Page 11 of The Gathered Fragments of Us
I watched the reminder fade from the screen as my finger tapped it away, then merged into traffic with no destination in mind.
Chapter 4: Stop Coasting
~Caden~
I arrived at work before anyone else had come in, badge tapping against the scanner with a mechanical beep. The floor was quiet, and I was glad for the silence.
I grabbed a black coffee and went straight to my office, not even bothering to check my phone. I already knew there were no new texts from Felicity. Not that I expected one. I hadn’t earned one.
I sat at my desk, staring at the screen without seeing it. After about an hour, my assistant arrived, and I heard her moving around her desk and the area. Once she was settled, I pressed the intercom—time to face the music.
"Lauren? You around?"
"Yep. Be right there."
She walked in moments later, tablet in hand, eyebrows slightly raised. All business. Lauren is amazing. I stole her from my former boss when I started B&R Consulting. She had been working for him already for fifteen years when he retired. Rather than let her get away, I begged her to come with me to start my own firm.
Lauren has been my assistant now for over a decade, and I couldn’t live without her. She’s a grandma three times over now, I think, and right now I have a feeling like she may wring my neck.
"Everything okay?"
"No, can we go over a few things?"
She nodded, taking the chair across from my desk.
"I need to go through everything. All the personal stuff. Felicity’s birthdays, anniversaries, flower deliveries—everything you’ve helped me with."
Lauren blinked. "You want a full rundown?"
"Yeah. No filters."
She was studying me for a beat before pulling up a file on her tablet. "Okay. You ready?"
"As I’ll ever be."
I watched her scrolling. "Alright. You got the file I sent you yesterday, right?"
I winced. "Yes—let's go beyond that."
"Okay—let's start with her birthdays since hers is so soon. I've helped with buying her gift for the last three years. First year, you got her diamond studs. Second year, Tiffany pendant. Then the silk scarf. Last year was a Saks Fifth Avenue gift card because you didn’t confirm sizing in time on the long-line coat that she'd mentioned being interested in."
"I gave my wife store credit for her birthday?"
"You did," she said, evenly.
I dragged a hand over my face, rubbing the stubble along my jaw. "Jesus."
"Anniversaries have mostly been spa packages or dinners. You canceled dinner two years in a row—once for the Houston trip, once because Macy had a fever. The spa was booked out by the time I tried to rebook."
"I remember the fever. I don’t remember canceling dinner."
"You did. I called her myself the following Monday to help with rescheduling."
There was a lump rising in my throat. I sighed.
"She's never complained or said anything negative about any of the gifts or cancellations—at least not to me." Lauren said gently.
There was a long silence.
