Falling in Love Again: A Valentine's Day Proposal

“But change for the better is good, right?” I pat him on the shoulder. “You’ll see.”

I go to walk away, ignoring his moans and groans as I do. He’ll be fine, I know he will. Leon does like to keep things the same, but whenever I’ve made changes before, he’s adapted in the end. He knew what it was going to be like when he started working for me anyway and it’s fine.

I am going to work things out, one way or another. I’m going to claim the rest of that market share somehow, I just need to work out how. There is an answer somewhere, I just need to find it…

“You’re looking busy,” Leon comments quietly as he finds me at my desk. “Do you have something going on in your mind?”

I sigh loudly and shake my head. “I think I might need to get an investor, don’t you? So we can get as big as we want to be. I am just trying to work out who might want a part of us.”

“Hmm, with Lace Enterprises as our competitor, it might be hard.”

I glare at Leon angrily. That is not what I want to hear right now. That isn’t positivity. “I don’t want to think about the competition right now. I want to think about us. Only us.”

He steps back and raises his hands in a surrendering gesture. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you, I was just thinking aloud. Actually, I just came to let you know that I’m leaving now. It’s nearly six o clock.”

“Shit, is it?” I leap up, my heart pounding with terror. “I’m supposed to meet Abbi in a moment.”

Abbi is the one friend I managed to maintain throughout high school and afterwards as well. I don’t know how that happened, she’s the opposite to me really. Confident, laid back, and fun loving, but I’m glad I have her. She is the Ying to my Yang and I need her. If I am late again because of work, she will kill me.

She works to live; I live to work. We clash on that a whole lot. She doesn’t understand that my business is my baby and that I’ll do anything for it. I just need to succeed, and I’m willing to sacrifice everything for that goal.

“Good job I reminded you then. Abbi is scary as hell. You wouldn’t want to get on her wrong side.”

I chuckle. “I’m always on her wrong side, it doesn’t matter too much to me.”

It does though. It matters so much and if I lose her, I will go crazy. But just like any good friendship, I do have a bit of confidence that she’ll always be there. No matter what I do.

I grab my bag and leave with Leon, locking the doors of the office behind me. I get a warm glow of pride as I say goodbye to yet another day as a business owner. I love this life, it’s perfect for me.

“Bye, Raelyn,” Leon calls out. “See ya tomorrow for another day of fun.”

“See ya then… if Abbi hasn’t killed me,” I laugh back. “Bye, Leon.”

As expected, Abbi is sitting in the bar already waiting for me. I’m barely five minutes late but the look she gives me shoots right through me. She isn’t impressed. Thank goodness for Leon alerting me to the time. If I was late any further, that dagger look would have been so much worse.

I order drinks for me and Abbi and take them to the table as an olive branch. “Sorry, work was…”

She rolls her eyes. “I know. I understand. Work was really busy. It always is, I get that.”

I take a seat and smile sheepishly. “I know, but it’s going really well. I’m so happy.”

“Happy with work, or has someone else put a smile on your face as well?”

It takes me a couple of moments to realize what she means. “Oh, Tom, of course.”

“Did you forget about your second date with Tom? I have been so excited to hear about it.” I screw up my nose, knowing that I’m about to disappoint her. She groans with disappointment. “Oh no, really?”

“He was weird on the second date. All arrogant. Any sweetness that got him passed date one was gone.”

“So, you think he pretended to be someone else at first? Then he let himself out.”

“It happens.” I shrug. “It’s annoying, but it happens. Remember Patrick?”

“Oh God, Patrick.” We both laugh at that one. “He was hell.”

“Not as bad as Liam though. He was the worst of the worst of the worst.”

I shudder, remembering his sweaty palms, the way he insisted on telling me about every single girl that he ever slept with in his life in quite graphic details, plus his insistence that I pay the bill… it was dreadful. The exact reason I don’t much like dates. If I wasn’t looking for love, then I wouldn’t bother at all.