Page 12 of Anything For This Love

Evan, the Department Manager, knocks on the door frame to my office, stepping into the open doorway. “Hey, Jacob,” he greets, shuffling a stack of papers in his hands. “I brought the new employee over with me so you two can meet.”

“Great,” I reply, hitting send on the email I’d just finished before rising from my desk. “Send him in.”

“Uh, well.” I look up, curious about his hesitation, and my eyes widen in disbelief. The new guy I was expecting, Aaron, isn’t a guy at all. A very tall, leggy young woman with strawberry blonde hair and eyes the color of an Arctic glacier breezes past Evan and walks right up to me, jutting out her hand.

“Hi, I’m Erin O'Rourke. I’m the new guy.”

I glance at her name tag as I shake her hand. Yep, it’s definitely Erin, not Aaron. Her pink lips tilt up in a crooked smile.

The new guy is a girl.

I have no problem with it. On the contrary, I’m a huge advocate for having more women in the engineering field, but this particular woman looks a lot like Maggie Greyson. She carries herself like the women in our circle, the women Abby has always felt insecure around.

I worry what she’ll think of me working with Erin. We’ll be in close quarters while she trains, spending several hours a day together. Knowing Abby, this will set her on edge. I just hope she trusts me enough to realize it doesn’t matter what the new engineer looks like or how smart she is, because my new coworker doesn’t hold a candle to her.

Abby is the one I want. It will always be her. She’s the only woman I have eyes for.

After Erin and I exchange greetings, we get straight to work. No time for small talk. Plus, I’m desperate to keep our relationship strictly professional. I go over the details of my current project, quizzing her on potential problems we may face. She answers every one of them correctly and without hesitation.

Several of my peers stop by to check in with me, borrow my stapler, ask if I have a spare pen, or simply see if I need help with anything. I internally roll my eyes at their lame attempts to meet Erin. Word has obviously gotten around about the attractive new female employee.

By the time I leave, I’m ready to be alone for a moment and gather my thoughts. What am I going to do? How will I tell Abby about Erin? Perhaps it’s best not to mention any details about my new colleague for now. I don’t want to mess things up with Abby. We’re finally in a good place, and I don’t want to jeopardize that.

My phone rings with a video call as soon as I walk through the front door. Expecting it to be Abby, my heart rate kicks up, excitement filling me with the anticipation of seeing her face. But when I glance at the screen my brow furrows, worry and surprise taking over when I see Ama’s name instead. An unsettling feeling washes over me. I hope nothing is wrong with Abby or Chloe.

I answer the call and Ama’s face fills the screen. A second later, Chloe pops into the frame, blocking out the view of her great-grandmother.

“Hi, Daddy!” she squeals. Warmth engulfs me and my lips curl into a smile. Her sweet little voice is a welcome distraction.

“Hey, Chloe Bug! Where’s your mama?”

“She’s at Rosie’s,” Ama offers, trying to see around Chloe.

A spike of adrenaline fills my veins and my heart rate skyrockets to an unhealthy speed. It’s silly, I know, but part of me is terrified she’s with someone else. “What’s she doing there?” I try to keep my voice casual, even though I’m waiting on pins and needles for her response.

“She picked up a shift,” Ama replies, waving her hand nonchalantly.

“That’s odd. I thought she gave that job up.” When Ama simply shrugs, suspicion creeps over the back of my neck, slipping down my spine like an unwanted caress. There’s something she’s not telling me. “Any idea when she’ll be home?”

“I think she closes this evening, so it will be late. She didn’t want

Chloe to miss her nightly call with you so she asked me to step in.”

My apprehension grows. Abby will be getting in late, then she’ll have to turn around and be at work early tomorrow. I have no idea why she’s doing this to herself, but I’m determined to get to the bottom of it.

“I appreciate you doing this,” I say through a forced smile. I talk to Chloe for a few more minutes, letting her jabber away. Her speech is becoming more decipherable, but I still don’t know what she’s saying half the time. Abby can usually interpret for me, which is another reason why I miss her on tonight’s call. A longing ache fills my chest at that thought. Abby knows our daughter so much better than I do. I need to play catch up, and I’m starting to wonder how I can possibly do that from three hundred miles away.

When we end our call, I type out a quick text to Abby.

Me:Call me when you get a chance. We need to talk.

A few minutes later, her response comes through.

Abby: OK.

My posture remains rigid and my shoulders tense as I heat up my dinner and eat in front of the TV. It feels like an eternity passes as I wait for Abby’s call. When it finally comes, I fight the urge to answer on the first ring, anxious as I am to speak with her. I hold out until the third ring and finally swipe my finger over the screen.

“Hello.”

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