Perfectly Lonely - Jessica Marin Page 0,76

have already reviewed the contract and are ready to sign.”

I shake my head in surprise, not believing what my brother is suggesting. “She won’t want me. I said some horrible things to her that night.” Bile rises up in my throat as I recall the deplorable words I had said to her, despite her being right all along. I did need this time to be alone and work on me. If we did try to make long distance work, I don’t know if I would be so far ahead with myself and how well we have Wilson Enterprises running. “Besides, she has already moved on to someone else,” I say with bitterness.

Three months ago I hired one of my old paparazzi buddies to follow Layla around. Despite the hurt and betrayal I had felt, I still missed her and wanted to know she was doing okay. I knew that it was probably a bad idea, but I thought it was worth the torture to just see her face one more time, even if it was in black and white photos. Nothing could have prepared me for the devastation I felt when seeing photographic evidence of her holding hands with Torrin Richards. I burned those photos, stopped having her followed, deleted all Google alerts on Cal and Jenna, and closed myself off from any mention or situation that would remind me of her, them and the city of Chicago.

“You, of all people, should know that pictures don’t always portray reality. Read these in order and come find me when you’re done.” He hands me a file folder and walks out of my office.

I stare in confusion at the green folder before opening it up to reveal a stack of emails. I take a closer look and see that the email communication is between Layla and my brother, starting one week after she left. I can’t help but to start reading, each page igniting the roller coaster ride of emotions in my heart. Betrayal, hurt, longing, wonder and finally, awareness. One hour later, I sit back in awe after reading her last email to Rhys, dated only four days ago with the news of Jenna’s pregnancy and how her heart ached that I wasn’t there with them to hear it. With Cal still being one of our investors, our staff was on cloud nine after he won the Oscar for Best Actor and even had a congratulatory full page ad created to appear in a couple of major newspapers in Canada and the United States.

I should’ve been in Los Angeles with her.

These emails tell the story of the last seven months of our lives — hers from her perspective and mine from my brother’s. It was difficult reading his earlier emails to her, detailing out my struggles. But reading them makes me proud of my accomplishments. I sighed in relief to read that she’s not dating Torrin Richards, only trying to be his friend through a difficult time in his life.

I’m amazed that Rhys managed to keep this a secret for so long. Two people who I care about developed a friendship, with the common denominator between the two of them being their love for me. Hope starts to fill me as I get up to go and talk to Rhys about what the implication of these emails mean.

All this time she has been inquiring about me.

All this time she has been missing me.

All this time she has still loved me.

“Rhys…” My voice cracks, thick with emotion and at a loss of words when I see him sitting at his desk. He stares at me for a brief moment, love and pride shining in his eyes. He recognizes my struggle to talk and holds up his hand.

“The acquisition of an existing night club is going to take some time to manifest to get up and running to our liking. Staff morale is going to be shaken up due to the changing of hands. It seems that an unspecified amount of time is going to be needed in Chicago.” He clears his throat and tries to act serious, but he’s having trouble containing the smile that keeps appearing on his lips. “Looking at the Lynxes’ next away games, we conveniently play Chicago this Friday night. I have one available seat open on the team charter, but no available seating on the plane ride home. You’ll have to figure that out on your own once our new club is running to standards.” He rises