Page 142 of Crazy In Love
Clark
Just tell the girl how you feel, and you can keep working on yourself after.
Rafe
Right. It’s a marathon not a sprint.
I meet with Debbie today to discuss this further. I’ve sent you the positive affirmation and my work here is done.
A bunchof middle finger emojis came through the text chain, but I tucked my phone in my back pocket and grabbed my keys.
My phone rang as I drove to my therapist’s office, and Brenner’s voice came through the Bluetooth.
“Hey, boss,” he said. “Jacqueline was late for the third time this week. I’ve heard she’s dealing with some drama at home, but I know you don’t tolerate repeated tardiness. Should I have HR write her up?” Jacqueline was an engineer who’d worked for me for two years, and she’d impressed me on multiple occasions.
“Nah. Set up a meeting for me and her tomorrow morning. I’ll be in the city. Maybe there’s something going on with her. Letme see if I can get to the bottom of it,” I said as I pulled into the parking lot at Debbie’s office.
“I’m not going to lie, I enjoy this gentler, softer version of you.” He chuckled.
I rolled my eyes. “Not gentle or soft, asshole.”
“Whatever you say, boss.” He paused, but I could tell he had more to say by the way he kept starting and stopping a sentence.
“I’ve got an appointment, Brenner. Spit it out.”
“I miss our girl. Any chance you’re going to fix that situation soon? I want to hire her to do a renovation on my condo, but I don’t want to piss off my overbearing boss.”
I barked out a laugh. “You are such a dickhead sometimes. You can obviously hire her anytime you want. But yes, I’m working on it. I miss her, too.”
A loud, dramatic sigh came through the speaker of my truck. “Well, lookee here. The broody bastard really does have a heart.”
“Hey, even the sun shines on a dog’s ass some days.” I laughed. “I’ve got to go. Get that meeting set up. I’ll be in the office tomorrow.”
I made my way upstairs to Debbie’s office. I’d met with her three times a week for the last few weeks. Much more than I wanted to meet, but she’d drawn a hard line in the sand, insisting it was necessary.
Apparently, I was a fucked-up mess, which could all be fixed by admitting it.
Not really my style, but I was motivated.
I wasn’t sleeping well, I’d lost my appetite, and I missed my lady.
I missed her laugh.
I missed her smile.
Hell, I missed the way she karate-chopped the throw pillows on the couch and made my coffee with a little cinnamon heart on the foam every morning.
I missed her body.
I missed her voice.
So, I would do whatever it took to be worthy, even if it meant begging her to come back to me.
I knocked on the door, and Debbie called out for me to come inside. I took my seat on the brown faded leather couch and crossed my feet at the ankles.
“You seem… lighter today,” Debbie said. She had blonde hair that was cut blunt at her shoulders, and she wore red glasses and always a colorful dress.
“So I’ve been told.”
