Total pages in book: 56
Estimated words: 54110 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 271(@200wpm)___ 216(@250wpm)___ 180(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 54110 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 271(@200wpm)___ 216(@250wpm)___ 180(@300wpm)
“Andrew,” she said when he finally reached the door.
He paused, his hand on the door handle.
“I do care for you,” she said stiffly. “I love you. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t. You do know that, right?”
He turned his head and looked at her over his shoulder.
His blue-green eyes were glistening as he nodded.
Chapter 23
It was the middle of February when Andrew woke up to the sound of birds chirping outside the window.
He listened to it for a while before realizing that something had changed. Gone was the numbness, the feeling of wrongness on the inside that he’d been carrying for months.
He lay in the bed he’d shared with Vivian for nearly a decade, listening to himself. The mattress wasn’t too soft. The sheets didn’t feel too smooth. The sun filtering through the curtains illuminated the room in a soft glow, and it wasn’t an annoyance. Andrew felt… okay.
He was okay.
He wasn’t sure why. Maybe talking to the therapist his aunt had forced on him really was helping, or maybe his aunt trying to show him affection in her own stilted, awkward way was the reason he felt better. Or maybe it was true that time healed everything. Or maybe it was a combination of those things. Either way, he felt different, in a good way.
Andrew sat up slowly, still half-dreading that the familiar depression and disconnect would come back.
But nothing happened.
He was still okay.
A slow, uncertain smile curled his lips.
Andrew got out of the bed and opened the curtains, and then opened the window, allowing the sun to touch his face. It was warm.
He laughed, just because he could.
He felt warm, for the first time in months.
***
The first thing he did was go to his barber and have his wild curls trimmed. It was a little strange to see himself look like his old self after such a long time, but it wasn’t a bad feeling.
He was finally moving on. He was leaving the island behind. It was… It was a good thing.
Andrew left the barber with a spring in his step.
The people on the busy sidewalk kept bumping into him, but he didn’t mind. He no longer felt like an alien among them. He finally felt like he was one of them, maybe. There was still some discomfort from being around so many people, but it was nothing too bad. He felt like he could get used to it.
He really was okay.
***
His positive attitude lasted.
Even the meeting between Caldwell and Derek that took place a few days later didn’t manage to ruin it. Andrew found himself feeling surprisingly patient as he mediated between them.
But fuck, why were all rich, powerful men such asses? Listening to Derek stiffly explaining himself was aggravating. Encouraging him to clarify and clarifying things for him whenever Derek refused to was beyond aggravating. It was like pulling teeth. Caldwell’s cold, dismissive attitude was just as aggravating. Andrew was pretty proud of himself for managing not to snap at either of them.
When the excruciating meeting was finally over and Caldwell and Derek had agreed to a tentative truce, Andrew felt like it was his personal accomplishment. It surely wasn’t thanks to Derek. Andrew was the one who had ended up doing most of the explaining and apologizing, until the ice in Caldwell’s eyes finally thawed. It really felt like a personal win.
Never mind that he didn’t actually win anything: Caldwell would remain the CEO of both companies, so strictly speaking, Andrew wasn’t getting his job back. That said, he would be the COO and run Rutledge Enterprises on a day-to-day basis, so effectively, he got the job back—just without all the perks of officially being the boss. Although Caldwell would still be the CEO, he’d be taking a step back from business for his family for a while. Apparently he wanted to spend more time with his son—the poor kid needed it after having his dad in a coma for months. Andrew and Raffaele Ferrara were going to have to take on Caldwell’s responsibilities in Rutledge Enterprises and the Caldwell Group respectively, with Caldwell attending only the most important meetings.
Surprisingly, Andrew didn’t mind the solution.
Or maybe it wasn’t all that surprising. He’d never wanted power for the sake of it. He’d hated that he had been overlooked by the old Rutledge in favor of his estranged son, had hated feeling like a toy discarded in favor of a new one—and that had been pretty much it. He had enjoyed being the CEO, enjoyed feeling necessary and having his employees look up at him with admiration. He would still have that. And at the end of the day, Derek and Caldwell had chosen him to run the company. They trusted him. It was enough.
So Andrew was in a pretty damn good mood as he left Caldwell’s office. Derek had left a while ago while Andrew had stayed to discuss practicalities with Caldwell, but they were finally done. He could go home and—