“You got it.” Kathryn laughed. She paused at my desk. “Before I go, I wanted you to know I sent in my letter of recommendation for you to Harvard.”
“Thank you. I appreciate it.”
“If they don't let you in, they're going to have a very unhappy supporting alumni.” She winked. “Though, I wouldn't mind if it means getting to keep you around the office a little while longer.”
“I really appreciate that, but you need to get in your office or he'll be there before you,” I warned her with a smile. “Don't make me call security on you.”
“There's that confidence again.” Kathryn glared good-naturedly at me. “Hazelnut in the blue cups it is.”
I looked up in time to see her swish into her office and start picking things up. I was doing my best to ignore the fact that she was having a meeting with Aiden's father. I kept telling myself that Gerald Hayes and Aiden Hayes were two entirely separate people and that arrival of one did not mean the other would show as well.
My coffee mug was only half empty, but I still had a lot of work to do and a full cup sounded like a good way to start. Before I left my desk though, I checked my phone and my email, just in case something new had come in.
There were a couple new interoffice notices, but nothing I wanted to see. Nothing from Aiden. It had been almost three days since our hasty departure and my heartfelt admission of love, but I hadn't heard a word from him.
The silence was what was fueling me, not the coffee.
I stood up and rolled my shoulders. I had been staring at my computer screen and on the phone all day and now I had nasty crick in my neck. I checked my inbox one last time before picking up my mug. Nothing.
I dumped my mug out into the sink and set it on the silver tray of the K-cup coffee machine before opening the cabinet to look at the coffee selection. The hazelnut flavored blue cups were gone, so I settled for a green morning blend instead. No, I thought to myself, it definitely wasn't the coffee.
I raised the silver handle to place the coffee pod in the machine. The coffee maker was certainly getting a workout this week. The entire office was staying late trying to catch up on the Dallas Disaster in addition to their regular workloads. Coffee pods were becoming rare commodities. There was a used K-cup inside, and so I reached in and grabbed it. The empty cup was still hot from the last user and it burned my fingers. I hissed, more from surprise than pain, and flung it into the trash.
Two and a half days. I had held out hope that there would be a message waiting for me when I stepped off the plane. I was sure there would be a phone call that evening. I had been positive that he would at least leave me a note on my desk the next day. But nothing came. A full day of nothing, followed by another. And still nothing today. It was time to accept that he was never going to say anything.
I sucked on my offended fingers as I finished making my coffee. I should have known that he wasn't going to follow me. I had told him I loved him after just three days. Any sane man would avoid a woman like that. Especially one with a playboy history like Aiden. I had been a fling. Something fun to pass the time at a boring convention.
It hurt, and not just my fingers. I couldn't help that I still loved him. I thought knowing the truth about him would change my feelings, but it didn't. The pictures on the internet were just pictures. I loved the man who brought me dinner, took me fishing, and got caught in the rain with me.
I knew he must not feel the same. Two days of silence suggested otherwise. I had just been his latest flavor of the week. I had thought I was different. I had thought we had something special, but every hour that went by without a word just told me otherwise.
And so, I buried myself in work. If I kept busy, I didn't think quite so much about him or what I had said. Looking through witness statements and working on logistics kept me from remembering the smell of his hair and the way his eyes sparkled when he smiled. Quarterly reports banished the way his laughter made me smile. It was a blatant lie I told myself to make me feel better, but it was what got me through the day.
I had the choice to sit and mope, or to let the experience make me stronger. For once in my life, I chose stronger. I was going to use this as the opportunity to become the person I wanted to be. The person Aiden showed me I could be.
I was working hard on not letting anyone walk over me again. Not even Alexa. When I first met Aiden, I had believed I was worthwhile simply because he did. Now, I realized that even though he wasn't here or even still believed it himself, I did. I was worthwhile because I believed in me. If Aiden did nothing else for me, he at least gave me the chance to believe in myself. He had changed me and I was going to make sure it was for the better.
The coffee finished and my stomach grumbled. Kathryn had arranged for meals since we were all working late this week, but it wasn't time for lunch to arrive yet. I remembered seeing a pizza guy walk into the conference room late last night. If I was lucky, there still might be a couple of slices left. I set my coffee on my desk so I wouldn't have to juggle it and a plate, and went on the hunt for leftovers.
The conference room was a bust. All that was left of the pizza was empty boxes and bare plates. I sighed and headed for the library. Darcie usually had some cookies stashed in her desk. If I asked nicely and told her it would make me feel better about Aiden, she would happily give the me a couple to dip in my coffee while I worked.
“Lena,” Kathryn's voice called to me. I turned to see her standing with an older, sadder version of Aiden. Looking at him made my heart twist. He was so very much like the man I loved, and yet so very different.
“What can I do for you, Ms. McDonald?” I asked, putting on my best professional smile.
“Mr. Hayes was interested in g
etting a copy of all the meeting minutes as well as the updated litigation forms,” Kathryn explained. “Would you make sure they're on my desk by the time I return from lunch?”
“Of course.” I looked to Mr. Hayes and saw brown eyes where his son had beautiful hazel. “Do you need anything else?”
“You must be the woman Aiden spoke of from the conference,” Mr. Hayes said, evaluating me.. His voice was deeper and smokier than Aiden's.
I swallowed hard. “There were quite a few women at the conference,” I replied, dodging his eyes.
While I doubted Aiden could have meant anyone else, this wasn't exactly a topic I was ready to discuss in the middle of the hallway, especially considering I had no idea what Aiden would have told his father about me.
“We really should be getting to lunch,” Kathryn announced, stopping that path of questioning. “Thank you for those forms, Lena.”