell her my plan, but can't. Not yet.
"I have to go," she says. "I need to start my shift. Can we talk tonight? I'm off at eight."
"Sounds good. Have fun at your new job."
"I will. Bye, Aiden."
Hearing how happy she sounds there, I think there's a chance she'll accept my offer. But I'm not getting my hopes up until I know for sure.
The door to my apartment opens, startling me. I get up and see Celine walking in. She still has a key. She wouldn't give it back.
"Celine, what are you doing here?"
She walks over to me, her eyes narrowed, hands on her hips. "You quit? Have you lost your mind?"
"I'm getting that question a lot today, but no. I've just decided to take a different path in life."
"Meaning what?" she snaps. "What exactly are you going to do?"
"Celine, I don't have time for this. You and I are over and there's nothing more to say." I walk to the kitchen to get a drink.
She storms over to me. "This is because of HER, isn't it? She made you quit because she's jealous of me!"
"What does my quitting have to do with you?" I ask, taking a bottle of water from the fridge.
"She knows my father owns the firm, which means you can't avoid me if you work there."
"She had no idea I was quitting. It was my decision." I set the bottle down and turn to Celine. "I can't keep doing this with you. We're not getting back together. You need to stop coming over here."
She glares at me. "You had a fling with her. It wasn't real. What you and I have IS real, and now you're just giving it up?"
"We clearly have different opinions of what our relationship was, but I'm not going to waste time debating it. It's over." I walk to the door and open it. "You need to go."
She meets me at the door. "You'll regret this. I was the best thing that ever happened to you."
"Goodbye, Celine."
She storms down the hall to the elevator.
I could've yelled at her for getting Sophie fired but I chose not to. I didn't want to start fighting with her. I just wanted her to go.
As I shut the door, my phone rings. It's my dad. He must've heard the news. I reluctantly answer, knowing he's going to yell at me.
"Hey, Dad."
"Aiden, what is going on? Celine said you quit your job."
"Why are you talking to Celine? I told you we broke up."
"She called me. She was concerned."
Celine has my parents fooled into thinking she's the perfect girlfriend who only wants what's best for me. They've only met her a few times. They have no idea what she's really like.
"I'm fine, Dad. I just needed a change."
"I assume you have another job lined up?"
"I'm buying an inn and moving to Vermont."
I hear him sigh. "Aiden, not this again. You don't go making adult decisions based on silly childhood memories you can't seem to let go of."
"That's not what I'm doing. And I don't want to let go of those memories. They're part of who I am."
"Your grandfather wasn't like us. He grew up poor. Didn't finish high school. Running that inn was all someone like him could do. I didn't put you through four years of college and two years of business school so you could do what your grandfather did with no education. That's ridiculous to even consider."
"Not if it's what makes me happy. I'm sorry, Dad, but this is what I want to do. I was just heading out so I need to get going. I'll call you later this week. Bye, Dad."
"Aiden, I—"
I end the call, not wanting to fight with him. I'm a 33-year-old man. I don't need his permission to make life choices. I knew he'd be angry about this but he needs to get over it, and he will eventually. It'll just take some time.
At five, I see Tom's name appear on my phone as it rings.
"Tom," I answer, hearing the anxiousness in my tone. "How's it going?"
I'm worried he's calling to turn me down. Maybe Lois thought it was a bad idea. Or maybe he talked to his bank or financial advisor and they told him my offer was too big of a risk.
"It's going well," Tom says, a smile in his voice. "Your girlfriend's doing a great job in the kitchen.The chef said she finished the prep work in half the time he gave her to do it."
"Yeah, she's a hard worker." I love talking about Sophie, but not now. I need an answer about the offer.
"When do think you'll be up here again?"
"I'm not sure. I
