“It’s good. I’m not sure what Marshall told you, but it’s never been horribly painful.”
“It should have been completely healed by now,” I grumbled.
“It’s mostly my fault,” she acknowledged. “It probably would be better if I’d done my home exercises after physical therapy, and if I hadn’t been so isolated that I didn’t walk much. I just wasn’t really motivated to do anything because I was always so tired.”
Yeah, that shit happened when someone was sleep-deprived, anxious, depressed, guilt-ridden, grief-stricken, and felt like they had no real purpose in life anymore.
Fuck! If I’d known just how bad things were going for Harlow, I would have nipped this shit in the bud a long time ago.
Before she’d gotten sleep-deprived because of her nightmares.
Before she’d sunk into a deep depression and anxiety.
Before she’d had a chance to completely internalize her guilt.
Before she’d suffered more than she already had from the kidnapping.
I felt like Last Hope and Montgomery Mining had completely failed her.
Hell, worse than that, I felt like I’d failed her, and I had no damn idea why I was feeling that way. Harlow and I weren’t exactly friends, and we’d never been lovers. But for some reason, I felt connected to her in a way I couldn’t explain, even if I wanted to try to find a rational reason for it.
Honestly, I was certain that unexplainable connection had been the reason I’d reached out to be her advisor in the first place. I’d needed to know she was doing okay after what she’d been through.
She’s not okay, and I wish to hell I’d known that a lot earlier.
Unfortunately, after seeing her today, the previous agreement I’d made with Harlow wasn’t going to cut it. A few hours a week with her wasn’t going to help me accomplish what I needed to get done as soon as possible.
“I need to change up our advisor agreement a little,” I said, already knowing I was going to get some pushback.
She turned her head to look at me. “Before we talk about our agreement, I need a favor,” she said hesitantly.
Okay, this could work. If she needed something from me, maybe we could work out some kind of deal. “Shoot. What do you need?”
She took a deep breath. “If you haven’t already, I’d appreciate it if you don’t share this whole advisor situation with Hudson right now. Taylor is so happy, and if she finds out that I’m not doing well, she’ll worry. She thinks I’m doing okay. I’d prefer to let her continue to assume that for a little while longer.”
Fuck! Just when Harlow should be reaching out to Taylor, she’d obviously shut her down. Taylor was doing great, and I knew she’d be the first one to support Harlow if the stubborn woman had just given her a chance. “You do realize that you’ll eventually have to tell her the truth so the two of you can talk.”
She nodded. “Yes. I just don’t want to do that right now. Please. I’d like to get my head on straight before I try to get her to tell me what really happened.”
Maybe it’s better this way, for now.
“I haven’t said a word about this to Hudson. The only ones who know are me and Marshall. I can make sure it stays that way until you feel like you’re ready to come clean with Taylor,” I agreed. “I’m not saying I think it’s the right thing to do because I think Taylor would be there for you if you needed her. But I respect your right to keep it private.”
“Thanks,” she answered, sounding relieved. “Now tell me how you want to change our agreement.”
I took a deep breath.
I was a co-CEO of a company that was a global giant, but I felt like I’d never gone into making a deal as important as the one I was about to attempt right now.
Harlow
“I don’t think my knee is quite a hundred percent, but it doesn’t hurt at all anymore,” I told Jax as I swam in his ridiculously large pool. “I think it just needs to get a little stronger.”
Jax had picked me up from my apartment and brought me to his gorgeous Coronado Island home every single day for the last two weeks.
Usually, he arrived around four in the afternoon, and our routine was always the same.
We worked out in his gym, my exercises gentle and modified to help get my knee stronger.