BenThe big board meeting had been yesterday, and I was relieved it was over. Even though I had known every protocol and every employee, it had been nerve-racking to step up there and talk to them all. It had been heartbreaking to take care of all the paperwork and to address the people who had loved Uncle Dean as much as I had.Most of them had come to the funeral, but the loss was still raw. I had been able to see it in everyone’s eyes, my own pain reflected on their faces. I realized I wasn’t the only one who had lost someone. Not even close.At least, everyone had welcomed me back. I didn’t want to be here, but it was good for the employees to have someone step in that they knew. We had worked together for the past seven years, after all. And they had made me feel like I was a part of their company. They had pledged their loyalty to me as their CEO, and in this difficult time, there was nothing better than feeling like they were all rooting for me.Today, I had a meeting with the
Ben“I don’t think that’s going to happen anytime soon.”Ms. Houghton carried on talking, rambling off suggestions for furniture and room allocations but I wasn’t really listening. The house was beautiful, to be sure. But buying a place seemed so permanent. I wanted to get out of the penthouse I had stayed in for seven years. I wanted to start a new chapter and get a place that was warmer, a place I could call my own. This place could be it, I thought. But how much warmth was there really between these walls when I felt so cold and empty?I wasn’t sure how permanent I wanted it all to be here. Everything felt so uncertain. I didn’t know what to make of the plane crashes. After talking to David, I was sure there was something more to it. What if something went wrong? What if I was in danger? Maybe I shouldn’t put down roots here.But I didn’t trust anyone to take over the position. Certainly not if someone was really trying to kill whoever was in charge. I could put someone else in dan
BenDavid Thomas arrived at my office in New York fifteen minutes earlier than we had agreed. Amy, my Personal Assistant, showed him into my office. He looked casual and out of place in my sleek, organized building. He wore jeans and a t-shirt with an old blazer over it and shoes that looked like they came from a thrift store.It was a part of his disguise, I had learned. David did everything he could to be non-descript. It was the best way to get all the information he needed as a Private Investigator.“Have you found anything yet?” I asked.“I have,” David said. I let out a breath I didn’t know I’d been holding.David was helping me investigate the death of both business partners that had owned the company before me. My dad and his partner, Uncle Dean, had died seven years apart, but the plane crashes had been so eerily similar that a murder investigation had been opened. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust the police, but I had wanted to get involved in some way. So I had hired David to
Ben“I’m going to keep digging and see what I can find,” David said. “In the meantime, keep your eyes and ears open for anything suspicious in the company.”“I will. The moment I find something, you’ll know about it.”David stood up, tugging his belt up higher on his hips. If he was in character, he was extremely good at it. I wouldn’t have pegged him for someone serious if I’d seen him on the streets. David extended his hand to me, and I shook it.“Thanks for coming,” I said.“Hey, you pay me,” David said and flashed me a cocky grin before he left my office.When he was gone, I sat back in my chair and let out a deep breath. This was all a very big mess. A part of me wished that I could go back to when it had only been an accident that had killed my dad. But if it was more, if someone had murdered my dad and Uncle Dean, I wanted to know what was going on. There was no going back.After I had taken care of all the calls and meetings for the day – the transition to new management was t
MilaBy the time I got off work on Friday, I was dead on my feet. I’d had a hell of a week. Sometimes it felt like the bad things that happened in threes to everyone else, piled up in infinite amounts for us at the ICU.I drove home on autopilot, barely remembering how I got there. Despite the comfortable shoes I wore because I was always on my feet, my feet were sore, and I sat on my bed and gave myself a foot massage. It hurt more to work the knots out of my feet than it was relaxing.I ran a bath instead of standing in the shower. I had to sit down. I couldn’t tolerate another minute on my feet without feeling like it was torture.When I lay back in the hot water, I closed my eyes. The bath was deep, and the water lapped up to my neck, everything else submerged. This was the break my body needed.But for my mind, there was no rest. The moment I closed my eyes, images flooded into my mind. The patients’ faces flashed before my eyes, and I groaned.Yesterday, there had been a four-ca
MilaI laughed. “What a way to plan it. I don’t have work at all this weekend. I asked for a break after the week I’ve had. The job is mentally strenuous, and they get that. They gave it to me.”“Oh, good. Wasted, then?” Skylar asked.“Not too much. I don’t think I have the energy.”We ordered drinks at the bar. Jerrod made them for us before he left to take care of his tables.“So, how are you doing?” Skylar asked.“I’m doing okay. Work is a little rough right now, but it will pass. I’m happy where I am.”“That’s good,” Skylar said. We sipped our drinks in silence for a moment.“Now that we’re done pretending, how are you really?” Skylar asked.I chuckled, and I suddenly felt like crying. “You’re great, you know that?”“I try,” Skylar said with a shrug. “What’s bothering you?”I swallowed down the lump that had swelled in my throat. I wasn’t going to cry about this. I had already wasted too many tears over Ben. After he had left, I had a good cry that he decided a life without me wa
BenHad it really only been a week since I left Portland? I had such a busy week, trying to keep the company going and working with David to figure out what was going on with the possible murders, it felt like a lifetime had passed.When I landed in Portland, the sweet relief that came with coming home washed over me, and I knew it had been a good idea to come back. Even though I had said my goodbyes to everyone as if I was never coming home. I desperately needed a break away from all the drama that was happening in New York. I needed to clear my head and see the people that meant the most to me. Now that Uncle Dean was dead, even though Penny was still there, I didn’t have anyone to lean on in New York anymore.Now that I was in Portland again, I wanted to talk to Mila. I had shattered her by shutting her down before I left. I had thought it was the right thing to do, then. When I had tried to call her from New York, she had been switched off, and I knew it was all my fault. I had re
BenI was getting too close to the investigations.“I don’t want everything they worked for to be for nothing.”My mom nodded. “I can understand that. I know why you chose to take over the company again. Just remember to put your happiness first. Always. Your dad and Dean were both serious about what they wanted, but they were happy where they were, too. I’m sure that neither of them would have wanted you to give up your happiness.”“Yeah,” I said. “Thanks, Mom.”She hugged me, wrapping her arms around me, but I couldn’t help but think that it wasn’t really as easy as she was making it sound.“Now, let me fix up a room,” my mom said.I shook my head. “You don’t have to go out of your way, mom. I’ll stay at a hotel.”“Nonsense. You’re home for a while, I want to spend time with you while I have you.”“Okay,” I said, knowing I couldn’t argue with her. I hadn’t lived at home in ten years, but it would be good to stay with my mom and Paul for a couple of days.When my mom had fussed abou