“Daisy, it was perfect. We spent time together and talked. I got him to open up about his mother and how he was feeling about her death. We got to comfort each other and be lazy together in bed. I got to wake up to his beautiful smile and sparkling eyes every single morning. Honestly, I didn’t want it to end. Then, we walked into that meeting Monday morning and just nailed it to the wall.”
“Sounds like the perfect power couple,” Daisy said, grinning.
“But, after that, things jumped out of control. I missed a meeting with my lawyer Monday, who was doing all this digging, and he took that as a sign that I wanted him to proceed without my approval. He called me Tuesday morning right before we boarded the plane to let me know what he had found, and it was now out of my hands. I was so sick about it on the flight back I couldn’t talk. Every time I opened my mouth, I almost threw up, Daisy.”
“Shit, Stella. Are you alright?” she asked.
“We got back to the office, and the lawyer was standing there with papers. Papers that told Christian he didn’t own the company any longer. He walked out without even looking at me, and he hasn’t been back since. Everything is so royally screwed up, and I have no idea how to fix it. Daisy, I don’t even know if I can.”
“How did he look in court?” she asked.
“Incredible,” I said, taking the coffee from her hand. “He was wearing this new suit, and he looked like a million bucks. Had it been any other point in time in the evolution of us, I would’ve ripped him out of it and taken him on the desk.”
“Stella!” Daisy squealed. “You’re insane.”
“I care for him so much, Daisy.”
“I know you do, sweetheart,” she said.
“I screwed things up so bad and didn’t come clean with him soon enough. And I think I’ve ruined things so much that he wouldn’t ever take me back. I mean, I wouldn’t take me back.”
“I don’t know if that’s necessarily true. People do crazy things when they’re in love,” she said.
“I don’t think I’m in love with him, Daisy. But, I do care for him.”
“You’re in love. It might be too soon for you to feel comfortable admitting it, and you have been through a lot lately. But, I know when someone’s in love. I see it whenever you talk about him. I saw the look in your eye when that elderly woman was talking about true love, and I see remnants of it now, even with the topic of conversation. You love Christian, and I’m so happy for you.”
“What do I do, Daisy?” I asked. “I don’t know where to go from here.”
“The first question is this: do you want to continue working at the company?”
“Of course,” I said.
“Then, one of the things you do is you get back to work. Go into the office tomorrow, and get caught up on things, and continue with your work. If Christian hasn’t fired you, then assume you still have a job and get to it. But if you don’t intend on going back to the company, you still have to go in and communicate that intention,” she said.
“What do I do about Christian, though? If I do that, then we’ll have to work together and talk with one another eventually.”
“That’s why it’s imperative for you to get back to work. It provides those avenues. My advice to you is to let him initiate it. Eventually he’ll come knocking on your door to talk. Whether it’s about meetings or about the two of you, it’ll happen,” she said.
“What if he never wants to talk about us?” I asked.
“Then, there’s nothing you can do about it. You said you talked to him in court, right?”
“Yeah.”
“And you said everything you wanted to say?” she asked.
“Pretty much.”
“Then trust he heard you. He was sitting right there. Was he looking at you?” she asked.
“He didn’t take his eyes off me, I don’t think.”
“Then, he was listening. Let that be enough for now,” she said.
“I don’t know what I’d do without you.” I hugged her neck before giving her the rest of the coffee. I’d talked through her entire break, and she had to get back to work, and I suddenly felt that tug to do the same thing. I knew I probably needed to take one more day to myself, but I also knew I had a ton of work stacking up that couldn’t wait until Monday.
So, I decided to go back to my house and get my things before I headed to the office.