Page 108 of Counterfeit Connection

The old adage of when you have something to physically do, your mind can block out any and all other things. The minute I watched the plane disappear into the clouds, I went straight to work and didn’t stop for days. My mother needed someone on the inside to prepare the rest of the Orion staff for the major explosion that could come at my father’s hands while he’s being handed his forced firing.

I immediately worked with our marketing, human resource, and leadership teams. Together, we drafted statements that would both satisfy the press with the switch in power and ownership, as well as the lingering personal videos. Everyone and their mother now know what most of my ass looks like and the color of hair that’s not on my head.

I could give a fuck for me. Every comment has to be crafted with the utmost care for Kaitlyn. I can’t be there to care for her like I want to. My words and intent will have to do.

Letting her go was one of the most difficult things I’ve ever done, but I can’t give her the peace she deserves. I died a little with every tear she shed and every sob that came from her body. They can come for me, but I can’t let them drown her. They’dsnuff the light out of her eyes, and I was too stupid to realize that sooner.

I fire off one final email and freeze when I realize I have reached a moment of… nothing. There isn’t anything left for me to do until my mother gives the go-ahead. All the staff is gone from my apartment. The conference table is empty. The lounge in the living room still has the blanket on it that was wrapped around her. Her laughter is gone. All that’s left is silence.

Silence means thinking.

Thinking means Kaitlyn.

Kaitlyn means… the realization she isn’t here, and that means the cracks around my heart deepen and ache. The tie around my neck feels like a noose. I slide two fingers inside the Windsor knot and pull. The ends of the tie lie loose around my neck. The abject silence is broken by the soft clicks of a woman’s heels.Kaitlyn.

I hold my breath as I look down the hallway toward my front door. Out of the shadows …comes my mother. My heart stops beating as I sink back into my chair, staring blankly at her.

“Griffin?” she whispers.

“Mom.”

She smooths her long inky hair over her shoulder before she sets her handbag on the table in front of me. “I thought you’d be smiling at least. Today was full of good news and action. Wait, are you alone? Where’s Kaitlyn?”

“Gone, Mum. She’s gone.”

She closes the distance between us and takes my face in her hands. “What do you mean she’s gone?”

“I let her go. I asked her to go.”

She shakes her head. “I don’t understand. I knew she was struggling with the leak and the horrible things people were saying, but you both would be stronger together.”

“She was so sad, Mum. I couldn’t bear seeing her cry over it, and you know how it is with our family, with me. Those people slither and wedge themselves into our lives, and they would have destroyed all of her beauty and all of her light. I couldn’t stand by and let it happen.”

She releases my face and crosses over toward my kitchen. “You need some tea.”

This is what she does when someone is upset. She goes into “take care of everyone” mode. I don’t even try to stop her, because it’s futile. This is what she needs, and if I’m honest, I could use a bit of TLC from my mother.

“I don’t think a cuppa is going to solve this one. I don’t get nice things. I’m not meant to have them. I get what’s left behind.”

I hear one of my mugs hit the counter heavily. “What do you mean, Griffin?”

“It’s like you said. I gave up the career I should have had to fill a hole left over and because I’m labeled the playboy forever, the press invaded my privacy, our privacy, and it broke her.”

I rip the tie from around my neck and toss it to the floor. The air here seems to be less and less. I stalk over to the sliding glass door and rip it open. After stepping out into the breeze, I reach for the railings. My hands grip over them with my greatest desire being tearing the metal off the top of the glass wall.

As I look out into the distance, I can see a glimmer at the base of one of the trees. A fucking lens. “You fucking pricks!” I scream. “You got what you wanted. Leave me alone!”

“Griffin!” my mother shouts louder than she has in quite a while. “Get back in here. Don’t give them anymore fodder.”

I whirl around and stomp back into my flat and slam the sliding glass door back into place with such force, I’m shocked it didn’t shatter into a million pieces.

“Please sit,” she continues. “I don’t like seeing you this way.”

“Get used to it, Mum. This is my life now.” I lean against the wall and scrub my hand over my face. “Christ, how am I supposed to work with her now?”

“You don’t have to. Tobias can take point on that. There won’t be any need for you two to have contact if that’s what you need.”

“It’s whatsheneeds.”

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