Chapter Eighteen
Emma - Three Weeks Later
I sat in my office, looking out over the city.
It had been a hellish three weeks. After the publication had gone out regarding Miranda’s Miracle Foundation, I’d tried to get in touch with Colton, only he wouldn’t speak to me.
He wouldn’t text me back and he wouldn’t return my calls.
Soon after, Pamela reached out to me, and I’d come clean with my mistake.
In a rush after the in-home interview, I’d compiled some articles to be printed after their publication.
Somehow, I’d accidentally attached the article I’d written about the foundation.
The one that Colton had told me I couldn’t publish.
When I’d seen the article, I felt like I was going to be sick and then Pamela confronted me, I’d explained to her what had happened.
I’d expected to hear she was going to call Kerry but instead she surprised me by saying that it was an honest mistake and not to worry.
That was the last I’d heard from any of them.
In the weeks that followed I hadn’t paid any more attention to anything related to Colton Fox.
My heart still ached after what had happened that night at dinner.
My heart had wanted to stay and work things out with him, but my mind told me it was going to be impossible for us to ever have a relationship. So, I’d packed up and left.
“Hey, Emma,” I heard Kerry say.
I turned around and looked at the doorway.
“Hey, Kerry, you just about done for the holidays?” I questioned.
“Just about. I just wanted to pop in and saw I got a letter today from Kent Cole and from Guy Larson.”
“Oh, that is nice.”
“Sure is! Don’t you want to know what it said?”
I shook my head, afraid that I’d let Kerry down. “No, I don’t think so.” I sighed, turning back to my laptop, writing my out-of-off email for the holidays.
“Emma? What’s wrong?”
That was when I turned around and burst into tears. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to let you down.” I sniffled.
“Let me down? You didn’t let me down.”
“Oh please, I fucked up royally. You should just fire me.”
Kerry frowned and then looked at the card she was holding before making eye contact with me again.
“Emma—”
“No really, you should fire me. First, I was an absolute disaster during the entire project, and now the article that went out regarding the foundation should be the final straw.”
“Emma—”
“Seriously, Kerry, I should be packing a box, not sitting here writing my out-of-office notification for the holidays.”
“Would you—”
“Let you finish. Sure, here, I’ll just finish it for you. Thanks, Emma, for the work, continue writing the out-of-office, you’ll be employed until the balance of the forty thousand dollars you donated is repaid, and then you will need to find another job. The Image Hackers are ruined—”
Kerry walked into my office and slammed the card down on my desk. I looked down to see the words Thank You, written on the front of the card. Then I paused and looked up at Kerry.
“What’s that?” I questioned.
“That, my dear, is a thank you card from Kent and Guy Larson. They wrote to say thank you for doing such an outstanding job. I’d figured you’d want to see it, along with this,” she said, placing a check down on my desk.
“What is that?” I asked.
“That is a thank you.”
I shook my head, still not understanding.
“It’s your tip.”
I looked down at the figure that was written on it and swallowed hard. “You’re lying.”
“No, well, part of it is your tip, part of it is to go back to repaying your debt with the company. The rest is yours to keep.”
I frowned looking back down at the check. “Wait, where did this come from?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, mail call was over eight hours ago, and I know you’ve been locked in your office all day.”
Kerry smiled at me and shrugged. “Maybe you should head on out to the lobby.”
“Why?” I questioned.
“Well, because I think there is someone who’d like to see you.”
“Who?” I questioned.
“You’ll see.” She winked at me and left my office without saying another word.
I made my way through the dark office, my laptop bag slung over my shoulder, and stepped into the lobby.
At first, I didn’t think anyone was there and was about to go find Kerry, when I heard a voice in the hallway.
I stepped out the main door surprised to see Dylan and Aurora standing against the railing.
“Hey! What are you doing here?” I questioned, smiling as I hugged each of them.
Honestly, I’d hoped it would be Colton, but given the circumstances, I completely understood why he wasn’t here. He probably never wanted to speak to me again.
“Hey, Emma, good to see you. We were asked to bring over the thank you card, and we wanted to see you before we made our way back to the hotel.”
“Oh, well, thank you. You guys in town for a game?” I questioned.
“Yeah, tomorrow is the last one, then we head back to Vancouver the next morning,” Dylan answered.
“Well, hopefully the last game goes well.”
The two of them grew quiet as they looked at me.
“How are you doing?” Aurora questioned.
I shrugged. “Been better,” I answered, trying to put a genuine smile on my face.
“If it makes you feel any better, the big guy hasn’t exactly been himself either since you left,” Dylan said.
