Perfectly Lonely - Jessica Marin Page 0,29

quickly, holding my breath for an answer I may not like.

“Chicago is our home, Layla. We might have to leave for a couple of months here and there as I want my family with me when I am on location from now on, but we will always end up right back here.”

“Oh, thank God!” I rush at him, the emotion to hug him too overwhelming to ignore. His strong body absorbs the impact of my abruptness and he embraces me as tightly as he can. As I continue to cry into his shirt, completely soaking it with my tears and snot, I realize that I needed this just as much as he did.

“If you break her heart, I will pay all the money in the world to hire someone to kill you.” His chest vibrates with laughter underneath my cheek. He lets go of me to get a tissue from the kitchen for my tears. I look up at him as I dry my eyes and give him a genuine smile.

“I would be disappointed in you if you didn’t.” He smiles right back at me and gives me one more hug before I depart to start my work day. As I take the elevator down and exit the building, I reflect on what just transpired with Cal. He didn’t have to ask why I wasn’t warming up to him. He didn’t have to ask for my permission to marry Jenna. Some guys couldn't care less if their partner’s best friend likes them or not. But for Cal to take the time to care, to tell me he thinks of me as family, and is asking for my permission for her hand, makes me realize that he’s a good guy and truly is in love with Jenna. While I went into this meeting with dread, I come out of it feeling hopeful that Jenna has finally found her forever.

I hope she proves me wrong by saying yes to him.

13

Chase

His hands go for my neck and I manage to throw his arms out and land a punch to the stomach. He recovers quickly and I’m about to throw a leg kick to his side when he grabs my leg and spins, forcing my body to go airborne and twist. I face plant into the mat with a loud thud. He places his knee into my back and leans down, both of his hands keeping me to the ground.

“Your head isn’t here and you’re about to get hurt. Get out and go for a run to clear your thoughts,” my Krav Maga trainer says as he gets off of me. I flip onto my back and take some deep breaths, trying to get as much oxygen back into my body as I can. He holds out his hand for me to take and helps me up.

He’s right, I shouldn’t be here right now. I’m mentally all over the place due to the phone call with my brother and should have known better than to try to train if I wasn’t going to be one hundred percent focused. I enter the locker room and get my running shoes. After putting them on, I lock up my belongings and proceed to go for my run. I head straight east, pounding the pavement and running as fast as I can until I run through Millennium Park and reach Lake Michigan. My lungs are screaming in pain and I slow my run down to a walk and continue on Lake Shore Drive. As my breathing finally starts to settle back down, I reflect on the conversation with Rhys.

At first, he was adamant that we should not consider Cal as an investor due to my current history with him. He feels we need to focus on the people who are already established in the industry, but my argument back was that we could use a celebrity endorser, like Cal, which can then lead to other endorsements from celebrities, and possibly open up more doors on the international scale.

“I don’t understand why you want to stay connected to Cal Harrington,” Rhys questioned.

“It’s always good to stay connected to high powered celebrities, Rhys. If he’s interested, why should we turn him away?”

“I think there’s something you aren’t telling me. We have to be one hundred percent honest with each other. It’s only you, me and Mom in this together. Everyone else wants to see us fail. So please, tell me the real reason why you want to stay connected to