Page 84 of Five Years
“She found a way into the company through me. She clearly wanted to rebuild a relationship so I wouldn’t shut down theopportunity. A nice 20% signing bonus—way above industry average. As soon as she signed, she didn’t care anymore.”
Douglas sighed heavily. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. Have you not heard from her?”
“She texted me after the night at the pizzeria saying she had a lot to figure out. I never responded. She hasn’t made any other attempt to contact me.”
Leah’s chest tightened at the thought of Ariana. The bitterness rising in her throat threatened to choke her. She refused to plead. Leah’s hands trembled, tension in her body boiling. She didn’t know how to feel—furious or distraught.
“I don’t know what to do, Dad,” she said softly.
“I think you need to turn off your work emails for tonight. Let’s have a drink, see the new year in, and tomorrow you and I will take a ride along the Hudson and talk it all through. You can invite your mother if you like.”
“I bet she’d love that.” Leah rolled her eyes. It was the best she could do; her body refused to let her laugh. Judy was due in the city the next day, a compromise for Leah not going home for the holidays. She wasn’t sure she could muster the energy to entertain. Luckily, Judy was the perfect listener.
“I need a drink.”
Leah’s chest hurt. She had to walk away—she knew that much. From Ariana. From her job? If Ariana chose to work at Douglas Green, then Leah had to leave. A life back in Michigan wouldn’t be the worst thing. She missed it. Her old company would have her back. It wasn’t just about Ariana anymore—there was her father, the health of the business.
Maybe she wasn’t cut out for it after all.
Maybe Ariana was.
NINETEEN
A simple life. One filled with love, laughter, happiness—that’s all she wanted. Was it too much to ask? At thirty-five, if you’re spending New Year’s at a party full of strangers as one of your dad’s plus-ones, that indicates a breakdown somewhere along the way, right?
The line between what Leah wanted and what she had was fractured, not just once, but twice. Twice in her life, she had fallen victim to the power of love—to the earth-shattering connection that blinded her from reality.
The third glass of champagne helped ease the worry. A nice woman who complimented her necklace engaged with her in a twenty-minute conversation about how much more fulfilling life would be as a full-time dog walker—turns out, with the right work ethic, it easily provided a six-figure salary. Two men close to her age tried to pull her into a conversation about this year’s Golden Globe nominees. Leah didn’t care enough to waste copious amounts of energy, but it gave her a moment’s respite from the painful haze covering her body from head to toe.
Eventually, Leah found herself alone. The owners encouraged tours, so after admiring the size of the primary suite, she wandered to the smallest terrace, accessible only through the third bedroom. It was private; she seemed to be the only one who took the owners’ invitation to explore the apartment beyond the guest bathroom literally.
She wanted to cry, to yell, to curse at the top of her lungs—all of which she could probably do unnoticed from the privacy of her terrace. But crying would require reapplying makeup, and frankly, it took her long enough to summon the energy to put it on in the first place.
She leaned against the cold railing, the city’s noise muffled by the high terrace walls. She exhaled a breath she didn’t knowshe’d been holding, the weight of the night’s revelations settling in.
Her phone buzzed in her pocket, but she ignored it. The last thing she needed was another work email.
The terrace door slid open.
“Leah.”
She didn’t turn to face the voice. She didn’t need to. Her name hung in the air. She took a slow breath, looking out at the city.
Ariana appeared beside her.
“I know you probably don’t want to see me.” Ariana’s voice was hesitant.
“I think it’s a little too late for that, don’t you? Considering we’re going to be work colleagues.”
“Your dad told you about that. I was going to, I swear—things just got a little complicated the last time we met.”
Leah faced Ariana, her eyes searching. “Was I just a game to you?”
“I . . .”
“Did you think, oh, I wonder how easy it would be to make Leah fall in love with me all over again? I wonder if I could use her for my own career gain. She’s a sucker, she won’t see it coming. I can feed her mind with all the bullshit about how I never stopped loving her, and how every moment of every day there’s a reminder of her—and the apartment. I mean, is that even true? Do you even have an apartment in Michigan, or was that just another lie to make me believe your bullshit story?”
There was a long pause.
