Chapter 17
AJ
The tires of my rented SUV dipped into an unseen rut in the driveway of Safe and Sound Towing and I bounced in my seat.
The highway had been much clearer than when I had driven it with Sam a few days before, but still, I was glad I had opted for all-wheel drive rather than risk it in my little coupe.
I pulled up in front of the doors, the sense of déjà vu doing nothing to calm my nerves.
I had done it. I had made a clean break from Creative Solutions.
I hadn’t realized before that my staying there hadn’t been a way for me to beat Stephen at his own game.
It had been a way for him to still have control over me even without his ring on my finger.
I had never wanted to climb the corporate ladder.
I had never had any desire to be the boss.
I loved the creative side, mixing colors and images and fonts to tell a story that a consumer could understand in a single glance.
I’d become consumed with beating Stephen at his own game without thinking about what would come after.
If I had gotten the win I wanted so badly, then what?
I’d have a job I never wanted in the first place.
I’d be in charge of a man who would undermine me at every turn.
I’d be an equal to men who would always see me as lesser than.
I’d go from being miserable and pushing for a promotion to just being miserable.
Why hadn’t I stopped to think that my goal should be to be happy?
As soon as I left the office, I had gone home and gotten to work.
There was a huge market for freelance design work, and I intended to get a piece of it.
I could design logos, letterheads, and promotional materials.
I could work with small businesses, charities, and on people’s passion projects rather than only increasing the bottom line of big companies.
I was excited about it if. There was so much to do, but the bulk of it could wait until after Christmas. I had a more important thing to do now. I had to talk to Sam.
I cringed when I thought about how I had walked away from him at the airport.
If I had just followed my heart instead of my ego, then we could have gone forward from that day with the intention of our relationship becoming more.
Instead, I hurt him. I treated him as if I could just hit pause and go on with my own life and return to him when I was ready.
He had his own life, his own responsibilities.
I wouldn’t blame him if he didn’t want anything to do with a person who had treated him as if he didn’t. Still, I had to try.
I didn’t see the tow truck in the parking lot, but I pushed through the door anyway. I stepped into the shop and glanced around.
“AJ!”
I jumped.
Katie came rushing up to me from an unseen corner and grabbed my hands. “What are you doing here?” Her big eyes sparkled.
I opened my mouth to answer, but she cut me off.
“Oh my god, you’re here to see Sam. I knew it.” She pumped her fist in the air. “You love him, don’t you? This is too perfect.” She was all but wiggling with excitement, and once again, I was hit with the warm family feeling of Sam’s business.
“Nice to see you too, Katie,” I said with a laugh. “Is Sam here?”
She shook her head no. “What happened between the two of you? He has been stomping around here like a thunder cloud since he dropped you off the other day.”
“I, um, I’d really rather talk to him.”
She rolled her eyes and pulled me down onto the bench next to her. “Girl talk time. Spill.”
She didn’t leave much room for argument, and I didn’t have many close female friends and I really wanted to talk this out with someone who knew Sam.
So I spilled. I told her about how we had gotten along so well and how I had left him standing to meet a goal I no longer cared about.
I told her about my plan to start my own freelance business and to change my life, and how much I wanted Sam to be a part of it.
“So, I really need to talk to him. Do you have his phone number?”
She threw back her head and laughed. “Calling him on the phone. Oh, AJ. What this situation needs is a big romantic gesture, rom-com style. Like chasing through an airport, blaring 80s love ballads, or making big speeches and spontaneous proposals, you know?”
“Katie, I have only known him for one day. I think blaring music at him might be overkill.”
She pursed her lips in thought before a smile spread across her face. “I have a better idea.”