I cock my head. “About what?”
“She wasn’t in love with Kurt. He represented another broken promise. That’s all. She loved you.”
I nod my head in understanding. “I get that now.”
She gives a sad smile and gets back to business. “So . . . You didn’t come back to the states for thirteen years?” Ashley continues with a speculative brow.
“Once,” I admit. “Florida. Four years ago when my mother passed away. I checked in with her once a week. I didn’t find out she had passed until three days after. She was buried by the time I made it home.” I frown at the thought. I hate that I missed her funeral. That I wasn’t there for her.
Ashley produces another sympathetic smile. “We meet with Clara one more time. Then we should be set to put this thing together.”
I nod, feeling shitty. It’s not easy to remember what an asshole I was. And how much time was wasted over a misunderstanding. “Please remember this is for our kid.”
“I will, Paul. Neena will love it.”
“What did you think that morning when you woke up and he wasn’t there?” Ashley questions, the end of her pen between her teeth.
Inhaling deeply, I release it slowly.
It was ten in the morning when I woke up. I hadn’t slept like that in ages. I stretched and sat up, listening for him in the house. When I heard nothing, I figured he must’ve gone in to the office and let me sleep in. I smiled thinking about how sweet it was. I took my time showering, naively relishing in the soreness I felt from the night we spent together. It felt good to finally tell him what my affiliation with Dennis was. I felt like a huge weight had been lifted off of my shoulders.
When I made it into work, Paul’s truck wasn’t in the parking lot. Marcus was in the front, restocking waivers. He turned and met my gaze as I entered. There was a moment of silence between us, neither of us knowing what to say. We seemed to agree not to say anything for the time being. With a nod, I went back to my office and turned my computer on. Around noon, I tried calling Paul at home, but his line was disconnected. I thought maybe he’d forgotten to pay the bill.
But when his three o’clock clients showed up and we still hadn’t seen him, I started to get worried. When we couldn’t reach him, Marcus called Bowman and had him come in to cover Paul’s jumps. We discounted the clients for the inconvenience.
No police had showed up notifying us of an accident so I finished the day out. I went to his house after I left the office, but his truck wasn’t there. When he didn’t show up again the next day, I wondered if he’d taken off again for an adventure. But why now? After the night we shared. Couldn’t he see now was a bad time to run away for a month? And what about our business? He had scheduled jumps. It was unacceptable.
“We should probably just schedule the other guys to take his jumps for the next month or so,” Marcus suggested. “No point in us killing ourselves every day to cover for him.”
I nodded, letting out an uneasy breath. But my expression said everything.
“He’ll come back, Clara,” Marcus assured me. “He always does.” What he said seemed as if he were trying to comfort me. I was shocked. I nodded and he went back to his work.
Two weeks went by, and not a word from Paul. I was so hurt. I tried not to be, but I was. I couldn’t help it. I had fallen for him. Why was he always leaving after having a moment with me? How could he just leave and not contact me at all? It was a Wednesday when Marcus placed an envelope on my desk. It was thick. That alone told me it couldn’t have been anything good in there.
“From Richard Mateo,” he pointed out.
I opened it, not minding that Marcus was watching me. I read one sheet and then the next. I dropped them in my lap, furrowing my brows in confusion and shock.
“What is it?” Marcus asked.
I handed him the papers, blinking quickly to keep my tears at bay. It couldn’t be what I thought it was. It couldn’t.
Marcus’ shoulders sagged as he read. “That asshole,” he grumbled.
My heart was pounding, the sound whooshing in my ears. Paul wanted me to buy the business from him, his portion anyway, or keep him as a partner and pay him a reduced salary. He wasn’t coming back.
Why did everyone I loved leave me? But I wasn’t the only one that felt betrayed. Marcus looked like he wanted to hit something. He tossed the papers on the desk and marched out of my office without another word. My hands shook as I shoved the papers in the drawer of my desk. I was so overwhelmed with emotion I could hardly stand. But I did. I had to leave.