Page 104 of I'm Looking for a Man in Finance
I paused, rolling his words around in my head. Maybe he was right. Maybe there was more to the story, an explanation that would make sense. Or maybe, she was just doing her job.
But the thought of confronting her, seeing her face, hearing her say it out loud—it made my chest tighten.
“I should talk to her,” I admitted finally. “It’s just … it’s hard. I thought I knew her, but this article feels like a betrayal.”
Sebastian’s voice softened. “I get it, man. Really. But Hallie isn’t Cassidy. That girl looked at you like you were the sun in her sky. You can’t throw that away without hearing her out.”
I stared out the subway window, the tunnels whipping past like static.
“I don’t even know if I care enough to fight for that balance in my life,” I said quietly.
“What do you mean?”
“Theo offered me a job,” I told him. “To lead their investment division. It would be a huge undertaking.”
Sebastian let out a laugh. “That’s huge.”
“Yeah,” I said, my voice flat. “I told him that the only thing I wanted was flexibility because of Hallie. Working that much would not have been good for a new relationship.” A pause. “But now? I’m not sure there’s anything left to balance it with.”
Sebastian let out a slow breath. “That’s the grief talking. You’re hurt, man. You’re allowed to be. But don’t build a whole damn life around it.”
The train screeched to a halt. I stepped out onto the bustling platform, blending in with the crowd of people all heading to their own destinations. I climbed the stairs out of the Wall Street station and into the Financial District.
This place used to give me such a thrill. I loved seeing everyone in suits hustling to the many metal skyscrapers looming up toward the clouds, waiting to make their mark on the world.
But the thrill had dulled. It had been gradual, my growing disengagement from the career I’d once loved. For so long, my career had provided me a predictablerhythm, a routine I could count on. The moment I seriously considered going out on my own, that structure began to shift.
My conversation with Theo had only cemented it. Theo Drake—already a rising name in tech—spoke about innovation like it was a living thing. He didn’t just see what was, he imagined what could be. Walking through the Financial District with Sebastian still sitting on the other end of the phone, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Theo had opened my eyes to a world beyond the confines of corporate life, where ideas led the charge and built creativity and room to breathe.
And Hallie … she’d shown me something else entirely. Something I hadn’t known I’d been missing. Her presence had cracked open a part of me I’d kept tightly sealed. With her, I’d glimpsed the possibility of building a life filled with more than just success. A life with someone to come home to, someone who didn’t need perfect, just real.
For a second, I’d believed I could have both—a career worth waking up for, and a relationship that didn’t feel like a performance. But now? I didn’t know where things stood.
A couple months wasn’t much time, but her absence felt like a physical blow. Maybe I’d been wrong about her. Maybe her ambition outweighed whatever was happening between us. Maybe, deep down, she was just like Cassidy—putting herself and her career first, no matter who got hurt.
There was only one thing in my control.
“Seb, I’ve got to go,” I told my best friend, hanging up before I got a response.
I tapped Theo’s name on my list of contacts. The phone rang twice before I heard his voice on the other end.
“James, what a surprise. To what do I owe the pleasure?”
There was only a split second before I could bail on my decision, but I knew I wouldn’t take the way out.
“I’ll take the job, if you’ll still have me.”
Theo said nothing. Maybe he’d changed his mind. Maybe I’d waited too long to accept the role, and he’d offered it to someone else.
“Took you long enough,” he drawled after what felt like ages. “I thought for a minute that you were icing me out to see what more I’d give you. I just asked my assistant to write up a new offer with higher pay and some more auxiliary benefits—like a membership to The Nest.”
“Oh, that’s not—”
“She’ll send it over shortly. Read it over, sign, and get it back to me.”
“Theo, you don’t have to—”
“It’s going to be a pleasure working with you, James. I just know it.”
