29. Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Leo
M y temples throb as multiple voices pour out of my laptop, numbers and data going in one ear and out the other as my company’s board members meet virtually for a call.
“Clients have expressed dissatisfaction over not being able to talk to you personally, sir,” Carlos tells me, his screen popping up in the middle of mine as he speaks.
“They no longer want to meet with department heads. They refuse to sign deals unless they’re in direct contact with you,” Linda adds, her screen coming to the front.
I rub my right temple, wishing I could shut the curtains in the study. I’d rather sit in darkness alone than attend this meeting .
“Did you tell them that my father is dying?” I question them, my voice coming out sharp.
Awkward silence follows my words.
Yeah, that’s what I figured.
“I need to spend more time here. I’m still figuring out what to do with my father’s company,” I tell them. “Tell them about my circumstances. Show them examples of the work we’ve done and land the deals.”
“Sir, we’re trying to be sensitive to your circumstances, but you’re the leader of the company. You’ve been gone for a while now. You can’t run things from across the country.”
I tighten my jaw as I hear murmurs of agreement from other board members. They don’t care about what I’m going through. They care about the money I’m going to make all of us.
If I’m not around to do that, they’ve got a problem with it.
“Keep things running a little while longer. That’s all I’m asking,” I reply, my heart pounding from restlessness .
I feel like they think I’m just sitting around. Every single day that I’ve been here, I’ve been trying to figure out the future. It’s harder than I expected it to be.
I’m not just thinking about myself. I’m thinking about my father and his legacy. I’m thinking about the town and the people the company helps and employs.
And I’m thinking about Juju and Piper.
I don’t think there’s a situation where I can make everyone happy. No matter how many times I revisit possibilities and options and look for ways to tweak them.
“You need to return soon, sir. This company needs you to succeed.”
I’m concerned about their lack of confidence in themselves.
I sign off the call and shut my laptop, a heavy sigh leaving me. That call went worse than I expected. I knew they were getting antsy about my return because of their constant emails flooding my inbox but damn.
My fingers pinch the bridge of my nose as I stand from my chair. I need to get out of this study. I need some air .
I step out of the study at the same time that Juliet walks out of my father’s bedroom.
“Hey,” she says.
“Hey,” I tell her, unable to hide the tiredness in my voice.
Juliet frowns and walks over to me. “What’s wrong?”
“Business meetings,” I mutter. “They’re exhausting.”
The side of her mouth curls up. “Sounds like it. Everything going okay?”
“They’re putting pressure on me to come back to New York City,” I tell her, keeping my voice down so that Dad can’t overhear.
That hint of a smile quickly disappears.
“What are you going to do?”
I shrug. “Nothing different. They’ll just have to deal with me being gone until I figure things out.”
A sympathetic look forms on her face. “Are you busy right now?”
I shake my head. “I kind of wanted to get out of the house. ”
“Well, that’s perfect. I want to pay you back for helping me relax the other day,” Juliet tells me as she tugs on my jacket sleeve to get me to follow her.
“Oh, really?”
Juliet flashes me a smirk over her shoulder. “Get your mind out of the gutter. Not in that way. We’re going to get something to eat.”
That doesn’t sound as good, but it still sounds nice.
“I’ll drive,” I tell her once we get outside.
“I’ll give you directions,” she replies before getting into the passenger’s seat of my car.
I push the button that starts the engine and pull away from the house, following her directions to navigate my way through town. It doesn’t take long for me to figure out where she’s taking me, though.
I pull into a very familiar parking lot and find a spot in front of the town’s only sushi restaurant. “We haven’t been back here since senior year. At least I haven’t.”
Juliet smiles. “I haven’t been back since our last date here. ”
This was one of our favorite date spots. We loved sharing the sushi love boat and finishing the night off with mochi ice cream.
I can’t believe how long it has been since we last did that.
“Got a hankering for sushi today?” I ask her, feeling curious about why she brought us here.
There are plenty of places to eat in town.
Juliet shrugs. “I guess I kind of missed this place. It’s familiar territory too. It’ll help us relax.”
I don’t know about that. There’s tension running under my skin just from sitting here with her, and it’s all I can do not to reach for her, like I don’t have a whole life waiting for me back in New York.
I just can’t help but think of old memories.
“Let’s go,” I tell her before getting out of the car and meeting her at the entrance of the restaurant.
She slips inside once I open the door, and we follow the hostess to one of the black leather booths that’s across from the sushi bar where the chefs are working on orders .
Beautiful artwork of koi fish and flowers adorn the walls, pairing well with the peaceful music coasting through the air. Even with the place being pretty busy, it doesn’t feel hectic.
It feels like how it used to.
“Oh my gosh!”
I nearly jump out of my skin when our waitress gasps at the sight of us.
Wait a second.
“You’re back!” she says.
Juliet’s eyes widen. “We… I mean…”
“I haven’t seen you two here since you were in high school! Oh, it was so cute. You guys were always on your little dates,” the waitress sighs as she smiles at us.
I can’t believe she remembers us. That was years ago.
