She’s blushing and giddy, and I do my best to meet her with the enthusiasm she deserves.
“Oh my God, Clem! That’s amazing!”
“Thank you.”
I narrow my eyes at her. “Sothatis why you’re looking extra cute today.”
She wrinkles her nose. “Cute? All this effort and I just get acute?”
“You look fab, babe. Sexy, hot, fuck-a-licious. All the best things. He’s a lucky guy.”
“It felt forced, but I’ll take it.” She shoves a spoonful of her cereal into her mouth. “Are you doing okay with all of this?”
“I don’t have a choice. Time marches on, and he’ll be back in nine months or so. Maybe we can resume then.” I shrug half-heartedly.
“Or maybe you’re writing the end when it’s really just the start of a new chapter.”
“A hard chapter,” I mutter.
“Maybe. Probably. But the best things in life don’t come easy, so stop sulking and start fighting.”
I sit with those words and wonder whether she’s right. I’m not giving up. It’s just the first morning he’s gone, and truthfully, it hasn’t affected us yet. I wouldn’t have seen him this morning anyway. It just feels different, and I need a minute to get over that.
I’ll get there.
I’m allowed to be cranky. I’m allowed to miss him. I’m allowed to want to fly to San Diego tonight to see him.
I blow out a breath, finish my yogurt, give Clem a hug, and head into the office.
I walk straight toward my dad’s office when I arrive, and he glances up when he hears my light knock on the doorframe.
He raises his brows. “Shut the door.”
Fuck. I feel like I’m in trouble. Like I’m twelve all over again and he’s yelling at me for stealing eyeshadow from Target when it was Lynne Morris who did it. Like I’m fifteen all over again and he’s yelling at me for sneaking vodka from the liquor cabinet.
Okay, fine. That one was me.
I’m not sure what I’m being scolded for this time, though—unless he knows about Madden and me.
I slip into the chair across from him, and he fixes a glare on me. Or he’s studying me. It’s hard to tell the difference.
“I got an interesting email from Oliver out of the Aliso Viejo office.”
I raise my brows and play dumb. “Oh?”
He nods. “He said he has several ideas for new projects in the area, but he’s already overbooked. He said he’d like to hire a new developer. He has several bid walks lined up in the coming months, and I thought it over and came up with you. Not as a new employee, but as someone already versed in bids and bid walks. You won half the work from SCS as we worked together, and since that’s the main project you’re heading up here, I can afford to have you commuting between here and LA if that’s something you’d be interested in.”
Is he kidding me right now?
Is this seriously falling directly onto my lap as if my prayers are being answered?
I just went from not being sure when the hell I’d see Madden again to being offered the chance to work out of the office a mere hour away from him.
The light that fills me from the inside is surely shining brightly in my expression, but I’m careful to school it so my father doesn’t catch it and figure out why I’m so eager to get to the LA office.
“I have several other projects here, too,” I say, trying my best to sound defensive but already knowing what he’ll say. “I’m not sure I could afford the travel commitments.”
“I’ve considered that, and I think Sara could likely take on your additional projects here. I don’t want you to give up SCS, but we’re on permitting now anyway, so it’ll be a bit before you have more to do there. You could probably get away with spending the next week or so in LA if it’s something you’d be interested in.”