Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
Milo was packing up all the things he had in his resort office that he was bringing back to Seattle with him. It was mostly his laptop, tablet, and a bunch of physical files and architectural plans that he still liked to print out, even though he knew he could access everything digitally.
His time here was ending, and he was flying home tomorrow.
Home.
Pfft. That was a joke.
Wasn’t home a place where you lived with the people you loved? Or at least a place you wanted to be?
So, no. He wasn’t going home; he was going back to his condo.
It only felt like home once Nora had been there.
Leaning back in his chair, he let out a long breath.
This was the right thing to do. Not only that, but it was something he had to do.
There was no way he could just abandon his company.
He’d already been gone for over two months.
He’d initially given himself a three-month sabbatical, but his work here at the resort was done.
And as much as he loved having the time with his friends and Nora, he was antsy about getting back to work.
It was time for him to go.
No matter how much it was killing him.
Any chance you’re tired of living in Seattle and want to move your company here?
He’d played that question over and over in his mind at least a hundred times since she’d asked it. And the answer was…
“I still don’t know. Dammit.”
“It’s a little early in the day for that kind of language,” Slater said as he appeared in the doorway, looking like he just got back from a hike. “You got a minute?”
“Yeah. Sure.” He motioned to the chairs. “What’s up?”
Sitting down—and then immediately slouching down and sprawling his legs out—Slater stared at him for a moment. “Just wanted to make sure you’re doing okay.”
“Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Seriously? We’re going to go there?”
It was pointless to argue or pretend he didn’t know what he was referring to.
“Fine. I know this is what I have to do. My life—my company—is back in Seattle. I never thought I would meet someone and fall in love and have to deal with a situation like this,” he said miserably, practically mimicking his friend’s pose.
“I wanted to bring her back to Seattle with me and have us stay there through the winter and then come back here in the spring, where I’d work remotely part of the time. ”
“Oh, wow. I had no idea you thought of all that.”
“Yeah, well, that was the plan until your big announcement at dinner that night. You never once mentioned having Nora take over your position,” he accused.
“That was kind of the plan all along, Milo. That was why I recruited her. She’s probably the only person I know that I would trust to run things here. We’ve all put so much work into bringing the resort back to life that I wouldn’t trust the position to just anyone.”
“But you never said it to me ,” he snapped. “You knew we were involved. Why didn’t you at least give me a heads-up so I didn’t end up blindsided the way I was!”
“Because I didn’t realize the two of you were that serious,” he said with a shrug.
“You never get serious and neither does she. I’ll admit that maybe that should have tipped me off, but it’s not like I spend a lot of time thinking about your love life.
And after the open hostility the two of you had for a while, I guess I didn’t think about this turning into anything… you know…lasting.”
This wasn’t getting them anywhere, and it just ticked him off even more.
“It doesn’t matter. The situation sucks, and now we have to do the long-distance thing. I just wish…” Pausing, he shook his head but didn’t finish the statement.
“Come on. You wish what?”
“I wish things were simpler, you know? I’m fully aware that I could fly here every damn weekend if I want to.
I can do a four-day work week and be here every weekend, but after a while, it’s going to get tiresome.
And Nora’s not the type to give herself preferential treatment and take weekends off just because I’m here.
I have no clue what it is I’m supposed to do in this scenario.
Do we drag this out until we both resent the distance? Or do we just do a clean break now?”
Slater chuckled. “Dude, it’s never going to be a clean break. You’re still an owner and you’re going to be here. You’ll still see each other. And…back up a minute. I offered her the position weeks ago. Why are we just talking about it now?”
“Because it won’t change anything. She’s really excited about the position, and I want her to be happy. That’s all I want. I’ll deal with my own bullshit and figure out how to be okay without her.”
“But…you’re not going to be without her. Not really. I get that long-distance isn’t ideal, but it’s an option. How about looking at this in a positive way and not so…you know…like you.”
“What does that mean?”
“Dude, you’re kind of a pessimist. You analyze things and tend to have more of a glass-is-half-empty mindset. At least with your personal life. In business, you don’t let anything stand in your way. I don’t get why you can’t think that way all the time.”
That was actually pretty insightful.
Why couldn’t he think positively about this?
