Page 63 of The Rules Of Attraction
It killed me to see him suffer that way. It killed me to think of his suffering now.
Eilesh reached across the table and covered my hands with hers.
“You can’t do anything about your father, and when he was alive, you did all that you could do. He couldn’t have asked for a better daughter. No one could.”
Her words soothed my grief, and I was grateful for them.
“Thank you.”
“There’s no need for thanks Summer, truth is truth. Now back to the question and just think of Tom and Ashfords. If memory serves me right I don’t remember you being happy back then. You seemed okay working for Ashfords but you were looking to leave when you saw that they were being picky with which attorneys they gave their cases to. I guess we now know the reason for that.”
“I got all the basic stuff.” I sighed with remembrance.
When I first started working at Ashfords I got to do a lot of exciting cases like mergers and acquisitions. Towards the end I practically acted like a legal assistant. It drove me crazy.
“And Tom. Don’t even get me started. You called me a lot complaining that he would be away when you went back to Ohio to see him on weekends. And I’ll point out that you made all the effort in your relationship. God bless the times he went to LA to visit you. You did all the travelling, backwards and forwards to Ohio several times a month.”
I hung my head down. She was right. Again.
I did do most of the work. I flew from LA to Ohio to spend time with him, and book time off every chance I got.
I spent more time with him than I did with my father. I saw Tom at least four times a month and my father twice if I was lucky.
He on the other hand would go out when I was back, come home drunk, or just be away.
“And then there was the things he’d say to you.” Eilesh added looking truly annoyed. “Remember the strip club?”
I frowned now at the memory. He came back drunk one night and let it slip that he’d been to a strip club, and that I should consider having work done on my breasts to make them look more like the stripper who’d given him a lap dance.
“God, I’m such an idiot.” All of that was my own stupid fault for allowing it to happen.
“No, you just loved him. I went through something similar with Jaxon. That was a tough time for me, but I got through it.”
Eilesh and Jaxon were together for a few years but the guy couldn’t commit to her. It took her a very long time to get over him.
“I know, and look you have Cody.” I smiled. I might have been bitter about my horrible relationship with Tom, but I could tamp down my feelings for Eilesh. If only for a few minutes. I was happy that she found love with a man who worshipped the ground she walked on.
“I have Cody, and you will have your Mr. Right too. It just wasn’t Tom.”
“It was never him. I feel so stupid that I didn’t know about him and Becca. Worse that I thought we’d be okay with a long distance relationship.” I felt that with all my intelligence I should have been clever enough to see the truth sooner and prevent myself from getting hurt.
“There’s nothing stupid about it. You aren’t the first woman that something like this has happened to. This is time for you to reflect.” She stated. “It’s the calm after the storm.”
“Are you going all wise on me?” I giggled.
“Yes, but hey it’s true. You know after a storm when there’s a period of uncertainty and everyone’s not sure what’s going to happen? It’s that time for you, and you can make it whatever you want.”
“I’d feel a lot better if I was an associate somewhere, but being a PA’s not exactly a bad thing right now.”
She looked pleased to hear that. “I’m really glad you took the job. It was a good move, Summer.”
I nodded in complete agreement.
“What’s it like living and working with Alex?” A mischievous smile lifted her pretty red lips.
I shuffled in the seat and rested my hands on my knees. “It’s nice.”
“You look a little more taken thanjustnice.”
