‘It kills me to think I might’ve ruined his life.’
Samantha was confused. ‘Why would you think that?’
‘Maybe not his life,’ Tara mused. ‘Certainly his career.’
‘I don’t understand.’
‘Our break-up was pretty dramatic,’ Tara explained. ‘He proposed, and I said no. I couldn’t go through with it, even though I’d pushed for it. Blame it on Anthony and Naomi. All that talk about love at first sight …’
None of this answered Samantha’s original question. What made her think she’d destroyed his career?
‘Want to hear something stupid?’ Tara said. ‘Roman was my instant love. The first time I laid eyes on him, I was lost in the woods. I just had the good sense to shut up about it. I’d unsubscribe to anyone who tried pushing that nonsense on me.’
‘It’s not stupid,’ Samantha said quietly.
She wasn’t about to judge Tara when she’d had an eerily similar experience, except she was literally lost in a woodsy area at the time. She could see it clear as day. He came running past and the rest was history.
‘Anyway, I went after him and I got him,’ Tara said breezily. ‘I’m very proactive, and I don’t believe in luck or chance. You have to go out there and make things happen, for better or worse. The night he proposed, I knew I’d gone too far. I’d pressured him into it, and it wasn’t right.’
Roman had proposed thinking it was the right thing to do, but it was a pity proposal, and nobody wanted that.
‘It wasn’t pretty.’ Tara stared blankly ahead as if reliving the horror of that night. ‘We had the mother of all fights on my birthday. I cried. He cried. We let it all out. It was necessary, therapeutic. When the dust settled, I thought we were in a good place. I thought we could start over and take things slow. Then he went and blew up his whole life. He quit his job and moved out to the middle of nowhere.’
‘Tobago is a magical place,’ Samantha said. ‘We should be so lucky to get to live there.’
‘We’re not the lucky ones,’ Tara fired back. ‘I don’t know how it is in jolly old England, but Roman and I are working-class kids. We can’t afford to do that shit. Do you know how hard we had to work to get our foot in the door on Wall Street? Roman joined a mentorship programme and worked for free. I had to assist a guy way younger than me with way less credentials. I had to bring him coffee! That’s the world we live in!’
‘I understand the struggle is real,’ Samantha said. ‘But have some faith in Roman. He has a plan. He’s pivoting to small businesses that cater to the tourist sector.’
‘That’s adorable, but how does that pay rent?’ Tara said. ‘Anyway, our firm wants him back. That’s what I flew in to tell him. They’ll give him the promotion he wanted and the office he was eyeing.’
‘He hates that job.’
Practical-minded Tara rejected this wholesale. ‘No one loves their job. Unless your nana left you a trust fund, you’ve got to work. I honestly couldn’t believe he quit. We were finally living our dream.’
‘Your dream, maybe.’
Tara sighed with impatience. ‘You really are perfect for him.’
Samantha ignored the comment. She was too focused on something else Tara had said. I’m very proactive. ‘May I ask you something?’
‘Why not? I’ve been talking for so long my mouth is dry.’
‘Did you somehow encourage management to rehire Roman and put that package together?’
Tara laughed. ‘Girl, I’m not that powerful. They want him back. He’s good at what he does. He’s great. I had them add the office with a view to sweeten the deal.’
There it was. Tara had gone too far. Again. ‘Let’s forget Roman for a minute, if that’s all right.’
‘OK.’
‘Why take it so far?’
‘I still care about him. He shouldn’t ruin his life because of me.’
‘That’s not what he’s doing. And he has a right to quit his job.’
‘I get that you don’t want him to return to New York.’