Page 53 of If I See You Again
“Mr. Thomas, I want to start this off by saying thank you for the last eight years. You gave me an opportunity right out of school, and I learned a lot in my time here.”
Malcolm’s knee bounced a little as he spoke, and I had to reach across to place a hand on it to stop him from fidgeting so much. He gave me a fast little smile before going back to speaking.
“The last few weeks have been eye-opening to me. I’ve been here through the loss of my brother, and you never batted an eye when I went through that. Then I get a major account, and you ride me like I don’t know what I’m doing. I get into a car accident that was pretty bad, and instead of being any type of understanding, I’m harassed while I’m still in the hospital.”
He pulled the envelope with his resignation letter from his pocket and held it up. “I had every intention of coming in here today and doing the right thing. To give you my resignation and a proper notice…” He trailed off as his voice caught, and he looked at me. His eyes were wide, like he realized what he’d just done. This wasn’t giving notice, this was quitting. This was putting his foot down and saying that what Mr. Thomas haddone wasn’t okay, and I couldn’t be more proud of him at that moment.
“Mr. Fisher—”
“No. And I am sorry that it came to this.”
Mr. Thomas sat quietly for a minute as if he were processing what was happening in his office. He finally sighed, shoulders sinking in defeat. “I can’t blame you, Mr. Fisher. There was no excuse for the way I’ve been treating you. I’ve had some things going on in my personal life, and I let that transfer to my professional life. I’m sad to lose you as a consequence of that.”
Malcolm said nothing, only nodding as he stood and passed the envelope across the desk to his now former boss.
“I’ll clean out my office. Thank you again for the opportunity.”
“David?”
I shook my head as my sister called my name. Was that the first time, or had she been trying to get my attention? I’d been so lost in the memory of what had transpired not even an hour ago.
“Yes, sorry, what was that?”
She laughed. “Where is he?”
My face heated as I looked across the room again. Malcolm had stopped packing his things and was studying me, holding a stack of files over a box.
“He’s—he’s here? Why?”
She giggled. “So when do I finally get to meet this guy of yours, huh?”
“Move to Chicago.” It was my final answer, and I disconnected the call before moving across the room to wrap my arms around Malcolm. He chuckled as he dropped the files into the box.
“You’re so different when you talk to your sister.”
I nuzzled his ear. “My sister is the last thing I want to talk about right now. I want to talk about how incredibly proudof you I am. You’re absolutely amazing. Have I told you that lately?”
He wriggled in my grasp, trying to go back to packing, but I wasn’t having it. No, this moment was important. This needed to happen when I had the balls, while it meant something, and I knew he’d understand that it wasn’t just something being said in the heat of the moment.
I only allowed Malcolm enough room to turn in my grasp. His arms draped over my shoulders before he placed a quick kiss against my lips. “I need to get back to packing.”
“I love you.”
The words dangled in the air as Malcolm’s eyes widened for a moment, but he didn’t pull away from me. It was as if everything coalesced into that one perfect moment, and he realized what I’d been doing.
“David?”
“Malcolm, I know. It’s been an adventurous few months, but I just… know. You’re it for me, and I can’t imagine my life with anyone different. Yeah, we’re making some big, scary changes today, but I want you in my life.”
He chewed at his bottom lip for a moment, a hint of a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
“Even with… everything?”
I laughed because while the man had a bit of a history, he hadn’t scared me off with any of it. “Becauseof everything.”
He melted against me, tears forming in his eyes as he blinked them away. “David, that’s—that’s probably the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me.”
“Gorgeous, you deserve all of that and more.”
