Chapter 25
HAILEY
I spent the weekend making up for my little scene at Val’s house. I had meant what I’d told him—that as his PR pro I needed to know if he planned something like this, but I couldn’t pretend that was the only reason I’d gone berserk. I owned up to my flaws.
On Sunday evening, Reid left for San Diego.
He had an early meeting Monday, and it made more sense for him to sleep there overnight. I wasn’t in the mood to be on my own, so I asked Val if her sleepover offer was still on the table.
“Ummm, is the Earth round? Hell, yes.”
She figured out the second I arrived that I wasn’t in the best mood. I was dreading tomorrow, and I hadn’t felt like that about Mondays since I’d changed jobs.
We were up late into the night, long after Carter and the girls went to sleep, with the result that the next morning I woke up with a headache and low energy. Val took care of the latter.
When I descended to the kitchen, she had coffee and pancakes ready.
“Breakfast of champions, huh?” I murmured. “Where’s everyone else?”
“Carter took the girls to school. But I’m here to give you some sisterly love, and pancakes.”
I laughed, digging into the pancakes. Yep, my sister totally knew how to brighten my day. We talked about nothing in particular, just enjoying the quiet morning.
“Are you going to the office today?” she asked.
“Have to. We’ve got a meeting every Monday morning, or I would have worked from home.”
“Pity. You could have kept me company.” My sister was working from home now that her due date was approaching.
“I could come after the meeting. I don’t know.”
“Hmm, I can sweeten that offer with a homemade burger for lunch.”
“Val. That’s not sweetening the offer. It’s bribing me.”
Val smiled coyly. “You know me. Always up for that. Plus, you can borrow some sweatpants from me. We can slum it if we’re both working from home.”
“Now you’ve won me over. Sweatpants and burger it is.”
I decided to check my emails before leaving, and good thing I did, because I’d received an email from Cameron.
Do you have time after the morning meeting? Need to talk to you.
I gripped my phone tight, rubbing the back of my neck. “Looks like I have to stay longer at the office after all. My boss needs me.”
“Oh, damn. And I was already in a sweatpants mood. Go get them.”
I wasn’t particularly looking forward to going into work. All I wanted was to indulge in some more sisterly love.
But I shook myself, put on my proverbial big girl pants, and headed to the agency. The office was buzzing with activity, as usual on Mondays. It was one of the very few weeks in which I didn’t have any highlights to present.
Afterward, Cameron gestured toward his office.
“Want to grab a coffee before?” he asked.
“No, thanks. I’m good. Let’s get the ball rolling.”
Before, I’d always been excited when Cameron called me in. It usually meant exciting new projects, more ways for me to prove myself. Now, however, I was dreading it.
“You know how I always talked about expanding our business, maybe also moving into corporate PR.”
“Yes.” Maybe this was going in a positive direction after all. I really didn’t want to hear any bad news. There were only so many bad things a girl could handle at once.
“Well, I’ve had the ball rolling for a while, and I think we’re finally ready for the next step.
You’re a valued member of this team. Your drive is hard to come by.
Your skills are perfect for Hollywood PR, but for a while, until things are running smoothly, you’d be spearheading that corporate PR effort. ”
“Hell, yes.”
I felt a flicker of hope.
“Okay, well, before I give you more details, let me just say that this office would be headquartered in Houston.”
“In— Wait, what? Why?”
“There’s a huge business cluster there, and the PR market isn’t crowded like New York or Washington. And my sister lives there. She’d love to get involved too. She’s had a hard time going back into the workforce after having her baby, so this would be a great opportunity.”
I shoved a strand of hair behind my ear, suddenly feeling the need to move my hands. I couldn’t stand still.
“It wouldn’t be bad for you to lie low for a while,” he continued.
“Because of the pictures.”
“Look, I know it’s not your fault. I’m not blaming you for anything. But it would be good if you were out of the spotlight for a while.”
“But being in Houston would mean that I couldn’t handle my LA clients. You know how important personal meetings are. I’ve talked a few off the ledge just because I met them in person.”
“Someone else can handle your current clients for a while.”
It felt like I was getting pummeled from all directions, and I frankly only had so much energy.
“I can’t move to Houston, Cameron. I mean, I could, of course, but I don’t want to.”
He tapped his fingers over the desk, nodding. “I know how close you are to your family, but this would just be for a few months.”
