My hopes are dashed when I open the text message. It’s straight to the point. Sierra’s messages have always been straight to the point, but this time, I was hoping for more.
Just to inform you our annulment has been granted. The courts will send out the paperwork over the next few days.
I should feel relieved. At least there won’t be an awkward and expensive divorce proceeding to go through this way, but I’m not relieved. I’m sad. It’s like the final goodbye. Like Sierra is officially no longer part of my life in any way. At least, if this had failed, then I would have gotten to see her again. Now there is nothing to tie us together anymore.
I send her a quick reply, as courteous and to the point as her message was.
Thank you for sorting everything and for letting me know.
The Chance and Sierra who spent a brief but fantastic time together would have been laughing and cracking jokes about this, but those people are gone, and we’re left with the business like coldness we’ve always had. And after this short exchange, there won’t even be that.
I am so tempted to send her another message, asking her to have a drink with me, but I already know what she’d say. I start to put my phone away, and then I decide against it. I can’t ask Sierra to go for a drink with me – that would be stupid and a guaranteed way to get rejected - but I sure as hell need a drink anyway. So instead, I text Nathan, a good friend of mine, asking him if he’s free for drinks tonight.
He responds quickly saying he can’t stay out too late as he has a big meeting in the morning, but that he’d love to grab a quick one after work.
We make the arrangements and I feel a little better. It’s got to be better to go out for a few hours than just sit at home staring at the walls thinking of, well… her.
The rest of the working day drags like mad, something I’ve never experienced before. I’ve always been happiest in the office. I’d lost count of the times in the past when I checked my watch to discover it’s after midnight and I’m still happily working away. Now, I’m struggling to get through until five o’clock with my sanity in some sort of tact.
Five o’clock finally rolls around and I leave the office to barely concealed looks of shock from Sandy and the rest of the team. I go outside and head for the bar I’m meeting Nathan at, leaving my car at the office.
I step into the bar. It’s busy but not so busy it’s uncomfortable. Nathan waves at me from a table as I make my way towards the bar. I give him a thumbs up and get myself a drink and then I go to join him.
“So what’s up?” he asks as I sit down.
“Does something have to be up for us to have a drink?” I ask.
“No,” he says with a grin. “But something has to be up for us to have a drink before ten as you won’t leave the office any earlier than that.”
God, was I really this boring before Vegas? I don’t know, but I still miss those days. The days when my mind was filled with work orders and paint samples, instead of misery and regret. Things were easier then. Logical.
“I just wanted a drink.” I shrug to Nathan.
“Who is she?” he asks.
“Huh?” I ask, surprised.
“Only a woman causes a guy to get that look on his face.” Nathan laughs.
I sigh. He’s seen clean through me and instead of taking my mind off Sierra, he has it straight back on her. I decide to just be honest with him. Maybe he can tell me how the hell to move on and not feel like this anymore. “She was my assistant. We made a mistake and slept together. She’s left the company now, and I don’t know what to do. I just can’t get her out of my mind.”
“So call her,” Nathan says, like it’s that easy.
“It’s not that simple,” I tell him.
I explain everything to him. Everything except our accidental wedding.
When I’ve finished talking he nods and smiles. “Well, you definitely fucked that one up in style didn’t you?” he says.
I nod my head and grimace. “Oh, yeah.”
“Look I don’t mean to be an insensitive dick, but you worked with this woman for two years and never felt even the tiniest bit of attraction to her. Have you considered the fact that she could just be a good lay and that’s why you keep thinking of her?”
I have considered it. I’ve tried my best to make myself believe it too.
“There’s a good way to find out,” Nathan adds when I don’t reply.
“I can’t call her,” I say.
“I wasn’t suggesting you should. I was suggesting you should move on. Sleep with someone else. You’ll soon forget her and realize it was just a fling.”
“Maybe that’s exactly what I need to do,” I say.
“I’m telling you, it’s the way forward.” He laughs.
The topic of conversation moves on and as Nathan catches me up with what’s going on with his business, for a few hours, I actually manage to forget about Sierra.
He downs his drink. “Well, I’d better get going. It was good to catch up with you.”
“Yeah, good to catch up with you too. I think I’ll have one more and then I’ll probably head home too.”
He stands up and claps me on the shoulder. “Yeah, you remember what I said earlier? About moving on?”
I nod.
“Good, because
