Page 115 of Mad Rivals
“I’d imagine you’d get to decide that when you’re in charge. What will you do?”
I take a sip of the drink. “No clue. There’s nothing keeping me in San Diego now that Madden and I are over.”
“Are you, though?”
“Are we what?” I ask.
“Over. Is this a break, or is it the end?”
I lift a shoulder. “It feels pretty damn permanent, and the fact that he hasn’t bothered to call in weeks combined with the fact that he gave Newman to me tells me he’s done with me.”
She tilts her head. “Babe, when it’s as strong as it was between you two, is it ever really over?”
She makes a good point.
I stare into my drink. “I don’t want to talk about him. Tell me something good.”
“Lainie started getting serious with some guy, so I have the apartment to myself almost every weekend,” she says. “Why don’t you spend the night? It’ll be like old times. We can make popcorn and drink ourselves silly.”
“It’s a tempting offer, but I don’t want to take you away from Lance,” I say.
She reaches across the table and squeezes my hand. “You’re here, and it’s been weeks since we’ve had time together. You’re not taking me away from anything.”
She really is a good friend.
I nod. “Okay. Let’s have a sleepover.”
And we do. It really is like old times. We both fall asleep on the couch watching sappy rom-coms, and when I wake in the morning, despite a slight headache from drinking more vodka than I have in weeks, I feel a little better. We go out again later that evening, and she introduces me to Lance, who really does seem perfect for her.
I need more weekends with Clem and less weekends by myself focusing on everything I’ve lost.
Maybe it’s time to put myself out there. Maybe it’s time to build a network of friends in my new city.
Maybe it’s time to face reality and start moving on from what I thought was supposed to be my happy ending.
CHAPTER 50: Madden Bradley
You’re Out. I’m in.
I’m back in Chicago on Monday morning, and after a quick check-in with SCS, I officially delegate the project to Margot until the end of this season. She came with me to the SCS offices this morning, and she’s been briefed on everything she needs to know for the next phase of the project.
It feels like the final nail in the coffin of my relationship with Kennedy. It was the last loose end that I needed to tie up to really extract myself from having to work with her.
I didn’t have the heart to email her to let her know who I assigned to the project in my place. Instead I gave Margot her details and told her to take care of introducing herself.
It shouldn’t feel as shitty as it does. It’s been four weeks now since I ended things with her. We were only together a couple months. I figured by now I would’ve moved forward, only…I haven’t.
At all. Not even a little.
And it’s why I find myself at the Bradley Group headquarters after my meeting with SCS, waiting outside my father’s office for a quick meeting. If I get targeted because of my father’s investigations, that’s one thing. But ifshedoes, I could never forgive myself. So I’m here to ensure that won’t happen.
I thought I would be nervous to hold a meeting like this, but the truth is that there’s really nothing to be nervous about. I already lost everything. What’s the worst that could happen now?
I’m trying something new. I’m making an attempt.
Four weeks and no healing tells me I have to fight for her. I feel like I always knew that deep down, but I allowed the pressures of timelines and deadlines and legacies to get in my head.
No more excuses now. It’s time to fight, and it’s time to win.
