Page 84 of Out of the Shadow

Like before, I’m building Russo Real Estate all by myself. King is of no consequence.

King

I SWALLOW THElast of my protein shake after a workout that left my arms and legs burning but didn’t bring me any satisfaction. For the past days, I’ve been pushing myself twice as hard at the gym, trying to make sense of what went wrong with Angie.

I slam the glass down into the sink. Angie and I made love. It was making love, not just sex. I’ve never felt so connected to another human being.

So what if I sent her presents? I wasn’t trying to “buy her off” as she put it. They were gifts to let her know how much she means to me.

Just like Dad used to do.

Shit. Does she have a point? No. I refuse to believe that.

My mind goes back to that fateful phone call a week ago. At first, I was so mad at her for ending things between us that I loaded up on my favorite bourbon and drank myself into a stupor. For three days. No one called to check up on me.

When I reemerged into the land of the living, I saw those pictures onThe Gossipand cursed a blue streak. I tried calling Angie again and again, but she wouldn’t answer. I texted her, but she didn’t respond.

Maybe it’s time for me to face the facts that she’s not into me.

No fucking way.Angie and I were making a real connection. I met her family. We were working together to grow her agency. We had plans. I refuse to believe that I meant nothing to her. Which means she either got scared because I was her first after Dante, or she saw those stupid pictures.

How can I get through to her?

I have to figure out a way to show Angie she wasn’t some random hook-up. She’s it for me—her beauty, her intellect, her sass—the only woman I’ll ever want to be with for the rest of my life. But what if these feelings are only one-sided?

I consider enlisting her brothers to help, but they’ll support her, no matter what. Family first, and all that.

Who else can help me?

I pick up my phone and call Blaine. He’s happily married. He’ll be able to give me advice. The line rings. And goes to voicemail. I don’t leave a message.

Biting the inside of my lip, I open my Contacts and scroll through all of the five hundred people in my phone, looking for another friend I can reach out to for help.

No one qualifies.

I shut my phone.

Without Angie, I’m all alone.

But that doesn’t mean I’m going to give up, not when the stakes are this high.

Picking up my Vitamix, I rinse out the contents as I discard every stupid idea that pops into my head. When I’m placing the pieces on the drying rack, my phone rings. Maybe it’s Blaine? Or Angie? I nearly fall in my scramble to answer.

It’s Diego.

I didn’t call him before because, well, he’s just a kid. Adrenaline winding down, I answer on the third ring. “Hey, Diego. How are you doing?”

“I’m great. Missed you at my graduation, but I’m excited to fly out to New York City soon. Thanks again for the money you sent. I can’t express what your support means to me.”

His enthusiasm brings a reluctant smile to my face. “I wish I could’ve been out there for you, buddy. I was tied up out here with post-production stuff,” I lie, not wanting to tell him about Angie. As a budding film director, he understands about post-production.

“I was looking over the materials that NYU sent, and I have a couple of questions for you about the City.”

Relieved that I have something to put my mind to other than self-pity, I engage with him about his new city. “It’ll be great to be on the same coast as you again, Diego.”

“Yeah. I can’t believe this is really happening. It was a long road, but you knew my heart was in it and pushed me to keep at it.”

I take in his words. Diego fought against huge odds to make it to NYU. He took very strategic steps toward his ultimate goal, and all his hard work paid off. He continues, “It wasn’t a sprint, but nothing worth doing is.”

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