Twenty Five
Callie tried to acclimate herself back to work and the rhythms of life in DC, but she couldn’t get comfortable. She felt like she had spent her entire adult life not knowing that a piece of herself was missing, and now that she had met and lost Logan, she was painfully aware of its absence. Everything felt different, slightly out of place, like someone had broken into her apartment in the night and moved all the furniture a few inches to the left. Of course, some things were out of place. It had been two weeks since she had gotten back, and still everything just felt off. As she stood in the break room of Haven Communications, she tried to figure out how a shiny silver espresso maker had appeared on the counter overnight. Callie stood there shaking her head in disbelief.
This was the new addition to the office that Amy had been talking about? An espresso maker? This had to be a joke. Callie had told her one anecdote about her time in Newport, and Amy had responded with a taunt. Great. Good to know we’ve reverted back to childish games. Callie closed her eyes and took a moment to collect herself. The company had been short staffed before Amy went on leave, and now things were even worse. Callie needed an assistant, not some coffee maker that she couldn’t figure out how to use. Suddenly, she realized she wasn’t alone.
“How did you know?”
Callie whipped around. “I’m sorry?” she asked
Rich leaned against the wall and took another bite of donut. “The espresso machine. When you said you’d make it worth my while to dig up a little dirt on Veronica Jones, I didn’t know what to expect. This is really above and beyond.”
Callie shook her head. “As much as I’d love to take credit. This one wasn’t me. I was just going to add a new member to the team to take some of the work off of everyone’s plate.”
“Oh yeah, that reminds me,” Rich added, “your new assistant is waiting for you in the conference room.”
“Assistant?” Callie asked. “You hired someone?”
“Yeah, remember how you said you needed someone? Well, Amy and I vetted candidates and picked someone. Consider it a welcome home present.”
“I thought the espresso machine was the new addition.”
“I think it was a package deal,” Rich said.
Callie laughed. “Hopefully I’ll have more use for the assistant.” As she walked over to her office, she shouted back to Rich. “Otherwise I’ll have to get rid of them both.”
As she stepped into the office, she heard a familiar laugh. Before she could place it, her heart started racing, and she felt like her chest had tightened in around her lungs. Then, she heard his voice. “I was hoping you’d keep both of us around,” Logan said.
“Logan?” Callie stopped. Logan. Her entire body went numb. She searched for the words to describe her shock. “What are you doing here?” she mumbled.
“Amy didn’t tell you?” He said. “I’m your new assistant.”
“No, really, what are you doing here? And why is your espresso machine in my break room?”
“The machine is a sign of goodwill.”
“How?” Callie asked, drawing out the word to show her confusion and frustration. She felt lightheaded and dizzy, like she was going to collapse right there in the conference room.
“Because as long as it’s here, you’ll need me to bring you your morning coffee.” Logan held out a paper coffee cup. “I think I remembered your order correctly. Caramel cappuccino, extra foam.”
“You broke my heart, and you think you can fix that all with a cup of coffee?” She asked. She took the cup and put it down on the table.
“Logan, I don’t know how you found out about this, but I’m not in the mood for games. I have to meet my new assistant, and you need to leave.”
“I understand,” Logan said. “I’m just here to collect on the bet I won.”
“Are you serious?” Callie said. “What do you want?”
“I want to bring you coffee, and answer your phone, and do whatever it takes to make you understand how much you mean to me.”
“What are you talking about? I have to meet with the new—” Callie paused for a moment and looked at Logan. “You didn’t.” She braced herself against the wall and felt like she couldn’t move. She shook her head in disbelief. “No,” she said, “absolutely not.”
“Yes,” he replied.
“Amy would never go for that,” Callie said.
Logan laughed. “I convinced her myself,” he said. “It seems that someone had already told her how good I am at this line of work, and, well, she seemed to think that maybe my presence would be good for morale. I think that’s what she said anyway. I might have asked my father for a reference, too. I know what you did with Veronica. You didn’t have to do that.”
“I wanted to do that,” Callie said. “I wanted to give you a chance to start over.”
