"Of course," I reply, walking around the desk. As she turns to close the door, I take a second to look at her. We couldn’t be more opposite. She is shorter than me with blonde hair, and her hair and makeup are perfectly put together. I know from the past that she wouldn’t even think about going out if she didn’t have herself all put together.
I stand here looking at the woman who gave him a family. Looking at the woman he married and vowed to spend the rest of his life with. The woman who made his dreams come true for a while. "Do you want something to drink?" I ask her when she turns back to me.
“No, this won’t take long," she assures me. "I’m sure you're probably wondering why I’m here." She laughs nervously.
"I am curious," I admit.
"Well, I won’t beat around the bush, I know that you’ve always had Cooper's best interest at heart," she starts, and my heart flies to my throat. "So I’m hoping you can help me."
"I will help in any way I can," I say, and I wonder if she can hear my heart beating in my chest. I wonder if she can see how much I love him and not just as my best friend anymore.
"There is no easy way to say this," she admits. "But I had a lot of time to think over the last two weeks when the girls were away." She looks down and then looks up again, saying four words that cut me to the core. "I want him back." She blinks away tears. "I see how wrong I was."
I swallow, trying not to show how shaken this is leaving me. "You should be having this conversation with Cooper and not with me," I say, the heat rising in my neck as I wonder what he would say.
"I did," she says, and if I thought I was cut to the core before, I was wrong. I expect to look down and see blood seeping out of my chest. I want to ask what he said, but it is not my place. "He said he would think about it." The hurt that goes through me is not a pain I think I could ever describe. It’s hurt that he had this conversation with her and didn’t tell me and hurt that he said he would have to think about it. Meaning that what we shared meant nothing to him. I don’t say anything because there is no way I would even know what to say. "I was hoping that you could put in a good word for me." Her voice trails off. "I know we haven’t had the best relationship, but I know that you mean the world to him. And I know if he had your support behind him, he would maybe give it another chance. For the girls.”
I blink away the tears that threaten to come, the sting in my nose, and the pain in my chest. "I’ll see what I can do," I reply, and she smiles at me.
"Thank you," she says, "for always putting him before anyone and anything." She turns and walks out of my office. Only when I see her turn the corner do I put my hand back on my desk and then my legs give out. I bend forward for a second, catching my breath and thinking I’m going to be sick.
"Shauna." I call her name, and she comes into my office, and I can see from the reaction on her face that I don’t look good. "Can I get some water, please?" I ask as I start to pant. I turn around and sit in one of the chairs that face my desk. A lone tear escapes, and I brush it away quickly before Shauna comes back.
“Here you are,” Shauna says. Coming running into the room, she hands me the cold bottle of water. "What do you feel?"
Pain, I want to say. Pain in my whole body. But instead, I shake my head. "I just felt light-headed." I bring the water to my lips and take a sip of the cold liquid. "I skipped lunch," I lie, and she looks at me with her eyebrows together because I usually skip lunch anyway.
"Do you want a cold rag?" she asks, and I just shake my head.
"No, I’ll be fine." I force a smile at her. "If you can shut the door," I say, and she nods, knowing I want to be alone.
"Let me know if you need anything," she offers, walking to the door and closing it softly behind her.
As I bring the bottle of water to my lips again, the phone rings on my desk, and I look up to see Cooper’s face fill the screen. I get up and press the red button, my hand shaking.