Total pages in book: 113
Estimated words: 106772 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 534(@200wpm)___ 427(@250wpm)___ 356(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106772 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 534(@200wpm)___ 427(@250wpm)___ 356(@300wpm)
“Stop,” I said forcefully. “Whatever you’re doing, just stop. I don’t need this bullshit right now. If you don’t want me working from home, fine. I won’t.”
He smiled, and it made me want to punch him.
“So, I’ll be taking a sabbatical. I don’t know when I’ll be back.” I turned to leave, to take myself down to human resources to see what needed to be done to make this happen, because I wouldn’t be treated like a low-level employee who didn’t want to come to work every day.
“Antonia, wait.”
I refrained from turning around, giving him my back to speak to.
“If I didn’t do the spiel, someone would complain.”
“Who? The bookshelf? Your bottle of scotch?” I finally turned to face him.
Brendan stood and came toward me, enveloping me in his arms when I was within reach. “I love you, and I’m sorry I had to go into boss mode.”
“You almost went home single,” I told him.
His deep chuckle reverberated against my chest. “That would not be favorable.” Brendan stood tall and cupped my cheeks with his hands. “I’m sorry. I was being unreasonable. The last thing I want is for you to leave, and while I don’t like the idea of you working remotely, I understand it needs to be done until things level out and are under control.”
What in the hell did that even mean? I thought about asking, but frankly, I was too exhausted to care.
Brendan’s hands went to my shoulders, and he started massaging. I rolled my neck and melted into the kneading.
“This feels amazing.”
“I’m sure you’re not sleeping well.”
I shook my head. “‘Well’ doesn’t exist in my vocabulary right now.”
“I’m sorry,” he said as he continued to push his fingers into my flesh. “What can I do?”
As much as I wanted to think he could fix everything, he couldn’t. I couldn’t. “Give me grace,” I said. “I need to be there for Miri and the kids.”
Brendan nodded.
“Come up this weekend? Cutter has a game on Saturday, and he’d like to see you.”
“I have a tee time in Miami on Saturday.”
I stared.
Hard.
And narrowed my eyes at him. Did he really put his stupid golf game in front of being there for a sixteen-year-old boy who was losing his mom?
I stepped back and shrugged his hands off my shoulders. “I have to go.”
“Wait,” he said as he reached for my hand. “I can let them know I won’t be there.”
“Oh, you can?” My tone was laced with sarcasm.
He nodded, and I fought the urge to roll my eyes. “I’ll book us the bed-and-breakfast we like in town.”
I didn’t like it. He did.
“I’m staying with Miri, Brendan. You can’t expect me to leave her.”
It took a moment for my words to sink in. He nodded and blinked a couple of times. “No, you’re right.”
I closed my eyes and rolled my neck; the long-standing tension had built to an almost unbearable throb. “I gotta go.” I stepped forward to kiss him but pulled up short. Giving him affection felt off. A sensation was gnawing, telling me now was not the time.
“I’ll be there for Cutter’s game.”
“Thanks.” I left his office and went to mine with the folders Brendan had so kindly given me. I grabbed what I needed and made my way to my car without stopping to talk to anyone else. An email to the staff would suffice, letting them know I would be working remotely for the foreseeable future. The only time I could see myself leaving Miri’s side would be to go see a client’s facility and observe how they operated. Other than that, everything could be done via email or video conference.
At my apartment, I met with the property manager and told him I would be gone for a bit and that my apartment would be empty. We made an agreement: He would go in once a week and make sure everything was in working order. The last thing I needed was for a pipe to burst.
I packed more clothes, cleaned out the refrigerator, and grabbed all my essentials. After a quick trip to the garbage bin, I headed to my car and made my way north.
At this time of the day, traffic in the city was minimal. The highlight of this drive was the snowcapped mountains in the distance. They looked beautiful with the way the sun bounced off them. They were nice to look at while driving, but you’d never catch me on one. Snow wasn’t my thing. Despite Boston being in New England, its annual snow accumulation wasn’t as much as people thought it was, and while it did snow, it melted quickly.
As I drove, my mind drifted to the conversation Miri and I had had about me taking the kids. It was what I wanted, but I wasn’t sure how they were going to react to moving. Nova would be fine, but Cutter . . . he was a whole different story. I couldn’t even pretend to understand what it was like to move during the teen years because my parents had lived in the same house since they’d gotten married.