He made the decision, knowing that every word he was about to say was a lie. Still, he spoke with certainty so that Lauren would believe him.
“It’s for the best if we don’t see each other again. We barely know each other, and while I’m certain we would’ve had fun, we both know that it’s better to not upset the status quo,” he said.
Lauren stared at him and Hakim thought she might cry again. Instead, she pulled her shoulders back and lifted her chin.
He’d never been prouder to witness a display of courage.
She nodded. “You’re right. Not seeing each other again is for the best.”
“For what it’s worth, I don’t intend to continue fighting with Patricia. I meant what I said; I’m tired of that path.”
Lauren nodded. “Good. I think that’s good.”
Feeling the plane descend, Hakim pointed at a seat. “We’re about to land. Why don’t you sit down?”
Lauren gave him a weak smile and did as he asked. He wanted to go to her and comfort her, but that would lead somewhere they couldn’t go, so he stayed on his side of the cabin. And when the plane touched down, he didn’t stop her hurried rush to leave. Lauren grabbed her bag and made it out the door and down the steps before he could say anything else.
Hakim watched her disappear into his limo, which was waiting for their return. He asked the steward to tell the driver to go ahead and take Lauren home, then come back for him. He told himself it was so he wouldn’t impose on her any longer, but in reality, he couldn’t bear to be near her but not with her, so he let her go.
The limo, the jet, the ability to travel when he wanted or drop a hundred thousand dollars on a whim—none of these things mattered. He didn’t have the one thing he wanted, the one thing that would actually make him happy.
Chapter 15
Lauren
It was late enough when Lauren arrived back at her apartment that she didn’t bother calling anyone to let them know she was back in town. All she wanted to do was unpack and go to sleep. She half-heartedly made herself eat something, but barely a half hour after arriving home, she was in bed. Burrowed beneath the covers, she tried to forget everything that had happened since the party, just a week before. Feeling numb, it was easier than she’d expected to fall asleep.
She woke up without her alarm the next morning. Even with the short length of her trip overseas, her body clock was a little off. At least she’d slept.
Lauren curled around her pillow; she didn’t want to get up and face the day just yet. But when she closed her eyes, she could see Hakim’s face when she told him that her mother would never accept the two of them dating. He had been hurt; worse, he had been understanding.
Things were the way they were, though. No point in dwelling, because the answer wasn’t going to change. Lauren needed to get moving and get on with her life.
She pushed the covers off and reluctantly rolled out of bed. She decided she’d grab coffee and breakfast from her favorite bakery on the way to work instead of eating at home; it would be comfort food after the week she’d had, and would ease her apprehension about having been out of the office for what felt like a lot longer than seven days.
Which reminded her, she hadn’t heard from anyone at the office in some time.
Lauren got a sinking feeling as she realized the reason for the lack of communication was that her phone was still switched off; she’d been so distracted during the flight home that turning her phone back on hadn’t even occurred to her.
She crossed her fingers that everything was still as she left it and hit the power button on her phone. She waited impatiently while it powered up and loaded her messages.
A lot of messages.
Scrolling up to the beginning, Kayla’s texts started off worried but calm.
Hey! Give me a call when you get a minute.
Lauren, I need you to call me. We’ve got a problem.
Lauren, are you okay??? Call me ASAP.
Call me NOW. Left you a voicemail.
Lauren tapped the screen to check her voicemail, but was interrupted by another flood of worried texts from Kayla. As she scrolled through them, a feeling of intense dread settled in the pit of her stomach.
In case you see this before calling: Greg found a serious problem in the books. We’re asking questions to see if we can find out more.
I called HK’s office, but his answering service won’t give me his number. I got his secretary, but she said you’re on a plane. Call me as soon as you land!!!
Lauren, this is bad. Our head of accounting stole from us and fled the country. We think. Call me, please. It doesn’t matter how late it is.
Just get here as soon as you can.
With panicked fingers, Lauren hit the button to call Kayla, who answered before the phone had even started ringing.