Page 83 of Mine Forever
Scrolling, I look for an email from the head of marketing.When I find it and read it, I rub my forehead hard, trying to ward off the impending headache.
Hi Eden,
The deadline to get the brochures and other marketing materials out for the Pediatric Ball is quickly approaching. The drop dead date is in three days, unless we pay extra to do the express run with the printer. Can you send me the lineup of speakers ASAP? I’d like to save the department some money.
I look up from the phone when Charley walks into the kitchen and leans against the counter by the coffee station.
Shutting down the screen, I lay the phone on the bar. I can’t deal with any of that right now.
I paste on my best hostess smile. “So, what brings you guys over here in the storm?”
She rolls her eyes. “Stewie got his car stuck in the sand. Nate wants to see if Chase can help.”
“Stewie?”
“Local reporter. Always getting himself in jams.”
“Well, that sounds like a problem.”
She gestures to my head. “Headache?”
“Sort of. Headache-inducing email.”
Charley nods and takes two cups from the mug tree. “Yeah, I recognize the look.” She pours and slides one over to me. “I see it in the mirror every morning.”
“Marketing is looking for an answer on some brochures for my big event so we can get them printed in time.” I sigh. “And I keep hoping Chase will decide he can be my speaker.”
A tendril of steam rises and dissipates into the air as she sips her coffee. “Dragging his feet?”
“I don’t know if it’s that. He’s got his reasons for not wanting to go back.”
A hollow feeling hits my stomach thinking about Chase’s story and yet what it means for me if he continues to say no.
“Hmmm…maybe Chase just needs the right incentive to go back to New York and help you.”
“Be that as it may, I’ve got a business to save. And I need his help, but after what he’s been through, I can’t push him to say yes when he’s not ready.”
God, this is so complicated.
But what isn’t complicated is the fact that I still have an event to manage, and I’m on the verge of losing not only the project, but my reputation and business.
“So, y’all were a thing once, right?”
I nod. “We dated in college. And then he was drafted to the majors and we broke up.”
“So you haven’t seen him in ten years?”
“No, the last time I saw him was four years ago. After his wife’s funeral.”
She makes a noncommittal noise as she sips her coffee.
“What?” I ask.
“I was just thinking how much fun we can have once you move here.”
My eyes widen. “Move here? I’m not moving here.”
She rolls her eyes and sets down her cup. “In the two times I’ve seen you two together, I’ve seen the way he looks at you.”
