Chapter 32
C harlotte stayed home the next day to stew and to have a video call with Chad. Not long after nine, a text lit up her phone.
Gregory: Hey, I’m waiting by the carousel. I have a coffee for you.
Charlotte debated ignoring it. She compromised by waiting fifteen minutes to reply.
Charlotte: I won’t be in today.
Gregory: I see. Can we talk later?
Charlotte: Like I said, I need time.
Gregory: Okay. I’m here. Just let me know.
She prepped for the video call, but based on Chad’s email, the job was hers so this wouldn’t be a formal interview or anything. She was glad her previous experience had made them forgo interviewing her. Her fantasy of making a huge splash by being part of the Dream Mechanic opening team for Dreamland Paris was coming to fruition. Guilt over submitting the application had gnawed around the edges of her mind while she’d waited to hear back from Chad. But being cut out of the Peak Fusion conversation only made her more open. It looked like Emily was getting her way, and she didn’t want to be part of that version of Lands.
Chad was too self-centered to consider Charlotte having any other reason to return to DreamUs besides working for the best company and team out of Paris, the most incredible city in the world in his opinion, so Charlotte didn’t have to explain a thing about her change of heart toward working at Lands. She only had to choose a start date, and she chose soon. Like, within the week. They could do without her for the last two months of working toward the Under the Waves opening, and she didn’t want to be there. Not with the knowledge that they’d been sneaking around her.
Making plans to go work in Paris for an unspecified amount of time yanked Charlotte’s emotions in different directions. Mostly promise and excitement. She’d wanted this and planned for this. Going back to DreamUs had a luminous edge; with Dreamland Paris in early stages, Charlotte could put her thumbprints all over the park and use the DreamUs influence to craft memorable experiences for the millions of guests who would eventually visit.
But underneath that brilliant shine crept thorny vines of regret over leaving Lands of Legend and her family for a bigger company again . She’d repaired her relationship with her aunt and uncle after she left for DreamUs the first time, and she hated to think about being distant from them again. However, she thought they would understand this time with everything going on; plus she’d mentioned her exit date to them. They weren’t taking her opinions into account anyway, so what would they care if she left two months earlier than planned?
She still thought Peak Fusion sucked, but if her family was on board and if it helped them out, maybe they should pursue it. But Charlotte didn’t have to like it. Let them make their terrible choices. She’d make it easy on them and take herself out of the equation. Then they could open Under the Waves and Emily and Ever Fund could plot the park’s future without her opinions or overreactions complicating things.
Job officially accepted, plane ticket and temporary place to stay sorted (she’d be rooming with one of her peers on the team), Charlotte drafted separate emails to her aunt and uncle, her cousin, and Gregory, and scheduled them to send later in the day. She’d have a conversation with her mom and dad tonight and then leave in a few days. No reason to drag out the inevitable.
* * *
Her conversation with her parents went well, with Alice and Richard expressing support while still exchanging looks that said they were worried about Charlotte. And then later that night, after her scheduled emails were sent, her phone buzzed with texts. Emily’s said only good luck and that she wished Charlotte well. Sure she did. She was probably thrilled to have her troublesome cousin out of the way. Aunt Marianne, who hadn’t seen the email but had heard from Emily, apologized and told Charlotte they hated to see her go but that she understood. And Gregory. He called. Charlotte ignored it. He texted. She ignored him. But even though she was pissed, it would be cruel to leave the country without saying goodbye in person.
Charlotte: Carousel in the morning? Nine?
Gregory: I’ll be there.
Charlotte got to Lands early so she could grab a few things from her office and toss them in the car before Gregory arrived. When she walked to the carousel, arms wrapped tightly around herself, he was waiting in a wrinkled V-neck and rumply hiking pants, hands in his pockets, damp hair glistening in the early light. He looked haggard, like he hadn’t slept.
“Hey,” she said, stopping a few feet away from him.
“Hey,” he replied, voice raspy. His head was bent but he looked up at her through his lashes, green eyes clear and pained. “Thanks for texting me back. I know you said you needed time, Charlotte, but Paris?”
“Paris. You know I wanted to go back to DreamUs.”
He took a step forward and reached out for one of her hands, which she gave him, knowing she’d kick herself for this later, for such a fresh memory of his skin against hers. “I thought we’d have longer. Until Under the Waves, at least. Time to figure out this and what it might be.”
She swallowed a tacky lump of sadness and lingering anger. “We would have, but things have changed.”
He laced his fingers with hers and pulled her hand to his chest, thumb caressing the back of her hand. “I won’t try to talk you into staying. I know this was your goal all along. I’m going to miss you. And I’m sorry for my part in all this.”
“I’m sorry, too.” She allowed herself the indulgence of stretching to kiss his cheek and started to question if she was making the right choice. Yes, he’d been wrong, but this still hurt. “Goodbye, Gregory. Good luck with Under the Waves.”
As she broke from him and turned away, she heard him whisper, “It won’t be the same without you.”