Chapter 47
Monica
“ M onica,” said Connor, smiling at me from behind the counter in the coffee shop.
“Hey, Connor,” I said, returning the smile.
“I haven’t seen you all week. I was worried you and Mr. Gunner found a new coffee shop or something.”
“Never.” I shook my head and looked up at the menu, even though I already knew what I was going to order. “He’s away on business.”
“Ahh, of course. Business never sleeps for that guy.” He nodded in quiet admiration.
I smiled to myself, wondering if it was really business keeping him up at night or me. I willed myself not to blush as I thought about our last night, and morning, together.
“What can I get you?” he asked, looking at me with a smile of curiosity.
“I’ll take my usual, please.”
“Ahh, the Connor special. I got you hooked.”
“You certainly did. I never thought I would see the day when Troy would drink anything besides his iced Americano.”
“I aim to please,” he said, turning his back and getting started on the espresso machine.
I slid a twenty across the counter and walked to the other end of the coffee shop. It was crowded, as usual, with its mixture of businessmen and moms donning their leggings for morning Pilates. I had been coming here for months now, and had become one of the regulars.
I remembered the first time I had come in here with Troy’s ridiculously precise order. One that I had memorized now. I had wondered what I had gotten myself into that morning, not knowing it would lead to all the good it had.
Connor called my name from the counter and slid the white insulated cup toward me. I thanked him and headed out the door into the morning air. It was still crisp, but there was less of a bite to it. Spring was just weeks away, and I breathed in the last of the winter as I walked toward the office.
Upstairs, I sat at my desk and opened my emails. There was nothing new. I refreshed the page, but it remained the same. I sighed and leaned back in my chair. Already I was bored, even though I had just gotten here. I looked around the office. Everyone was busy click-clacking away on the computers in their cubicles or answering phones. I realized the only thing that made this job interesting was my boss.
Troy had reminded me I didn’t need to come in if he wasn’t here, but it felt strange to not come into the office on a weekday. Plus, being here made me feel like I was close to him in some way.
Thankfully, Kathy hardly came around when she didn’t have Troy to babysit or keep a watchful eye on us. I knew she was suspicious of us. I didn’t know if it was because of his reputation or if it was because we were really bad actors. The thought made me smile.
I loved the flustered looks that Troy would send my way when she would come sniffing around. Or the looks that knocked me off my feet when no one else was looking. I missed those looks. I missed him .
As I sat at my desk, I wondered if being a personal assistant to someone other than Troy would be what I actually wanted. A big part of the reason why I didn’t want to leave the job was because it would mean less time with him. I had grown so used to being with him every day, and hated the thought of not being around him as much.
I also knew if I went anywhere else, I would be back to retrieving someone’s coffee and dry-cleaning. Here, Troy let me speak up in meetings and give input. Most CEOs would never permit that. Their egos were too big. But Troy welcomed it, and made me feel valued. My thoughts were valued.
My internal debate was why I hadn’t accepted an interview yet for another personal assistant job. I figured when Troy got back, we could sit down and talk about it. I could get his feelings on my potential new bosses. He would know their reputations and characters better than anyone. I knew, deep down, he didn’t want me taking another job as a personal assistant. But we both knew I had to if we were ever going to be together.
It was better for me to leave than him in this situation, even though he had his own life to figure out. I had way less to lose if I stepped away. He could possibly lose everything.
He kept encouraging me to write more. It was pretty cute, actually. The nights I would stay over, which was almost every night, I would spot one of my novels on his nightstand. He had actually bought out the entire shelf at the bookstore. My face turned a rosy shade of pink knowing he was reading my words on the page, especially the more explicit scenes.
With his encouragement and time passing, I felt like I was getting closer to my old self again. Because of Erica, I had proven to myself, and the newspaper, that I could still write. While they weren’t my usual romance pieces, the mini mysteries I wrote each week were bringing a new audience to the paper. It was like a breath of fresh air to try my hand at a different genre, and to be accepted so enthusiastically in the field of journalism. My book fan base had caught wind that I was writing for the newspaper now, and to my surprise, their reviews were positive.
My confidence was building again. There was no denying that I was a writer. It was in my bones. I knew I had to get back to it someday. It might be sooner than later.
