Page 49 of The Jerk in Apartment 1B

“Thanks, but I’m going to keep looking for a job in fashion. I don’t want to work in insurance. And I don’t want to be anassistant. I was only doing that because that’s how the fashion business works. You start as an assistant and work your way up.”

“But it never happened. You were an assistant for years.”

“Yeah? So what are you saying?”

He shrugs. “Maybe you should consider something else. A job that’s not so competitive. One that has more security and pays better.”

I stare at him across the table. “Is this why you wanted to meet? To give me career advice? Because I—”

“No. That’s not it.” He reaches over and takes my hand. “Trina, I wasn’t saying you had to take the job. I was just trying to help.”

“I don’t need your help,” I say, pulling my hand from his.

He looks down. “You’re still mad at me.”

“Well, yeah. You broke up with me.” My voice is shaking and I take a deep breath, trying to steady it. “I didn’t see it coming. I wasn’t prepared. I was about to plan our wedding and then…”

“I know.” He rubs his hand over his face. “That’s why I wanted to meet. To explain myself.”

I keep quiet and wait for him to continue.

“It’s been really crazy at work,” he says. “There’s this new guy who’s younger than me and he’s been getting all this attention from the higher ups. He’s been outperforming me since he started. I’ve been putting in extra hours trying to prove to the bosses I’m better than this guy, but he’s just too damn good. And last week, he got the promotion I wanted.”

“I thought you told meyougot a promotion.”

“I did, but only because he quit. He got an offer at another firm that paid twice what he was getting before.”

“That’s good, right? Now you don’t have to compete with him.”

“Yeah, but seeing what he could do showed me I need to work harder. If I want to move up in my career, I need to get moreserious about it. I need to put in the hours.” He takes my hand again. “What happened with us wasn’t about you. It was about me needing to prove to myself that I could do this. That I could be as good as that guy or better. And I didn’t know how I could do that and also be in a relationship. It wouldn’t be fair to you.”

I gaze down at the table. “You’ve already told me this. I don’t know why you’re telling me again.”

“Because I need you to know why I did this. It wasn’t because I don’t love you.” He gives my hand a squeeze. “Because I do. I still love you, Trina.”

My eyes rise to his. “Then you wouldn’t have let me go. You wouldn’t have chosen your career over me.”

“Which is why I’m here.”

What does he mean? Is this it? Is this where he tells me he made a huge mistake and wants me back?

How do I answer him? Do I tell him yes? Even after he kicked me out? I’m not sure I trust him after that. What if I move back and he changes his mind and breaks up with me? I’d have to go through this all over again.

But I love him, so maybe it’s worth the risk to go back to him. He said he still loves me. If we love each other, we shouldn’t give up so easily. We should try again.

“What are you saying, Asher? Just tell me.”

He rubs my hand. “I’m asking you to give me some time.”

“Time for what?”

“Time to figure out how to do this. How to move forward in my career and still have a relationship with you.”

“But what does that mean? For us?”

“It means things stay as they are for now. But you don’t give up on me. You don’t…” He looks down. “Go find someone else.”

“So you’re asking me to wait for you,” I say, not sure how I feel about that.

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