Page 64 of Mine

Work had become a place of solace when I wasn’t able to be with Logan. Work and home, they were the only places I wanted to be.

The tall towering building I work in is littered with security, from top to bottom. James, the security guard who helped me the day I tripped out of the elevator had become a friend. I learned he was married to his wife for almost fifty years before she passed away of brain cancer. She was his best friend for nearly half his life. He told me that after her passing, he refused to retire, claiming his job had given him a sense of purpose. It also filled the void of loneliness he’d felt after losing his wife.

After bringing in James’ favorite breakfast, plain bagel with veggie cream cheese, I’d ridden the twenty-three floors to prepare for the biggest presentation of my life. It was one thing to conduct your business through social media, it was another to conduct it in front of ten lawyers and paralegals.

I’m walking down the hallway of glass encased offices, hoping to make it to the conference room before anyone else, allowing myself more than enough time to set up. My arms are filled with stacks of files, the papers sticking out the edges, when I see a familiar man walking toward me. He’s dressed in a crisp black suit, a slim black tie underneath. The bright white of his shirt is the same shade as his perfectly straight teeth.

“Max?” I stop in my tracks, nearly dropping the files all over the carpeted floor.

Rushing toward me, he reaches out, stopping them from falling. “Hey, Lena.” He starts grabbing at the files, holding them against his chest. “Here, let me help you with those.”

“Thanks.” I give him a tight-lipped smile and nod down the hallway, indicating where I’m headed. He follows without question.

“What are you doing here?” I ask him.

“Logan didn’t tell you?” He smirks. “Candace is the lawyer I hired to work out all the paperwork of making Logan my business partner.”

“Oh.” I nod. “Right. I’m sorry, I forgot.”

Max had offered Logan a partnership the night Julian sent me the photos of him and Natalie.

After I had come back home and we had aired out all our secrets, Logan finally told me what Max had offered him. I was thrilled for Logan, knowing deep down the job was meant for him all along.

When we reach the conference room, Logan pulls the handle on the large glass door, holding it open for me to walk in first. I set the stack of files down on the table and Max does the same, setting them on top.

“Hey,” Max says, sliding his hands into his pockets. The sleeves of his suit scrunch up. “I wanted to apologize about the whole thing with Abby.”

I dip my eyebrows, confused. “You don’t need to apologize, Max. Sometimes these things don’t work out.”

“Yeah,” he scoffs. “No kidding. Especially if she’s already taken. I may have an appreciation for women and come across as a player, but that’s my number one rule. A rule I never break under any circumstance.”

I stop sorting my files, looking up at Logan. “What’s your number one rule?”

“To never date a woman who’s already in a relationship.”

I shake my head, not believing a word he’s saying. I resume organizing my files. “I’m sorry, Max but I think you’re mistaken. She’s not in a relationship.”

“Are you sure?” Max asks. “She was pretty adamant about it. She said she’s been in a relationship for the past few months after being separated for nearly a year. She said they met each other in college and finally met back up here in Seattle.”

I step back feeling like the wind has been knocked against my chest. The air stings my irises as I stare at Max with widened eyes. “What? Did she say what his name was?”

He twists his mouth, glancing up at the ceiling. “Actually, no. I don’t think she did.”

“Are you sure that’s what she told you?”

Max pulls his eyebrows together, no doubt surprised I don’t trust him enough to be telling me the truth. “I’m not kidding, Lena. That’s what she said, or else we wouldn’t be having this conversation right now.”

I give him a fake laugh. Max is one of the cockiest, sweetest men I’ve ever known. He is also quite possibly the worst at gauging a person’s mood.

My palms sweat and the back of my neck prickles with goose bumps. Why would Abby lie and keep her relationship a secret from me? She told me Max wasn’t her type, mentioning nothing about having a boyfriend. But she never told me it was because she was involved with someone else.

My first thought is Julian. Never in a million years did I think Abby would be in a relationship with my ex-boyfriend. The same boyfriend who hated her and wasn’t shy about hiding it. I also couldn’t ignore the fact that Max had painted the possibility that it could be Julian. Someone she had known in college and didn’t speak to for a year.

I swallow, suddenly needing a drink of water. I grab the pitcher of water sitting in the middle of the table and fill a glass to the top. Max stands at the end of the table, watching me in silence.

I down its entire contents then walk back over to the end of the table where Max is.

“Are you okay, Lena?” His eyebrows are dipped in concern.Finally, he caught up.

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