Page 102 of My Ex's Best Friend

I shake out of it. We’re less than a month away from finalizing the deal for the museum project, arguably the biggest thing we can get right now. I cannot afford any distraction.

I've put Bea’s sister, Thea, in charge of the museum project for now. We have a short meeting with the new guy, Leo Valdez. Like Kiera, he had some experience working with reconstructed pieces, but he did mostly private dealings as a freelancer.

"Does everything make sense, Leo?" I ask him.

He nods, adjusting his glasses. "My predecessor did such a great job with everything."

"Kiera is very good at what she does,” I muse.

"Why did she leave?" Leo says. "She's obviously very passionate about this. "

"We don't really know," Thea says, giving me a look. Maybe she suspects that it has something to do with me.

I know some people were talking about my closeness to Kiera, and a few of them even managed to figure out our past ties. But my employees haven't questioned me yet.

We discuss some more about the project. The museum is still figuring out the timeline, but the project getting extended isn't necessarily a bad thing. The museum director assured me that everything was on track, and they were hoping to receive a large grant from both the government and a few of its biggest patrons. So, it looks like we won't start the project until the beginning of next year. But we still have to iron out the kinks.

Everything has to be perfect. And the worst thing is, Kiera left us the blueprint to follow along with her resignation. And she has been right so far.

My heart throbs just at the thought of her.

After the meeting wraps up, I head back into my office. Usually, I would stop by some desks and check out individual progress. But lately, all I want to do is wrap up work as quickly as possible and be on my own. All my actions have become mechanical. I think of nothing but Kiera.

I walk to the window and watch the city go past me. That’s when my phone starts to ring.

It’s Henry.

At first, I ignore it. I’ve been avoiding him since the day at the bar. I’m unravelling, and I don’t want him to see me like this. I know he’s disappointed in me, but I can’t help myself. Nothing in my world makes sense now that Kiera is gone.

Henry’s call goes to voicemail.

I have a couple of minutes to kill, and though I don’t want to talk to him on the phone, he is still my friend. He might need me.

So, I listen to his voicemail.

"It's Chris," Henry says. "He did something. We were hanging out the other day, he got super drunk, and he told me that he met with Kiera."

My heart rate spikes. Chris met with Kiera? When did that happen?

I immediately call Henry back.

"Met Kiera when?" I say as soon as he picks up the call.

"When you went to Spain. He paid her a little visit when you were gone. I think he might have told her something. I think he's the reason she left."

“I don’t understand,” I say, raking a hand through my hair. “Kiera was staying with me when I went to Spain.”

“He must have gone by your apartment,” Henry says.

“Why? He didn’t know about Kiera then.”

“Are you sure? Remember when you told us at the club that you were together? He was pissed, sure. But he didn’t seem surprised that you were with her.”

I think back to that night. I was so anxious about Kiera that I wasn’t paying attention to what happened.

“You think he told her something?”

“I mean, I’m not sure. He just mentioned he met with her, and I thought that was all so weird that I had to mention it to you.”

---