Chapter 13 Elijah
ELIJAH
My heart pounds in time to the thump of my feet against the frozen ground, each step carefully planned around piles of leaves, discarded trash, and parts of the path that look far too icy to step on.
Jogging is the only thing taking me out of my hotel room right now. Burying myself in work is a decent distraction, but there’s a part of me that misses the busyness of New York. Out here, with less to focus on, it’s quiet and my mind has less to distract itself with.
So I jog.
Down the slope, across a patch of grass, and up the steps two at a time, leaves me panting harshly by the time I reach the top.
My thighs ache, my T-shirt clings to my back with sweat, and the ends of my hoodie sleeves tighten slightly as my sweat soaks into the fabric.
Clouds pour from my lips as my hot breath spills into the cool evening air, and through it all, the heavy thumps of my rock playlist keeps my momentum going.
Until the music stalls for the sound of a phone call.
“Hello?” I gasp after tapping my earbuds.
“Jesus, am I interrupting?” Buster’s cheery tones fill my ear.
“Jogging.”
“Right. Mr. Fitness over here.”
“What do you want?”
“I wouldn’t mind a pay increase. Is that even allowed? Maybe not. This soon after Christmas, I think Shirley would gut me if I tried to make any more money.”
My jogging slows, turning into a much lazier pace so I can hear Buster over my own pounding heart. “You’re still mad I put my inheritance into the charity fund, aren’t you?”
“It was a lot of money.”
“Money we can do good with.”
“Like what?”
“Ensure all our workers are paid fairly, for starters.”
“Hey, no one goes underpaid on my watch.”
“I know.” I chuckle. “I actually saw there’s a charity we could link up with. I’ll send you the details when I’m back at my hotel room, but they strive to provide the prom experience and such for kids in end-of-life care. I bet they could use some jewelry.”
“Damn.” Buster chuckles. “Right for the heart. I’m in pain.”
“Worth it.”
“Hell yeah. Send me the info and I’ll see what I can do.”
My jogging takes me to the crest of a small bridge where a frozen river cracks subtly every few seconds. I pause here, jogging on the spot to keep the cold at bay. “Alright, what’s up?”
“I need you to send me the employment records for Angelic.”
“You don’t have those already?”
“Nope.” He pops the P loudly.
“Oh.” I’d asked Jimmy to send over all employee documentation the moment I arrived. “I’ll chase that up and get it to you.”
“Can you also make sure I have all the financials?”
“Is something wrong?”
“I’m not sure yet.” Buster sighs. “I just gotta ensure I know everything so the right things are in place to protect Amber Ltd. should Angelic Jewels go into liquidation before the acquisition is finalized. Trust me, I know you want to make this work, whether it’s for the girl or for the business.
I’m in your corner. I just need to make sure we do this properly. ”
“Thanks, Buster.”
“Yeah, I know. Listen, are you flying back out here anytime soon?”
“No plans to. Why?”
“Hannah wants you over for dinner. She missed you at New Year’s. Everyone did.”
“Ah.”
“Look, nothing fancy. Just a family dinner. You owe me since you’ve robbed me of my retirement condo.”
“You’ll live.”
“Yeah, in a shitty apartment living on instant noodles while my fiancée busts my balls because I can’t afford her fancy facial treatment.”
“That sounds like a great idea, actually. You need some grounding.”
“I’m grounded. Look at me, I’m helping you with this pet project while our shareholders panic that the CEO fled the state. I’m fucking grounded.”
“Is that what they’re saying?” I gasp out laughing and resume my jog. “That I fled?”
“The rumor mill is churning. I’ve heard everything from a secret wedding to your getting the mayor’s daughter pregnant and he cast you out. It’s honestly very entertaining.”
“And you’ve been setting these people back on the right path, right?” I ask, already knowing the answer.
“Of course not.” Buster laughs. “You abandoned me. This is my payback.”
“I deserve it.”
“You do.”
“You should come out here, Buster. San Francisco is beautiful.”
“I dunno. If you’re jogging, that suggests a culture that will chew me up and spit me out.”
“Are you serious? You used to jog all the time.” My route takes me back down the path and loops toward the main road.
“Yeah, when I was trying to impress Hannah. Now I’ve nailed her, she gets the real me.”
“If you stop trying—”
“I know, I know. She’ll leave me for someone hotter and richer. Luckily, you’ve left New York.”
We laugh, and Buster reminds me quickly of what he needs me to send, then he hangs up. Out of all the calls and emails I get from anyone else in the company, Buster is the only one who can ignite a curl of homesickness low in my gut.
I increase my pace and try to jog away the sensation, but it still lingers when I make it back to my hotel and share an uncomfortable elevator ride with an elderly woman clearly put off by my sweaty state.
Maybe jogging in January is weird here.
Inside, I toss my room key onto my end table and shrug off my hoodie. As I’m peeling out of my sweat-soaked T-shirt, another call comes through and I automatically answer, expecting Buster to have remembered something.
“Hello?”
“Elijah?”
My heart stalls in my chest as Imogen’s voice fills my ears. “Imogen.”
“Don’t say my name like that.”
“Like what?”
“Like you hate me.”
“I don’t care about you enough to hate you.”
“Could have fooled me.” She sighs, and it’s loud, like her mouth is pressed right up against the speaker. “Are you back in New York yet?”
“No.” Balling my T-shirt up, it joins my hoodie in the pile for laundry as I wander my room and pause near the sliding doors leading to the balcony. “What do you want?”
“I miss you.” She elongates the S just long enough for it to sound a little static.
“Are you… Imogen, have you been drinking?”
