He keeps his eyes on the screen as he lets out a short laugh. “Oh, you really want me to eat crow and say you were right to browbeat me into giving you a chance? Fine. The story was your idea. Mind you, when you emailed it through to me this morning, I didn’t think it would be so fucking good. Sorry I doubted you. There. Happy now? Because I only throw out two sorrys per year, and you’ve just used up your quota.”
People start knocking at the office door and come in bearing messages about other news outlets wanting details about Mister Romance so they can run their own features, but I barely hear them. All I can think about is that someone sent him that story, and now, in the space of a few minutes, Max is out of business.
Goddammit.
“Derek, this came from my email account?”
He stays glued to his screen. “Yeah. Why?”
No matter how much I deny that this is my fault, Max won’t believe me, and I could hardly blame him. After all of those noble sentiments about me giving up my dream for him, it’s going to look like I turned around and betrayed him.
I get up and walk out of Derek’s office in a daze. He’s so busy, he barely notices. People congratulate me as I pass, but it all rings hollow. I feel like throwing up.
When I reach Toby, a light bulb goes off in my brain.
I poke him in the chest. “What the hell, Toby? You hacked into my email? You sent Derek the story?”
Toby stands and holds up his hands. “Okay, just wait a second before you murder me. Yes, I didn’t want you to get fired, so passing along the story was the best way of preventing that.”
“I can’t believe this! You’ve ruined everything! Max’s business … his trust in me.”
“Wait, stop. I’m just the tech genius in this scenario, not the mastermind.” He holds his phone out to me. “There’s someone you need to speak with.”
I take the phone, my face burning with anger and embarrassment. “Who is this?”
“Eden.”
I squeeze my eyes shut. “Max, I have no idea what’s going on. I’m so sorry. I never wanted this to happen. I promise, I intended on coming here and killing the story. You have to believe –”
“Eden, stop. I know it wasn’t you.”
“You do?”
“Yes. Because it was me.” I turn to Toby, who’s now smiling from ear to ear. “I couldn’t let you throw your career away for me, and seriously, that story was so damn good, everyone needed to read it. I’m so proud of you, I can’t put it into words.”
“But ... your business.”
“We have a lot to talk about. Can you come to the warehouse?”
“Now?”
“Well, as soon as Derek pulls his head out of his ass long enough to give you a huge promotion and a substantial raise, yes.”
I sit down in Toby’s chair. I don’t trust my legs to hold me up anymore. Now I know how Alice must have felt the day she fell through the rabbit hole.
“Max, what the hell is happening?”
“It will all become clear soon. I’ll text you the code for the warehouse door. Come straight in when you arrive. I’ll be waiting.”
Then he hangs up, and I feel like all the air has been knocked out of my lungs. I sit there and stare off into space as a cyclone of activity swirls around me. Just when I think I have a handle on everything, this happens. I’m so confused, I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.
*
By the time I make it to the alley behind Max’s warehouse it’s midafternoon, and I’m hoping that whatever I’m walking into is good news. I still can’t believe he exploded his career in order to save mine, but I don’t know what that means for us. Being made the new Head of Features at Pulse, and the sizable raise that came with it, means nothing if I can’t keep Max in my life.
When I get to the stairs, I notice the mural is different. Instead of a man half hidden in shadows, there’s a couple embracing, and they look remarkably like Max and me. The motto on the door is different, too. It used to read, Abandon hope, all ye who enter. Now, it reads, All you need is love.
A rush of flutters takes flight in my stomach as I pull open the door and step inside.
When the door closes behind me, I’m engulfed by darkness. There’s a dull glow from the exit sign above the door, but otherwise all I can see is inky blackness.
“Max?” My voice echoes, but not as much as I expect considering how big and empty the space is. I grab my phone to use the flashlight, but then I remember it ran out of juice about thirty emails ago, so I drop it back into my purse and take a tentative step forward.
“Max? Are you here?”
“Eden.” His voice wraps around me, deep and resonant. “How are you feeling?”
“Confused.” I squint when I think I see something glint a few yards in front of me, but there’s not enough light to make it out. “What am I doing here? And what happened today? You asked Toby to hack me and send that article to Derek? Knowing what it would do to your business? Is this ...” I clench my hands against the tightening in my throat. “Are we done? Is that what this is all about?”
There’s silence, then he says, “You tell me. Am I too late?”
“Too late for what?”
“Proving that you’re the most important thing in the world to me.”
I hear a click, and then a path of light illuminates the floor from where I’m standing to where Max is, a dozen yards away. He looks slick and sharp in a grey suit, but his expression is troubled. “I know you hated thinking about me with other women, and ... I should have told you what I was planning earlier, but I didn’t want to get your hopes up before I knew I could pull it off. I signed the final contracts a couple of hours ago.”
“Max ... I still don’t understand what’s happening.”
“You will. But first, I have to know ... do you love me?”
I step forward, hating the distance between us like it’s a living being. “How do you not know by now that I love you more than I thought I could love anyone? It’s sad and pathetic and wrong how much I love you, and most days I’m so desperate to see you and touch you, I want to punch myself in the face.”
He tries not to smile. “That’s the sweetest thing anyone’s ever said to me. And believe me, the feeling is entirely mutual. But loving me shouldn’t have a price tag, and if you hadn’t published that story, you would have been sacrificing your career for me, and I couldn’t live with that.”
“So you decided to sacrifice yours? I thought we’d settled this. You need the money. Your debt ...”
He walks forward, slowly. “Eden, the second I fell in love with you, I knew my career was over. As much as I tried to continue on, I couldn’t do it anymore. Not in the same way. I didn’t want to touch anyone but you, or kiss anyone but you. I was doing my clients a disservice, because when I was with them, I was counting down the hours until I could be with you again, and that’s not fair to them, or you, or me.”
He stops a few feet away, but I force myself not to touch him, until I can comprehend where we stand. His words make my heart expand in my chest to the point of pain, but I’m still confused. “So ... you’re telling me you’re retiring?”