Page 118 of The One I Need
“What were you expecting?”
“For you to have a sensible way to deal with this and end up having to talk me out of heading to the airport right now so I could catch a plane to London.”
Shane laughs and stands with me. “Go get your girl. I’ll drive.”
I give him a man-hug, complete with three back pats, as I head to my bedroom to start packing when something he said hits me.
“Wait!” I turn around and point at him. “What did you mean you know what it’s like to live with regret? Who do you regret? When did you ever regret things? Are you hiding something from me? Who got away? Wait! Did Amelia get away? Is that why you’ve been acting weird? You were standing close to her. Like a weird close. What’s going on? Why don’t I know any of this? Am I even your best friend?”
Shane laughs and shakes his head. “I’ll fill you in later.”
Chapter41
Izzy
“And last,but certainly not least, we could not be here today without Izzy McCall.” The office each holds up their glasses of champagne to me as Hazel continues to make her speech. “Not only did she fill in when things were looking, well, bleak, to say the least. But she also created a culture here that not only gave this company the energy it needed to push through during crunch time, but will continue for years to come. Everyone, raise their glasses to Izzy!”
I give a small wave as a round of applause comes from the room full of employees as we celebrate the official launch of Left for Love: London. And it’s a well-deserved celebration. We became the most downloaded app on the first day in United Kingdom history, we had a record number of new users, and, even better, we got it done when things looked like it wasn't going to happen.
These two months have been literal blood, sweat, and tears. It’s been sleepless nights and early mornings. But it’s done, and I should feel proud. I take that back; I am proud. I’m proud as hell of every single person in this room who did what they needed to do to get this ready. What I’m not proud of is how I treated Oliver over the past few months.
I’ve ignored him. I didn’t mean to. And I didn’t do it on purpose. It just felt like every time he called, or I had a second to call him, something came up here and I’d have to go. Or I’d fall asleep before we could talk. Or I’d already be in the office and busy when he got home from his day.
For years I didn’t care about love or relationships, so pulling these kinds of days excited me. I’d basically ask Hazel for projects that would keep me so busy I could ignore the loneliness in my life.
I don’t think I can do that anymore.
“Why aren’t you excited?” Hazel asks as she finds me hiding in the back of the room. “You should be in the center of the floor, receiving every bit of praise and congratulations you’ve earned.”
I shrug it off. “It was a team effort.”
“Bullshit,” Hazel says, giving me a head nod as I follow her away from the crowd. “I mean, it’s not bullshit. You had a hell of a team here, and once they knew what to do, they were solid. But they only knew what to do because of you.”
“Thank you,” I say. “We got it done.”
“Now I need to ask you the important questions, how are you doing? And if you say you’re fine, I’m going to smack you.”
I let out a small laugh. “I’m fucking exhausted.”
“As you should be. But I meant personally. I hate what I had to ask you to do. Ask Knox, I spent nights feeling guilty.”
“Why did you feel guilty?”
“Hiring Edwin for one,” she begins. “I can’t believe I missed so badly on that one.”
“Don’t beat yourself up. He had us all fooled.”
“I guess,” she says. “But then that blunder required you coming out here and fucking up everything with your life. I saw Oliver at the grocery store one day and he looked so sad. I wanted to go up and give him a hug but I didn’t because I was afraid he was going to be mad at me for sending you away.”
We both take a seat on a couch in the hallway. “Don’t beat yourself up. Remember, I volunteered as well. This was a mutual decision. But you were right, I was the logical choice. Did it suck having to leave Oliver? It did. But you know what? I’d do it again. I’d do it again every time you asked.”
This clearly surprises Hazel. “Really? Why?”
I grab both of her hands, cupping them in mine. “Do you remember all those years ago when a random red head inserted herself into a conversation you were having at a bar and hired herself to come work for your company.”
“Vaguely,” Hazel says with a chuckle.
“I never really told you this, but you saved me that night. And for that, I will forever be grateful.”
