Watch Me Walk Away (22 page)

I get dressed and do my make-up, grab my laptop and walk out to the kitchen. There is coffee in the pot but no John. He must have left already as I am running late. I’m disappointed I would’ve loved to talk to him about Bobby. He may have some insights for me but I know he won’t talk around anyone else, even Jodi. I pour coffee in a to-go mug I am going to drive in today. I don’t want to sit on the train and I want to be able to leave whenever I want. I need to find an apartment soon. I really hate this commute, and I’ve been spoiled the last week with Bobby. How does that happen so fast?

There is a knock on the door and I wonder who could be here now. I open the door to Arthur, “Good morning, Lisa. Bobby sent me to take you into the city,” he says.

WTF! Are you kidding me I just look at him like he’s got two heads. Wait could he be waiting in the car? “Is he here?” I start out the door.

“No, he left for Germany early this morning.” He moves to get out of my way.

I stop mid-step, Germany? He didn’t say anything about leaving for Europe yesterday. “Germany? When did this happen? He didn’t say anything to me.” I grab his arm.

“He got the call yesterday night before we got here. They wanted him to fly out immediately but he wanted to see you before he left. He wasn’t sure when he would be getting back.” He reaches to take my bag. “The team is meeting him tonight and they will go from there.” He opens the door for me.

“Go where? The team as in all the guys that were at the table Saturday?” This is not good. From the way they were talking on Saturday the team does dangerous jobs. “What kind of job is it, Arthur?”

“I can’t tell you.” He closes the door and walks around to slide behind the wheel effectively ending the discussion. He has to tell me. I need to know if Bobby is okay. The privacy glass is up. I search for the button to lower the barrier and I can feel the tears falling, what if he doesn’t make it back? I hurt him last night and now he’s out there somewhere in danger and I’m here. I need to know if he is safe. I finally find the stupid button and lower the glass.

“Arthur, will you please tell me when he is safe?” I plead. I get on my knees right behind his seat and look at him in the rearview mirror. “I need to know he is okay.” I know Arthur saw and probably heard the whole exchange last night and I can only hope that he realizes that I do love Bobby. That last night was not the end, God it can’t be the end.

He glances at me in the mirror, “I will let you know as soon as I hear from them. The mission won’t start today. They will have to plan it out first so he’s okay now.”

He’s okay for now. I breathe and close my eyes. I just have to believe he will come back to me that we will be together again. I crawl back to the seat and stare out the window at the traffic. When he was in the Army before, I didn’t worry about him. I never thought anything would happen to him and I was just so mad at him. Now that I’ve seen his scars how he almost died, I know I won’t sleep until I know he’s okay. I play with the sapphire at my neck, the one he put on me only yesterday. We were so happy yesterday morning on the drive in just the two of us holding hands and singing along to the radio.

A horn beeps next to me and draws me out of the memory. I have to get myself together. I need to function at this meeting. I take out the mirror from my purse. Damn, my make-up is running down my face. I pull out a tissue and try to wipe it off. I can’t go in looking like this. I thought I looked like shit earlier, now my eyes are red and puffy again but this time I can add the black streaks of mascara to the fray. We are just entering the tunnel and I look at my watch, nine o’five. I have fifty-five minutes until the meeting. I could go to the office first but I can’t go there looking like this either. Shit I need a sink and a towel. Where can I stop?

I see Arthur glance back at me. “I have a key to Mr. Harber’s apartment if you would like to stop there first. I’m sure he won’t mind.”

“Thanks, Arthur, that would be great,” I tell him. Hopefully he can get us cross town and then to the meeting quickly. I will only have a few minutes to get myself together. I look at my notes on my laptop to try and get into the right state of mind. I have to nail this meeting. By the time I read through them, we are pulling into the Dakota’s garage. I turn off the laptop and grab my purse as Arthur opens my door right in front of the elevators.

He hands me the key. “I will wait down here for you.”

