Page 64 of Night and Day
Chapter 25
Mia stared at the pixelatedimage of her boyfriend on the phone screen. Seeing Mikko there, talking to her in Finnish like nothing had happened, felt both odd and incredibly familiar, like she’d travelled back in time and magically erased everything that had happened in the last few days.
“Seriously, since that first story went live, we’ve had so many media enquiries I’ve had to turn some down. It’s make-or-break. We need to get this ready for the next round of investors.” Mikko halted his monologue, looking up at her like he’d forgotten she was there. “Have you looked at the link I sent?”
“I... um... no, sorry. I’ll take a look soon.”
“I invited you to the new Jira board. If you could—”
“That’s great. I really need to talk to you about something.” Mia cut him off, impatient. She’d locked herself in Izzy’s bedroom, which felt like the wrong place for this phone call, but she needed the good internet and there weren’t that many options around. She wondered if Izzy was listening, not that it made a difference. He wouldn’t understand a word of Finnish.
“Sure, what’s up?” Mikko asked, his smile confident. “Have you finally decided to join the most exciting start-up of the century?”
Mia could barely smile back. “I... actually wanted to talk about us. I don’t think this will work out. You and I.”
Mikko raised a brow, puzzled. “You and I? Working together you mean? Why wouldn’t it? We’ve done heaps together.”
Mia grimaced. Was it really this hard? “I mean as a couple. I don’t think that’s going to work. We’re just not that well suited...”
Mikko huffed out an incredulous laugh. “Agreed. But what about the job? We need to get cracking as soon as you come back. We’re behind schedule, as you probably know, but we’ve been patient with you. I told the guys you’re worth the wait. Did you hear about Wolt? They sold for a hundred million. The shareholders are all multi-millionaires. I’m not saying that’ll happen to us, but heck! Maybe I am. All I’m saying is you don’t want to miss this train.”
Mia stared at his white face and light brown number two buzz cut, feeling like she’d missed something. “I’m sorry... did you say that you agree we should break up?”
Mikko rolled his eyes. “What’s there to break up? We used to sleep together, but then you wanted to travel around the world by yourself. The message I got was clear.”
Mia blinked rapidly like trying to clear up the fuzzy picture that started to emerge. “What message? I told you I needed time...”
Mikko’s brow knitted together, a tentative smile hovering on his lips. “I’m certain you said something about taking a break.”
Mia held her breath, her jaw hanging. Finally, his behaviour made sense. “So, you thought we already broke up?”
“Yes, but I thought we’re both adults and there’s never any drama with you, so... You know me. I’m not a petty guy. I didn’t want to kick you out of the company over that, especially since we work so well together. I need my ice queen to keep the crew under control!” He laughed at his own joke, but dropped the act as he noticed Mia’s serious expression. “Don’t tell me you’ve changed your mind! I don’t have time to recruit.” Mikko groaned, scratching his head.
Mia took a deep breath, trying to catch up with what was going on. Everything she’d thought had been wrong. She wasn’t in a relationship. She’d been single this whole time, holding a candle for a guy who couldn’t care less. Which obviously made things easier, but she couldn’t help feeling hurt. Was she really so ‘drama-free’ that Mikko hadn’t thought twice before moving on?
“I thought we were in a relationship,” she said, her voice choking up in a very uncharacteristic way, a film of tears blurring her corneas.
“Are you... upset?” Mikko asked, his eyes wider than she’d ever seen them. “What’s going on?”
