Page 82 of Let's Call a Truce
“Is Stephanie still in your house?”
“Yes, she is. But I promise you, nothing has happened between us. She’s staying in the guest room. I don’t want anyone but you.”
“Not my concern,” I cut in, trying to hold back the sob rising in my chest. “Good luck with your family. I’ll see you next week.”
Tearing myself away from him was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do, but I pushed away, heading down the stairs and away from the man I loved.
Chapter 25
“We have abit of a situation.” Eduardo barged through my office door without knocking.
My whole body tensed like a strung bow. “A situation?”
“The engineering department has signed a petition against your inclusion initiative. They requested a meeting with me to discuss it. I’m calling in the entire executive team. Since you are going to be our CRO soon and you’re the cohead of this initiative, I want you in the room. I’m bringing Asia in, too.”
“When are we meeting?”
“Tomorrow at tenA.M.”
“Did they say what their concerns were?”
“They said they didn’t want to discuss it via email, and would rather present their arguments in person,” he replied dryly. Perfect. It gave me nothing to go on when preparing my counterarguments.
“Okay, we’ll get it all sorted out. I’ll be there.”
I pulled my phone out as Eduardo exited the room.
Juliana:SOS. Has Eduardo told you about the Engineering meeting?
Asia:Ugh, yes. This is gonna be fun.
Juliana:Meet for lunch to prepare?
Asia:Perfect. I’ll grab something from around the corner and we can eat in your office.
We ran through all possible arguments over the course of our one-hour lunch, discussing which of us would handle which argument. She kept eyeing me with obvious concern, and I ignored her.
“How are you doing?” she asked.
I fiddled with the papers on my desk. “Fine. Our plan will work great.”
“You know that’s not what I mean.”
I sighed and shook my head, dropping it down into my hands.
“How is he?” I asked before I could stop myself.
Her laugh had a hard edge to it. “A complete fucking mess.”
I hated myself for feeling relieved he was hurting as bad as I was. Asia continued to watch me, but I couldn’t meet her eyes.
“Have I told you how Ben and I became friends?” she asked. I looked up at her for the first time. “I was a recent grad desperate to pay off my student loans, so Eduardo let me put up signs offering babysitting services. Ben took me up on it.
“Paris was two years old, and by the end of my first evening with her I was obsessed. She was wild. This giant ball of light and energy. She could have given Sophie a run for her money.
“One time, they hired me to keep an eye on her during their big Christmas party. Paris was four, and while I was in the bathroom, she climbed on top of the dining room table, barely missing the food, and demanded everyone listen to her performance of ‘Jingle Bells.’ Stephanie waspissed.But Paris was unstoppable.
“When Stephanie disappeared, that Paris left with her. She stopped talking completely. It took months for her to speak to us. Longer for people she didn’t know. Ben, her therapist, and I fought like hell to bring her back. I love that girl as much as I did the first night I met her, but she’s not the same child. I don’tthink she’ll ever be her again. Imagine if you woke up tomorrow and Sophie was a shell.”
