Chapter 11
PATRICK
The office felt eerily quiet at this hour, the city outside draped in darkness except for the occasional streetlight casting long shadows across the empty streets, the glow of the skyline dimmed to a dull hum in the distance like a forgotten promise.
I was alone, the only one left, surrounded by the gleaming surfaces and cold glass that suddenly seemed to mock the success I had once taken pride in, and I wasn’t going home.
I couldn’t. Not yet. The weight of what I had nearly lost settled in my chest, each beat of my heart a painful reminder of how close I had come to destroying the one thing that mattered more than any deal or innovation: Sadie’s trust. The silence was thick and unforgiving, broken only by the occasional hum of the building’s systems and my own ragged breathing, each breath catching in my throat as the storm raged within, and I stared out at the sleeping city, wondering if I could ever undo the damage I had done.
I sat staring at my desk, trying to piece together the conversation I’d had with Sadie just hours before.
I had moved the pregnancy test to the garbage can, but it still sat there, mocking me.
But the thought of having done anything with Alyssa to have caused that was so absurd that I was more stunned than anything else.
“Sadie,” I whispered her name into the silence of the room, but even that felt wrong, like I didn’t have the right to say it anymore.
How had I let things spiral this far? Alyssa had been nothing more than a temporary ally in my mind, someone I’d mistakenly believed was helping us reach the next level.
How blind could I have been to not see her scheming, manipulating her way closer to me, to my world, all while making Sadie feel like she was the one who didn’t belong?
The silence was broken by the memory of her standing on the other side of this desk and accusing me of an infidelity that never happened.
Yet it was true that she believed Alyssa and that it felt true to her.
I should’ve known Alyssa would retaliate after I fired her.
She had threatened as much, but most people don’t actually follow through on their threats.
Alyssa wasn’t like most people. Still, I was still too stunned by it all to really appreciate how diabolical Alyssa could truly be.
My hands trembled as I ran them over my face, feeling the stubble that had begun to shadow my jaw, the tension knotting my muscles from lack of sleep.
Every decision I had made, every misstep had led me here, and now I was drowning in regret.
I hadn’t seen Alyssa’s ambition for what it was because I had been so focused on the success of the company, of our joint vision.
Sadie’s warnings, her frustrations... I’d dismissed them all as overreactions or misinterpretations.
The realization was like a punch to the gut, over and over again.
And now she was gone. She’d left, convinced I had betrayed her in the most unforgivable way.
I was numb as I went back through my memories of the past weeks.
Every one of our actions, in isolation, made rational sense, but love couldn’t be called rational.
And while I had felt Sadie had been misinterpreting what had happened, I could now see it from her perspective.
And no apology would be enough. I had to show her that I would and could change. The only question was how.
My eyes darted across the desk, to my computer screen still displaying the financial report I’d been going over before Sadie’s visit.
A report that meant nothing right now compared to the distance growing between Sadie and me.
The weight of it felt suffocating, as if my career, this entire life we’d built together, might all be for nothing if I couldn’t prove to her that I understood what had gone wrong and fix it.
I rubbed the back of my neck, trying to think clearly through the haze of regret and guilt that clouded my mind.
There had to be a way to fix this. There had to be something I could do to bridge the chasm I’d created, to bring her back from the place of distrust and hurt I’d pushed her toward.
It was the first time since this all started that I wasn’t thinking about the business side of things or the corporate politics Alyssa had thrived on.
For once, I had clarity in what I needed.
And I had a glimmer of an idea. A wild, desperate idea that would require sacrifice and humility, but it might just work.
My heart beat faster at the thought, a flicker of hope stirring in the darkness of my office.
I knew Sadie too well to think I could talk my way out of this, no amount of promises or apologies would fix what was broken.
I needed to prove that I had changed. That I saw the depth of my mistakes.
And more importantly, I needed to meet her in her world, on her terms, where she felt safe and in control.
