Page 64 of BillionHeir
Jackson sighs. The sound of rustling sheets comes through the line, then a door opens and shuts. He clears his throat before speaking again. “No, it is fine. I am up. What is going on? Is everything okay?”
“Honestly, no. Everything is not okay.”
“I am not well versed on international law, but I know a lawyer over there who could get you out of almost anything.” I can hear his voice switching into work mode.
“It is not that,” I explain. “It is Chloe.”
“Wait, what?” Jackson asks, sounding genuinely confused. “Is something wrong with her?”
“That is what I am calling to ask you. I just watched her get out of the car with me and walk into the hospital.”
“Shouldn’t you be asking her this?”
I suppose the man does have a point, but he doesn’t know about our argument. Or does he?
“That is beside the point. If there is something you know, you need to tell me, Jackson.”
“If Chloe doesn’t want you to know, I am not going to violate her trust. I am sorry, Maxwell, but if you want to know what is going on with her, you need to ask her yourself.”
“I know you know what is going on. Her best friend was lying next to you in bed. Is Chloe sick?” I ask, almost pleading with him.
“You have spent the last two months with her, and you don’t know?” he asks.
“I don’t know what I know anymore, Jackson. She left without notice. I narrowly made it onto the same flight as her, but she will barely talk to me. I don’t know what to do,” I confess.
“Fix it,” he says as though it is not impossible.
“But how?”
“I don’t know, Max. Women are all different. What works for one isn’t going to work for another. Lord knows I am still fighting an uphill battle with Jenna half the time, but that is part of what I love about her. I am always learning something new. If you can’t figure it out, then maybe it just wasn’t meant to be.”
I sigh into the phone.
“I know that wasn’t what you wanted to hear,” Jackson says when I don’t say anything for a while.
“I am just mad because I know that you are right,” I finally concede.
“Is there anything else, or can I go back to bed?” Jackson asks, trying to cover up a yawn.
“Get some sleep.”
“For what it is worth, I never thought I would ever see you this worked up over a woman. Take my advice and just talk to her. Communication is the most important part of a relationship.”
“When did you get so wise?”
“That is why you pay me the big bucks.”
I chuckle into the phone and let my friend get back to sleep.
I thought for sure that Jackson would give me all the information I was looking for. I suppose it does make me feelbetter to know that he is not a gossip. Not that I ever wondered. He is one of the most honorable men I have met.
But I am still sitting here with no answers.
The rest of the day passes in a bit of a blur. I order a late lunch from room service as the East Coast wakes up and spend a good part of the afternoon working while trying to keep my mind off of Chloe and how catastrophically I have screwed things up with her.
Ethan has identified a startup that is on the verge of a potentially game-changing technology breakthrough that I have been dying to get my hands on. The only problem is that it looks like they are going to run out of money first. It is a perfect opportunity for me to step in as an investor, save their company, and secure myself an equity stake in their future success. It has been a nice way to get back into the swing of things.
But after dinner, even business deals aren’t enough to keep my mind off the woman who has made me rethink everything. Maybe Jackson is right. Could it really be as easy as just talking with her?