“Maybe,” she purrs softly.
Glancing at the clock on my bedside table, I quickly calculate the time difference. “At four in the afternoon?”
“God, even from miles away, you’re still judging me.”
“Goodbye, Imogen.”
“No, wait!” Fabric rustles and the rush of her breathing fades for a second, then comes back even louder. “I’m serious, Elijah. I made a mistake, okay? A pretty huge mistake.”
“A mistake is one time. You had a whole other relationship for months. That’s not a mistake.”
“It is! And can you blame me? You were so distant, and I was lonely, but I realize now that I did a terrible thing and I hurt you. I’m sorry, Elijah. I really am.”
My teeth clack together as I tense my jaw, mulling over that cold moment I arrived home early and walked in on Imogen fucking that guy on the kitchen counter. She looked at me like she wanted me to pry them apart, but I just left.
I felt nothing at the time.
Now, it’s like an ache in my chest. I didn’t love her. She didn’t love me. She’s just drunk.
“Imogen… we went over this. We’ve said all there is to say.”
“The lawyers were a bit dramatic, don’t you think?”
“No.” I comb my fingers through my hair. “We both lived there for those two years. It was only fair that we split everything legally so you couldn’t come and sue me six months down the line.”
“I would never.”
“Yes, Imogen. You would.”
“Why are you being so harsh with me?” she whines. “I don’t understand.”
“Yes, you do. Listen to me, Imogen. We both know I was only with you because it made my mom happy. She was dying and she was terrified I would end up alone, so I kept up those appearances for a year and then an extra one because I was grieving so hard, I couldn’t think of anything else.
But it wasn’t a relationship for either of us. If anything, it was a bad habit.”
“You asshole,” Imogen mutters and her voice grows thick as if she’s crying. “How can you say such cruel things to me?”
“I…” My heart skips a beat. “I’m not trying to be cruel, Imogen. I’m being honest. None of this should be a shock to you. You’re just… drunk. And I get that, I do. But you should be calling your man, not me.”
“But it’s you I miss.”
“No, it’s not. And I don’t miss you.”
“You’re lying to yourself,” Imogen mutters. “And I won’t be here when you realize it!”
“Goodbye, Imogen.”
An odd silence descends when I end the call, like the walls have crept closer and the air is a little thinner.
Imogen’s partly right. She deserves better than me. Our relationship was nothing more than a game orchestrated by my mother, and I went along with it because she was dying and it made her happy. There was never any love between us, only attachment to money and reputation.
I brush those thoughts away and head for the shower to wash away the tacky sweat clinging to my skin.
It doesn’t take long for the pouring hot water to direct my thoughts to the one woman who has drawn feelings out of my heart.
For a long time, I thought I was wired wrong.
I thought part of me was broken because I was never interested in sleeping around.
And then I met Calliope.
The one who got away. There was something about her that just scratched my mind and my heart the perfect way.
Maybe it was the way she spent a full forty minutes talking about her passion for ethical gem consumption while barely taking a breath and then blushing furiously when she realized I hadn’t spoken to her at all during her speech.
Or it was the way she made me laugh so hard that my sides hurt.
Or how beautiful she looked in the low lighting of the bar when I finally kissed her.
She was a one-night stand.
And I’ve never forgotten her. Now, she’s here. Like some crazy twist of fate, she’s back in my life and involved with my pet project like fate is trying to guide me right back to where I belong.
Do I have a chance? She made it clear that the past is in the past, but that doesn’t mean I can’t try again. Properly this time. I just have to make sure I’m not responsible for her losing her job. If there’s a way, then Buster will find it.
Calliope lingers in my thoughts for the rest of my shower and lulls me into a deep, soft sleep where the night we met mixes with that walk from the coffee shop.
The same beautiful woman, the same lightness in my heart, the same smile on her lips.
She’s different. A span of six years is a long time. But she’s also exactly the same.
Morning dawns with a loud thump outside my door and a yelled apology from a staff member.
Sun streams through the balcony doors, illuminating the curtains I was too tired to close.
The sky is an icy blue that immediately brings Calliope back into my thoughts because it’s the same shade as her eyes.
Warmth sweeps through my chest and I nestle into my pillow, replaying her face over and over in my mind.
My phone buzzes repeatedly, interrupting my daydream of waltzing into Calliope’s office and demanding a date. Reaching up one arm, I have to feel around the end table for a few seconds before I find my phone. Hitting answer, I press it to my ear with a yawn.
“What?”
“Morning, sunshine.”
“Buster? Don’t you ever sleep?”
“Not when there’s money to be made.”
“God.” I groan softly. “Fucking Imogen called me last night.”
“What?”
“Mmhmm. Gave me a sad, drunk speech about missing me.”
“Yeah, missing you while another dude’s dick is inside her.”
I snort softly. “She misses my money.”
“Most likely. How are you feeling?”
“I feel… nothing. Is that bad? I was with her for two years.”
“Two years of performance and grief,” Buster murmurs. “Besides, how often were you two actually together? She spent most of her time using your name to get into parties and shows and shit. She never cared about you.”
“Mmhmm.” He’s right, and while I’m solid in my decision, it’s nice to hear the affirmation. “So, why are you calling me?”
“We have a problem.”
My eyes snap open and I push up onto an elbow. “What?”
“So Angelic Jewels is in some trouble. That we knew. But it’s much worse than just some debt.”
“Hit me.”
“Someone at Angelic Jewels has been siphoning funds.”
“Fraud?” I sit up fully, my back as straight as a board.
“Yup.”
“Shit. Who?”
“No clue. But we'd better find out quickly.”