Page 83 of The Attraction

“What, you aren’t even going to fight me on this?” I ask, looking at her, waiting.

“No. You clearly aren’t ready to talk about what the fuck happened or what changed from the loved-up couple I saw yesterday, so I may as well get some work done. Then when you are ready to break down and share with your best friend how you are totally screwing this up, then I’ll be here, ready.” She walks past me to the elevator and pushes the call button which has the doors opening straight away, of course, because I not long walked out of it.

Ughhh, there’s that word again, “loved-up.” Why is she trying to punish me?

“Again, Team Harper, remember!” I complain as I walk past her into the elevator, and she just rolls her eyes at me.

“I’m so far in the Team Harper bunker that I’ve spent all morning designing our merchandise range with a t-shirt that has your face plastered all over it and black broken hearts all around you. Because that’s what being on Team Harper feels like right now. Standing here cheering on a train wreck that I can’t look away from, all because I never walk away from a friend in trouble.” Her voice is curt, and I can tell she is frustrated with me and worried at the same time.

It's why we are such close friends; we both know what the other needs. I don’t need to be mollycoddled right now. This diatribe of insults for my stupidity is exactly what keeps me putting one foot in front of the other.

Felisha is different. She can be the strongest, hard-ass bitch in a boardroom, but when her world started falling apart earlier this year, so did she, and it was a shock to both of us. I knew how to protect her, but it meant that I had to be the strong one to step into her place at times. It was probably good training for what is to come for me today.

“Great, what color shirts are we getting?” I ask. “I mean, anything but yellow because it will make my face look washed out and pasty.”

Standing side by side as the elevator descends, I turn to look at her. “Thank you,” I whisper, leaning my head on her shoulder for a moment, and she just gives me the few words I need to hear to get through this day.

“I’ve got you. We will get through this together.” Her voice is full of compassion.

I close my eyes and just rest my head there for a few moments longer until the elevator slows as we get close to the ground floor.

Standing up straight, I throw my bag on my shoulder and prepare to take on the day the only way I know how. To find someone or something that needs me to rip it apart and send people scrambling because this bitch is on a rampage.

Welcome to the world of having an unstable woman as your boss: you never know what you are going to get from one day to the next.

FORREST

“What do you mean we don’t need to know where you are going!” Flynn yells across the office at me. “Harper is in danger, and you are just going to go off-grid and don’t give a fuck. I don’t understand you, Brother.”

“Calm down, Flynn, and let him talk.” Nic pushes Flynn into a seat while I just stand in front of them all with the emotion of a stone.

“Rem has her covered, and he’ll contact me if anything changes. I’m not going to be without my phone. I just can’t be here right now. I can’t see her all the time and watch her hurting.” My voice is flat and devoid of any feelings.

“What about you, you’re hurting too. Look at you.” Flynn throws his hands in the air in frustration at me.

“I’m a big boy and can look after myself. I don’t need your permission to be on my own. Harper needs space, and so do I.” Walking over to my brother who I know is only acting like this because he cares, I place my hand on his shoulder and squeeze it. “I’m not like you, Flynn, all full of noise and bluster. I need time to lick my wounds and regroup. I’ll be back, because like I said, she can have time to clear her head and overanalyze every damn single thing that happened between us, but nothing will have changed. She’s still the woman for me, and there is no way I’m giving up without a fight.” He is frowning at me, and I know it is probably just at the words I used to describe him.

“In the meantime, I’m relying on you and Felisha to keep her safe at night when she is on her own and frightened. Felisha will know what to do, she’s been there before. I just don’t know how bad it will get without me there. But I can’t worry about that now. In order to be the man she needs me to be, I have something I have to do first. Promise me one thing, though.” I wait for him to look me in the eye. “If she needs me, and not just a little bit but really needs me, you know, deep within her soul that she feels she can’t breathe without me, then you tell me, and I’ll be here. But until then, she’s yours to protect for me. If I can’t trust my brother and best friends, then I have been wasting my time all these years putting up with your three ugly faces every day.”

They all nod at me with that certainty that they won’t let me down.

“I’ll see you all soon.” I have said everything I needed to and turn to walk out of the office. I don’t wait to hear any of their replies because I am all talked out.

As I climb into the backseat of the town car I ordered with my bag, I greet the driver.

“Heathrow Airport, please.”

He nods in the mirror at me, and the car pulls away from the curb and into the morning London traffic. I sag into the back seat and start working on my laptop. Just because I’m not physically in the office, they should know better than to think I won’t be working.

* * *

Looking out the window of the commercial jumbo jet as it pushes away from the terminal, I hear the captain start speaking through the speakers.

“Ladies and gentlemen, the seat belt sign is now activated, and we should be ready for take-off shortly. With a flight time of eight hours and forty-five minutes, we should be landing in Chicago at 7:15 am Monday morning, local time. Sit back and enjoy your flight.”

The noise and vibration of the plane is soothing, and although I haven’t flown commercial for a long time, first class still gives me room to be alone, for which I’m thankful.

With my phone in my hands, I glance at it one last time, longing for a message from Harper but knowing there won’t be one.

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