do something, and then Emerson will pack her shit and take your wallet too—”
“Enough.” Derek set the papers on the table beside him. “Don’t talk to my wife like that—”
“It’s fine.” Instead of being angry, Emerson looked at me like she was just as heartbroken, like she could really feel my pain, like it had happened to her too. She slowly stepped toward me and opened her arms so she could embrace me.
I breathed hard as she came closer, closed my eyes when I felt her arms around me.
She squeezed me tightly with her cheek pressed to my chest. “I’m so sorry, Dex.” She rubbed my back and embraced me like she was biological family.
It took me a moment to hug her back, to raise my arms and wrap them around her, to squeeze her hard and let my true emotions break through the dam that held them back. “I did everything for her… I loved her. I still do. I’ll always love her.”
“I know…” She continued to rub my back.
Derek came closer and stood beside us, his hand moving to my back too. “I’m sorry, man.”
Emerson pulled away to look at me, her eyes wet. “Are you sure you can’t work it out?”
I shook my head. “I suggested therapy. She said no. I said I wanted to fight for our relationship. She still said no. Just a few months ago, we were trying to get pregnant, and now…she says she doesn’t look at me the same anymore. She’s been staying at her mom’s for a couple weeks, but I thought she would come back after she had some space. I texted her yesterday and told her I missed her, that I wanted her to come home, and she never replied. Then the next day, she sends her lawyer to serve me.” I was floored by her cruelty, the way she’d cut me out of her life so easily, that she could break my heart and continue to turn her cheek. I remembered our wedding like it was yesterday, remembered every day of our marriage like it was a series of flashbacks. She was the love of my life, we were happy, everything was perfect. Until it wasn’t. “If I’d never taken her father as a patient, we would still be happy right now. But I killed him…and lost my wife.”
Sicily
One Year Later
The office was spacious, with a white desk, a vase full of colorful flowers, and the trim along the walls painted gray to match the accents in different places. It was very chic. Behind the desk sat Cleo, the Director of Concierge Services at the Tribeca building.
Basically, the woman who had my life in her hands.
I really wanted this job.
My last office closed down, and without my boyfriend’s money, I’d be drowning right now. So, I needed employment fast. Plus, I really wanted this particular job. The salary was almost double what I used to make, came with benefits, and catering to high-end clients sounded like plain fun.
Cleo looked up from her paperwork and regarded me with a smile, possessing a warmth that made her feel like a friend rather than a potential boss. Instead of a grilling like all the other interviews I’d been on, it felt more like a conversation in a coffee shop. “Did your last office go out of business?”
“No. Dr. Richmond retired.”
“It was a medical office?” she asked.
“Yeah. A pediatrician’s office, so I got to see cute kids all the time. My ovaries would scream every single day.”
Cleo chuckled. “I can imagine. If I weren’t too old, I would just keep having kids.”
“How many do you have?”
“Three,” she said with a smile. “But they’re all adults now.”
It was hard to distinguish her age based on her features because she was really petite, had great skin, hair that looked better than mine, and didn’t wear glasses. But maybe in her fifties? “Grandchildren?”
“Oh, I have some of those.” She grinned wider. “I’ve got three. Two boys and a girl.”
“That’s better, if you ask me. You spoil them, then give them back.”
She chuckled. “And that’s exactly what I do.” She turned back to the paperwork. “So, why do you think you’d be a good fit for our concierge team? The hours aren’t always steady, privacy is critical, and you have to be ready for requests you’ve never imagined before.”
“The hours don’t bother me. After working the same hours every single day in an office, it’ll be nice to have a change. Doing parties and events sounds