Chapter 22
THEO
“What do you think, Mr. Hillman?”
Theo started out of his reverie. He’d been watching drops of rain slide down the glass of the window in long, slow tracks again, his mind far from the boardroom where he was currently sitting with the rest of his C-suite for their weekly meeting.
“Could you please repeat what you just said?” Theo asked. He hated that he was having so much trouble focusing on his work. Turning all his attention towards his CTO, who was currently speaking, he leaned forward.
“That’s why we’ve been getting more pings from clients about issues with the database — it’s actually the slightly slower loading speed due to our having switched servers.
If we switch back, it should ameliorate the issue, though it may cause an increase in our overheads,” the CTO explained.
“What do you think? Should we return to the old servers?”
“We switched servers not just to save on costs, but also to decrease the load time,” Theo said. “Do we know why the new servers are slower instead of faster?”
“Not yet,” The CTO made a note. “I’ll look into it and bring an update to our next meeting.”
“Good,” Theo nodded. “Then we can make an informed decision. What other business is on the table?”
“According to my agenda, you wanted to give us an update on the Ackley contract,” his assistant reminded him.
“Right,” Theo sat up straighter. “The signing dinner with Charles Ackley is tonight. We’ve met a few times over the last few weeks, and he’s also met with other members of the team.
The contract is exactly what we were hoping for, and he seems satisfied, too.
I’ll bring you an update at the next meeting, but I don’t foresee any issues. ”
The truth was that things with Charles Ackley were better than Theo had ever imagined they could be.
The two of them were almost friends, always asking about each other’s families and chatting about shared hobbies and plans.
Charles had even invited Theo to come to the family’s second home on Cape Cod, though Theo had been forced to make his excuses since it would have been more than strange to show up without Nina and Jack.
Nina. Jack. For the first time that day, Theo let himself think of them.
It had been nearly three weeks since Nina had walked out of the kitchen, her head held high, not looking back. Theo had stared after her, his heart racing, wanting nothing more than to call after her that he’d made a terrible mistake. He’d wanted to beg her to stay. But he hadn’t. He couldn’t.
Since then, Theo had done his best to throw himself into work, but it was hard to concentrate.
He found himself constantly wondering what Nina and Jack were doing, no matter how hard he tried to keep them out of his thoughts.
He wanted to hear the details of the graphic design work Nina had just taken on.
He wanted to play superheroes with Jack.
He wanted to kiss Nina again and hold her hand.
“That closes our business, then,” Theo’s assistant said. Theo kicked himself as he realized that he’d allowed his mind to drift away from work. Again.
Everyone stood, stretching and gathering their laptops and papers.
“Do you have Thanksgiving plans?” Theo’s CFO asked with a bright smile. “I imagine you’ll be with your family.”
“Of course,” Theo said, though his heart pinched.
He wouldn’t be with Nina and Jack. Probably, he’d end up working in his home office and eating a meal prepared by his private chef.
No turkey or mashed potatoes for him. No sitting around a table laden with food, talking about gratitude.
No laughter and warmth. “How about you?”
The CFO began to tell him all about her plans to cook Thanksgiving dinner with her sister for both their families. Theo listened as best he could, but once again, his thoughts were far away. Without Nina and Jack to go home to, everything seemed so hollow and pointless.
Once the meeting was over, he went to his office to work.
Slowly, the building was clearing out. It was the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, and a lot of his employees were traveling for the holiday.
By five o’clock, only a few stragglers remained.
Theo headed home through the growing darkness, rain falling on his windshield.
He needed to prepare for the signing dinner, or he would have stayed at the office all evening.
Theo didn’t like to go home anymore. His house, which had so recently been filled with laughter and music and drawings and the smell of home-cooked food, was now very empty. Stepping through the front door was a reminder of all he’d lost.
When he arrived, he went from room to room, as he always did, turning on lights on his way upstairs. The house was dark and silent.
Instead of going into his bedroom to change for dinner, though, Theo went to Nina’s room.
When she’d left, she’d only taken a few things, leaving her sheets and most of her clothes and personal items behind.
He kept expecting her to come back and take them, but she never had.
Clearly, she was so set on avoiding him that she was willing to abandon most of her things. That thought made Theo’s heart ache.
The room still smelled like Nina’s fragrant shampoo.
The desk was still decorated with pictures of her and Jack, and even one photo of the three of them together, smiling with their arms around each other.
Theo wasn’t sure when she’d printed that one, but his heart ached again at the sight. Maybe she still thought of him.
Most likely, she hated him.
He ran his hand along the edge of her bed, then straightened up and left.
Still, he didn’t go to his own room. Instead, he went down the hall to Jack’s room.
Just like in Nina’s, the space was still filled with a few of Jack’s toys, his superhero posters, and his superhero bedspread.
Theo remembered tucking the little boy in after his nightmare, and his heart gave another pang.
Jack must be confused about their sudden move.
Maybe Nina had told him everything, and Jack now believed that Theo really was the supervillain he’d first thought he was.
Something told him, though, that Nina had probably crafted a story to save Jack’s feelings, even if it meant painting Theo in a good light.
Above Jack’s desk was a corkboard. A few of his drawings were pinned there, as were the certificate from his spelling bee win and a flyer for the Thanksgiving concert.
Theo took the flyer, his heart thudding in his chest as he realized that the concert was tonight.
Jack had talked so much about the choir concert and how hard he was working on his songs. Theo had promised that he’d go.
He would have to break that promise. He needed to give Nina and Jack their space. Plus, the signing dinner was today, at the exact same time as the performance. This deal was the whole reason Theo had asked Nina and Jack to stay with him, and he couldn’t just not show up.
Theo set the flyer down on the desk, his heart heavy. He missed Jack, with his sticky hands and his big blue eyes and his enthusiasm. He could barely remember how annoyed he’d been at first when Jack had broken his vase on that first day.
Theo missed Nina, too. Some part of him still thought that she might appear around the corner of the hallway and lean against the door, smiling at him and teasing him for being so sentimental.
If only Theo really were the guy he’d pretended to be.
If only the fake family they’d created could have been real.
But some things just weren’t meant to be. Theo went to his room and changed into a suit and tie for dinner. As always, he’d put his work first. He had to. He’d already shattered any chance of a future with Jack and Nina, anyway. The only thing he could do was save his company.