Chapter 3 #2
Alyssa’s shoulders relaxed slightly. She closed the folder she was working on and leaned back in her chair. “I get it. But I want you to know, I would never intentionally undermine her. I’m just trying to make sure things go smoothly for her. For both of you.”
Her sincerity touched me. I walked around the table and sat across from her, feeling the weight of her gaze on me. “I know that, Alyssa. You’ve been a great asset to this company and to Sadie, even if she doesn’t always see it that way.”
She let out a soft laugh, shaking her head.
“She’s always been competitive. I guess that’s part of why we never saw eye-to-eye growing up.
She was always brilliant, always the quiet one with the answers, while I had to figure out how to get people to listen to me.
” Her eyes softened. “I’m just grateful for this job, for the chance to work alongside her.
Even if she thinks I’m trying to take over sometimes. ”
I reached out and touched her hand, giving it a small, reassuring squeeze. “You’re not taking over. You’re filling a role Sadie doesn’t want. I’m just glad you can handle it so well.”
Alyssa looked at my hand on hers and gave me a grateful smile. “Thanks for trusting me.” She slid her hand back slowly, picking up her things to pack away. “I should get going. It’s been a long night.”
“I’ll walk you out,” I offered, standing as she did.
We moved quietly down the hall, the only sound the faint click of her heels against the marble, a rhythmic punctuation to the silence that had settled between us.
The soft illumination from emergency lights cast elongated shadows along the corridor, making the space feel both intimate and vast. When we reached the elevator, Alyssa turned to face me, her eyes searching mine again in the dim light, reflecting the distant city glow like twin pools of amber.
Her expression was unreadable yet strangely vulnerable, a departure from the polished confidence she maintained during business hours.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” she said, but something in her tone made it sound like more than just a goodbye. “Goodnight, Patrick.”
I nodded, feeling a strange sense of warmth between us that lingered after she stepped into the elevator and the doors closed behind her.
Standing alone in the hallway, I stared at the reflective doors, trying to shake off the strange mix of emotions that had surfaced during our brief interaction.
Alyssa’s presence had a way of calming things, of making me feel like everything was under control, even when Sadie seemed distant and preoccupied with her own world.
But my heart ached as I thought of my wife, likely still working in the quiet solitude of her museum, completely unaware of how much Alyssa and I were navigating together in her absence.
I wasn’t hiding it from her, exactly. I was just handling things in a way that protected her, in a way that let her focus on her passion.
I stepped into the empty elevator, watching as the doors slid closed, and pressed the button for the parking garage.
I needed to get home, to check in on Sadie, to make sure she knew I still loved her just as fiercely as the day we met.
Even if she didn’t always see it, I was still looking out for her, shielding her from the things that weighed too heavily on her brilliant mind.
I just had to make sure she understood that, one way or another.
Maybe tomorrow would be better. Maybe with time, she’d see that I was doing everything I could to keep her world as perfect as it deserved to be.
As the elevator descended, my phone buzzed again, another message lighting up the screen. I glanced at it absently, expecting another update from Sadie. Instead, I found a brief note from Alyssa.
Let’s get coffee in the morning to prep for the defense contractor follow-ups. I’ll bring the files.
I smiled to myself as the elevator doors opened onto the dimly lit garage.
Alyssa’s efficiency never ceased to amaze me.
With someone like her by our side, I knew Holbrook Aviation would soar even higher.
Sadie would get all the recognition she deserved, and I’d make sure of it, even if I had to work late into the night to make it happen.
I slid behind the wheel of my car, the engine humming to life, and pulled out into the rain-slicked Seattle streets.
Thoughts of the morning ahead floated in my mind like a promise.
Sadie was my heart, and nothing would change that.
Alyssa was just helping to make things easier, smoothing the way. That was all it was.
But even as I convinced myself of that, a small nagging feeling lingered at the back of my mind, like the last raindrops clinging to the window after the storm has passed.
I tried to ignore it, but it stayed with me as I drove through the darkened city streets.
Something had shifted between the three of us, even if I couldn’t quite put my finger on what it was.
Still, I pushed it aside, focusing instead on the love I had for Sadie.
And I couldn’t wait to get home to remind her of that.
She had nothing to worry about, and I’d make sure she knew that.