Page 78 of Catalyst

“Are you okay with moving forward on the project?” Oliver asks, his pen poised over his notebook. I have no idea what the project entails since I haven’t paid an ounce of attention during this meeting.

I glance at Matthew, who gives me a subtle nod. “Yes, thank you. Please email me with your final proposal.”

“Will do.”

We stand from the conference table and go our separate ways. It’s only when I get to my office that I realize Matthew has been following me.

I blow out a breath. I’m not even close to prepared to have the conversation he wants to have. I have to give him some credit, though. He hasn’t tried to talk to me since Monday afternoon.

When he realized Ellie was gone, all he asked was if I needed him, and by that point, I could barely put two words together, so I just told him no. He hasn’t pressed me on it since. Something tells me he won’t give me the space to escape today.

Instead of walking to my desk, I head straight for the sitting area and plop down on a chair. Matthew sits on the couch next to me and props his elbow on the armrest, leaning his head against two fingers.

I stare at the god awful plant Ellie bought for my office, the purple buds mocking me from the center of the coffee table. I have nothing I want to say, nor do I want to start this ridiculous conversation, so I wait him out. He’ll ask his questions eventually.

Matthew sighs and drops his hand. “I should’ve known you’d be a stubborn asshole. Look, I’m not going to force you to talk about your feelings. But you do need to talk about it. You’ve been walking around this office like a zombie, and people are starting to notice.”

“And CEOs are never allowed to have weaknesses in the workplace,” I grumble.

“Actually, I think everyone finally believes you’re human now.”

My façade breaks at Matthew’s quip, and I huff out a laugh. I rest my elbows against my knees and run my palms across my face.

I have no idea what I’m doing. None of this even feels worth it anymore.

“That’s understandable.”

I look up at Matthew. “I didn’t mean to say that out loud.”

“Doesn’t stop you from feeling that way.”

I raise my eyebrows in agreement. “Out of everything that’s happened, the one thing I regret most is not asking for an explanation. I have a guess as to why she left, but I don’t actually know for sure.”

“Because of what you said to her when you got pissed?”

I nod. “I thought she was starting to forgive me. By the end of that week, her whole demeanor had softened. She even texted me the night we celebrated Linda’s downfall. I didn’t see it until it was too late, but when I told her you and I had gone to dinner, she never responded. I guess that should’ve been my first clue.”

“It just seems odd that she’d do a complete one-eighty,” Matthew muses.

“What do you mean?”

“I saw the way she looked at you last week. Even when she was mad, she still had the same lovesick expression on her face she’s always had when you walk into the room. I never expected her to break up with you, let alone quit her job altogether.”

“Hence the regret.”

“Want me to ask her?”

My face scrunches as my head whips toward Matthew. “What are we? In high school?” I change my tone in mockery. “If you ask her best friend to see if she likes me, then she won’t know it’s coming from me.” I roll my eyes.

Matthew snorts. “I was just offering.”

“Have you talked to her?” My hesitant question feels dangerous, but I can’t take it back now.

“No, I thought it would be weird for a multitude of reasons. I have talked with Tessa. She seemed worried about Ellie.”

“Worried? Why?”

Matthew shrugs. “I don’t know. Tessa just said that Ellie didn’t sound like herself. Like she didn’t want to be asking Tessa to help you find a replacement. Tessa also said that Ellie wouldn’t answer when Tessa pressed her for a reason as to why she was leaving.”

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