Page 9 of Suddenly Dating
Harry tried to reason with her as she packed a few things. He tried to explain it all again—that he couldn’t quit now, that he’d sunk everything into it, and he had to make it work.
But in the end, Melissa hoisted her bag over her shoulder and walked out.
The next morning, Harry awoke to steady rain. Figured. It went on all day, washing out any hope of getting some work done on his current job. He paced like a wild animal, ran his numbers again, and worried about how he was going to pay the crews. He would lose his shirt if this weather kept up.
He kept walking back to the closet to look at all of Melissa’s things. He toyed with the idea of boxing up her stuff, then toyed harder with the idea of going over to Lexi’s to talk to her. But he decided maybe he needed to give her the space she wanted.
It rained the next day, too. And the next.
Harry was beside himself with restless worry and inactivity and eagerness to do something other than sit around and think. He was working out every day for two or three hours. He was meeting friends here and there, but he couldn’t keep his mind on the conversations. The gym was the only place that gave him a brief respite from thoughts of Melissa and the need for a million bucks in the bank.
He’d finished up a long workout with heavy weights and was about to head home when the skies opened up. With a groan, Harry retreated from the exit and slipped into the gym’s juice bar. He ordered a drink, then sat down near the window to wait out the deluge.
“Westbrook! Is thatyou?”
Harry looked up to see Zach Miller sauntering toward him. Zach was a partner at Michaelson’s, and he and Harry had worked together on a couple of projects. Harry liked Zach—he was gregarious, always good for a beer and sports talk. His gray muscle shirt was soaked with sweat, and his gym bag, which banged against his knee as he strode toward Harry’s table, had definitely seen better days.
“Dude, what’s up?” Zach asked cheerfully. He fell into a chair, his legs splayed wide, then dropped his gym bag.
“Hey, Zach,” Harry said. “Good to see you. What’s new with you? How are things at Michaelson’s?”
“Same old,” Zach said. “We won the bid on the new highway outside of Philadelphia.”
“That’s fantastic,” Harry said.
“Yep. Going to be making somebank,” Zach said with a knock on the table. “So how’s it going with you, man? Life treating you well?”
“Fairly well,” Harry said. “I’ve had a few bumps, but, you know, life goes on.”
“Oh yeah?” Zach’s smile turned serious. “Bumps in your company? What kind of bumps?” Zach never had any compunction about asking nosy questions.
“That, and... Lissa and I are taking a break.” It was the first time Harry had said it out loud. It felt weird. It was supposed to be Harry and Melissa from here on out.
Zach gasped. “Noway,” he said, wincing. “I thought you guys were headed for the altar.”
“I thought we were, too,” Harry said with a rueful smile. “But she’s not into bridge construction.”
“I feel your pain, man. I’mstilltrying to divorce Sara.”
Harry wasn’t surprised. Zach’s divorce was legendary, the cautionary tale to all the single men in the office:Look what women can do when they are pissed.Harry had heard through the grapevine that the Millers were counting every penny in the penny jar and arguing over each one. “I’m really sorry to hear that,” Harry said sincerely.
“Anh,”Zach said with a flick of his wrist. “It will happen eventually. But I’ve moved on,” he said with a wink. “Been seeing this girl who is a cheerleader for the Knicks. Just graduated college.” He made a crude gesture with his hand, apparently to explain his attraction to her.
“That’s... great,” Harry said uncertainly.
“So okay, we could talk about women all day long. What’s going on with the Westbrook company?” he asked, punching Harry lightly on the arm. “I heard you got a piece of the new bridge over Paxton rail yard.”
“Yep. I’m about to wrap that up,” he said, deciding not to tell Zach how much he was losing on that project. “I’m hoping to take the next step and bid on my own. No more subcontracting. I’ve heard that Connecticut is going to build a new toll road. I’d like to get in on that.”
“Awesome,” Zach said, and sounded genuinely happy for him. “What’s stopping you?”
Harry laughed. “Cash flow, man. As in, I don’t have any. In fact, I accepted an offer on my apartment.” He filled Zach in on his immediate plans for the future, and why he needed a fat bank account.
Zach, of course, understood Harry’s needs and his ambition. He agreed that selling the apartment was a way to get the cash without going into debt. “So where are you going to live?” he asked curiously.
“That’s a good question,” Harry said. “I’m sure I could live with my folks for a while, but dude, I’m about to be thirty-four. I think I’d kill myself.”
Zach laughed. And then he got serious, drumming his fingers on the table, studying Harry as if he were privately debating something.