“Would that really make sense, though?”
“You can get the ball rolling and also hire someone to run the office together with my sister permanently while you’re there.”
“How many months?”
“Two, three? We’ll play it by ear. You don’t have to give me an answer now. Take your time to think about it.”
“What happens if I don’t go?”
“Then I’m going to ask you to take an extended leave for two to three months. Unpaid vacation.”
Right, because I could afford three unpaid months.
“You really need me gone.”
His shoulders slumped. “I need the buzz to die down. In this city, out of sight is out of mind.”
“You don’t have to tell me that. I know.”
“It’s not a punishment.”
“It feels like it, though. I did nothing wrong.”
Cameron smiled sympathetically. “I’ve given this a lot of thought. It’s the best solution I have. The only one, if I’m honest. I’d really hate to lose you.”
Translation: you don’t have a choice.
“I’ll go. Thanks for giving me this out.” I felt as if someone else was speaking the words and I was merely a puppet, moving my lips.
I really did appreciate it. I just didn’t want it.
I knew that most bosses would cut their losses and just let me go, but Cameron was being more than fair.
I hated that I’d disappointed him. I’d only met him a few years ago, but he meant a lot more to me than a mentor.
He’d looked out for me from the very beginning, and still was.
And I’d gone and disappointed him, and now the only way for me to keep my job was to relocate to Houston.
Usually, I’d jump up and down for such an opportunity, especially because it was for a limited time. I could fly back every other weekend to be with my family and wouldn’t miss out on too many shenanigans. But that was before Reid.
“When do you want me to start?”
“As soon as possible. Annalise opened up shop last month, but honestly, she can use all the help she can get.”
I rubbed my palms over my skirt, then caught myself, forced myself to remain calm.
“Okay, well… umm, I’ll make the necessary arrangements.”
“Sure. Just don’t take too much time.”
I left his office on shaky legs, feeling as if the walls of the building were closing in on me.
I made it to my desk and plopped down into my chair before realizing I couldn’t possibly sit there for the rest of the day.
The agency had been a source of joy for me ever since I returned to LA, but now I was suffocating.
I took out a piece of paper and opened the app on my phone for my savings account, running the numbers, double-checking if I had enough to pay the mortgage and take an unpaid leave.
It was impossible, and my gut was telling me that this wasn’t the way to go anyway.
What if Cameron needed me to stay on the sidelines for longer? What if…?
I couldn’t think. I could barely breathe. I needed to get out, and I needed to stop panicking. I threw my phone in my tote, grabbed my laptop, and headed out.
How did it come to this? Why hadn’t I thought about this scenario?
How was I supposed to fix it? I was so frustrated with myself, and so damn afraid that everything I’d worked for would just be for nothing.
I’d finally found my place, finally found a career that made me excited to go to work every morning, and now… now I’d gone and sabotaged all of it.
I went for a walk through Griffith Park, hoping to clear my mind, to rationalize everything.
But I couldn’t. I felt this odd ball of anxiety in my stomach, spreading everywhere, until I felt as if I had needles stuck into every inch of my body.
I wished Reid was with me. He had this wonderful way of making me feel as if together, we could fix whatever was wrong.
And even if it couldn’t be fixed, I wanted those strong arms wrapped around me, wanted to lose myself in him.
I was just wondering if his meeting was over when my phone vibrated. I smiled for the first time today when I noticed the name on the screen: Reid.
Had he felt that I’d been thinking about him? That I needed him?
“Hey,” I greeted. “I was just thinking about you. How did your meeting go?”
“It was a bust. On the bright side, I’m already entering LA.”
“That was fast.”
“You sound beat.”
“That’s exactly how I feel.”
“What happened?”
It warmed my heart to feel him so worried for me.
“Do you have time for a late lunch?”
“Yes, I’m free,” he said instantly.
“You didn’t even check your schedule.”
“Babe, I don’t give a fuck about the schedule. Where do you want me to meet you?”
I gave him the address of a nearby coffee shop.
“I’ll be there in half an hour.”
I felt so much better after hanging up. As if nothing was as bad as it seemed, because Reid was in my corner. My man didn’t give a fuck about anything else on his schedule. Was I lucky or what?
I walked to the coffee shop with a pep in my step. By the time I ordered tea and scones, I was already seeing things in a more optimistic light.