had a point. Taylor was an artist. I was actually grateful someone recognized that.
“And as for the apartments, I give everyone the same recommendations. If you remember, there were about twenty to choose from. Even I’m not good enough to plan or manipulate you two into choosing the same one.”
I fell into the seat behind me. That was another good point.
“Look, even when I’m on my A-game, which I am not, I can’t force people to bend to my will. I provide options and opportunities. Even though I take the credit, it’s really just two people finding their way to one another.”
Callan shifted and gave a tiny chirp of a cry. We both froze, and Chloe looked down at him. A few seconds later she let out a sigh.
“So, if things are uncomfortable,” she lowered her voice, “that’s not my doing. That’s on you.”
I narrowed my eyes, but she was right. Chloe didn’t even know the full extent of my history with Taylor. She couldn’t have done any of this on purpose.
Maybe I was just sleep-deprived, and not handling it nearly as well as she was.
“Do you want some help?” I offered.
She stopped typing and stared at me. “With what?”
I nodded down. “With Callan. Do you want me to take him on a walk or something?”
“He’s sleeping.”
I waited.
“You don’t touch a sleeping baby,” she said like I was beyond stupid.
Right. That sounded vaguely familiar.
“If you want to come over from one to four in the morning and walk with him then, be my guest.”
I cringed. “Is it really that bad?”
She closed her eyes and sighed. “I sleep from eleven to one, then four to six. If I’m lucky. He wasn’t in the mood this morning to stay in his crib so I came here so I can at least be productive while being sleep-deprived.”
“So yes. It is.”
She shook her head and went back to typing. “You and Taylor have something most people wish for.”
“What’s that?” I asked.
“A second chance.” She paused and leaned back. “You have an opportunity to try again. To do better. To make up for the things you did wrong in the past.”
“How do you know either of us want that?”
“You’re in my office at seven on a day off. That wouldn’t happen if you were content or happy with life, and you’re not mad about living close to each other. You wouldn’t be here if that was the case either. You’re here because you’re scared.”
She was right, scarily so.
“And Taylor wouldn’t have fought me on the job here if she wasn’t scared, too. She would have jumped at the chance, but she didn’t think she should be here, in the arena. She never mentioned you by name, but she said she didn’t want to make anyone uncomfortable. I had to assure her several times that there wouldn’t be a problem. And there won’t be, right?”
I nodded. “I don’t have any problems with her working here.”
“Of course, you don’t. She’ll be around more, and you’ll find excuses to be in the office.”
“I don’t think––”
“It will happen. It always does.” She rested her head back against her chair and closed her eyes. “Just because I don’t force things to happen doesn’t mean that they don’t follow a predictable pattern. You’ll be up here like Erik was, extra diligent with his physical therapy. Or Nikolai suddenly being willing to interview when Elena was around.”
She went quiet and I wondered if she had fallen asleep. I put my hands on the armrest, ready to quietly leave, when she spoke again.
“You can fight it, or you can embrace your second chance and learn from your past. I recommend that one because Taylor’s too cute to go unnoticed for long.”
That came across a bit like a threat rather than a warning. Like Chloe or one of the other women would be setting her up with other guys soon.
“Got it. Sorry for barging in.” I stood and watched her.
She waved me away, and I closed her door behind me.
That whole exchange felt off. Seeing Chloe off her game made her seem almost human. She let me see a vulnerable side, which I’d wager was a rare occurrence. If I saw Reese today, I’d have to tell him his wife wasn’t the superhero we all thought. The guy needed to find a way to help her sleep. What if something came up and we really needed her? We needed take-action Chloe, not fall-asleep-mid-conversation Chloe.
By the time I made it to the training room, there