“Are you back together?” she asks, gesturing between us.
“We’re just…” Juliet trails off as she looks across the table at me, looking unsure of what to say.
“We’re just getting dinner,” I reply. “Just…dinner.”
The waitress tilts her head in confusion. “Oh, okay! What can I get you two to drink?”
We give her our drink order, and she heads off, leaving us to awkwardly smile at each other.
“I did not expect that,” Juliet tells me.
“Me either. I guess we really did come here a lot.”
Juliet fidgets with a strand of her hair, her cheeks looking a little pinker than usual.
I also did not expect this tension. It’s not like we’re on a date. We’re just…getting dinner.
“Don’t be getting shy on me now.”
She smirks and rolls her eyes at me. “I’m not shy.”
I laugh. “Really? You’re not shy?”
She folds her hands together on the table and leans forward a little, a confident smile crossing her lips.
“Not anymore.”
I like this Juju. Boldness suits her.
“What happened to you? How did you get this way?” I ask her .
“A lot happened. You left. I got pregnant. I pursued nursing. Mom died. I graduated and started working at the hospital. Then, Frank got sick,” Juliet explains. “I had to adapt and change to make a life for myself and Piper.”
I nod. I made things that much harder for her when I left, but it sounds like she still ended up thriving. She’s an incredible mother to a great kid, and she’s working in her chosen field. Granted, it’s for a grumpy old guy, but she seems to enjoy the work despite that.
“We both changed,” I murmur.
The waitress drops off our drinks before giving us a coy look. “Let me guess. Love boat?”
“What do you think? For old times’ sake?” I ask Juliet.
She smiles. “For old times’ sake.”
“We’ll take it,” I tell the waitress.
“Perfect!” she quips before striding away to give the chefs our order.
“We’re not ravenous teenagers anymore. Do we even have the ability to finish this sushi boat?” Juliet asks me.
I chuckle. “Come on. We can do it. ”
We could not do it.
We started off strong when the love boat was dropped off at our table with eight pieces of nigiri, sixteen pieces of sashimi, and two sushi rolls, but we quickly started to slow down ten minutes in.
I forgot how filling rice and fish can be.
“We can’t get ice cream if we don’t finish,” Juliet says.
I nearly choke on my octopus sashimi. “Are we kids?”
Juliet laughs. “I’m just giving us motivation.”
“I think I’ll explode if we eat all of this and get ice cream.”
“We’re so old,” Juliet groans as she sets down her chopsticks. “How did we finish this entire thing and still have room in our stomachs?”
“Ravenous teenagers.”
“Right,” she says, leaning back in her seat to take a breath.
I give up and put my chopsticks down. We only have a few pieces left, but even just looking at them makes my stomach ache.
“Well, despite how much pain I’m in, I had a nice time. ”
“Totally worth it,” she replies, sharing an amused look with me. “Maybe we’ll do it again before you leave.”
I nod without thinking about it. I shouldn’t be making plans or promises that I might not be able to keep, but we’re having a good time. I don’t want to ruin the mood by saying something like that.
“Ice cream?” the waitress asks as she walks up to the table.
I glance at Juliet, and we both smile.
“Yes, please.”
~*~
“What were we thinking?”
Even laughing makes my stomach hurt, but damn it I’m happy. I’m going to laugh, even if it hurts.
“Aw, come on. The mochi ice cream is too good to pass up. Especially the red bean flavor,” I tell her as I drive us back to the estate, my headlights guiding the way through the darkness.
“Don’t talk about food,” Juliet groans as she folds her arms behind her head .
“What’s your favorite sashimi again? The octopus or the tuna?”
Juliet swats at my arm, laughter bubbling from her. “I’m going to strangle you.”
By the time we reach the estate, there are tears in her eyes, and I can barely breathe. When’s the last time we laughed this hard together?
It’s been so long that I can’t even remember, but I miss it. I miss this.
I miss her.
Juliet steps out of my car once I park, our shadows trailing us as the porch lights shine on us. “I should get home and put Piper to bed. Thanks for having dinner with me.”
I meet her at the hood of my car. “Thanks for helping me relax.”
Juliet smiles and brushes her hair out of her face as she peers up at me. “See you tomorrow?”
I nod. “I’ll be here.”
Juliet nods, but she doesn’t step away yet. “I had a really nice time tonight. ”
This is probably one of the best nights that I’ve had in a long time. I don’t want it to end, but that would mean making a move.
For some reason, I’m more nervous than I was when we were in the library together. Even the thought of kissing her goodnight paralyzes me.
“Me too,” I say, my eyes roaming over her beautiful face.
She’s waiting for me. She wants me to kiss her. To end this incredible night right.
I want to so badly, but all I can think about is hurting her all over again.
I shattered her heart years ago by leaving, and I’ll probably leave again soon. It would be wrong of me to start something that I can’t continue.
Shouldn’t I learn from my past mistakes?
“Goodnight,” I tell her before turning away from her and heading to the porch.
I don’t turn back around.
I can’t.