“Come in!” Dan shouted, eagerly awaiting Abby’s appearance, even though they hadn’t exactly left on the best terms two nights ago.
She stepped inside and closed the door behind her, her face a wary, guarded mask.
“You look a bit glum,” he said, noticing a bit of sadness in her eyes.
“Most people probably do upon hearing they’ve been fired, I assume.”
Dan sat up straighter. “What?”
“Don’t act like you didn’t know about this! How could you not have?”
Dan took a deep breath, glancing away from her. “You’re right. I guess I knew this was coming—though not because I was given a heads up or anything.” He paused. “It’s just that… well, there’s only so long we can hide what’s been going on between us. Our dynamic has changed, and even an idiot can recognize the signs that we’re no longer strictly professional. Peter’s a real hard-ass about this stuff…”
“Yeah, right! You’re laying it all at Peter’s feet? Pretending this has nothing to do with me breaking up with you? I admit it was dumb to think I could continue working here when…”
“Wait—you think I fired you as payback? Because you understandably got upset when things went south at the race?” The rest of her words sank in. “Abby, are you saying you were serious about not seeing me anymore? I figured you were speaking from fear, and I even gave you a full day to cool off…”
Abby laughed mockingly. “It’s so inconceivable I’d break up with you? What happened wasn’t your fault, but we do come from two completely different worlds, live vastly different lifestyles. I understand just being a temporary thrill to you…”
“You know you’re way more than that, Abigail Brennan.”
She shook her head. “We’re simply not right for each other, Dan. What you want out of life and what I want out of life are pretty much on opposite ends of the spectrum.”
“Abby…”
“It’s been a pleasure working here, and I’m really glad I met you. But this is where it all ends. Today.”
She had a resignation to her voice that disturbed him—like she actually believed all that crap she was saying! Couldn’t she see that…?
He rose from his chair.
“Goodbye, Dan,” she said, then turned and exited before he could say another word.
Dan sat back down, stunned, processing what just happened in his office. He wasn’t as concerned about the loss of Abby’s job as he was about the loss of her from his life. She seemed dead set on vanishing, leaving him behind.
He figured she was still simply dealing with how upsetting the crash at the race had been. Plus, he hadn’t had the chance to tell her about his decision—one he was sure would change her mind about them.
It wasn’t as if she didn’t care about him—she’d admitted it when she expressed her fear that something could have happened to him, so there was definitely still hope. As long as she had an emotional attachment to him, he could persuade her to stay with him.
In the meantime, he needed clarification on other matters first.
“Dan!” Peter greeted him with a big fake smile as he burst into his office, leaning back in his chair as if he didn’t have a care in the world.
“Why’d you fire Abby?”
Peter slowly leaned forward again. “Come on—you know why.”
“You think we’re sleeping together?”
“I know you are.”
“How?”
“Don’t try to play me for a fool; I’ve got spies everywhere. In any case, she’s not working out quite the way I’d hoped. Not only did she break the cardinal rule, but… well, I hadn’t heard anything about you racing since her arrival until recently. So I guess whatever she’s been doing hasn’t been working after all.”
“What if I tell you I’m done with it?”
“Then we definitely wouldn’t need her now.” Peter stared at him for a few seconds without blinking. “So, are you done?”
Dan debated what to tell Peter. If he said no, Peter had already pretty much told him Abby had been let go as a result of not bringing about the desired results. If he said yes, her services were no longer needed as a result of her success. No matter what he said, it wouldn’t bring her back to the building, so why not go with the truth?
“I am,” Dan said gravely. “That last one you heard about was the last one. I realized in the aftermath that it’s not worth it—for me anyway. I don’t think I need it anymore.”
He had a feeling he’d return to it if he was unsuccessful winning Abby back, but that was a possibility he refused to consider; he wasn’t letting her go. Abigail Brennan was all the fun and thrill he needed.
Peter was watching him extremely closely. “I do hope that’s the case. If it is, let me be the first to congratulate you on shaking the habit.”
It annoyed Dan to hear Peter talk about it like it was smoking or something, but he decided to let it slide. Abby saw the hobby as a danger to his health and life, too.
“Anyway, I did her a favor. This way, she can collect unemployment until she finds a job more suited to her skills.” Peter flashed him another false smile. “Is that all, nephew?”
“No. Obviously, don’t bother hiring anyone else. You’ll see I’m truly… cured, I guess.”
“You don’t want me to hire a new pretty young thing for you to screw right away to annoy me?”
“No,” Dan said, shaking his head. “I’m done with that. You could hire a Victoria’s Secret model and it wouldn’t move me.”
Peter’s eyebrows lifted, and Dan got the strange impression it was yet another act. “Really?” he asked in what sounded like surprise.
Dan was getting a weird feeling about the whole conversation. “Peter, what’s really going on here?”