“Thank you, Arthur. Bobby is lucky to have you,” I tell him as I enter the elevator. As the doors close I look at myself in the doors mirrors, there are black stains on my shirt from the mascara runs. Shit what am I going to do now? I don’t have time to stop at a store for a new shirt. Thankfully the elevator is quick. I run the few steps to the door and unlock the door. I step in and the memories of this weekend assault me. I close my eyes and sigh I don’t have time now to lose it. I slip out of my pumps and run to Bobby’s bathroom. I scrub my face with cold water to try and bring the swelling around my eyes down. I reapply eyeliner, blush and lip gloss. Well it’s not great but it is better than a few minutes ago. I look at my shirt. I guess I’m going to have to find something of Bobby’s to wear. Walking into the bedroom, I take off my jacket and shirt and throw them on the bed. I sprint into the closet and look for something that will work. A white t-shirt, that will do, I will just have to keep my jacket buttoned so no one will see how big the shirt is. I tuck it into my pants, it makes my waist look huge but I really don’t have a choice. I grab my jacket and purse from the bed and run to the front door. Putting my shoes back on as I find the keys in my pocket to lock the door I look down at my watch, nine thirty-five. I think I’m going to make it. As I lock the door the thought that this could be the last time I’m here hits me. I lean against the door for a few seconds and say a silent prayer that I will be back here again then I turn away and push the button for the elevator.

We make it to the office with five minutes to spare. Arthur really knows how to get around the city in record time. As he opens my door he says, “I will be waiting right here for you. Don’t worry about how long it takes. All the cops around here know me and they won’t bother me.”

I nod my head in acknowledgement. Time to put on my game face and get ready to bowl over Simon Daly. As I walk in the building I stop, Stuart is waiting for me. Damn! I forgot all about him with everything going on. He is scowling at me. I don’t want his shit right now. I walk up to him. “You didn’t have to meet me, Stuart. I can find Daly’s office on my own.”

He takes my elbow. “I want to talk to you and this is the only time I’m going to get.” He leads me to the elevators and pushes the up button. “I see you have use of his car,” his voice is tense. “I guess I was right when I said you wanted to trade up.”

I pull my arm away from him as the elevator doors open. “Not that it is any of your business Stuart but Bobby and I realized that we still have feelings for one another. But it has nothing to do with us. I realized after we slept together that you and I weren’t compatible. I should have told you sooner but I didn’t want to ruin your night at the fundraiser. That didn’t work out the way I hoped and I am sorry about that. I was planning to spend the event with you before I broke up with you. I did not want to embarrass you but then you started acting like an asshole and I couldn’t take it anymore.”

“I acted like an asshole?” he yells, “You were the one sleeping with someone else behind my back and I was the one acting like an asshole?”

“I did not sleep with Bobby before that night. I told him I was still with you and I needed to deal with our relationship before he and I could move forward. I did not cheat on you, Stuart.” I glare at him.

The doors open and relief spreads through me. He won’t make a scene at work. His job is too important to him and he already has ground to make up. He leads me towards Daly’s office. “This conversation isn’t over. We will continue after the meeting,” he whispers to me. Maybe my relief was premature.

The meeting with Daly goes well. He asks me to submit formal proposals for the five new companies and wants me to immediately take over the old account. He gives me the names of the other marketing directors at the new companies and asks me to call his secretary to schedule individual meetings for each. This should more than double my billings for the year and my bosses will be thrilled.

Unfortunately, Stuart is waiting for me as I exit the office. Why can’t I get rid of him? “Looks like we will be working together again,” he says with an evil look in his eye. “I don’t think I will be as easy to work with this time though. I have a few new ideas and I want to go over them with you. Let’s do lunch.”

“I can’t do it today, Stuart. I will call you and set up an appointment. Until then we will just go forward with the plan we had in place before.” I start walking away from him.

“That is not going to work for me. I want to be your priority account. I deserve that after the way you treated me.” Why didn’t I realize how much of a whiner he is before I went out with him? This is the real Stuart and I am just now seeing it. Thank God I got out when I did.

