Page 37 of The Breakup Broker

There was a pause, sharp and deliberate. “What do you want, Henry?” Her voice was clipped—she wasn’t interested in pleasantries.

“Please, don’t hang up,” I blurted. My grip on the steering wheel tightened. “This is important.”

Another pause. I could practically hear her weighing her options. She was deciding whether to cut me off or let me get to the point.

“You’ve got two minutes,” she said, her voice clipped.

“It’s about James,” I started, my voice steadier now. This was the part that mattered.

The shift in her demeanor was immediate. “Is he okay?” she asked, concern cracking through her professional armor.

“Normally, no,” I admitted, my jaw tightening. “But this morning was different. You made a difference, Savvy. He was himself again, even if just for a little while.”

“Henry,” she cut in, her voice sharpening like a blade. “If this is some manipulative ploy to drag me back into your family’s mess…”

“It’s not,” I interrupted, sharper than I intended. I took a deep breath, forcing myself to stay calm. “This isn’t about the family. It’s about James. Please, he needs you.”

There was a long stretch of silence. I could almost hear her pacing, the scrape of a chair, or the sound of footsteps muffled on the other end.

“Do you know what you’re asking of me?” she said, her voice sharp and unsteady. “Do you even care what this has cost me? Henry, my career is…” She stopped herself, but I knew exactly what she was thinking, what she’d lost because of me.

“I didn’t mean for any of this to happen,” I said, guilt twisting in my chest. “I didn’t want to hurt you, Savvy. Or your career.”

“But you did,” she snapped. “You always do. And now you want me to risk even more? For what?”

“For him,” I said, my voice almost breaking. “For James. Because today … today was the best day he’s had in months, Savvy. You gave him that. And I want him to have more days like this, when he’s himself again.”

Her exhale was sharp, almost like a sardonic laugh, but there was no humor in it. “Well, I’m glad you got one good day, Henry, because I came home to find out your family is meddling in my life—again. Building inspections and last-minute Hail Marys from James? You can’t stay out of my life, can you?”

“I know,” I admitted, my jaw tightening. “My father is at it again. He’s behind the inspector.”

Her silence was heavy, loaded with anger and resignation.

“Of course he is,” she said, her voice dripping with disdain. “Why wouldn’t he be? God forbid Richard Kingston lets me live in peace.”

“I’ll fix it,” I said quickly, my voice steady with a conviction I’m not sure I deserve. “I’ll do whatever it takes to stop him. … but don’t let James spend his last days wondering what might have been. He needs you, Savvy. And whether or not you want to admit it, you know it.”

She didn’t reply immediately, but I heard her exhale—sharp and weary. “I told him I’d think about it,” she said softly, almost like she was reminding herself.

“Thank you,” I said, relief and guilt flooding through me all at once. “That’s all I’m asking. Just … don’t wait too long. The good days are slipping away faster than we can hold onto them.”

“Goodbye, Henry,” she said, her voice sharper now, with anote of finality.

“Savvy, wait?—”

The line went dead.

I dropped the phone into the passenger seat, the silence in the car suddenly deafening. For a long moment, I sat there, staring at the dashboard. I’d been able to fix things, smooth over the cracks, and keep the machine running. But this? This felt like trying to hold water in my hands. No matter what I did, it kept slipping through.

My phone buzzed again, pulling me back into reality.

Mason

Your father rescheduled the board meeting. Tomorrow morning, 7 a.m.

Perfect. As if this day wasn’t complicated enough.

I pressed Mason’s name on the screen and waited as the line rang.

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