I watched as Aurora glanced over at him and shook her head before turning her attention back to me.
“I’m sorry to hear that. I’m sure he’s not too happy with me.”
Neither of them said anything, which solidified exactly what I thought.
“Why don’t you come to the game tomorrow night?” Aurora questioned. “We can sit together. Lorelai is here as well. I know she misses you.”
“Thank you, but I have plans tomorrow night,” I lied.
“Well, in case you change your mind…” she said, slipping a ticket into my hand. “Just ask for one of us when you get to the arena. They will recognize the ticket.”
“Thank you. If plans change, I’ll come.” I smiled.
Dylan stepped in and gave me a hug, and then as he stepped back, Aurora wrapped her arms around me.
“Don’t give up on him. He was so much happier when you were there,” she whispered.
I could feel the tears burning in my eyes as she continued to hug me. I didn’t want to give up on him, but I also knew he’d never forgive me for that mistake.
I carried a cup of tea upstairs with me and crawled into my king-sized bed, pulling the covers over my legs. I went to reach for my mug and stopped, picking up the ticket to the game that lay on my night table.
I’d stared at this ticket more in the last twelve hours than I’d done anything else, and here I was again.
I should have gotten dressed and gone to watch the game, but instead I decided to stay home.
I had to put him out of my life if I were to get over him.
Going to see them play, to watch him as he skated around the ice, would only open up the same wound I’d worked so hard to try to close in the last three weeks.
I placed the ticket back on the night table and picked up my mug. I leaned back, took a sip, and closed my eyes, trying to calm my mind. Knowing he was in this city, only a twenty-minute drive from my place, was killing me.
“Fuck it,” I said.
I went over to my closet, grabbed a pair of jeans and a sweater, and quickly changed, then I ran down the stairs to the front door. Slipping my feet into my boots, I grabbed my jacket and purse and took off out the front door. I climbed into my car and started the engine.
As I pulled into the arena, I parked around back, just like I would have had I been here with them.
I pulled my car into the first empty spot I came to and then made my way inside.
When I got to the door, I noticed an ambulance sitting there, lights flashing.
They hadn’t been there when I’d pulled in.
Frowning, I made my way to the door and pressed the buzzer. A guard opened the door and looked me over.
“Can I help you?” he questioned.
“Yes, I’m a guest of Dylan and Aurora’s,” I said, reaching into my purse, searching for the ticket.
“Do you have a ticket?” he questioned.
“I do. It’s somewhere in here,” I muttered, still digging.
As I felt around, I realized I’d left the ticket on the nightstand beside my bed.
“Oh gosh, you’re not going to believe this. I seem to have left the ticket they gave me at home. If you could kindly message Aurora, I’d really appreciate it.”
He looked at me and shook his head and was about to grab his radio when he held his hand up to ear, pressing on the earpiece he wore, listening.
“I’m sorry, miss. It seems there has been an injury to one of the players. You’ll have to wait until they come out.”
“Who got hurt?” I questioned, panic filling me.
“Sorry, miss, you’re going to have to wait.”
“But, please, I—”
“Step back from the door. I’ll let you know when we can bring you in,” he said, pulling the door closed.
I dug into my purse and pulled out my phone, quickly messaging Aurora to find out what was going on.
Emma: Hey Aurora, I’m here at the arena, they won’t let me in. They said someone got hurt.
I stared at my phone, hoping she responded quickly. It seemed to take forever for those three little dots to bounce around, and then, as I stared at them doing their little bouncing dance that seemed to take forever, she said:
Aurora: Where are you?
Emma: I’m at the player’s entrance.
Aurora: Stay there, I’m on my way.
I shoved my phone back into my purse and waited, wrapping my coat tightly around me. It only took a couple of minutes before Aurora came flying out the back door, looking around until she spotted me. She rushed over, pulling me off to the side.
“Did you hear anything?” she questioned.
“No, why?” I said, starting to feel a little panicked.
“Okay, well, Colton was injured. He’s being taken over to the hospital here.”
“What? Bad?” I questioned.
“Bad enough. He took a blow to the side of the knee. I am positive it’s his MCL. We just need an MRI for a confirmed diagnosis.”
It was then the door opened and out came Colton on a stretcher. They lifted him into the back of the ambulance and then turned to look over at us.
“Coming,” Aurora said, before she turned back to me. “He’ll be alright,” she said, placing her hand on my arm before walking away.
“Aurora? Is it alright if I follow?” I questioned.
She looked toward the ambulance and then back at me and nodded.