Because I want her with me and I’m being a brat about it.
Oh, right. That.
Neither spoke for several long moments before Milo broke the silence. “Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
“What are your plans once you leave here?”
He shrugged. “No idea. I figured I’d put out some feelers and see what’s out there.”
“Okay. Can I ask you another question?”
Slater chuckled. “I guess…”
“Why do you live like that?”
“Like what?”
“You don’t stay anyplace. You’re always ready to move on. Why?”
“Dude, come on. Don’t shift focus here. We’re psychoanalyzing you, not me.”
Milo shook his head wearily. “I didn’t realize that’s what we were doing. But if you can’t answer the question…”
“I didn’t say I couldn’t answer, I just…” He paused with a huff, sitting up straighter. “What’s the big deal about moving around a lot? Maybe I just haven’t found a place that made me want to stay? Besides, this is how my entire life has been and no one said anything before.”
Maybe Jayce was onto something…
“Plus, I get it. All of you guys have met women and you’re all in that honeymoon phase and think everyone needs to be doing the same.
Well…not me, okay? I watched first-hand what happened to my parents’ marriage and considering how much like my old man I am, I know for a fact that I’m not the white picket fence type.
” He shrugged. “I enjoy my freedom, experiencing new states, new cities, and meeting new women. No commitments and nobody gets hurt.”
That was a lot to unpack, but before Milo could comment on it, Slater was on his feet.
“I’m sorry if you felt ambushed or blindsided by my announcement,” he said. “I guess I sort of forgot that you weren’t here for a lot of the planning talks, and then there was a time when I didn’t want to mention Nora to you at all, so…I’m sorry. If I had known…”
But Milo waved him off. “It wouldn’t have changed anything. I never would have asked you to change your mind about offering her the position because that would have been a dick move on my part. And I kind of pride myself on not being a dick.”
Slater nodded. “And we all appreciate that.”
“We just need to figure out what our relationship is going to look like, that’s all. And you know I’m someone who always has a plan; I always know what’s coming next. This is the first time that I don’t.”
“Maybe that’s a good thing. Maybe this is something you need to learn because you can’t plan everything, Milo.
Sometimes things happen unexpectedly. Life gets messy, and there are going to be things that are just out of your control.
She’s not a computer system or an app or a code that you have to figure out.
” He walked over and clapped him on the shoulder.
“You need to go with the flow a little more and relax.”
“Easier said than done.” He shook his head. “I don’t know how you do it. Doesn’t anything bother you? Don’t you ever just want to stick around someplace and see what happens?”
Slater’s initial response was a snort of derision. “I already know what will happen. Good ol’ dad laid the groundwork for that, and I refuse to follow in his footsteps.”
“How…?”
“If Nora wants to go with you for the winter, I can totally stay here.” He shrugged again. “There are worse places to be. And I know we can still do video chats and make plans for the spring. So…if that’s what she wants, I’m willing to hang out. You can tell her…”
But he was already shaking his head. “No. If you want to have that conversation with her, that’s on you. I don’t want to put any pressure on her.”
“You wouldn’t be. Just tell her what I said…”
“Not gonna happen. She’ll want to do whatever it is she thinks I want her to do. You’re her friend. If you talk to her, she won’t feel the pressure so much. But…” He sighed. “I don’t even know what the right thing to do is.”
“I get that. And don’t worry. If it comes up organically, then I’ll talk to her. If not, then we’ll just see how things go, okay?”
He nodded.
“Good. Are you guys coming to dinner tonight? Axel and Maisie are due back from their honeymoon, and we’re all getting together to hang out and hear about Axel’s adventures in Paris.” He laughed. “I wish I could have been a fly on the wall for that!”
Raking a hand through his hair, Milo let out another long breath. “I forgot about that. I thought Nora and I would have a quiet night in, but…maybe it would be better to hang out and laugh with everyone for a while.”
“When’s your flight home?”
“Tomorrow at one. I didn’t want to have to get up at the crack of dawn. I wanted to have our typical morning walk around the lake and not have to rush.”
“Damn, Milo…I don’t…”
“Don’t,” he quickly interrupted. “It’ll be fine. What time is everyone getting together tonight?”