“It’s quite plain you’re in love with her, Dan,” his uncle said matter-of-factly.
Dan automatically scoffed a little, then choked. He definitely liked Abby a whole lot; he was fond of her even. But in love? Sure, he felt differently about her than any…
Dan shook his head and turned away, leaving Peter’s office without another word, his mind working furiously.
He was only vaguely aware of the strange smile that graced Peter’s face—one that struck him as genuine. Smug, even.
If Dan didn’t know any better, he’d think his uncle had been matchmaking all along.
Back in his office, Dan stared at a photo he kept in one of his bottom drawers—the last one he’d taken with his brother Eric on a hiking trip. He wondered how the heck they hadn’t managed to be photographed together after that. Five whole years!
Sure, no one would blame them for getting on with their own lives, of course, and it wasn’t as if they hadn’t seen each other in all those years afterward—they simply didn’t take pictures of everything like the younger generations.
Part of Dan wished one of them had been into capturing everything, even if he knew more photos wouldn’t have changed a damned thing—his brother was still dead. Except he’d have a more accurate photo in his bottom drawer reflecting what his brother looked like before he died.
Though Eric hadn’t aged a whole lot since that hiking trip, there were some grays he’d started working to cover, deeper crinkles in the corners of his eyes. Dan just wished he could see a truer representation of his brother in his last days; as it was, he felt he was communicating with a too-young version.
“What would you have done?” he asked the photo. “Obviously, take care of this company far better than me, but I don’t mean work. That house you bought, for example—you weren’t even dating anyone seriously at the time. How soon would you have put some woman in it, I wonder? How many kids—if any—did you want?”
It struck Dan that he had no idea what his brother had really wanted out of life. Did he even want to take on the company, or had he simply accepted it as his fate?
The house his brother bought was the only thing that gave Dan insight into Eric’s true desires. Eric clearly wanted to settle down and have a family, much like their younger brother, Alan.
And what do you want? a voice in Dan’s head asked him.
Dan realized all of a sudden that he now wanted the same.
Have you figured out that I had nothing to do with the job loss, yet? Dan texted Abby about two hours after she left the building.
Yes, but I meant what I said, she texted back. No more.
Dan didn’t want to continue the conversation by text.
Since he knew where she lived and figured she would most likely be home by herself at this time—a familiar, cozy place after the shock of being let go—he got ready to leave for the day, despite having several hours left at work.
Without another text, he headed straight for Abby’s residence.
“What on earth are you doing here?” Abigail greeted him, the front door only slightly open.
He decided to stay behind the threshold unless she invited him in. “I have a surprise for you.” He watched her body tense—she was even more on guard now. Before she could ponder the possibilities, he got right to it. “You mentioned wanting to visit somewhere with a giant tortoise population, and I want to take you there as soon as you’re ready to go.”
She frowned. “What? What do you mean?”
“Your work might be done at Crawford Consulting, but I’m not done with you. And I know you’re not done with me. I figured since you have loads of free time now, and you’ve had to deal with me for the past two months or so, you deserve a vacation. We could leave tomorrow if you want.”
“Wait!” Her guard had dropped a little, and she looked like her mind was working furiously. “I mean, that sounds kind of great, but…”
“But what? I have all kinds of vacation time I can take…”
“I’m just a little off-kilter right now. I just lost my job and I haven’t had time to think about what this means for my housing, finances…”
“All expenses paid for this trip, obviously.”
“That’s not what I meant, and you know it.”
“I know I want to be with you, Abby. And I know you’re probably worrying about all kinds of things you don’t actually need to worry about right now; in fact, a trip like this is exactly what you need to mark the beginning of yet another fresh start.”
He reached for her hand and was thrilled she didn’t pull away. “Abby, you’re not the only one going through major changes. I realized something over the weekend, and maybe even something more serious today. Look, I’m done with racing—it was fun while it lasted, but it’s not worth losing you or potentially my life over.
“Yes, we both know death comes whenever the fuck it wants in whatever way it wants, so there’s no real way to prevent it—but as you said, no use tempting fate all the time. Racing isn’t a lifelong compulsion or a burning need for me. It’s just a thing I used to fill a gap, and I don’t need it now because I have you.” He brought the back of her hand to his lips, then looked at her expectantly.
She didn’t say anything, but her face had softened tremendously—an encouraging sign. She even looked like she was close to crumbling, but remained still.
Nervous, he decided to fill the silence. “I was thinking Seychelles—they have the Aldabra giant tortoise. And besides checking out those guys, we can island hop—there’s lots of fun wildlife there and gorgeous beaches. All the while, you’ll have every luxury you desire. I don’t have to be with you the whole time. If you need time alone to think about us, about what you’re thinking about giving up, I’ll give you space…”
She finally broke into a wide smile. “Twist my arm, why don’t you?” Her eyes sparkled.
His chest lifted as relief flooded him.