Page 115 of Every Broken Piece
I pick up a pen and run it through my fingers. Outside of Jack, she’s my best friend. I can tell her anything, but this I’m not so sure I want to put words to. On the other hand, maybe I need a woman’s perspective.
“Does it matter?” I ask.
“Of course not. I’m curious though. If I remember correctly, they’re profit is minimal compared to the businesses you own. They’re not failing, so it’s not the thrill of turning them around that you’re after.”
“I’ve met someone.”
A very long pause this time. “Ah. Well.” Her voice is subdued, lacking her previous sass. She knows what Cara’s death did to me and she knows that when I say I met someone it means something. “What does this someone have to do with TaskGenius?”
“She worked there, and they fired her because of me.” I tell her about Jack’s great plan to hire a VA for me, that our business texts turned personal and when TaskGenius found out they fired her.
“So this is a revenge purchase? If she needs a job, just hire her.”
Is this revenge? Hell, yes, it is. But it’s also righting a wrong and giving Tess her livelihood back. “She misses her clients and because of the non-compete she signed she can’t poach them.”
“I want to meet the girl that finally softened the hardened and cynical Gabriel Strong. She must be something really special.”
“She is. She’s...” I don’t know how much to reveal without breaking Tess’s trust, but I feel like I’m screwing this up and I don’t know what to do.
“She’s...?”
“She’s had a rough life. She doesn’t trust easily. Honestly, she doesn’t trust at all. A lot of people hurt her in the past.”
“You’ve fallen hard, friend. I can hear it in your voice. And for someone you can’t easily bully or charm. Not that you’re all that charming. That’s Jack’s forte.”
“I would never bully her. I just want her to be happy and having her job back would make her happy.”
“Wow.” There’s some fumbling on her end, like she dropped her phone. “Sorry,” she says when she comes back. “I had to check to make sure I was talking to Gabriel Strong and not someone else. Unless Gabe’s phone was stolen. How do I know it’s really you?”
I grin. “I know enough of your secrets. You want me to start listing them?”
She clears her throat. “No need. So, she’s not falling for your charm, huh?”
“It’s more like she’s built these walls to protect herself and she’s afraid to let anyone in.”
“You always go for the wounded ones.”
Viv never met Cara, but she knows the struggles we went through, how I felt like I could never make her happy. It wasn’t that Cara was hateful or demanding. The opposite, actually. She was complacent and content. She laughed and played. We had good times, but underneath was always this ribbon of unhappiness that I could never compete against.
Maybe I do fall for the wounded and maybe I am setting myself up for another heartbreak, but I’m willing to risk it because I think Tess is worth it.
“You need to go slow, Gabe. Don’t push. I know you. You go full steam when you see something you want. That will only scare her.”
“I know. It’s frustrating. I told her I love her, and I scared her. Every time I think I’m breaking through her walls she throws more up.”
“Think of an abused dog. You have to gain that trust back even though you weren’t the one who abused her. Let her come to you. She’ll advance and retreat but once she sees that you’re steady, that you aren’t abandoning her, she’ll come to you, and it will be worth it.”
I lean my head against the back of the chair and stare at the dark shadows of the mountains against the sky. I can do that. I can let Tess take the lead. Good things come to those who wait, right? Isn’t that how the saying goes?
“I can’t wait to meet this special woman,” Viv says.
“I can’t wait for you to meet her.”
“Let me get with my team tomorrow and look at this TaskGenius. I’ll get back to you on an offer.”
“I appreciate it.”
“You know I could just demand they get rid of the non-compete and hire her back.”
