Chapter 44
“Did you seriously think we wouldn’t find out you were on a reality show?” Hammersmith paces in the living room of my suite at the Colonnade. He called me in after I’d been dodging all responsibility at work for the last two weeks. His slicked-back dark hair shines under the recessed lighting, his mustache twitching with annoyance.
“I wasn’t hiding it.” I shrug. “Not really. I just didn’t think it would matter since I didn’t miss work at all.”
“You went on a whole-ass vacation.” He tosses a glare my way and keeps pacing. “You brought cameras on our property. They tried to get Clyde to sign a release form to be on TV.”
“He didn’t have to sign it,” I offer, refusing to let Hammersmith get under my skin. “And the trip wasn’t on the company’s dime.” I’ve worked for this company for five years, always at their beck and call, going to the literal ends of the earth whenever I was asked.
I’ve taken two weeks to be miserable and away from it all. I’m allowed to do that.
“He didn’t sign it!” Hammersmith pauses and shoves his hands into his pockets, looking down on me in my seat on the buttery leather couch. “And I hear you got married, too.”
“That point is moot.” I scratch at the stubble on my jaw in an effort to keep myself from breaking down in front of Hammersmith. I’m still working out a plan to get Andie back, but it’s illegal for them to fire me just because I got married.
“Things didn’t work out with your reality TV wife?” Hammersmith barks out a laugh. “Who could have seen that coming?”
I frown, staring at the modern marble coffee table. Andie and I were so close to having it all, and I blew it up because I was … afraid. Not of her, not really. I was afraid that keeping her would mean giving up this life I’ve built. But what is the point of building all of it and working this damn hard if I can’t enjoy what I’ve earned?
“Regardless of the show”—I lean forward and rest my elbows on my knees—“my mom is here, and she’s still going through treatment for breast cancer. I have friends here. A home.”
Hammersmith narrows his eyes. “What are you saying?”
“I’m asking to work from Atlanta.” I shrug. “I can travel to different locations for check-ins, but I want to live here. Settle down.”
“What’s gotten into you?” Hammersmith examines me like a specimen under a microscope.
“Things change. I’ve changed.” I tug on the cuffs of my suit jacket. It suddenly feels too small, too structured. “And you owe me, Hammersmith. I got you the Paris property. And the one in Sydney.”
He takes a deep breath. “After all the bullshit you’ve put us through the last few months—forcing the transfer, the reality show, dodging all our efforts to reach you the last couple of weeks—wouldn’t you say you owe us?”
I run my hands through my hair. “What do you have in mind?”
“You, on a plane to Montalcino, tomorrow.” He holds his hands out, palms up, like he’s offering me the deal of a lifetime.
“And if I say no?” I raise my brows in question.
“Then you’re just not a good fit for our company.” He glowers from his spot above me.
It’s doing nothing but remind me of all the hoops I’ve jumped through for this company. All the late night phone calls I answered. All the flights I ran to catch and the problems I worked through the weekend to solve. All the holidays I missed with my mom. The fight with Andie in the hospital hallway, where she asked me to stay and I was too afraid to let go of the security this job provided me. So afraid to lose my financial safety net, I may have lost the best thing to ever walk into my life. Permanently.
“Well.” I slap my hands on my thighs. “That decides it, then.”
I stand and button my suit jacket.
“I knew you’d make the right choice, son.” Hammersmith smacks me on the shoulder. “Sarah has your flight information.”
“Tell her to forward it to Clyde.” I hold out my hand for him to shake. “I’m not going.”
Hammersmith pauses, then laughs. A deep belly laugh that ends in a wheeze. “That’s good. That’s very good. I almost believed you for a second.”
“Believe it.” I shrug, digging the keycard to the penthouse out of my pocket. I smack it on the coffee table. “Consider this my resignation. Effective immediately.”
“There is nothing worth blowing up your career with us for,” Hammersmith blusters, hot on my heels as I make for the door.
“That’s where you’re wrong.” I open the door. “I appreciate everything you’ve done for me. All that you’ve taught me. All the opportunities to see the world and grow my skill set. But I’m at a point in my life where no amount of money or promise of promotion is enough, not when I can’t enjoy the life it affords me.”
“You walk out that door and you will never work with the Colonnade again!” His shout echoes in the marble entryway.
I don’t flinch, instead setting my jaw. “That’s a risk I’m willing to take.”
He glares at me, eyes bulging, face turning so red it’s almost purple. I’ve never seen him so angry. And I’ve never seen him look so small.
I reach my hand out as a peace offering. “Thank you for everything. But it’s time for me to go.”
I wait for him to take it, but he never does. I let out a sigh, give him a nod, and say, “Goodbye, Hammersmith. Best of luck.”
As the elevator doors close behind me, I can’t help but smile. The man reflected by the elevator door is not afraid of what will come next. He can handle it. He’s happy. Bold. Free.