Chapter 12 #2
She’s leaving me. She is going to put an entire ocean in between us for more than a few days. She wants to make it permanent.
For half a second, I consider letting my anger out on this man, but I can’t. I won’t do anything to threaten Iris’s opportunities. Even if that means I lose her for good.
“She’s an amazing employee. I’ve never known anyone who works as hard as she does.
She helped me build The Williamson Hotel in Boston to what it is today for nearly a decade, and for the past two years she has been helping me do the same with The Williamson Group. Anyone would be lucky to have her.”
The guy asks me a few more questions, but I zone out and answer him absentmindedly. One thing keeps replaying through my mind.
She interviewed for someone else. She’s thinking about leaving not only me but also the company. To make matters worse, Iris is thinking about leaving the country. Would I ever see her again?
What. The. Fuck.
I get off the phone and sit blindly at the desk, staring at the cream-colored wallpaper.
How did this happen? How did we get here? Jesus Christ, the guys were right. They said Iris wouldn’t be around forever and that she would eventually leave me. I just didn’t think that it would happen this way.
What am I going to do?
There’s nothing I can do.
Reaching for my phone, I pull up her number, fully intending to demand answers. Only my finger hovers over her number.
I can’t.
Instead, I hit the number below hers. It rings a few times before he answers.
“What’s up, buddy? It’s been a while,” Brantley says when he answers.
“I fucking hate people,” I mutter without thinking about it.
“Tell me something I don’t know,” he says with humor in his voice.
“I need you to remind me why I did this again. I need you to tell me why I agreed to change. Because as far as I’m concerned, that’s when everything went to hell. Iris and I were good, we were solid when we worked in Boston. It’s when we left that everything went to shit.”
“Because you’re a good brother,” he says.
In true Brantley fashion, he pulls me into a conversation. He asks me where I am today and tells me about his girl Chloe. For a while he makes me forget about Iris and all the problems that are currently plaguing me.
“Very true. Enough about me, though. What’s going on with you?” he says after a while.
“I’m living the dream, man. I’m in Vegas overseeing the renovations of our hotel out here,” I tell him in a bored tone.
“That’s not what I mean, and you know it.”
Sighing, I drop my head as I shut my eyes.
I don’t know what to tell him. Or hell, how much to tell him.
“Come on, man, spit it out,” he urges.
This is why he is my best friend outside of Iris. He knows when I’m withholding something. I called him for a reason, and until I tell him, he won’t let me off.
“Iris.”
“What about her?” he asks hesitantly.
“I don’t know, man, something is going on with her,” I hedge.
“What do you mean?”
“She went on a date,” I tell him quietly.
“I’m sorry, what did you just say?”
“Don’t make me repeat it,” I beg him.
“And it wasn’t with you?”
“No,” I say, swallowing hard.
I wait for him to tell me he told me so. That he and the guys have been warning me that this would happen. How they’ve told me to make a move because a woman like her will only wait for so long before she walks away, but instead of claiming her, I’ve let fear hold me hostage.
“You knew this was a possibility.”
“I didn’t call you for you to rub it in my face,” I snap.
I close my eyes, self-hatred consuming me.
I let this happen. This is all my fault.
Brantley doesn’t deserve my anger. Shit, he doesn’t even know the full truth.
It’s one thing to admit that she’s dating, but it’s another to admit that she’s thinking about leaving me completely. Leaving Williamson Group.
“Well, what are you going to do about it?” he asks after a moment.
“There’s nothing I can do. She made her choice,” I tell him, dejectedly.
“That’s bullshit, and you know it. She loves you just as much as you love her. You just need to pull your head out of your ass and show her. Fucking win her over, man.”
“And if I don’t?” I voice the fear that has been plaguing me.
What if I can’t push myself to do something?
“Are you prepared to lose her from your life forever? Can you honestly tell me you could handle watching her marry another man? Having his children? All while you sit on the sidelines by your fucking self?”
My blood boils because, no. I can’t. It would kill me.
“You’re an asshole.”
“If you wanted to be coddled, you wouldn’t have called me. You would have called Mason,” he points out. “Now answer my question.”
“No, no, I don’t think I could handle it,” I say quietly.
I can’t handle her dating someone else. I can’t handle not seeing her every day. I can’t handle her moving away. Nothing. I can’t handle any of it.
“Then get your fucking girl.”
He’s said it a thousand times before, but for some reason this time it clicks. Maybe it’s because this isn’t some far-off possibility. It’s something that is happening in the present. Whatever it is, it is what I needed.
She’s mine. Plain and simple. I’ve been an asshole with my head buried in the sand. I can’t let her walk away. Not without telling her how I feel.
She could still decide she wants someone else, but at least I will know I did everything I could to keep her for myself.
She needs to know.
“You’re right,” I tell him.
“Can you say that again? I want to record it so the guys can hear you say that,” he teases.
“Fuck you.”
“Sorry, you’re not my type. Now tell me, when are you coming home? I think we need to talk this out face-to-face so I can nut-check you when you are being an idiot.”
I shake my head, but there’s a smile on my face. That’s Brantley for you.
He and I chat for a few more minutes, and by the time we get off the phone, the idea of telling Iris that I want her doesn’t seem quite as scary. In fact, it feels right.
Now I just need to make it happen.