“Speaking. What made you call?” she asked, wincing when she realized she sounded too casual.
“I’m an editor from Marie Claire, and I’ve been enjoying the stuff you’ve been writing for the paper. I'm very interested in sitting down with you and talking about your next move,” Vernice said.
Meredith blinked in surprise. Had she just gotten an offer from one of the biggest fashion and lifestyle magazines in the world?
She swallowed, struggling for words.
“I’ll be on the road for the next three weeks, at least… or maybe more,” she answered, stealing glances at Elijah who was starting to get dressed.
Vernice chuckled.
“Yeah, I know. I’d be very delighted to see you when you get back to New York.”
Biting her lip, she looked at Eli who was already standing in front of her, fully dressed. He looked pensive.
“Sure. I’ll get in touch once I’m off the road,” she said, which Vernice gladly agreed to.
When the phone call ended, Eli asked her who it was, looking curious more than ever when she averted her gaze. She didn’t want him to think that she was leaving the campaign.
No. She didn’t want to leave the campaign.
She wanted to stay with him until the election.
“Someone from Marie Claire,” she answered softly, walking past him and sitting at the foot of the bed. “But I don’t think I’m going to call them back,” she added, fidgeting with her fingernails.
She sighed.
It was a huge opportunity. But she felt like things were going too fast for her career. She wanted to take things easy. And enjoy what she currently had… Elijah.
Meredith raised her head when she saw Elijah’s feet in front of hers. He wasn't stupid, and telling him that it was nothing would be ridiculous.
“Why not?” he asked with narrowed eyes, unconvinced.
“It’s just… nothing.”
“They called you for nothing?”
“It’s nothing important, okay? I’m going to the gym,” she snapped. Her thoughts were still a jumbled mess.
She didn't mean to sound so bitchy. But she didn't know how to handle the situation. And she didn't want Eli to think she was turning down a brilliant opportunity just because of him.
“I trust you can see yourself out,” she said quietly, gathering her gym clothes, locking herself in the bathroom.
She needed some time alone to clear her head and organize her thoughts.
She needed to think.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Elijah couldn't understand why Meredith would turn down an offer from a company as big as Marie Claire. When she snapped at him, he knew that the job was something she really wanted.
It was something she'd been looking forward to for a very long time.
He didn’t want to get ahead of himself, but he had a feeling that it was all because of him. And her relationship with him was the biggest factor in why she declined the offer. He didn’t want her to lose opportunities because of him. He wasn't willing to give up his career just to be with her.
At least, he thought he wasn't.
“I don’t want you to lose something as big as this, Meredith. I want you to reconsider your decision. I don’t want to get in between you and your dreams.”
She scoffed.
“Don’t get ahead of yourself, Elijah. I’m not turning it down because of you. The decision is for me to make. You don’t have anything to do with it. Besides, did you ever consider me when you're making decisions?” she barked angrily, planting her hands on her hips.
She was deadly serious.
Eli fell silent.
“Oh, why did I even bother to ask the obvious? Of course you don't. Your ambition is a whole different thing. And you're not even taking our relationship into account,” she smirked, then shrugged. “If you can even call this a relationship,” she muttered under her breath.
He stayed quiet and looked at her. He knew that she was thinking about it all along. But he didn't expect that he'd be speechless the moment she’d bring up the topic. It was hard to answer or even deny. Because everything she said was true.
Gritting his teeth, his hands balled into fists. Although he knew he was in the wrong, he was hurt. He was just trying to make her see the possibilities of a brilliant career ahead of her. He only wanted her to pursue what she wanted to do.
But maybe it was a wrong move.
“Fine! Do whatever you want. And you can’t ever put anything that happened tonight in print,” he spoke coldly.
It was their very first fight. And he didn’t want her to take it to heart. He was afraid that everything would change because of the damned argument. If possible, he just wanted them to forget about it.
Meredith let out a dry laugh. Her face turned red, as well as the tips of her ears. She folded her arms over her chest. She looked insulted.
“I thought you trusted me. All this time, you've been thinking I'd break my promise to you just to get back at you? You disgust me!” she shouted at the top of her lungs.
“You're acting like a spoiled brat. You think everything should go your way because you've had everything handed to you on a silver fucking platter your entire life. That's not how the real world works, Meredith,” he growled. He could see she was angry, but he couldn't stop himself from adding the next part.
“But what can I do? You’re just a little girl. You don’t understand anything,” he said, shrugging for a more sarcastic effect.
Her eyes widened. Maybe he'd gone too far.
Pursing her lips, she met his gaze with the same intensity of anger. She didn’t look the least bit intimidated with his stares, or scared of his aura. She was undaunted as she filled her chest with air and released a heavy breath.
“I can understand you perfectly when we're fucking each other. Things are crystal clear then. But I couldn't understand the relationship between us, no matter how hard I tried,” she grumbled. She paused, then scoffed. “But I guess I understand it now.”
Eli watched as her eyes filled with tears, and it broke his heart when a tear rolled down her cheek. He hadn't wanted to hurt her. He never meant to.
And he didn’t want to see her cry.
He reached out to wipe away her tears, but she jerked away from him like she'd been burned. Rubbing at her face, she shot him a look of utter contempt and disgust. That was when he realized the words he'd spoken had been more than enough to break their bond.
He never should have called her a spoiled brat, because she wasn't, not really. And saying that she didn't understand anything had just been cruel.
Meredith may be young, but she was undeniably brilliant.
Her intelligence made her sexier than any of the women he'd known in his past.
She was everything he wanted.
No.
She was all he wanted.
But it seemed like he'd be losing her for good after this. It was all so stupid.
“I didn’t mea–“
“This is just another fling. I’m just one of those women for you,” she spoke in almost a whisper, tears flowing freely down her cheeks.
Elijah struggled for the right words to say to put her at ease, but his mind felt like it was shutting down entirely as he watched her.