Page 34 of Say You Remember Me
“Okay,” I said, wanting to ask more but knowing it wasn’t my place. “I’ll move it into the personal tab for you to respond to later.”
“Thanks. That will be great.” He glanced at his watch. As if seeing that it was later than expected, he drew in a quick breath and said, “Well, I better head out. Mr. Paloski’s probably already waiting for me across the street.”
“Right. Your lunch meeting.” I smiled, trying to push down the swirl of curiosity and confusion the email had stirred in me.
Had he seemed unsettled by my mention of the email?
Or was I just projecting things because I was so curious?
Once Ian left, I logged out of my computer and went to grab the lunch I’d left in the break room yesterday. I found a quiet corner near the window and sat down to eat my sandwich and yogurt. But as I ate, my mind kept drifting back to Margot Cavanaugh and why she’d be emailing Ian.
Knowing I wouldn’t be able to settle down until I’d satisfied my curiosity, I pulled out my phone and typed “Ian Hastings and Margot Cavanaugh” into the internet browser’s search bar.
It took a moment, but then my screen populated with a few different articles. The first from about nine years ago with the headline:Future Power Couple No More: Ian Hastings and Margot Cavanaugh Call Off Engagement
My breath caught as I read the last word.Engagement?
Ian had been engaged?I stared at the headline, the words blurring for a moment.To Margot?
I clicked on the article, and as soon as it loaded, I started skimming, my pulse quickening as I took in the details.
For the past two years, Ian Hastings and Margot Cavanaugh have been the picture-perfect couple, turning heads everywhere they went. Ian, the dashing heir to the Hastings business empire, was the charming businessman-in-the-making, while Margot, a glamorous socialite and model, seemed destined to become one half of the ultimate power duo. Their relationship, which began during their junior year at a prestigious boarding school in Connecticut, captivated the public, especially when Ian proposed two years later while the two were students at Yale.
From the outside, their relationship appeared flawless. Together, they graced red carpets, charity galas, and even made it to the cover ofStyle Magazine's "Top 10 Couples to Watch." They were young, successful, and seemingly madly in love—a match made in high-society heaven. But just as quickly as their fairytale seemed to be unfolding, it came to a shocking halt.
Fans and followers were stunned when news of their breakup broke, mere months after their engagement. While Ian and Margot have yet to comment on the reason behind the split, sources close to the couple suggested that their relationship began to unravel after Margot was spotted out with the hockey star Rhys Applegate since the two were seen together just weeks before the breakup announcement.
I stared at the screen, my heart sinking a little as I scrolled past a photo of Ian and Margot in their red-carpet glory. He looked so happy there. So in love.
How had it been to go through such a public heartbreak at such a young age? It was hard enough having your trust shattered in private, but for the whole world to watch it unfold? That had to cut deeper than most people could understand.
My thoughts drifted back to how vulnerable I’d felt after Jaxon betrayed me—after putting all my hopes and plans intoour future together. The humiliation, the pain, the feeling that the rug had been yanked out from under my life.
And Ian had been—what? Nineteen?—when everything fell apart for him. When the woman he’d asked to marry him had gone on to date someone else.
No wonder he hasn’t had any serious relationships since then.Having your trust betrayed like that—by someone you thought you’d spend the rest of your life with—broke something in you. It made you put up walls. Made you scared to get hurt again.
Was this why, if what Sloan had told me was true, none of Ian’s relationships seemed to last more than two weeks? Was he so averse to getting his heart broken again that he decided to never really give it to anyone at all?
I’m reading into it too much.I sighed, shaking my head. Just because we’d both been hurt didn’t mean we were the same.
I’d known him for less than two weeks. There was no way I could know what he’d gone through, or what had made him the way he was now.
Plus, this was an article from a gossip magazine. So who knows if any of this was even true. It could all just be speculation from someone hoping to make a lot of money off a juicy story.
Still, my heart went out to the younger version of him. Because Ian Hastings—the suave, confident businessman everyone admired—had been burned.
Just like anyone else.
My mind drifted back to the email. Margot had mentioned she’d been thinking about Ian a lot lately and wanted to catch up.
Was “catch up” code for “make up?”
Was it bad that I really hoped it wasn’t?
11
MADDIE
