Page 30 of Heart of Stone
I wasn’t sure how I’d ever face Reid again.
And it was that uncertainty, that fear, of how it would go down with him that led to me sticking to my office all day today. I came in slightly earlier than usual this morning just to lessen the possibility of running into him. Throughout the day, despite the urge I had to do the opposite, I remained in my office. I did that to avoid him and to stop myself from seeking out colleagues who might not have wanted to speak to me and were simply too nice to tell me the truth.
I hated having to admit that there was a small part of me that was hoping a knock would come on my office door, though. That Reid would feel some level of regret for how he’d treated me and would want to come to apologize to me.
It never happened.
And now that I’d reached the end of the day without a peep from him, I loathed that I had work-related items that required his attention, things that needed his signature. I could only hope I’d be so lucky as to get to his office after he had already left for the day. I was praying he’d ducked out just a touch early. Maybe, if I were truly fortunate, he hadn’t come in at all today.
Gathering up my things so I’d be able to make a swift exit after I dropped off the documents, I slipped out of my office and made my way to Reid’s.
Hesitantly, I knocked on the closed door. And unlike I’d done earlier this week, I waited until he’d spoken. “Come in.”
I inhaled deeply, curled my fingers around the handle, and pushed inside. My stomach was a trembling mess of nerves, andit was everything I could do to avoid his gaze. I kept my eyes trained on his desk as I made my approach with the file folder.
After setting it down, I spoke softly. “Everything inside that needs your attention is marked accordingly. Feel free to leave it on my desk when you’ve completed it.”
Without another word, certainly without waiting for a response, I turned to leave. I’d taken two whole steps toward the exit when Reid called my name. “Natalia?”
I froze, every muscle in my body beyond tense. Unwilling to look at him, I turned my head just enough to gaze down at the ground over my shoulder. From his vantage point, Reid could see my profile.
“About yesterday, I?—”
“Please,” I said, holding up my hand, as though attempting to physically halt his words. “I think you were right. Let’s not worry about yesterday and just keep our conversations to work-related discussions only.”
“Natalia?”
“I have somewhere to be. Excuse me.”
I could’ve sworn I heard him let out a growl of frustration as I stepped out of his office, but I didn’t let that stop me. And I definitely didn’t consider turning around to look at him.
I never claimed to be perfect. I certainly had my faults. But I refused to accept the kind of treatment Reid had given me yesterday. Whether he intended to say something to me now, to even utter an apology, didn’t matter. He had the entire day. He had all night last night. Not once had he approached me and tried to make it right. Even if he believed in what he’d been saying, he couldn’t deny that he’d gone about sharing it the wrong way. No matter how annoying he thought I was, regardless of how much I talked, I deserved better than being shouted at, and I’d be damned if I allowed him to think he could treat me that way and not even make the effort to fix it.
Given the hour, I wouldn’t have much time left, but I desperately needed some time at the lake. And since Irefusedto go anywhere near the lake that was situated right outside Reid’s cabin, I decided to do something I told myself I wouldn’t ever do.
Lake Erie.
I was going to go to Lake Erie and skip some stones to help me forget about how badly I’d been hurt by Reid’s words. I didn’t know it was possible for my chest to physically ache with the pain I felt over how he’d treated me.
And at Sandstone Heart, of all places.
For so long, it had been a haven for me. It was the one place that I’d always felt safe. Respected. Now, that was gone. And I didn’t think it’d ever be the same again. Perhaps I shouldn’t have gone to Barrett and Sylvia’s place in an effort to solidify my position at Sandstone Heart. If I hadn’t, maybe Reid would have already fired me, and I could have avoided the heartbreak that staying had led me to.
I’d made it to the lake and didn’t hesitate to find a few stones to throw. If I were lucky, I had thirty or forty minutes left before the sun would set, so I wanted to take full advantage of my time.
With each stone I tossed out into the water, the emotions bubbled up inside me. The hurt, the loneliness, the overwhelming desire to be loved. I’d lost everything that mattered. All of it. And the only thing I had left was the retreat. The place had saved me, had brought me joy and hope again.
And now it was ruined.
If what I’d experienced today was how things were going to be from this point forward—at least until Barrett returned—then I wasn’t sure how I’d make it. Reid was still going to be there for more than five months. I couldn’t do what I did today for that long.
The sun began to dip below the horizon as tears streamed down my cheeks. I didn’t bother to wipe them, because they just kept coming.
I was convinced things couldn’t get any worse.
Then it happened.
I was down to my last three stones when I heard the chilling voice. “Well, well, well… Look who it is.”