But I also knew I couldn’t get this done alone.
Whatever I did, it would hurt the company.
That was a given. The business would take a hit while I took this time to make things right with her.
I just hoped it would survive long enough to give me that time.
I needed the right people to back me on this, to understand what I had to do and why the business might suffer in the short term.
I picked up the phone, dialing a number I hadn’t had to use in months, the only person I knew would support my crazy plan, my right-hand man, the one who kept things running when I was too absorbed in my personal life to see the big picture.
David, my COO and longest standing executive, answered on the second ring, his voice already tinged with suspicion, as if he knew nothing good could come from my late-night call.
He’d probably been waiting for the fallout of my decisions, even if he hadn’t known the extent of it yet.
He knew Sadie well, too well to let this pass without concern.
“Patrick. What’s going on?”
“David.” I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding, feeling the relief of hearing a steady voice in the storm. “I need your help. I need you at the office. ASAP.”
A pause followed, his skepticism evident. “It’s nearly midnight.”
“I know,” I said, my voice firm despite the exhaustion weighing down on me. “And I know I’m asking a lot, but this... It’s about Sadie.”
There was another long pause before he responded, his tone shifting to something more understanding but no less serious. “Okay. I’m on my way. Just tell me what you need me to do, Patrick, and it’s done.”
David was always timely, but the time in which he reached my office had to have set land-speed records.
I was surprised he didn’t get pulled over by the Seattle Police, because of how much he must have exceeded the speed limit.
His breathing was heavy as he entered, his concern mirroring the heaviness in the room, but I didn’t waste any time.
There was too much at stake now. As the door closed behind him, shutting us into the same tense silence that had swallowed the city outside, I met his eyes and explained what had happened.
“You’re screwed.” Those were the first words out of David’s mouth after I finished my explanation.
“There’s no good way out of this one. Alyssa Fletcher just threw a fire bomb on your marriage.
And we’re not even looking at the company fallout yet.
Sadie could take the Eco-Turbine elsewhere.
We probably weren’t as good about locking down the plans since we didn’t think we needed to, what with her being your wife. ”
I hadn’t even considered that. Yet David was right.
I hadn’t thought about how her connections and knowhow were actually the reason we got a lot of our projects funded and off the ground.
Sure, the company was in my name, and there were plenty of brilliant engineers to design anything I needed, but Sadie was the brains behind the new engine.
“She hasn’t made any move to leave the company,” I said. “But she could. And I won’t stop her. If she takes the Eco-Turbine with her, then I’ll let her.”
“The board won’t like that. This might be your company, but you still answer to the board.”
“And what are they going to do? Fire me?” I hadn’t been concerned about the board of directors in years, even if they could fire me if they had the right numbers.
“They could.”
“And if it comes to that, I’ll let them. I would rather have Sadie in my life than be the head of this company.”
David smirked. “Good answer.”
“I just need to figure out how to win her back.”
“You can’t buy your way out of this one,” David said as if reading my mind.
I had already considered it. There were plenty of ways in which I could spend a lot of money on Sadie to try and show how I felt about her.
But she would see through all of that as disingenuous and a means by which to cover up how bad I screwed things up.
“You have more money than you could ever need, but there are some things money can’t buy. ”
“I’m not trying to buy my way back to her. And it wouldn’t work if I tried. Sadie has never cared about the money. I just need to figure out where to start.”
David shifted in the chair, the leather creaking slightly as he leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees. “Well, if she’s as hurt as you say, then you need to do more than talk. Words won’t be enough.”
I nodded, feeling the weight of his advice, because deep down I already knew he was right.
Words hadn’t been enough before, and they wouldn’t be now.
I needed to act, to show Sadie in the only way she would accept that I was serious about fixing this.
I had to meet her where she was, in her world, and if that meant leaving mine behind for a while, then so be it.
“I have to go to the museum,” I said quietly, my resolve settling like a stone in my gut.