“Tonight?” he asked as I walked him to Joss’s car.
“Nope, I’ll be here after school.”
Joss looked at me through the passenger window. “You will?”
I nodded. “I will. If I’m delayed, I’ll let you now.”
She gave me a funny look. “Okay. Have a good day.” They all waved as she backed out of my driveway.
I went to my car and did the same thing I had been doing five days a week for years. I parked in my usual spot and greeted the security guard that had been working in the building as long as I had. I rode up in the elevator counting off each floor as we moved up.
When I stepped off the elevator, I had a strange feeling. It almost felt like I was walking in slow motion. The silence echoed around me as I walked through the office. I went to my office first and grabbed the very personal items I had. I dropped them in my large purse and took a moment to look around the space.
“It was good while it lasted,” I whispered.
I took the letter from my purse that had been carefully folded and stuck in an envelope. I carried it to his office. I knew there was no way he was in already. I opened the door and didn’t bother turning on the light. I carefully placed the letter on his desk.
I inhaled and caught a whiff of his cologne. It was crazy how he could leave behind a little piece of himself after just a few days in the office.
I walked out, silently closing the door. I went back to my office and grabbed my purse. I was on my way out when I ran into Lana. “Hey,” she said. “You scared me. I thought I would be the first one in.”
I smiled. “I beat you.”
“Where are you going?” she asked.
“Home,” I said.
“What?”
I gave her a hug. “Jace needs me today,” I said and tried to cover up the truth. “I’m taking a personal day.”
“Oh, goodness, is he okay?”
“He will be,” I said. “Thanks for asking. I’ll see you later.”
“Saige, are you okay?”
I nodded, trying to hide the lump in my throat. “I’m good. I’m just a little tired.”
“I hear that. It’s been a long couple of weeks. But there’s light at the end of the tunnel.”
“Yes, there is and I’m sprinting toward it.” I laughed. “Have a good day and just keep being awesome.”
“I will try,” she said. “It is challenging.”
“I know,” I said.
I felt terrible for leaving them on their own, but I had to do this for me and my son. They would be fine. They could find new jobs if they couldn’t handle working with Nash. I wouldn’t blame them a bit. I walked out of the building, and as I walked, I felt a wild feeling. It was like a literal weight had been lifted from my shoulders.
It was over. I was done. I did it. I ripped the band-aid off, and it didn’t hurt nearly as bad as I thought it would. This was going to be the first day of the rest of my new life and I was going to celebrate it with a nice homecooked meal.
I drove straight to the grocery store and went a little overboard. I stocked up on everything. We were going to be eating at home a lot.
As I carried my groceries into the house, I let myself fantasize about the future. We were going to be okay. I was going to take care of my son and all would be well.
Or so I hoped.
Chapter 26
Nash
Nine years ago
I couldn’t stop watching her. She was that fantasy woman that every guy dreamed about. She was smart and sexy. The only things missing were the black-rimmed glasses and the fact that she left her long hair down.
I could imagine her hair up in a bun and then she would turn to me and pull it out. It would fall around her shoulders and she would do that sexy slow shake of her head. The glasses would come off and she would unbutton the blouse until that lace bra that she teased me with would be on full display.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
I blinked. “What?”
“You look uncomfortable. Are you okay? Do you need some water?”
I smiled. The discomfort I was feeling had nothing to do with a lack of hydration. “I’m good.”
“Okay, I’m almost done.”
“Am I going to owe the IRS and the state of New York my first-born child?”
“Do you plan on them splitting the child in two?”
I laughed. “Are you saying I need two children?”
“Nope. No human sacrifices are going to be needed this year.”
That surprised me. “Really? The other firm told me I was looking at a massive tax bill.”
She winked. “That’s because you weren’t talking to me. I told you I was good.”
“Yes, you did.”
“Now, I’ve set you up for the next year, but if you think you’re going to make a lot more than you projected, you have to call me right away.”
“Why?” I questioned.
“Because I will need to do some creative accounting to make sure you don’t have to pop out a couple of kids this year,” she said with a laugh.
“If I have to pop out kids, we might have a problem. I don’t think I have all the right parts.”
She giggled. “Then I better really do a good job cutting your tax liability.”
I watched her work for another minute. Her fingers flew over the keys. “I want to take you to dinner.”
“You what?” she asked.
“You’ve saved me a boatload of money and given me more financial tips than I could have ever expected to learn at some fancy college,” I told her. “I want to treat you to dinner to say thank you.”
She smiled. “When?”
“Are you busy in an hour?”
“I might still be doing your taxes in an hour,” she said.
“It’s fine. I’ll wait.”
“But I would need to go home and get changed,” she said.
I looked at the white satin blouse she was wearing with the button straining across her cleavage. “You are fine the way you are.”
“Are you sure?”
I nodded. “I’m positive.”
“Well then.”
“How long?” I asked.
She looked at me again. “How long for what?”
“Until we are done here.”
“Oh, maybe thirty minutes? I’m almost done.”
I leaned back in the chair. “I’ll wait.”
I was going to enjoy the wait because that meant I got to watch her and continue that little fantasy brewing in my head. The last two weeks had been fun. I never imagined I would ever think taxes could be fun, but here we were.
She was one of the few people that was nice to me. I supposed it could be because I was nice to her. I was never nice to anyone.
“Ready!” she said and shut down her computer.
“Did you drive to work?”
“No, I live close by. I usually walk.”
“Perfect,” I said. “We’ll take my car.”
The restaurant was nothing fancy, but I didn’t think she cared. We ordered and then it was just the two of us. It was almost a date. But not an official date. I wasn’t in the market for a girlfriend. I needed a wife that had connections and would kick open some doors that were currently closed to a young cocky bachelor.