Chapter 27
Chapter
Twenty-Seven
ADRIANNA
Breathing heavily, I try to push back the tears as I enter the office.
The sun hasn’t even come up, and my eyes are raw from crying, but I’m here.
With heavy feet, I walk toward my desk with a box in hand.
The tears start to fall once again as I unlock my drawers and start to place my personal items inside the box.
How am I even crying still? I feel like that’s all I’ve done for the last couple of days. Because of the mix-up with the gala being on a Monday, Elijah was nice and gave everyone Tuesday and Wednesday off. The sweet gesture gave me time to plan.
I don’t have a job lined up, but I have a little bit of money saved, so I should be okay for a month or two. Anything past that, I’ll be in trouble, but it will be okay. Surely one of the applications I have out there will get a hit, and I’ll be hired.
I’ve even resorted to putting applications in at the local fast-food places. Anything to keep the bills getting paid.
Maybe I should go back to school.
My phone dings again, and I don’t even bother looking at it. I already know who it is. Elijah has been blowing me up since I snuck out at the end of the gala. We had plans to go home together, but I just couldn’t do it.
As much as I love him, I can’t be near him, not when he took my dreams and crushed them in the palm of his hand.
That, and I knew if I saw him, if I let him touch me, or if he flashed me a smile, I would cave.
I would stay and accept whatever scraps he was willing to give me.
I had to separate myself from him even though it hurts.
Even though being in his arms is the only thing I want right now.
So I sent him a text telling him I didn’t feel well and needed a few days for some space. He tried to argue about it, but I told him that I needed this and he had to respect it.
He didn’t show up. I expected him to, but he didn’t. Instead, he texts me throughout the day. It’s almost too much.
I’ll talk to him. I know I need to, but it all hurts so much right now.
After packing up all my personal belongings, I sit down and turn on my computer. With tear-filled eyes, I type out my resignation letter and hit print without a second thought. On shaky legs, I take it into his office and set it on his keyboard so he will be forced to look at it right away.
A sob leaves me, and I cover my mouth. I look around the room and memories hit me.
Moments of Gloria’s verbal abuse being spewed at me.
The day I started all young and naive thinking I could save the world.
I had stars in my eyes and was so excited to help others and make a difference in this messed-up world we lived in.
This place made me grow and shaped me into the woman I am now.
I became a dreamer here and made plans. I had dreams of sitting behind that desk and how I would make the office my own.
Quickly the memories change to ones of Elijah and me.
The day I met him and how he glared at me as he told me I was fired, yet I convinced him to give me a chance.
I can’t help but chuckle when I think about when I told him I spit in his coffee and he drank it without looking away from me.
God, the sex we had on the desk. A bittersweet smile crosses my face.
Our meeting might not have been great, in fact, he was a raging asshole, but our ending was one for the books. Being with Elijah changed me for the better, and he doesn’t even know it. He doesn’t know how he’s made me want things for myself that I didn’t before.
Over the weekend, I promised myself that wherever I end up, I’ll find a group of friends and I’ll stop spending so much time hyperfocused on my work. I’ll find a man who loves me for me and wants to spend the rest of his life with me.
My future partner won’t know it, but he will be my second choice, and part of me feels guilty for it. Because if given the chance, I’d make that jump with Elijah. I’m not sure it would be right for me, though. Could I stay with a man who puts me beneath him?
I don’t think I can. As much as I love him, I need to love myself more.
My own self-worth is more important than my heartache.
It will hurt like hell, but I will eventually be able to breathe without feeling like I’m being stabbed.
Grief will always stay with you, but you learn to live with the pain.
Losing my mom taught me that.
I’m stronger than this. I’m a survivor.
I brush my fingers over his desk one last time before I leave the room. I shut down my monitor and grab my box. On shaky legs, I head toward the elevator and pause when I reach it. I turn and face the open office area one last time.
Smiling, I think about the connections I made, the projects I worked on, and everything in between.
I gave The Williamson Foundation my blood, sweat, and tears for six years, and I couldn’t be prouder of what we accomplished.
It’s time to hand over the reins and let someone else come in. Someone with fresh eyes and new ideas.
Sighing, I turn toward the elevator and hit the button.
The doors open right away, and I step inside.
Once it lands on the ground floor, I exit the quiet building silently, just like I did when I entered, throwing a small smile at the security guard.
When I reach my car, I put the box in the back seat before I look over at my old parking spot. The same one Elijah said was too far.
He changed so much for me, but how much of it was real? How well do you truly ever know someone?
Getting into the driver’s seat, I freeze.
What now?
Do I head home, or do I go somewhere else? Should I leave town for a little bit to hide out in case he comes knocking?
That’s ridiculous. Elijah isn’t the kind of man to chase a woman down. Especially not when he realizes that I left without a word.
No, I’ll come back and have a conversation with him next week, but for today, I let myself run a little longer.
The sun starts to rise, and I can’t help but smile. It seems fitting that the start of a new day lies before me when I’m about to start a new adventure of my own. I turn on the car and leave The Williamson Foundation without a destination in mind.
Logically, I knew this would hurt, but I didn’t expect it to feel like this. I only hope that my future is as bright as I hoped it would be.
God, I hope I’m making the right choice and I won’t regret this.
