Page 123 of New York Love Stories: Vol. 2

There are too many things to list to lead me to what went wrong, except one—the truth.

Staring at the phone in front of me, I’ve let messages pile up from everyone from Jackson to my mom. Not one of them was from Tealey. I hop off the countertop, needing a shower to help wash away the grime from the past twenty-four hours. I’d like to get a clear head so I can see the situation in a new light.

When the screen on my phone lights up, I’m quick to glance down. I can’t lie that I’m disappointed seeing it’s not a message from Tealey.

Ashleigh:Are you available?

It’s Sunday, so her needing to talk is unusual. Business never ends.

Me:Depends . . .

My phone rings, and I answer it because she knows I’m always fucking available, which has always been one of Tealey’s biggest issues with me. “Hello?”

“Hi, boss, sorry to catch you on the weekend, but I was reviewing the deposition for the Lewis case and found items listed in the file that didn’t correlate.”

“Why are you working today?” I scrub over my jaw, feeling the need for a shave.

“I like to get a jump start on the week ahead.”

I swear I’ve said those exact words. “I don’t want you working today, Ashleigh. Enjoy the Sunday. Spend time with your loved ones. Relax. All of this can be worked out in the office on Monday.”

“But—”

“I’m serious. Nothing is more important than spending time with those you care about.”

“What’s going on?” she asks, her concern traveling the line. “Why are you saying this?”

I swallow my emotions, but it lumps in my throat, refusing to go down. Letting my personal life interfere with work has never been a struggle. Until now. “Sorry. I have a lot on my mind.” I walk to crack open a window, thinking fresh air would serve me well, but change my mind at the last second when I realize I’d lose the last of her scent. It may be faint, but it’s kept me company all night.

Ashleigh’s silence begins to make me uncomfortable. The unflappable attorney is shaken by his own assistant. That’d go over well with the firm. I can’t even hold my own with her. “What? Say it. I can tell you want to.”

“You’re not happy.” I could address that accusation a million different ways, but I let it go because it’s not untrue. “And I’m worried about you.”

“Don’t do this, Ashleigh. I can’t get caught up in what’s happening in personal dramas. That takes my eye off my job.”

“From the sounds of it, you’re already caught up in it. As you should be. It’s your life. It’s what matters most, like finding happiness.”

“I’m happiest when my clients are happy.”

But as soon as the line that I’ve spewed a hundred times before passes my lips, I know it’s a lie. That’s not what makes me happy.Not anymore.

“I owe my full attention to my clients.”

“No, you don’t.” Her tone is firm, raised to be heard. “You owe them the hours they paid for. They don’t own you outside of the business day.Day.Not night.”

“Coming from the woman working on Sunday.” I sigh, not wanting to argue with her. “My entire fucking career has been built on being available twenty-four seven, Ashleigh.”

“Your career is going to be the death of you,” she snaps back.

“It already is.” I drop my head into my hands, resting my elbows on the island. Squeezing my eyes shut, I say, “She left me, Ashleigh.”

There’s a pause, and then she whispers, “Who?”

“It was our secret, only for the time being.”

Her sigh has me clamping my mouth shut. She knows without me saying the name. “Tealey. Oh Rad, I’m sorry to hear your pain. I can hear how much you care about her.”

“I love her.” The words came out quieter than how I feel when I say them. Shouting my love for Tealey Bell from the rooftop has always been the goal when it comes to her.

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