Page 203 of Perfect Pitch

“Mitch, listen to me,” Charlie says.

Fury, the likes of which I’ve never experienced propels me to the door. I slam it shut before engaging the conference room’s soundproofing. “She tried to kill herself because she lost my baby! And you didn’t think that was something I should fucking know about?”

Charlie drops into the chair. His finger traces the swirl in the wood. “At first, I was more concerned with keeping her alive.”

“And after? Do you think it might have helped her recovery to know she was loved, Charlie? That I was trying every morning and every night to reach her?”

He lifts his head and exhausted eyes meet mine. “Her doctor didn’t think so.”

I fall back a step. “Excuse me?”

“Dr. Laurens said Austyn had to come to terms with her loss first before she confronted any emotions pertaining to you. Otherwise, for the rest of her life...”

Dropping into a chair, I pick up where he left off. “She’d have conflated the two.”

He nods. I scrub a hand over my beard. “I’m still pissed at you.”

“Will it help you to know I just came from there? That Austyn has all your texts now?”

Incredulously, I lean my hands forward on the table. “And you left her alone?”

“No, her mother’s there.”

“Well, halle-fucking-lujah.” I grab my jacket and am about to head to the door to disengage the soundproofing when Charlie’s voice stops me.

“Wait, Mitch. Before you go, there are things I still haven’t told you about the accident site.”

I spin around. “How urgent are they?”

He swallows. “You need to know them before you see Austyn again.”

I skirt the table so I don’t go near Charlie and accidentally kill him for holding back. When I reach my original chair, I drop into it and point at him. “Start talking.”

He reaches for a glass and the pitcher of water in the center of the table. With a shaking hand, he pours the drink and takes a sip before informing me, “In my entire career, I’ve never done this.”

“Done what?”

“Break a confidence.”

I lean forward. “Charlie, you can trust me.”

“I know.”

At one point, my lips tremble. I firm them up as I commit every word to memory. For a moment, I’m not certain I can hold it together. In the worst of her pain, Austyn called out my name.

She wanted me by her side even believing I betrayed her.

“And I never showed up.” My head drops between my shoulders. “No wonder she finds it impossible to trust me.”

“Now, she knows better.” Charlie looks every year his age when he stands. “You love her.”

“Still. Always.”

“Then stop worrying about protecting her and go show her. Right now, I think that’s what she needs.”

Accepting Charlie’s words for the sage advice they are, I snatch up my jacket. I clasp his shoulder and unlock the room. Within minutes, I’m in the elevator heading down to the lobby so I can get back to Austyn.

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