Page 2 of Grump Daddy

I blink. I can’t believe she’s really standing in front of me right now.What the hell is going on?

She doesn’t see me at first. She’s walking in, talking to one of the other investors. But seconds after, her eyes drift to me, then she does a double take. The smile on her face falters a little and her eyes widen. But it’s only for a second. She turns away and goes to her assigned seat at the table.

I have got an assigned seat too, but I can’t move. I’m frozen like a statue as I feel the world start to fall away around me.

“Sit down, Jack,” Clark hisses as he grabs my sleeve and pulls me into my chair.

“Sorry, nerves,” I say out loud. I laugh, trying to make it seem like it’s no big deal. There’s a smattering of good-natured laughter around the table, but I can already feel my face flushing.

Get it together, Jack.

Clark greets everyone formally with a “Thank you for joining us” before going into his part of the presentation. As he talks, his voice turns into a droning noise in my head. I’m too busy looking over at the woman in a green suit with shiny black hair neatly pulled back in a bun.

Sarah. She turns her head, following Clark as he moves around the room. There’s that mole. Just under her jawline but not quite at the center of her neck. Yup. That’s her all right. That mole that she was so self-conscious of, that I used to kiss gently, my tongue running down the line of her graceful neck over that mole, down to her smooth shoulders…

Oh, shit, stop it.

What am I doing? I avert my eyes quickly as her head turns my way. She didn’t catch me staring…I don’t think. I hope she didn’t catch me staring.

Sarah and I dated around six years ago and… I’m not going to lie; I really had fun with her. But we just weren’t compatible. We fought over so many misunderstandings and miscommunications. Hurt feelings started festering between us and eventually, she left; she ghosted me, in fact.

It’s crazy. One morning, her texts just stopped coming. I’d call her and she wouldn’t answer. I’d text just to be left with read and unanswered messages. It was like she’d vanished into thin air. I was upset with her for obvious reasons, but eventually, I got over it. At least, I thought I was over it. Seeing her again, sitting in front of me during one of the most important moments of my life… I’m pissed. The resentment I felt all those years ago is welling up inside of me again and all I want to know is why. Why did she just disappear the way she did? Was I that unworthy of her time?

Clark suddenly slaps me on the shoulder and says through gritted teeth, “It’s your turn, Jack.”

I’m pulled out of my memories and back into the present. “Right,” I say, standing up and clearing my throat. “Sorry about that.” That’s the second time I have apologized. Dammit.Focus. This is for Martin.

I regain my composure and begin my presentation, averting my gaze from the red zone area where Sarah sits and trying my level best to make every word sound as convincing as possible. After I finish, I read everyone’s faces. I’m seeing satisfied faces and even a few that looked impressed.So far, so good.

After the meeting concludes, we empty the room and Clark pats me on my back. He raises his eyebrows at me in a silentGood Jobkind of look. We shake our colleagues’ hands one by one as they leave the room, bound for the elevators.

It’s all good…until Sarah walks up to me.

She conjures a tight grin as her hand extends out to me. Her delicate fingers with silver rings and a thin silver bracelet around her wrist. Manicured nails with French tips, nothing fancy or garish. That’s not her style.

“Your product is pretty interesting,” she says, her voice as smoky as tinted glass.

I clear my throat and say, “Thanks. We’ve worked hard on it.” I’m holding onto her hand as I take in her presence. She’s looking at me with those oceanic eyes. Blue and deep with mystery. Her rosy complexion and red lips seem to lift the color in her eyes just a little. She’s hypnotic to look at. She’salwaysbeen hypnotic to look at.

She holds my hand without recoiling from me, but I’m holding her hand a little harder than I mean to. Maybe it’s because I’m still pissed or maybe because I just don’t want to let her go. Maybe a little of both.

The old fire’s rekindling and I despise the idea of it.

I glance at our conjoined hands and then at her flushed face.She’s blushing!That’s unexpected. Clearly, it’s unexpected for her, too, because she suddenly pulls her hand out of my grip and says, “I’ll have my assistant contact you.” Then, without saying goodbye, she turns away, making a beeline toward the elevators.

I watch her go. Her walk is as powerful as I remember it to be. The way her hips swing with every sure step in those expensive red heels.She’s made for this,I think to myself. Confidence exudes from her.

I can feel Clark’s eyes on me, but I can’t be bothered to explain right now. My first thought is that if this deal is signed, I’m going to end up seeing her again and probably quite frequently. I’m not sure what to feel about that.

“Hey,” said Clark nudging me. “You all right?”

“Yeah, I say.” Now, out of the Sarah vortex, my stomach starts to rumble. I haven’t had time for breakfast in all my hurrying out the door this morning. “Let’s grab something to eat.”

We eat at the cafeteria in the building and carry on with the rest of our day. All the while, Sarah and my memories of her are running through my mind. I can’t seem to shake her.

She’s still on my mind the next day. All morning and all the way to work. I keep getting these flashbacks from the past. Memories are dangerous that way. I’m starting to remember how I used to feel when things were good.

This is sad the way my brain is clinging to her. Four years ago, I became a single dad when Camilla left and two years before that, was the business with Sarah. It’s been a long time since I have let myself date again. Is this loneliness bringing these emotions up?

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