Page 49 of The Runaway Bride and the Billionaire

Fitzroy Corp was doing poorly as expected. Unexpectedly, Ryx Cement was also suffering by association. Some of my employees believed I should step in and stick my neck out of Ryx Cement. Others believed we should simply focus on our four other suppliers and let Ryx Cement face this mess alone. It was too much of a risk to put our necks on the line.

We were casting our votes about the best way forward when I zoned out. I was facing a major company decision but I was still thinking about Amelia. I pushed thoughts of her aside and focused on the matter at hand.

They’d all cast their votes but at the end of the day, mine was the deciding vote. I thought of Ryx Cement and its owner, Benedict Randolph. He was one of the people who took a chance on me when I was just starting out. He’d vouched for me and helped me get into rooms I could only dream of entering. He’d been an integral part of my success. My answer was obvious.

I would gladly vouch for Ryx Cement.

***

My grandmother’s visit was unexpected. It wasn’t like her to come back to New York so soon after leaving. I wasn’t complaining though. I cherished every moment I got to spend with her. She’d been in my life for as long as I could remember. And while I loved to see her happily traveling the world, there were days when I missed sitting in the house with her on a lazy Sunday afternoon.

She walked into my office with a large smile on her face. I tried to return it but mine came off tight and forced. She knew me well enough to know something was wrong.

“What happened?” she asked as she walked over to the couch. She took a seat and patted the spot next to her.

I felt like a child who’d just had a bad day at school and was being implored by his mother to tell her about it. Nevertheless, I went. I took a seat beside her and sighed. “Amelia is gone.” I chose not to beat around the bush. She would find out eventually. “We had a fight and she left.”

“When was this?”

“A few days ago.”

My grandmother nodded. “And when do you plan to go after her?”

“I’m not going to do that.”

“Really? So, you’re willing to lose the woman you love for the second time?” she asked.

She didn’t say much after that. She simply left me to stew in the weight of her question. It remained a constant burden for the rest of the day. When I finally left the office, Eddie was waiting downstairs. He’d never given an opinion about my life before, but I could tell from the look on his face that he also didn’t think I should let Amelia go.

“Any stops on the way home sir?” he would ask.

What he was really asking was if I planned to pick Amelia up from her office. I always told him no and he always responded with a curt nod and a deep frown. From Agnes to my grandmother to Eddie, everyone seemed to think I was making a huge mistake.

As I lay in bed that night staring at the ceiling above me, I thought about Amelia and all we’d been through. It had been a difficult ride but somehow, we managed to make it back to each other.

Was I willing to lose the woman I loved for the second time? My grandmother’s question echoed in my head.

It was easy for her to tell that I loved Amelia. Probably because I’d never stopped loving her. I loved her even when I hated her. I loved her even when she broke my heart. Loving her came as naturally to me as breathing.

I hadn’t fought for Amelia the first time we split up. Back then, she’d obeyed her parents’ wishes because it was all she’d ever done. She was completely dependent on them, and she couldn’t imagine a world where she didn’t do exactly what they told her to. I should have understood that. I should have fought for her on the days when she couldn’t fight for herself.

I sat up in bed and ran a hand through my hair. What was I doing? I couldn’t let Amelia go again without a fight. She mattered too much to me. I couldn’t give up on her so easily. I loved too much to let things end simply because of an argument. It didn’t matter who was right and who was wrong. All that mattered was that I loved her.

It was time to put my pride aside and go after her.

The next day, I called Eddie and told him not to come to work. Then I drove straight to Phoenix Consulting. It was still early when I got there. Only a few employees had arrived. I stayed in my car as I waited for Amelia.

It didn’t take long before I saw her step out of the cab. I went after her, my feet carrying me at a faster pace than usual. I realized that I missed her. My hands ached to touch her. My body ached to feel her against me.

Amelia turned around just as I reached her side. Shock flashed over her face before her features settled into displeasure. Time stretched out before us as we stared at each other. A small breeze pushed a strand of her hair into her face. I was tempted to lift my hand and brush it aside, but I put my hands in my pockets instead. This wasn’t the time to touch her. We still had many hurdles to cross before she would let me into her life like that again.

“What are you doing here?” she asked as she tucked the strand behind her ear.

“We need to talk.”

She shook her head. “We have nothing to talk about, Matteo.”

“Yes, we do. We need to talk about us and how—”

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