Page 64 of The CEO's Sweetheart Deal
It's more than I expected, more than I deserve. "I appreciate you telling me all this," I say sincerely. "But it doesn't solve the problem of her refusing to speak to me."
"True. And that's your problem to solve, not mine," she says, already backing away. "I've done my part by telling you there's still a chance. What you do with that information is up to you."
"Wait," I call as she turns to leave. "Why now? It's been two weeks."
She looks over her shoulder. "Because enough time has already gone by. If you're going to do something, it needs to be soon."
With that, she walks away, leaving me standing alone on the sidewalk, my mind racing with possibilities.
A chance. Sydney thinks I have a chance. Alice isn't over me, despite her insistence to the contrary.
For the first time in two weeks, I feel something other than despair. A flicker of hope, small but persistent, begins to burn in my chest.
But Sydney's right about one thing - I'm running out of time. Once Alice is firmly entrenched at Get Fresh, the professionaldivide between us will make any reconciliation that much harder. Not to mention the non-compete and confidentiality agreements she'll inevitably sign.
I need to act fast. I need to do something big enough to break through the walls she's built, something that proves beyond doubt that I'm not the man she thinks I am — that I've changed, that I'm worthy of her trust again.
But what? A grand gesture feels too shallow, too easily dismissed as manipulation. Words alone won't be enough — she has no reason to believe my promises after everything that's happened.
I need to show her, not tell her. I need to demonstrate through actions, not just declarations, that I've learned from my mistakes. That I'm not the ruthless man she believes me to be, but the person who thinks the sun rises and sets on her face.
As I walk to my car, my mind sifts through possibilities, each seeming more inadequate than the last. How do you convince someone to trust you when you've given them every reason not to?
How do you prove that this time is different, that you've changed, when they've heard those promises before?
CHAPTER 26
ALICE
“It’s a gorgeous piece of property,” Hank (or is it Henry?) says, waving his shrimp cocktail around. “You play golf?”
“No. I don’t.”
He laughs. “Oh, we need to get you out there. Best time you’ll ever have.”
“Mm. I bet.” I take a sip of my soda, wishing I could turn around and walk away from this conversation, walk away from this convention.
Walk away from it all.
The realization shakes me, and I suddenly feel sick.
“Excuse me.” I work up a fake smile. “I’ve just seen someone I need to say hello to.”
Before he can respond to the excuse, I’m slipping away, weaving my way around tables and people dressed in ‘business-casual’ clothing and nodding way too much. The industry convention, which my new employer Get Fresh is hosting, is a huge one, andit’s not like I’ve never been to something like it before, but for some reason I can’t stomach it today.
Maybe it’s all the people – a few hundred of them – packed into the luxury hotel conference room. Maybe it’s the lack of sunshine and fresh air I’ve been getting thanks to stretching out my work at the new job and staying longer than I need to.
Or maybe I’m finally having that mental breakdown.
I’ve been working too much, pushing too hard. I know it. My new coworkers know it. I can’t seem to stop, though. I need to stay busy. Preoccupied.
Distracted.
Dropping my glass on a tray, I glance around at the event. Still no sign of Oscar.
Is that weird? That he didn’t show up to a conference for the who’s who of our industry?
Maybe not. Not if he’s doing his best to avoid me.
