Chapter 1 Aftermath #2
“If I’m going to be part of something…” she said quietly, voice steadier now, “it’s going to be because I chose it.
” A soft chime. The doors slid open. Reality rushed back in all at once—the lobby, the movement, people walking past without a clue that her entire world had just collapsed and reformed in less than sixty seconds.
Carry didn’t hesitate; She stepped out fast with purpose in every stride now, even if it was built on fractured ground.
‘Don’t stop. Don’t think. Just move.’ The glass doors ahead reflected her again as she pushed toward them; A different reflection this time.
Same woman but different direction. As the doors opened and the midday air hit her face, she drew in a sharp breath.
It felt colder than it should have or maybe that was just her.
Behind her, somewhere far above—Greg. Her chest tightened again—but she didn’t turn around.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered… though she wasn’t entirely sure who it was for.
Then she stepped fully outside and didn’t look back.
Molly turned the corner from the HR office into the main hallway, a folder tucked under her arm and a small sense of relief finally settling in her chest. “Unbelievable…” she muttered under her breath.
“Alice finally came around.” She shook her head slightly as she walked, already thinking through how she was going to tell Greg.
‘David’s going to be thrilled,’ she thought.
‘Junior Associate… she actually did it.’ She stepped into the elevator on the fourth floor and pressed the button for floor five.
The doors closed slowly, almost as if to warn her that something was wrong.
The lurch of the elevator as it reached the fifth floor left her with an uneasy feeling.
She stepped out and turned to the left, heading towards David’s office.
Something wasn’t right. Too quiet. She slowed as she approached the PA desk outside Greg’s office.
She tried to take it all in. ‘Empty?’ No typing.
No phones. No movement. No Carry. ‘Strange. Maybe she’s taking a bathroom break,’ she thought and started again down the hallway.
She approached her desk outside David’s office, seeing the door only partially ajar.
She approached it cautiously. “Mmm… Greg?” she called out cautiously as she stepped into view. What she saw stopped her cold.
Greg was standing near the desk—but not moving.
Not pacing. Not working. Just… standing there.
His shoulders were slightly hunched, his head angled down, one hand hanging loosely at his side while the other held something small.
Janet was there too—standing now beside the stroller, one hand resting protectively near Elizabeth, her posture rigid, her expression unreadable.
Neither of them answered her. Molly frowned, stepping closer.
“Okay… what did I miss?” she asked, a nervous edge creeping into her voice now.
Her eyes moved between them, trying to make sense of the silence.
Then she saw Greg’s face and everything in her dropped.
“Greg…?” she said again, softer this time He didn’t look up right away.
He didn’t move—didn’t react. The feeling of gloom floated in the air, and the jubilation she’d felt from victory over Alice fled from her in that moment.
It was Janet who finally spoke. “She’s gone.” The words landed flat. Heavy. Final.
Molly blinked. “What do you mean… gone?” she asked, her voice tightening.
Janet’s eyes flicked toward the hallway—the same direction where she and Greg had been just moments ago. “Carry,” she clarified quietly. “She left.”
Molly shook her head immediately. “Left? Left where?” she pressed, already not liking where this was going.
No answer. Her gaze dropped to Greg’s hand and she saw it for the first time.
The ring box. Her breath caught. “Oh… no…” she whispered.
That’s when Greg finally moved, almost imperceptibly.
His fingers tightened around the box as if he had just remembered it was there.
His jaw flexed once, hard, before he finally lifted his head just enough to look in Molly’s direction.
“She accepted it,” he said.
Molly stared at him. “Accepted… what?”
There was a long deafening silence. Then Greg finally let it slip though his lips—“Veronica’s offer.”
The folder slipped from Molly’s arm, papers spilling across the floor at her feet.
“No—no, that’s not possible,” she said quickly, shaking her head as she took a step forward.
“Greg, I just came from HR. Alice approved it. She’s being moved to Junior Associate. This whole thing—it’s done. It’s over.”
Greg didn’t respond. He couldn’t react. If anything, something behind his eyes seemed to collapse even further. Janet turned sharply toward Molly. “What did you just say?”
Molly looked at her, confused now. “David pushed it through. Alice fought it, but she caved. Carry was supposed to move up—officially. That’s what I came to tell you.” The silence that followed was suffocating.
Janet’s hand slowly came up to her mouth as the realization hit her. “Oh my God…”
Molly looked back at Greg, panic rising now. “Greg, she doesn’t know that. She couldn’t have known that.”
Greg let out something between a breath and a broken laugh.
“No,” he said quietly. “She didn’t. I tried to tell her Alice was targeting her because she was angry about my dating Veronica.
” He shook his head as he replayed the whole scene in his mind.
“I screwed it up. I couldn't get the words out, they just,” he stumbled, the sentence falling apart as he tried to force it through, regret thick in his voice “They were like giant chunks of rock in my throat. I saw that look in her eyes, just like the look Erica gave me before I left for Denver. I froze.”
Molly stepped closer, urgency taking over.
“Then go after her! What are you doing just standing here? You can fix this—this is fixable!” Greg’s grip on the box tightened again.
For a moment—just a moment—it looked like he might move, might do something.
But then his shoulders dropped and whatever had been building… collapsed across his face.
“She made her choice,” he said.
Molly stared at him in disbelief. “Because she didn’t have the truth! Greg, you have to tell Carry the truth.” That hit.
Janet looked at him now—really looked at him, waiting, pushing without saying a word. Greg’s eyes closed briefly, then opened again. But there was something different now. Not urgency nor determination. Something quieter…more dangerous even. “I waited too long,” he said.
Molly shook her head again, refusing it.
“No. No—you don’t get to do that. Not this time.
You go after her.” Greg didn’t move. He stood there in silent disbelief and that…
scared her more than anything. Behind them, Elizabeth stirred softly in the stroller, completely unaware of the momentous events that had just taken place.
While everything else had just fallen apart, Elizabeth remained blissfully ignorant of the disaster that had just struck.
“Greg Garrelson, I told you not to hurt my girl. Now pull yourself together and go after her. You have to tell her the full truth!” Molly demanded.
Greg looked at her somberly. “I don’t think she’d even listen to me right now….” The words hung in the air, leaving a bad taste in his mouth. “She’s been avoiding me all week. Molly,” Greg paused, searching for the words. “What did I miss?”
Molly composed herself before she spoke.
“This wasn’t chance or random, Greg. She came into your life for a reason.
I can see the hurt in your eyes, and I can imagine the hurt in her eyes.
” She stepped closer, looking directly into his eyes.
“You have to fix this. I’ve got the office—you just go find our girl and bring her back here. ”
“Do you think I can?” Greg asked, then turned to Janet. “Would she listen to me if I went after her right now?”
“Greg,” Janet nearly whispered. “If you don’t go after her now, she’ll never know how deeply you love that young lady.
I saw it when you both were in my house.
” She shifted, “She’s not Erica, remember that.
She’s worth you going after her to convince her of your true feelings.
” She paused. “I urge you to go after her, even if you can’t convince her now, it will show her the truth.
She needs to know that she mattered enough for you to pursue her, to risk what it took to try to solve things because she means that much to you.
Chasing her now tells her that you truly wanted her right there by your side. Greg, Carry deserves to know this.”