Page 55 of Seventeen Years Ago

The weekend flew by so quickly. Nothing had gone as planned. The party at Zoey’s had been canceled, Tabiq was in cleanup mode after the hurricane, and I’d spent hours on end either with Steven or wishing I was with him. It was the most unproductive time I’d ever had, and I loved it. There was only one problem, it ended way too soon.

I usually look forward to going to the office, but not this morning though. I couldn’t get Steven off my mind. I heard the airport was opening today and I feared that he’d be on a flight and I’d never see him again. A week ago I would’ve been thrilled if he was leaving the island. Now, I wasn’t so sure how my heart was going to take it.

When I arrived at the office, Reesa was already there. She hadn’t asked me to come in early as she normally does but I also noticed Finn’s car was parked there. When I went inside, her office door was closed, and I wasn’t about to knock and disturb them. If she needed me, she knew where to find me.

Sitting at my desk, I picked up the phone and started to jot down all the messages left for her over the weekend. One after another there were calls from people thanking her for such a good job during the storm. Others were offering assistance to help get everything cleaned up. It was a lovely change from the Monday messages she normally came into.

It seemed that the county really had turned around and Reesa now had full support. That was what she needed in order to do her job effectively. And it was about damn time that others started voicing their praise instead of just whispering about the great job she was doing.

But no matter how good everything seemed, something wasn’t right. And any doubts I had about that vanished when Bennett Stone showed up.

“Good morning. I’m here to see Reesa,” he said when he entered.

“Is she expecting you?” I asked out of habit. Bennett never came and made just a social call. Even when he dropped off the invitations for Zoey’s party, he combined it with work.

“Yes, she asked to see me,” he replied.

I wasn’t sure if that was worse. Reesa hadn’t mentioned anything wrong, but if she needed Finn here with her, whatever it was… it was bad.

Worrying about Reesa was a distraction from thinking about Steven, but I missed the days when I came in and had no worries. Sometimes they would be just slow boring days with hardly anything to do.I wonder when those days are going to return?

The door opened again, and this time it was Steven. Was he here to meet with Reesa too? “Good morning, Steven. I didn’t know you had an appointment with the president.”

“I don’t. I came to see you,” he said.

“Me?” We spent the entire day together yesterday. He never mentioned seeing me today.

“I just got word that the charter jet I booked will be arriving shortly. I’ll be flying home today. I didn’t want to text or call you. I needed to see you again before I left.”

You’re leaving.

I knew that it was coming, but that didn’t make it any easier. I had to be strong. I couldn’t let him see that this was killing me. I’d come to care for him in a way I never expected. He made me want what I never thought I’d have. What my parents had. What my grandparents had too. A marriage filled with love. But it takes two willing parties to have that, and obviously, Steven wasn’t willing.

“I’m sure you’re excited to get back home,” I replied. What I really wanted to do was beg him to stay a little longer. Maybe another week. But I know that a week won’t be enough, nor will a month. It didn’t matter about the length of time. I didn’t want him to go.

“Not sure excited is the correct word. I have business which I need to attend to. That’s all,” he stated.

“And you can’t do it from here.” The words slipped through the lips before I could stop them.

He smiled. “Are you saying that you want me to stay?”

Of course I do.

“What I’m saying is that I know work is very important to you. It’s a shame that you can’t get some done here while waiting for your plane to arrive.” It was a very businesslike response, without any emotion. He had to know that it didn’t sound like me, but he also had to know this wasn’t easy either.

“I can do most things from here, but there is a property I want to look at to build a new hotel on. That requires me to be onsite,” he explained. “If it wasn’t for that, I wouldn’t be leaving right now.”

He’d stay, but for how long? Eventually he’d want to go.

“Did you want to come with me?” he asked.

I was taken back with the offer. “I...I can’t.” Reesa would give me the time off if I asked, but I had other responsibilities. My grandmother.

“Thank you, but I can’t.” No need to explain to him why. The answer wouldn’t change.

“Maybe next time,” he said.

I nodded. “Have a safe flight,” I said, still sitting in my seat behind my desk.

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