Page 56 of BillionHeir
This time, I let them fall.
* * *
“Wait, what? But I thought—”
“I know, I know. It has been a tumultuous few hours. I barely had time to get back to my apartment, find my passport, and get to the airport on time. My flight is boarding in twenty minutes.”I look around at the airport terminal and all the people who are milling around as I blink back tears. “It is my mum. She is sick again.”
“Oh, Chloe. I am so sorry.” Jenna pauses on the other end of the line, and I can feel her love through the phone. “What can I do?”
“Nothing,” I answer, trying to stay strong. I can’t let myself fall apart now or I will be a sobbing mess. Maybe later once I am on the flight, but right now I need to keep it together.
“Maxwell just let you go?”
“He didn’t have much of a choice in the matter to be honest. I would be surprised if he even knows that I am gone,” I mutter, sounding like a petulant child.
“Why wouldn’t he know? I thought things were good between you two. Did you have some kind of argument?”
“Arguing would mean that he actually had feelings. That he was capable of communication instead of completely shutting down. Instead, he has been holed up in his office the last few days working.”
“Well, he is an important man.”
“I know who he is, Jenna,” I say sharply before closing my eyes to try and calm myself. It is not my best friend who I am upset with right now. “But then his friends came today, and not only was he embarrassed for me to touch him, he flat out deniedthat we slept together.” I roll my eyes and let out a sarcastic laugh. “In fact, he called me ‘the help’.”
“What. The. Fu—”
“Exactly,” I say before she can finish.
“So, you just left? Without saying goodbye?”
“Not my finest moment. But I panicked, Jenna. I couldn’t deal with him when my mum is so poorly. I just had to be with her. And now that I can afford the ticket, I couldn’t bear not going.”
“I know, Chlo. I know,” Jenna says soothingly. “Has he tried to call since you left?”
“No, but it is not all that surprising, actually. We never even exchanged numbers.”
“You slept together and never gave him your phone number?”
“He never gave me his either,” I say defensively. “Look, it is not like I was hired under ordinary circumstances. And then we were living in the same house. If we needed to talk, we would just walk into the other room. There was no need to have each other’s number.”
I know it sounds dumb, but honestly, I am sort of glad it has worked out this way.
“Why do you sound so calm about all of this?” Jenna asks suspiciously.
“Because it is the right decision. My mum is sick, and Maxwell no longer needs me. Did we sleep together? Yes. Does that change anything? No. Not really. Should I have discussed my departure before I left? Probably. But there was no time. This is for the best, Jenna. I have thought it all through. A nice clean break is best.”
“For who?” she asks far too knowingly.
“Both of us.”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive,” I say, pushing down the tiny part of me that truly is heartbroken about the whole situation.
“Okay,” she says, still sounding dubious, but letting it go. “And your mom? How is she doing? What does she know?”
“She sounded tired, but she had been with the doctors all day having tests run. So maybe it was just from that. We didn’t talk about specifics, but after everything she has been through . . . I don’t think it is good, Jenn.”
My voice cracks as my bravado starts to fade.
