His heart kicked up from its already rapid skittering into an alarmingly painful pattern. He slammed a hand over the spot, trying to prevent an ambulance ride. Dying of a heart attack before he even stepped foot into the building wasn’t an option.
The bell above the door tinkled announcing his arrival. He heard a chair scrape back in the next room and he froze for just a second before he turned and slid the deadbolt in place on the door. Yeah. There was no freaking way someone else was coming in there while he made his grand speech.
Or, at least, he hoped he got to make it.
Ambi rounded the corner and as soon as she saw him, the pleasant look on her face, ready to welcome and greet her appointment, changed into a pissed-off looking frown. Her eyes narrowed into two slits and her hands actually balled into fists at her sides.
“Oh no. Not you. I have an appointment right away. You’re going to have to leave.”
Trey leaned up against the front door he’d locked, trying for non-threatening and casual, but in a suit, he wasn’t quite sure that he actually succeeded. He cursed himself for not having thought to change first.
“I-” His voice came out rusty, so he cleared his throat. “I’m your appointment, actually.”
Ambi’s already pissed off expression soured into something close to one that said she’d just stepped, barefoot, into a warm, nasty, stinky, gooey pile of dog shit. Like it was squishing up between her toes and flooding around her delicate arches. Like she’d just sunk up to her ankles in an enormous pile.
“No. You didn’t! You got someone else to call to be sure I’d be here?” Her eyes rolled in their sockets. “You are such an asshole.”
Trey nodded. “Yeah. No disagreement there. I am an asshole. Or, I was. I was back then, Ambi, but I came here because I have something to say that you need to listen to. I- I can’t- what happened at the Christmas party- I…” Nice. Super smooth delivery there. This is going so fucking perfect. Truthfully, it was going exactly how he thought it would go and that was the bad part. He didn’t want to turn into a stammering, bumbling idiot who couldn’t get the right words out when he needed them most.
“Trey-” Ambi sighed, cutting him off before he could get anything else out. “What happened at the party wasn’t anything I didn’t already expect. It wasn’t even anything new. We’ve been through all this.”
“Ambi, no, you need to listen-”
“No. Trey. You need to listen.” Her frown dropped away, replaced with something far more resolute. Far scarier. Far worse. It was so glaringly obvious that she’d already made up her mind.
“Please. You have to give me another chance. It will be different this time. I promise. Everything will be different. We’re not the same people we were. I’m not the same person. I’m not afraid to fight for you. To fight my father. I made the wrong choice last time. I was an idiot. I was scared and lost. I’m not making that mistake again. I’m not letting you go. I’ll leave the company. I’ll never speak to my father again if that’s what it takes. I promise I’ll do what I have to do. I have my own money this time. We can start our own company, or I can support you in this one. We can move somewhere else. Go anywhere. Do anything. We can even take your mom since I know you’d never leave without her. Please, Ambi. I’m here this time. For real. For good. I need you to see that.”
“I do, Trey.” Her voice sounded little and lost and her face was a carefully composed mask.
He couldn’t hope to read her. She was closing herself off, or she already had. Some people might accuse Trey of being pretty emotionally stunted, or at least, emotionally stupid, but even he could see that she’d already made a decision and it wasn’t in his favor.
“I do see that,” she continued, her words drenched in finality and sadness. At least if she was going to break his heart, she felt bad about it. “There isn’t any future for us unless your dad changes his mind and that’s obviously never going to happen. I spent so many years hating you for choosing the money instead of me that I never fully realized that you never chose the money. You chose your family. The only family you had left. Your dad. I used that resentment as a way to deal with my own hurt and anger and let myself off the hook. I’m a big girl now. I’ve spent years thinking about it. Family is the most important thing in the world, Trey. I can’t let you choose between me and yours.”