“I have to get five new proposals ready and I do not have time to spend on your account to just tweak what is already working. If after I finish meeting with the new people you want to make changes we can do that. I will call you next week, by then I should have a time frame for when I can fit you in,” I dismiss him. Shit he is going to make my life hell. He starts to follow me into the elevator but I turn and push him back. “I’m not doing this, Stuart. We are over. Get used to it and figure out how you are going to deal with working with me because Daly likes me and if you make me then I will go to him and tell him I cannot work with you. You’re already on thin ice, Stuart, tread lightly.” I step back into the elevator and the doors close. I sigh. Other than Stuart that went great and I can’t wait to tell Bobby.

Wait, I can’t tell Bobby. Now I feel like a part of me is missing. My enthusiasm dies. How did he engrain himself into my life so completely this fast? My heart actually hurts. This is so not natural after being with someone for so short a time. I need to snap out of this and deal with my job. If I throw myself into getting this work done, I won’t have time to think about him. About where he is and if he is missing me, if he still loves me.

I scrap the go straight home plan. I am going to the office and let my bosses know how the meeting went. I have to get the team on getting these proposals together. I have to get a schedule together and figure out a priority list. I am going to have to get cozy with Daly’s secretary. I can pick her brain on which company is the most important and which ones can wait ‘til last.

This is why I came back to New York and I am not going to let my personal life screw it up. My work is important and it is time to show my bosses that they were right to bring me here. I will keep my eye on the ball and grab this opportunity. Now that I have a plan, I am feeling a little better. I walk out to the car and ask Arthur to take me to my office. I have work to do.

Chapter Twenty-Six

By the end of the week I am exhausted. I have been getting to the office at eight and not leaving until after seven. I have gotten a huge amount of work done. My first individual meeting is coming up on Wednesday and we are ready. We have two of the five proposals complete and are on schedule to complete the others by the end of next week. Within two weeks, if all goes well my bosses will be throwing me a party for single handedly bringing in almost twenty million in new billing for the year. They are all very impressed and have started talking about expanding my team to keep up with the workload.

Everything would be great if I could stop thinking about Bobby. It is Friday and Arthur still hasn’t told me if he is okay. All he will tell me is they are on the mission now and we should hear something soon. I haven’t slept more than a couple hours a night and the bags under my eyes are getting more pronounced. Jodi is starting to hound me to slow down and take a break. She doesn’t realize that the only way I am dealing at all is the work. This weekend is going to be horrible. Two days with nothing to do but think about him.

Brad has been calling me but since I haven’t been getting home before night each night, I haven’t seen him. I know he is worried too and I am sure he will show up at some point in the next couple days to check on me. He still feels terrible for the whole thing and I keep telling him it was more my fault than his. I should have told Bobby before then but I didn’t. As the week progresses I have gone over my whole time with Bobby over and over in my mind. There were times I could have told him and I should have come clean with it but I didn’t want to and now I’m paying for it.

After another long day, I am in the car on my way home. Arthur has been great even though he can’t tell me what I want to hear. We have become friends. I tell him all about my day and have educated him in all things marketing. He now can have an intelligent conversation about market research, social media, radio and television ad buying, mailing lists and press releases. He is probably sick of listening to me at this point but he always asks questions and keeps me talking. The few times we didn’t talk I just sat in the back looking out the window wondering where Bobby was and if he was safe with tears in my eyes. I just need to know he is on his way back.

The concert is Sunday night and I when he gave me the tickets all I thought about was standing in Bobby’s arms while Hunter Hayes sang Wanted. Now I am going with Brad. I had originally asked Jodi but she hates country music, even when the singer is cute. Brad will put up with it for me and I feel sort of bad for using him but I am determined to have fun and not let the tickets go to waste. And maybe I can get some information from the guys working the concert for Bobby. They may not know anything but I have to try.

We pull into the driveway and as he opens my door I notice that Arthur is on his blue tooth. He never takes calls when he is with me so this must be important. He puts his hand on me to stop me from going in and I turn to him. His face is so serious and my heart beat accelerates. Does this mean he has heard about the mission? Oh please let him be okay! I am shaking and my stomach lurches, please, please, please let it be good news. Arthur smiles at me. “That’s great news, I’m glad everyone is safe. I will see you next week. Take care, Chris.” He turns me. “They are all safe and on their way back to Germany. They will be back in the states next week.”