and Katie both kept saying I had nothing to feel guilty about, but my guilt game was too strong to just let it go. I’d tried, but the more I thought about it, the more I tried imagining what I could’ve done differently.
The fact of the matter was that I was glad I’d stood up for myself. Things had become a lot simpler now that I didn’t constantly have to watch my words. I’d also realized that having to think about it the whole time had made it feel a lot worse than it had actually been.
While I was constantly watching everything I said and did, it had felt like this massive ax hanging over my head. Like there was an executioner waiting for me to make one wrong move, and then the ax would swing and take my head clean off.
But I’d realized that it had been more about the constant worrying about what to say than it had been about not saying certain things. So far, my mouth hadn’t gotten me into any more trouble now that I didn’t have to watch it anymore, and I was significantly less stressed about the job even though nothing about what I was actually doing had changed.
Then again, since we’d been back, I hadn’t had all that much to do. With Katie and Dane working so hard, I felt a bit out of place at the office when I wasn’t running from meeting to meeting.
Dane had told me to enjoy the slower pace. He’d said that we would be busy when we got back but now, whenever I asked, he just chuckled and said I didn’t feel as busy as I was because I was finally settling in.
Luckily, I had a date with him tonight to look forward to. I’d thrown all my reservations about him out of the window since we’d been back. I liked him a lot and I wasn’t going to let our boss stand in the way of that. Particularly since Dane didn’t think our relationship would be an issue to Jefferson if we told him about it.
Having had a lot of time alone in my office during the day and at my hotel during the night, I’d had a lot of time to think. One of the things I’d realized was that being plucked out of one life—the one I’d known since birth—and deposited into this entirely different life practically overnight had made me overthink things. More especially when it came to Jefferson.
I’d been so worried about whether I would be able to do what they all thought I could that I’d made him into this huge force in my head. A force that, in my head, had been a barrier to my relationship with Dane.
Since I’d realized he wasn’t actually between us, all I wanted was to be with Dane. If there was paperwork to be filed within the company or anything like that, then we’d do it. It was as simple as that. I was the one who’d thought it was more complicated, and as a result, I’d been holding back. But I was done with that now.
I hadn’t told him yet, but I planned to. In the meantime, it was almost time for lunch and I wanted to see if Katie was available. We tried to eat lunch together a few times a week, but we never knew which meetings would end up running into lunchtime.
When I left my office, my head was in the clouds and there was a dopey smile on my face. Dane and I had been texting, and I couldn’t wait to see him later.
“Leah!” a familiar voice called as soon as my door shut behind me. “There you are. God, this building is like a maze.”
The clouds evaporated and my smile dropped, confusion taking the place of giddiness in an instant. While that voice was familiar, it wasn’t one that I should’ve been hearing in New York. My gaze swung around the busy waiting area until it settled on none other than Rick.
“What are you doing here?” I exclaimed, a grin spreading on my lips as I threw my arms around his neck when I reached him. “It’s so good to see you.”
“It’s good to see you too, sis.” He hugged me back, the scent of the same cologne he’d been wearing since he’d gotten his first job enveloping me. I breathed it in, a rush of gratitude flowing through me directed at whatever it was that had