Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 75553 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 378(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75553 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 378(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
“You’re kidding,” Shelley said with a gasp. “And you’re going?”
“What choice do I have?” I replied, feeling sorrowful.
“You always have a choice,” Shelley reminded me as she placed a comforting hand on my shoulder. “You can still get out of all this, Remy. In fact, you should, for your own good.”
“I can’t,” I protested with a shake of my head. “I couldn’t just leave Griff high and dry like that. Then it would make everything we’d done together all for nothing.” I clenched my fists and sighed.
“You’ve done more than enough, Remy,” Shelley continued. “You had no idea things were going to go this far when this whole fake relationship started and if you had, maybe you wouldn’t have gone through with it in the first place. It’s time for you to think about yourself before you get your heart well and truly broken. Maybe you could even find a new job or something, make a clean break.”
“I... I can’t,” I told her even though I knew she was right. I’d dug my own grave and now, no matter what I did, I knew I was going to end up hurt, so what use was it to speed that up? At least if we continued our charade, I’d get to spend more time with Griff before this was all over. Maybe there was still a chance he could fall in love with me... Just maybe.
“Okay, Remy, you know I’ll support you no matter what, but don’t say I didn’t warn you,” Shelley said with a resigned sigh. “Call me if you need someone to talk to, okay?”
I nodded and Shelley sauntered back to her desk. She’d given me a lot to think about, but I knew it wouldn’t change anything. Shelley had only confirmed what I’d been thinking all along and I realized that my hopes from the very beginning had been naïve. Griff had been nothing but honest about his expectations of me, yet I was still playing the part of the lovesick schoolgirl with no light at the end of the tunnel.
But something unstoppable had already been set in motion now and I couldn’t have stopped it, no matter what Shelley said.
Sunday morning, I met Griff at the airport and we boarded our flight to John F. Kennedy Airport in New York together. He was as pleasant as always, but once we were sat together on the plane, I wanted nothing more than to reach out and touch him. He felt so close to me, but when I looked at his face, he was solely focused on his laptop and I realized the distance between us had never been so vast. He had gone back to being the same old inaccessible boss once more and I wondered if the care and attention he’d shown me before had been a glimpse of the real Griff or just another lie.
There has to be much more to Griff than what was on the surface, I thought to myself. If only someone could break through his strong and stoic shell to get to his heart. And if only that someone could be me... But I was beginning to think that was totally impossible.
23
Griff
Flying had never been my favorite mode of transport, but it was a necessary evil once you climbed high enough up the career ladder. I’d gotten used to frequently flying around the country a few years ago, but where possible, I preferred a good, long drive. Back home, I had an old, refurbished convertible that I enjoyed driving around alone with the top done, feeling the wind whistle past me as I let my worries fade away. Here, on the plane, however, I was surrounded by people and left with little to do except get on with work.
So, at the start of the journey, I’d cracked open my laptop and buried my head in material research and trade deals as I hoped to speed up the long journey. It didn’t work however. After a few hours, I grew more and more tired of working. My eyes were strained from staring at the screen intently and I wanted nothing more than to kick back and relax for a little while before I had to face Mr. Anderson and Kelly.
I’d been so preoccupied with work that I’d almost completely forgotten that Remy was sat right next to me. I glanced sideways at her to see what she was up to and my heart stopped at the sight of her. There wasn’t anything particularly different about her than usual except that her expression was soft as she watched an in-flight movie with rapt attention. Something about it warmed my heart and I couldn’t look away for a moment.
When I finally turned my attention to the screen in front of her, I realized that Remy was watching some kind of romance film. The two main characters were staring at each other lovingly as snow fell all around them. They smiled and the camera spun as they leaned in to kiss one another. If I had been able to listen, I had no doubt there would be a crescendo building of swelling romantic music. It seemed cheesy and a little obvious to me, but when I turned my gaze back to Remy, I saw that there were tears in her eyes.