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Chapter Twenty
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That Night Chapter Twenty-One
I took a deep breath. “Fuck, what a week.” Every day I’d been in endless meetings.Despite being the VP, I had been burning the midnight oil with Michael every night. It was easier to sleep on my couch than to go home. Thankfully I kept a change of clothes and a bag of toiletries in my office.The week had been hell, somehow worse than the prior fiscal year ends. I rubbed at my forehead as I finished up an email, my mind focused on the task.The phone rang four times, almost switching to voicemail when I got to it. Seeing Natasha’s name reminded me what day it was.Shit!I’d texted her nearly an hour ago and I still wasn’t out.“I’m on my way,” I said as I began logging off my computer.“Don’t bother.”I paused, trying to figure out if I’d heard her correctly. “What?”“Do you remember what today was?”“A doctor’s appointment. And I’m so sorry. I promise I won’t miss the next one,” I said, cursing myself out.“You promised you wouldn’t miss this one. This was the one
That Night Chapter Twenty-Two
It had been two days since I hung up on Richard, and I had yet to leave my bed. I was so upset I blocked his number. Dr. Danvers said to watch my stress, and it was stressing me out more. He was the father of my child, but I needed space.I regretted doing it almost immediately, but I needed to be strong. If he wanted to fix things, he would come to me.When I heard voices coming down the hall, I started, but relaxed back into my blanket fort when I recognized my mother.“You know,” I whined from under the covers. “I didn’t give you that key so you could just walk in whenever.”“All right, young lady, get up,” Mom said from the doorway to my bedroom.“No,” I whined from under the covers. I didn’t want to do anything but wallow in my misery…and pizza. And ice cream, pickles, fried rice, and bacon cheeseburgers.My stomach rumbled at all the food thoughts, the baby demanding everything.Just like when I was a teenager, my mom pulled the covers from me. I cracked an eye and
That Night Chapter Twenty-Three
Work kept me busy over the weekend and all of Monday, but even having all my focus on work could not stop the weight from settling on my chest or the pit that grew in my stomach every day. They weren’t feelings I was familiar with, but I knew they had to do with Natasha.Calling and texting had been futile exercises—she wasn’t answering.We were both angry, and the distance didn’t help.Though I wasn’t sure if it was her I was angry with. It was me. After she hung up on me, I realized why she was so upset. I’d missed a pivotal moment I could never get back in the life of my child. A moment when I should have been holding her hand and kissing her in excitement, and instead I was sitting at a conference table, firmly planting another wall between us.Why I kept doing it, I had no idea. My self-destructive moves were hurting more than just me. The walls were meant to protect me, but they were doing the opposite.I wanted to let her in. I wanted to drown in the feelings that w
That Night Chapter Twenty-Four
When I was released the next morning, it was Richard who was there to drive me home.I hated it. I hated the way it made my chest clench to see him there, so attentive to my needs. It was a side of him I’d seen glimpses of in the past, but it had been many weeks since this side of him had been allowed out.The buzzing of his phone in his pocket went unnoticed, and the ringing through the car’s speakers went unanswered.“You aren’t going to get that? It could be important.” The air continued to be filled with static, and it was suffocating.He reached across the center console and covered my hand with his, giving it a squeeze. “Not as important as you.”“Had some epiphany, huh?” I cringed against the light, my eyes overly sensitive thanks to the migraine slamming my head into a table had caused.“I want to talk about this.”“Why?” Give me a reason.“Because this isn’t over, despite what you seem to think. One fight does not end a relationship.”“It is over, and if you t
That Night Chapter Twenty-Five
I wasn’t entirely sure how I got home. The whole drive back to Chicago I felt numb. My brain didn’t get on board until the next day when I sat at my desk with my view of Lake Michigan. The sun streamed in, and the beach was studded with bodies enjoying the warm weather. They were seemingly carefree, having a day off with no worries.There was nothing but turmoil inside me.I’d lost her.Each minute away from Natasha burned in ways I’d never experienced before. Weighted down with responsibilities, I’d been choosing the wrong ones to focus on.It hadn’t been twenty-four hours since I left her, but I’d never had a black cloud of this magnitude take up residence in my chest. Not even after my divorce, after finding out Desiree had been cheating on me, did I feel the depth of despair that weighed me down now.I was determined to make good on my promise, but my normal problem-solving mind had left for vacation and was unavailable to help me figure out what to do.There was a kn
That Night Chapter Twenty-Six
After my fall and subsequent hospital stay, I was directed to take the rest of the week off. It was torture the first day after Richard left. There was nothing to do but wallow in my grief. No matter what declarations he made or the love I had for him, I had to let him go.That knowledge, that it was for the well-being of me and our baby, didn’t make it any easier. The acknowledgment that he was the biggest stressor in my life and that stress was causing physical problems with my pregnancy was the hardest truth I’d ever had to face.What ifs floated through my mind. Would his avoidance have been the same if I’d lived in Chicago? Would he have gone to appointments, or would work have sucked him in all the same?Jenna came over that night and held me as I sobbed. Just her being there meant the world to me.She also unblocked his number from my phone.On Wednesday I felt steady enough to get up, to get my mind something to think about other than Richard. I continued on with t
That Night Epilogue
One year later…The last year hadn’t been as picture perfect as I’d hoped, but that didn’t mean we weren’t happy, and that I wasn’t still hopelessly in love with Richard. His insecurities ran deep, but he worked hard to give me the chance…to give us the chance to succeed where he hadn’t with Desiree. And he made sure every single day to show me he loved me.Thanks to Keenan’s glowing endorsements to many of his ex-teammates and friends, along with Wyatt spreading the word, Bennett Sports Advisors grew by leaps and bounds. Within six months he had fifteen employees, and after a year he doubled that. He needed all the help as they had grown to over two hundred clients—a number that continued to increase weekly thanks to word of mouth.“Finally,” I said as the dryer went off.It’d been over a year since Richard bought the brown teddy bear I was pulling out of the dryer, but it was our daughter’s favorite snuggle toy, which she’d spit up on.I walked back to
That Night After all the words and all the things…
When I began working on my piece for the Wild in the Windy City Anthology I was struggling. I wasn’t connecting to ideas, and while talking to a friend she said to me “Why don’t you do an office romance? You love those.”And she was right. I do love those.I immediately connected to this idea and a story blossomed and a connection so powerful that I knew it had to continue past that night.I hope you enjoyed Richard and Natasha’s story. If by chance it wasn’t for you, I hope you will still give me a chance to become one of your favorite authors.
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