"You want to help?" I tell them. "Help me win back my man."
Chapter 31
Ace
The elevator door opens, and I step out into the reception area. "Good morning." I nod at Sonia, who just nods at me as she answers the phone.
I make my way into my office, ignoring the throbbing in my head. I should have worked from home today, but it was a long fucking weekend. After I slammed the door in her face, I went to my room and packed a bag. I thought going to my parents' was a good idea. Ten minutes into the visit, I realized it was, in fact, the worst idea I'd ever had.
My mother was all over me all weekend long, making sure I was okay and whispering when she thought I couldn't hear her. If I heard "it's all right, dear" one more time, I was going to lose my shit. So instead of wallowing by myself in my house, I had to pretend to be okay, or else my parents would think that I was still pining away about Sheila, which I definitely was not.
I got back late last night to a Post-it note on my door.
We need to talk.
S.
And it's not Sheila.
I didn't want to laugh, but I did anyway. I took the Post-it down and walked into the house, and ten minutes later, the doorbell rang. My heart sped up in my chest as I thought it would be her. I didn't know if I was even ready to talk to her. The only thing I knew was that regardless I needed to have a conversation with her. But when I pulled open the door, there was a white box. I looked to see if she was around, but I didn't see her. I took the box into the house and sat down. My heart was beating so fast in my chest when I took the top of the box off and unfolded the white tissue paper. I saw a framed picture of us from when we first met. I held the frame in my hand as a note fell off it.
Ace,
The beginning.
S.
Not Sheila.
I couldn't stop the laughter that came out of me. Only she could make me this crazy and laugh at the same time. I took the picture with me to my bedroom and placed it beside my bed. The whole time, I tossed and turned, thinking about her. I gave up at five o’clock and went to run on the treadmill, and there I was, getting ready to start the day. But I just felt off.
I sit in my chair and boot up the computer, grabbing the pile of mail that accumulated in the past week since I've been gone. "Good morning," Tania, my assistant, says, coming in with a bouquet of white roses. My eyebrows pinch together when she smirks at me. "These are for a Mr. Ace." She puts them down on the middle of the desk. "They are so pretty," she says. "And white." She turns and walks out of my office, leaving me with my mouth hanging open.
The two dozen white roses are in front of me with a white card with black writing, Mr. Ace. I turn the card over in my hand and pull out another white card. In the middle of the card, all that is written is:
From the Mrs.
I put the card down on the table and turn in my chair to look out the window. I feel lost without her. I feel like half of me is missing. I feel like every day is a wasted day. A knock on the door has me look over, and I'm expecting it to be anyone but her.
"Hi," she says, and I can see that she has lost weight. Her bright eyes look bloodshot, and her nose looks like she's been crying. "Figured that if I came by here, you wouldn't make a scene and throw me out." She steps into my office wearing tight blue jeans with a baby-blue spaghetti strap top, tied in a bow in the middle of her chest and then falling down in the front. It makes her blue eyes pop even more. Her high-heeled sandals make her legs look even longer. "I just need a minute, and then I'll leave." She holds her hands in front of her and holds her bag. "We need to talk."
"I think everything that needs to be said was said," I retort, my chest hurting with every single minute that she stands in front of me.
"That's where you're wrong." She blinks away the tears threatening to fall. "My sisters set me up on that blind date without telling me," she starts to say, and everything inside me starts to fall down. "They said let's meet for dinner, but when I showed up, so did the blind date." She tries to laugh, but instead, it comes out more like a sob. She puts her hand to her mouth, and I can see it shaking. "I mean, they put me on a dating website." My mouth opens in shock. "Which I have since deleted."