When I wasn’t writing mysteries, I was still trying my hand at a few chapters for a new book. The words came easy with Troy as my inspiration. My last book was inspired by heartbreak, and this book was inspired by new love. It was sweet mixed with dramatics and passion, much like our relationship and how it started.
I didn’t want to get my agent’s hopes up just yet, but she knew I was working on something. I told her I just needed to write without the pressure of deadlines or book titles and cover choices. I wasn’t sure I wanted it to go anywhere, but I had so much inspiration from my own life that I had to get it out on my keyboard.
Troy was to thank for that.
I looked toward his office and my mouth pulled into a small pout. I missed the hell out of him. He had only been gone a few days, and still had a few more days left of his retreat. From what I had heard from him early this morning, it wasn’t going well. He didn’t go into details, and I didn’t want to pry. I knew he would tell me when he got back. Whatever was going on between him and his father wasn’t good.
I was just happy he wasn’t shutting me out. We were past that. We opened up to one another, the good and the bad. That was what love was, and I couldn’t believe I had it with him. I could still hear the words falling off his tongue like a whispered melody I couldn’t get out of my head. I smiled as they floated through my mind.
Suddenly feeling inspired, I was just about to open the latest chapters of the novel I was working on when I heard the quick pace of heels on the marble floors coming down the hallway. I braced myself for Kathy and whatever urgent matter she deemed necessary to dump on my desk, although I would be happy for something to do to make the time go by faster. I looked up and saw it wasn’t Kathy, but Veronica.
“Oh, thank God,” she said dramatically, putting her hand to her heart when she saw me.
I sucked in a breath. Her hair was disheveled in a way I never thought the amount of hairspray she used would allow and her eyes were bloodshot. Her black trench coat hung off her shoulders, revealing her protruding collarbones. She looked worse than I had ever seen her. I almost felt bad for her, until I remembered everything she had done to me. To Troy.
“What do you want?” I asked coolly, leaning back in my chair.
“Oh, Monica! It’s just awful,” she sobbed.
“What are you talking about?”
“Haven’t you heard?”
“What?” My voice was losing its edge due to curiosity.
“Troy has been in an…accident.” She cried out the last word.
My stomach sunk to the bottom floor of the building and landed with a thud onto the lobby floor.
“What are you talking about?” I asked, my eyes searching hers for any answers.
It had been a few hours since I had heard from him, but I figured it was because he was in conferences or meetings, or dealing with his father. The last thing he had texted me was to have a good day and that he loved me. I wondered if that would be the last thing I would ever hear from him. The thought made me sick.
“You need to come with me,” said Veronica insistently, placing her palms on my desk as her eyes bored into mine. I could see the tears threatening to fall.
Instinctively, I grabbed my purse from the floor and gripped the desk, pulling myself unsteadily to my feet. Veronica nodded impatiently as she looked down the hall. Her hands were shaking as she pushed the tangled strands of hair from her face. I was about to reach for her, try to calm her down even though I was anything but calm, but then a thought struck me.
“How do you know he’s been in an accident?” I asked, my brow raising.
She whipped her head toward me. The emotion I saw just moments ago was replaced by a flash of annoyance that caught me off guard.
“I’m still his emergency contact,” she snapped, before bursting into tears.
I nodded. Right. Maybe Troy had forgotten to change that after they had divorced. It seemed strange, given they had divorced years ago. I would have thought he would have put Erica at the top of his list. But right now, I didn’t have time to question it. No matter how I felt about Veronica, I knew I had to push my feelings aside if I were going to get to Troy.
“You have to come with me,” she pleaded, reaching out for me. “The accident…it’s bad. Really bad.”
“Wh-what happened? Is he okay?”
“Just come!” she said, her voice shrill.
Without any answers, my head was flooded with thoughts of crunching metal of cars and smoke from the private jet blackening the New York skyline. My vision was going in and out of blackness. Not Troy. Please, I begged. I thought I was going to puke. My legs threatened to give out. I had to get to him. I just hoped I wasn’t too late.
Veronica looked around the office impatiently as I tried to will my feet to move. It felt like they had weights attached to them, making my movements slow. As I rounded my desk to follow her, she gave me a quick nod and grabbed my hand, pulling me to follow. Everything was a blur as she led me through the office and into an elevator. I could have sworn I heard Kathy call out my name from her office, but I couldn’t be sure.
My brain was in a fog. The only thing on my mind was to get to Troy.