“I know. And I don’t have to be here. I want to be here. I want to start over, and I want to start over with you.”
Callie didn’t know what to think. Her mind raced as she tried to keep up with everything Logan said. She had convinced herself that he was gone forever, that he wouldn’t step up and be the man she knew he could be. And now he was right there in front of her. Smiling and wearing a suit and looking better than ever. It felt too good to be true. When she first saw him standing in the office, she hadn’t known what to think. Now she was even less sure of what was going on.
“What about your businesses?” she asked.
“I’m the owner. I have business managers to run the day to day for me. Everything will be fine. Besides, I was hoping to get a better impression of DC before I start the process of opening my next one.”
“You’re opening a brewery in DC?”
“Or maybe just a restaurant, or a distillery, or anything, or maybe I won’t open a new business at all. Maybe I’ll hang around here and help you out. Really it all hinges on one thing.”
“And what’s that?” Callie asked. Of course there was a catch.
“You,” Logan said.
“This is crazy, Logan. You’re wearing a suit, and you’re in DC. You hate DC. You hate people who work in offices and worry about politics. You’d never be happy here.”
“Never say never.”
“I thought that was kind of your thing, Mr. never getting attached, never compromising, Mr. Independent.”
“Well, that was my thing. I’ve been thinking about a new thing.”
“And what’s that?”
“Marriage,” Logan said. He dropped down on one knee and took Callie’s hand. “I know this is early, and I know you’re going to think I’m crazy for doing this, but I don’t care. I love you, Callie. And since you left, I’ve been miserable. I was an idiot. I didn’t think I deserved you, and I’m still not sure I do, but I love you, and I need you to know that I’ll do whatever it takes to be with you. I shouldn’t have pushed you away just because everything wasn’t perfect. I shouldn’t have asked you to give up everything just because I didn’t want to change. I don’t want to lose you all over again. And I can’t think of any better way to show you just how much you mean to me.” Logan pulled a ring out of his pocket and held it up. “Will you marry me?”
Callie held her hands over her face. “Oh God,” she said. “Shit.” She felt herself starting to blush, the warmth filling her cheeks. Logan grinned as she tried to process everything. “I mean yes,” she said. “Yes.”
Logan stood up and slid the ring onto her finger. “I love you more than I ever knew possible, and I need you to know that. I will love you for as long as I live. Plus, since you already ruined the necklace I gave you, I figured I’d give you something harder to break.”
Callie laughed, and held her hand over her mouth as she started to tear up. The confusion and stress that had been building up inside of her from the moment Logan had started the fight in Newport, all of the worrying and crying and tension, all of it washed away as she looked into his eyes. “I love you,” she said. “Now kiss me.”
Logan grinned as he leaned in to kiss her. His lips were as soft as ever, and Callie let herself float away in the warmth of his kiss, confident that he’d hold her tight and keep her right where she needed to be. And she felt that wonderful, dizzy, falling sensation all over again. She closed her eyes and pulled herself tighter against him. She felt complete. She was happy.
When Callie opened her eyes, she realized the entire office had gathered around the windows into the conference room. Even Vi was there, holding up a phone, probably recording the whole thing for Amy. Callie couldn’t believe that this was all happening. She wondered what they were all thinking out there in the hall, but then she held up her hand to show them the ring. They burst into applause. Callie closed her eyes and kissed Logan again, and they cheered even louder.
Beneath the claps and shouts of her coworkers, Callie could hear another sound, a familiar sound, one that had ruled her life for years before she met Logan: the phone was ringing. For at least the next few months, she was the head of Haven Communications, and she didn’t plan on ignoring potential business just because everyone else around her was happy, but to her surprise, Logan walked over to the table and picked up the phone.
“Haven Communications,” he said. His confidence made that name sound better than it had sounded in years. “Yes, we do specialize in scandal mitigation and public relations.” After another pause. “Yes, we are the best. Thank you. Please hold for one moment.” Logan placed the phone on hold and looked over to Callie. “So what do you say we try our first case together, boss?”
Boss, Callie thought. “I could get used to the sound of that.”