35. Chapter 35
Julian
Now that the inspector has signed off on the integrity of the building, my wife is ready to finish furnishing and building cat structures.
I pull into the sanctuary parking lot at nine a.m. on a Tuesday, my headlights unnecessary in the bright morning sun.
This is the first time I have taken a personal day that didn’t involve a doctor’s appointment, but the concept of “Paid Time Off” feels different when the work is for the woman I love.
And since the grand opening of the sanctuary is only days away, it’s important that I be here.
I step out of my car, adjusting the straps of my work vest. I’ve discovered that the more covered I am, the less I cringe at the dust.
“You’re early,” Elowen says as she emerges from the building, a smudge of white paint on her cheekbone. She looks vibrant, her natural curls escaping her ponytail in a way that I no longer feel the urge to tidy.
“Yeah, the alignment of the final cat bridges needs a lot of work,” I reply. I walk toward her, my heart doing that strange, uncalculated skip it only does in her presence.
“Did you actually use your PTO? In all the years I’ve known you, I’ve never seen you use even an hour.”
I shrug. “Figured it was time. I have over a thousand hours I can use.”
She laughs, my favorite sound. “That’s actually insane, Julian, you know that? Most people lose their PTO after three or four hundred hours.”
“They lose it? As in, it’s gone, even though they earned it?”
“Yup,” she pops the p. “Thank goodness you’re the CEO, though.”
Hmm. Note to self: check my company’s policy. If it’s not realistic to allow unlimited banking, then maybe I can work something else out, like pay-outs in exchange for PTO hours.
“I think I can find a few things for you to optimize, Mr. Plaza,” she says, her eyes softening.
We spend the next three hours working. Virginia calls me a few times, but I let it go to voicemail without listening.
I’m on PTO! When I hear the sound of gravel crunching outside, I think it’s her, come for a signature or with a question about my schedule.
Although I would have been annoyed at my secretary physically searching Seattle for me, her presence would have been more welcoming than the real intruder.
I turn toward the open double doors just as Carmella Ruiz steps through.
It’s only then that I realize Virginia must have been calling to warn me.
Even more unfortunate, her eyes find mine instantly. “Julian, I have been calling you for hours. Why aren’t you at work?”
“I blocked you,” I deadpan. “I was very clear when we last spoke that we are no longer friends and you are not welcome in my life, nor are you welcome here. How did you find me?”
Carmella scoffs, tossing her perfectly straightened hair over her shoulder. Hair I’m repulsed by because it’s not my wife’s. “Virginia told me.”
“No, she didn’t,” I answer automatically. I trained her better than that.
“Does it matter?”
“Considering I’m seconds away from getting a restraining order, yes.”
“It’s not my fault. She had your schedule open on the desk, and I happened to glance at it.”
“Your lack of accountability is repulsive. Now leave.”
“Hold on. I am here because I actually care about your future, even if you have lost your mind. I spoke with Robert Thompson after you rudely left him in the middle of a meeting and got him to reconsider. I was going to keep it a secret, but now he’s called me this morning saying your useless secretary hasn’t rescheduled a meeting to sign the contract yet. ”
That’s why Robert emailed Virginia saying we were going to work together yesterday?
Carmella looks smug, like she expects me to thank her profusely, but I won’t.
I take a step toward her, putting myself between her and the room where Elowen is standing.
I can feel her presence behind the half-open door, and I refuse to let Carmella reach her.
“The only second chance I have ever been interested in is the one with my wife,” I say. “I do not care about Robert or anything else you have to say.”
“You’ve lost your mind! I saved a multi-million-dollar contract for you.”
“We are not in business together,” I snap.
Carmella scoffs, likely understanding that my refusal to work with Robert or her has everything to do with loyalty to my wife.
“You think a few weeks of playing handyman is going to make her forget the list, Julian? This is all so pathetically one-sided.” She looks past me, her voice rising so it carries into the back rooms. “Elowen is fully aware of every single thing you hate about her, and she will never see past the fact that you once found her lacking.”
The air in the room suddenly feels heavy. Then, Elowen comes to my side.
“You heard my husband. It is time for you to leave my property immediately,” she says, her authoritative voice swelling my chest with pride.
“You are making a mistake, Elowen; I know you haven’t forgotten about the list.” Carmella’s voice rises, and for a second, the only response is the distant thwack of a nail gun from the back rooms. Then, the noise stops.
Connor steps into the hall, wiping sawdust from his jeans. He doesn’t come all the way in; he just stays by the door, watching her. In the office, I hear the scrape of a chair as Beatrix crosses the concrete floor to stand near us. The tension even draws in Sarah, who stops going through paperwork.
“The lady said it was time,” Connor says, his voice casual, almost bored.
Carmella looks at the unified front, taking in the makeshift family my wife found after my years of neglect. Realizing she has no leverage here, she turns on her heel and storms out.
I turn to Elowen, prepared to apologize, to explain that Carmella’s words were only a desperate attempt at sabotage.
“I am sorry,” I begin, my voice rough with the fear that Carmella might have actually planted a seed of doubt.
Elowen looks at me, her expression unreadable as she watches Sarah and the others walk back to their tasks. She stands in the center of the room we built together, the morning light catching the gold in her eyes.
“Actually, Julian, she has one thing right…” she says, her voice trailing off into a silence that makes my heart stop in my chest.