Page 94 of Heartless

I smile and nod. “You could say that, but the choice is yours.”

Inhaling deeply, she replies, “This has been an amazing few months. I’ve learned so much about business myself and made some great business contacts. I look forward to what my future holds, but I want to thank you for taking a chance on me even when you had reservations at the beginning.”

“You’re welcome, Sharla. You’ve brought a lot to my company, and Byron will have some big shoes to fill.”

“I’m sorry about Meadow and the part that I played in it.”

I nod and reply, “This may sound crazy, but maybe this needed to happen for me to see reality. Losing her was what I needed to see how much of her I took for granted. Now, I only pray that I can find my way to her again and that she won’t give up on me.”

Sharla takes a step forward, grabs my hands, and squeezes them. “You’re a good man, Nyx. Don’t be too hard on yourself. You made a not-so-great decision and you’re paying the price for that. Next time around, when she comes back, treasure her, but be good to yourself, too.”

“Why does this sound like we were already at goodbye when you were prepared to stay four weeks when you first walked through that door?” I ask, squeezing her hands and then dropping them.

Inhaling and then exhaling loudly, she says, “I was hoping that you would release me before the four weeks were up. It’s been tense for both of us working together after what happened.”

“You’ve been professional about it all.”

“And so have you. But there’s only so much a person can take. If I have to work one more late evening with you, I might lose all this professionalism, and you’ll take back every word you’ve said about me.”

“Horny much?”

“Damn, sure am.”

She laughs and says, “Take care, Nyx. I’m heading out, and although I have some things to tie up before I’m officially gone, I think I’ll be working remotely for the next two weeks.”

“That works for me. Just stop by IT and make all the arrangements.”

“Will do. You take care of yourself, okay?”

“You do the same, Shar.”

I watch as she walks out of the door, and this time, I know that I will never see her again. Yet, I’m thankful that she came back into my life to show me what I really had in MJ. I’m thankful that we finally got closure, no matter how twisted it came.

I pick up the phone and dial a number. Waiting for it to ring, I think about how some things have remained the same while others have changed drastically.

“Hello, this is Dr. Ian.”

“Ian, it’s me, Onyx.”

“What’s up, my friend?”

“I think I’ll take you up on your offer.”

“Hey, no better time than now. Meet me at the house. Melanie and the girls just left for a girls’ weekend. I was just about to put some steaks on the grill. You can come help, and we can chat about some things.”

Leaning down to close out the windows on my computer, I shut it down.

“Sounds good, man. I’ll see you in about twenty.”

“All right, Onyx.”

I end the call and stuff the phone into my pocket.

Dr. Ian Hartwell is an old college buddy of mine and also a psychologist. We see one another about three or four times a year, usually for gatherings he holds at his house.

About a month ago, he invited MJ and me to a cookout he and his wife were hosting. I declined, to his disappointment.When he asked if everything was okay, I found myself telling him that it wasn’t.

He invited me to talk about it and asked if either of us needed therapy. I told him that MJ did, but she was averse to the idea. Ian had suggested that maybe I needed therapy, too. I’d laughed and told him that I was just fine and he’d said the offer was on the table if ever I changed my mind.

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