ELIJAH
Annoyance courses through me as I step into the elevator. Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I check it for what feels like the millionth time. Nothing. I pull open the texts I’ve sent Adrianna since she went missing at the end of the gala.
What if she’s really ill?
She said she didn’t feel well and that she needed space. What does that even mean? I wanted to rush right over there, but after talking with Mason and Olivia, and Chloe adding in her two cents in the background, they convinced me to give her some space. Sometimes women do this, I guess.
I wouldn’t know. I never cared enough about one to keep her around long enough for her to try to ghost me.
What the hell did I do to make her ignore me? All I want is for her to tell me she’s okay and to tell me what the fuck is going on.
I exit the elevator and start walking toward my office but pause when I see her desk. The little Supernatural bobblehead is missing along with her other personal items. Holy shit, did someone steal her shit?
Cameras, I need to check the cameras. I head into my office and round my desk with only one thing on my mind. I move the mouse, and my computer wakes. I go to type in my password but pause when I see a piece of paper on my keyboard.
Dread curls around me as I reluctantly pick it up.
Mr. Samson,
It is with great regret that I must inform you I am resigning from my position as an executive assistant effective immediately.
The past six years at The Williamson Foundation have been life-changing and given me opportunities I didn’t know were possible. I value everything you have taught me in your short time here at the foundation as well. I hope we can stay in touch and maintain a professional relationship.
I am taking a week off, but then I will be available to discuss this further if necessary.
If you need any help during this transition period, please let me know. You know how to reach me.
I wish you and The Williamson Foundation nothing but the best in the future.
With kind regards,
Adrianna Baker
My fist clenches, and I crumple the paper in my palm.
What the ever-living fuck? She quit? She can’t just quit. That wasn’t part of the plan.
It’s not like she knew what the plan was, but that’s beside the point.
No, it wasn’t supposed to happen like this.
My phone rings, and I snatch it off my desk where I dropped it. “Adrianna?” I say without looking at the caller.
“No, it’s Mason. Is everything okay?” he asks with a slight hesitation in his voice.
“No, everything isn’t fucking okay,” I snap.
“Tell me what’s wrong, and maybe we can work it out.”
I scoff. “What’s wrong is I listened to you and your wife and her friend, and now Adrianna is gone.
She came into work before everyone else, or hell, maybe she came in on Tuesday for all I know, and then she packed up all of her stuff and left without a word.
All she left me is this stupid fucking resignation letter.
What makes her think she can just leave like that? This is not okay.”
“Wait, she resigned?” he asks with shock in his voice.
“Apparently.”
“That doesn’t make sense. Why would she resign if she knew that you were going to name her as CEO and step into the role of CFO?”
I pinch the bridge of my nose. “Because I hadn’t gotten around to telling her yet. It was supposed to be a surprise.”
Mason falls quiet for so long that I check to make sure the call is still connected.
“Are you telling me that you had a bet with the girl, and as soon as it became clear that you were the winner, you never pulled her aside and told her the bet was over?”
“I didn’t want to tell her before the Lind shit was settled. She would have been stressed. I was trying to save her some of the headache,” I snap.
“Tell me this, are you more upset with the fact she quit or that she’s ghosting you?”
“Can’t I be both?” I ask sarcastically.
“Just answer the question, Elijah.”
“Fine, I’m fucking pissed that she ghosted me. I’m fucking crazy about her, and I thought we were both happy, but clearly I was fucking wrong.”
“You’re in love with her.”
“Yes,” I say without thinking. It’s the second time I’ve admitted it out loud.
Shit, I love her. I am one hundred percent in love with Adrianna Baker.
“Have you told her yet?” Mason asks, cutting into my realization.
“No. No, I didn’t. Fuck, I should have told her. Maybe she wouldn’t have left. I fucked up.”
“Yeah, I’d say so. Listen, follow your gut. What is it telling you to do?”
“Go after her,” I say quickly.
“Then go get your girl,” he says as if it’s that easy.
“What am I supposed to do, show up at her house, force my way in, demand answers, tell her I don’t accept this fucking piece of paper, and then tell her that I’m completely in love with her?
“I mean, yeah…but maybe put a little bit more thought into it. Women don’t always love the heavy-handed shit and being told what to do. That’s a good way to get your ass kicked.”
“Yeah, well, I’d rather have her wanting to kick my ass than completely ignore me.”
Mason chuckles.
“Why is this so complicated? Why didn’t you tell me that this shit isn’t easy?” I ask as I rub my chest.
“Because nothing worth having is easy.”
“You and Liv make it look easy.”
Amusement fills his voice. “Really? Did you forget that she hated my guts because she thought I wanted her to get an abortion? Did you forget that I had to prove to her I was there to stay when I came home and found her? Then again when I learned about Ari?”
“She really wasn’t interested in picking up where things left off with you two,” I say with a smile.
“No, she wasn’t.” He laughs.
We fall silent for a moment as I think about what I’m going to do. Do I let her slip through my fingers, or do I hunt her down and lay all my cards on the table?
“Seriously, though, are you going to let her go, or are you going to fight?” Mason asks after a minute.
“Fight. I’m going to fight. I need you to do me a favor.”
“Anything, brother.”
With that, a plan is formed.
I’m going to get my woman back.