“I understand, but take a look and if things change, we’ll talk.”
“I appreciate you not giving up on this place.”
He shrugged and cut a hand through his shaggy hair. “A well-run comic store is hard to find. What you did with this place in less than three years is astounding. You have a good sense for business.”
“I’d like to claim the success, but you and customers like Ephraim helped me a lot.” And Sam with his keen intellect and business experience.
“No one ever does it by themselves. Don’t sell yourself short, Mara. You’re the one who led this operation and made the decisions.”
“You don’t know how much I needed to hear that.” The complete opposite of the entire flight to New York.
He looked regretfully toward the rest of the store. “I can’t believe next week is our last week. I guess I’ll see you Monday.”
“I’ll walk out with you.”
We wished each other a good weekend in the parking lot and then I was on my way home for a long night of job hunting and filling out applications.
Chapter 19
Wes
I stared at the empty lot. The Heart of Downtown Mall was closed.
The steep satisfaction I’d expected forty-five days ago was absent.
Mara hadn’t tried calling me. No pleas for forgiveness, no fuck you, nothing but radio silence. As if I’d expected anything else.
The weekend had been so utterly boring and here it was Friday and I faced another.
Because I must be a masochist, I’d watched the entire run of Star Wars. Flynn had even popped in for a few movies. He’d left, saying he could feel his butt flattening as each new movie started.
My driver texted me, asking if I needed a ride. Poor guy. He was starting to worry about his job. I kept driving the hybrid around. One day, I’d tell Helen to sell it, but for now, I…just couldn’t.
No point in staring at an empty building.
I took the stairs down to the ground floor because if Helen could track her steps and never use the elevator, I wasn’t about to push a button.
The building receptionist was just picking up her bag. She threw me her thousand-watt smile. “Got exciting plans for the weekend, Mr. Robson?”
“Absolutely,” I lied. “Have all keys been turned in from the Heart of Downtown?”
“Two of the three. Arcadia’s keys haven’t been turned in yet.”
I inclined my head in acknowledgment and walked out into air as cold as my soul felt.
Mara
My store was officially closed. Arcadia was no more. Technically, I didn’t have to be out until Monday. But I had interviews arranged all next week, so I was determined to clear out during the weekend. And since my visits with my mom were on Sundays, I’d spent my Saturday moving.
A week ago, the place had been hopping with people and laughter. My lineup of gaming systems that hadn’t sold waited to be packed in the scattered boxes and hauled out. Between eBay and Craigslist, I planned to sell what hadn’t moved before the final shutdown yesterday.
I went to push my bangs out of my eyes, but my hand fell to my side. How long to break the habit? Just before I’d come to the store, I’d had a hair appointment—no more pink, and a new sleek cut. I still had bangs, but they had been shortened and tapered into the rest of my hair, which fell to my shoulders. They’d cut a good three inches off but I could still do ponytails. I planned to finish hauling boxes home so that after my visit on Sunday I could look for professional clothing.
After one load, I returned to the store and lifted more boxes and any small shelves I could fit into my car. I’d asked Chris to take as much of the furniture as possible, otherwise it’d have to stay and go down with the building. Or get sold and added to Wes’s massive fortune.
So, it’d go down with the store.
“Aw, man.” My favorite Batman leggings had a tiny hole. Perfect symbolism. Everything I loved was being destroyed.
Making a slow circle, I considered whether I should try to load more. Some of the items were just too large and too heavy. Chris had said he’d filled his garage. So what was left was likely going to stay.
The front door chimed and a sense of alarm raced through me. I’d backed my car as close as possible to use the bigger door, but I should’ve locked it.
I wheeled around and my heart stopped at the last gorgeous man on earth I wanted to see. “What are you doing here?”
Wes’s gaze swept over me and settled on my forehead. “What the fuck happened to your hair?”
It looked nice! I patted it to make sure no strands were out of place. “Pink doesn’t scream young professional and I need every advantage during my interviews. What are you doing here?”
“You didn’t return the keys.”
“I have until Monday. Forty-five days.”
His brows drew down for a millisecond. Hadn’t thought of that, had he?
He wandered around the store. Did he see the same desolation I did?
I studied his outfit. A CEO’s version of business casual. His slacks draped perfectly to his expensive shoes, and his pristine shirt was unbuttoned at the neck. No tie and the sleeves were rolled up. No coat despite the dropping October temps, but then he didn’t have far to go to track down the keys.
I spun to the counter that used to house action figures and advertisements for Comic-Cons but was now empty and collecting dust. The keys rested on the top. I snatched them up, but when I turned, I plastered myself against the counter.
Wes stood a foot away. “Your leggings have a hole.”
“That happens.” I hated the breathless quality to my voice. Hate was too strong of a term, but extreme disappointment and serious dislike were adequate.
“You got home okay?”
“Obviously.”
His gaze caressed
