Page 49 of Heal Me
Chapter Thirteen
Late that afternoon, Ric and Tyler were seated in Ric’s office, brainstorming and looking over their presentation for the following day for errors. Their team had also worked on it and they felt that what they’d come up with would reassure and inspire their board and stockholders.
Tyler sighed and closed his laptop. “I think that about covers it. I could use a drink.”
Ric finished making a couple of notes and nodded. “Yeah. Sounds good. Where do you want to go?”
“How about Farley’s place. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to run into a bunch of people we know and have to talk shop. I think a good break tonight would be good for us. Beer, sports, and junk food,” Tyler said. “How does that sound to you?”
“Excellent.”
Ric’s Skype notification on his laptop went off. “It’s Chase.”
Tyler rolled his chair around so that he could see, too.
Ric hit the answer button and Chase came into view. A jolt of shock ran through Ric when he saw tears rolling down Chase’s cheeks.
“Chase? What’s wrong?”
Agony was etched on Chase’s face and his brown eyes were red-rimmed and puffy. He put a hand to his chest and inhaled sharply. “It’s Smiley,” he said in a tremulous voice. “I just got word when I landed that he was…” He broke down for a few moments. “He was in a car wreck when he went out to get lunch. Oh, God. He didn’t make it.”
Ric and Tyler were rendered mute by the horrible news. Chase went out of sight, but they heard his harsh sobs and the floor of what looked like a restroom floor. Ric knew that outside of him and Tyler, Bruce was Chase’s best friend.
Tyler cleared his throat as he blinked away tears. “Chase, where are you?”
Chase came back into view, wiping his eyes with toilet paper. “I’m still at the airport. I just booked the first flight they have back to L.A. I have to get to the hospital and start making funeral arrangements since he didn’t have anyone. He was the first friendly face when I came to LA and I owe him.”
“Buddy, are you all right to fly by yourself? Do you want one of us to go with you?”
Chase shook his head. “No, you gotta take care of things there. I’m sorry you have to do it without me, but doing right by Smiley is more important to me than stockholders right now. I’ll be okay. I gotta pull it together for my crew, you know? They’re all just as torn up as me.”
Ric brushed away tears. “Us, too. He was a good friend and an asset to our firm. Do whatever you need to do. We’re all going to miss him. Call us later when you have more information, okay? Doesn’t matter what time it is. Don’t worry about us.
Chase took a deep breath and nodded. “Yeah. Thanks, guys. Okay. Talk to you later.”
They hung up with Chase and looked at each other.
“I can’t believe it,” Tyler said, rubbing his temple. “I’m going to miss Smiley like hell.”
Ric smiled even though his throat ached from grief. “Yeah. He used to rag on me about Junior being my favorite driver. He made a hell of a cheeseburger, too.”
Tyler stood up. “Let’s go tell the others. It should come from us. The news might’ve already spread, though.”
Ric nodded and followed Tyler, dreading having to inform their employees about such a tragic loss.
*****
Ric didn’t make it back to Cooper’s Creek for two weeks because he was kept busy putting out one fire after another. Their stockholders’ meeting had been successful, but in the wake of Smiley’s death, it hadn’t been as satisfying as it normally would’ve been.
Other issues had cropped up, requiring Ric’s full attention, too. He and Kate talked at night and Ric was grateful to her for listening to him. He returned the favor, commiserating with her when she’d had to put a horse and two dogs down in one week. It frustrated him that he couldn’t be there to hold her, but there wasn’t anything he could do about it.
Both of them had their separate responsibilities, so they had to put their personal wants and desires on hold for the time being. On the night before he was supposed to fly to Denver, Ric prayed that nothing came up to keep him in New York. His need to see Kate was overwhelming and he couldn’t wait to get home.
He admitted to himself that his feelings for Kate had intensified even more since he’d been gone. The intense desire he felt for her was a part of it, but more importantly, he missed sitting and talking with her. Communicating over phone and Skype was all right, but he needed to be with her in person.
Sitting in the living room of the apartment that used to belong to Tyler, Ric suddenly found the place too big and empty for just one person to occupy after having lived with Tyler and Emily for almost a month. He missed Hayley like crazy and talked to her every day, too.
Since nothing on TV interested him, Ric decided to go to bed. As he undressed, he thought once again about how nice sleeping with Kate in his arms had been. That simple closeness was addicting and Ric craved Kate in more way than one when he got in bed that night. He tried to relax and drift off, but he was wide awake.
