Chapter 36
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chloe
After work, I had locked myself away in my apartment while I ate a pint of cookie dough ice cream and watched The Notebook. Tears streamed down my face, and suddenly, I became a blubbering mess. Being in my fragile emotional state, maybe that wasn’t the best choice of a movie to watch. I threw the ice cream carton away and headed to the bathroom to brush my teeth. Opening the drawer, I saw that his toothbrush still lay next to mine, as did his deodorant, shaver, shaving cream, and the stupid tube of Colgate toothpaste because he didn’t like the kind I had.
“UGH!” I balled my fists.
I quickly made my way to the hall closet, where I stored a couple of small boxes. Grabbing one, I threw all of his things from the bathroom in it. Walking over to my dresser and opening the drawer, I took out all the clothes he had kept here for when he spent the night. My mind was at full speed, and I couldn’t seem to control myself. Slipping on my slippers and throwing a light coat over my pajamas, I grabbed the box and hailed a cab to his penthouse. Upon entering the building, the doorman stopped me.
“Miss Kane, are you all right?”
“Just peachy, Jeffrey. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to give Mr. Bennett his things.”
“Here, let me get the elevator for you.”
“Thank you.” I nodded.
Stepping off the elevator, I set the box down and began to walk away. I stopped halfway down the hall when the thought that someone might steal his things crossed my mind. Would I care? Yeah, I would, so I walked back, rang the doorbell, and quickly walked away. I wasn’t fast enough when I heard the door open and Sebastian call my name.
“Chloe?”
Shit. Double shit.
I turned around and saw him standing there in his pajama bottoms and a tight-fitting t-shirt. The way his shirt hugged his muscular body always got me.
“You brought my stuff back in your pajamas?”
“Yes! I wanted it out of my apartment.”
“And you couldn’t wait until morning. Why?”
“Because. I wanted it out now.”
The corners of his mouth curved upward.
“Since you’re here, I can give you your things.”
“No. You can drop them off at my apartment when I’m not home, preferably when I’m at work. In fact, you can just have Eli do it. Good night, Sebastian.” I turned and walked away.
I heard him snicker. “Good night, Chloe.” And then the door shut. Why the fuck was he snickering? Better yet, why was he smiling? When I reached the lobby, I gave Jeffrey a wave.
“Do you feel better now, Miss Kane?”
“Yes. Much better.” I hailed a cab and headed home.
Sebastian
Shutting the door, I couldn’t help but laugh. That was my girl. Some people would have found it strange that she came all the way here in her pajamas to drop off my things, but not me. I expected nothing less of her. That was one of the things I loved about Chloe; she was unpredictable and the most adorable girl I had ever known. I set the box down in the hallway. There was no way I was packing up her stuff because there was no need to. She’d be back, and they’d be here waiting for her. If it made her feel better to drop my things off in the late hours of the night in her pajamas, then so be it. As long as she felt better, that was all that mattered.
Chloe
Stepping into the gallery at approximately eight fifty-five, I was running a little late because I decided to make a Starbucks run for all of us.
“Thank you, Chloe.” Gregory and the rest of the crew smiled.
“Today’s going to be a fantastic day.” I grinned.
As I was walking up the stairs to my office, I heard, “I have a delivery for Chloe Kane.”
Turning around, I saw a man standing there with a vase full of gerbera daisies.
Rolling my eyes, I asked Gregory to sign for them and bring them up. I knew who they were from. I could have easily told the delivery guy to take them back, but they were so pretty and would look nice in my office. Just because they were from him, it didn’t matter. I wasn’t about to send perfectly good flowers away.
It was ten o’clock, and as I was sitting at my desk, Gregory walked in.
“Another delivery for you.” He smiled.
“Again?” I asked as I looked at the brightly colored red gerbera daisies.
“Where would you like them?”
“Just put them over there.” I pointed towards the window.
This went on all day. At the start of each hour, a new bouquet was delivered. It was a little after four o’clock when Connor walked into my office.
“What the hell happened in here? Are you secretly running a florist?” He smiled.
I sighed. “Sebastian.”
“Ah. I see. I take it that he’s trying to make amends,” Connor spoke as he sat down.
“He can try all he wants. It’s not happening.”
“If you don’t mind my asking, what exactly did he do?”
“It’s a long story, so I’ll give you the shortened version. He thought I was pregnant, and then he took off to Seattle, and I didn’t hear from him for a week. He lied to me, ignored my calls and texts, and now he thinks he can just waltz back into my life as if his leaving based on something that wasn’t true was no big deal.”
“Can I give you a little bit of advice?” He smiled.
“Sure. Why not?” I spoke in a sarcastic tone as I leaned back in my chair.
“Sometimes, we men get scared and make stupid decisions. Hell, I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve done some really stupid things where Ellery was concerned. So stupid that it threatened our relationship more times than I care to recall.”
“Really? But you two are so perfect.”
“Thank you. We are perfect, aren’t we?” He grinned. “But we weren’t always perfect. We had our troubles along the way and made our share of huge mistakes. What I’m trying to say, Chloe, is that making mistakes is how relationships grow, and it’s what makes them stronger. If I had given up on Ellery or she had given up on me, we never would have made it to where we are today. Sometimes, we have to step outside the box and take a look at the bigger picture. Once you do that, you’ll probably see that more good can come from it than standing inside that little box. Does that make sense?”
Narrowing my eyes at him, I spoke, “Yeah. I think it does. So you’re basically saying that it’s okay for him to hurt me continuously, and I should just take it.” I smiled.
“God, no. That’s not what I’m saying at all. You love Sebastian, and he loves you. I see it in his expression every time you two are together. People tend to do stupid things because they love the other person so much that it frightens them. But it’s those things that strengthen the bond between two people unless one of them cheats. Now that’s a different story. You always see the good in people when everyone else only sees the bad. That’s the first thing I noticed about you when you first came to work for me. In fact, I do believe you and Ellery were related in a past life.”
“How did you get so wise?” I asked.
“By making tons of stupid mistakes in my relationship. Just ask Ellery.” He sighed. “Actually, don’t ask her because it would just make me look like a complete ass.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “Thanks, Connor. I appreciate your advice.”
He got up from his seat. “You’re welcome. Oh. I stopped by to drop off a couple of Ellery’s paintings. I left them down with Gregory.”
“Great. I’ll get them up before I leave.”
“Enjoy the rest of your evening, Chloe.” He winked.
“You too, Connor.”