I stand up.
“Thanks bro, but I won’t. And I think I’ve taken up enough of your time now. Callie, I’m sorry for barging in here and interrupting your fun.”
“It’s fine,” she smiles.
“Yeah well I don’t want to be the only one getting laid tonight,” I say to her with a wink as I leave the apartment.
I can be professional. I can. I’ve missed Kimberley for four years. What’s another few months until this is all done and the dust settles and Kimberley goes back to her life?
Chapter Twelve
Sebastian
I must admit I feel pretty damned pleased with myself as I head back along the hallway to my office. I’ve just come from Matt’s office where myself, Matt, Chance, Joe, Gary and both our solicitor and Benton’s solicitor all signed the paperwork to agree to the merger deal. I don’t want to sound big headed, but I know how much work I put into this, and I know it’s more my deal than anyone else’s. Chance even admitted as much after the others had gone when he poured out three glasses of bourbon and toasted to me. Matt drank to me as well, and I although I then felt obliged to return the gesture, it was clear that my brothers were proud of the way I’d handled the talks.
Joe informed us he will be sticking around for a while, around two or three months he reckons, to get his offices set up and his staff settled in smoothly. Once he leaves, he will leave behind some of his key players to oversee the day to day running of it all as well as the administration staff needed to work on our mutual projects. It’s pretty much how we expected it to work, and when Joe asked if we had any objections or questions, no one did.
Actually that’s not true. I did. I had a huge question. But I didn’t ask it. My question was simple. Would Kimberley be one of the key players who stayed behind? I didn’t ask it for two reasons. Firstly, I was afraid of the answer. A yes would be bad; there would be the constant risk of me running into her. A no would be just as bad; it would mean there was no chance I would ever bump into her.
See why I didn’t ask? It sounds nuts doesn’t it?
The other reason was that I wasn’t convinced I could ask the question casually. While Joe seemed to find the perceived attraction between Kimberley and I cute, my brothers would have never let me live it down if I’d asked about her in a meeting in any context other than a financial one.
Still though, I’m not going to let Kimberley ruin this moment for me. It’s what we’ve all been working towards for months and the last few weeks have been particularly intense and now it’s all paid off.
All in all, I’ve had a pretty good long weekend. On Friday I had a nice meal in good company and finally got some closure with Kimberley. I spent the weekend thinking about what I said to Matt and Callie. That I missed her too. And I’ve accepted that was true, and now I know I can move on. I can finally let Kimberley go and move on with my life without her in my head constantly. And then the merger being completed today. How’s that for the perfect ending to a good weekend and the perfect start to the new week?
This set up is going to mean a lot of work ironing out the teething problems, but that doesn’t worry me. I like to be kept busy, and this is a good step forward for us. Bring it on I say.
I’m almost back at my office when I hear my name being called. I turn to find Matt behind me.
“Where the hell do you think you’re going?” he demands.
He looks pretty pissed considering he should be ecstatic.
“My office,” I say. “Why? Where’s the fire?”
His face breaks into a grin.
“Screw that. Dad just called. He’s taking me, you and Chance for drinks to celebrate. He says it’s to celebrate the merger. I think it’s to celebrate us pulling this off without killing each other,” Matt laughs. “Come on. We can start the hard slog tomorrow.”
“Sounds good. Let me just go and grab my stuff,” I say. “I’ll meet you in the lobby in five.”
The day only got better after that. Dad was in good form, regaling us with tales of his younger days when he first started out in business and congratulating us over and over again. He told us all how proud he was of us too. We didn’t stay out too late; Matt wasn’t kidding when he said the hard slog will start tomorrow, and I don’t think any of us wanted to face that with a hangover.
I am home by nine. I go through to my bedroom to change, but in the end, I decide to sit in bed and answer emails. There’s no harm in getting a head start on tomorrow’s stuff and it’s not like I have anything better to do. I’d only veg out and watch a movie. I’ve been sitting here answering various messages for about half an hour when my phone rings. I pick it up.
My stomach flips when I see Kimberley’s name on the screen. I sit staring at her name, the phone vibrating in my hand. Should I take her call? What if she’s telling me she’s leaving? What if she’s telling me she’s staying?
I ignore the call, letting it go to voicemail. At least then I’ll have an idea of what she wants before I have to talk to her. I can prepare myself and have my answers ready so she can’t catch me off guard and leave me a stuttering wreck.
The phone stops ringing, but she doesn’t leave a message. I put it back down, now more curious than
