Ego Maniac(79)

“Guess that explains you looking like you haven’t slept in two days.”

“I just need to know if she found a new place to rent. I found a small house to lease down in Atlanta. Dave Monroe is going to join me part time here, taking over some of the work that my clients won’t care if I don’t handle personally. Between that and working remotely, I’m thinking I can come back twice a month for a few days instead of the back and forth every week. There’s no reason she can’t stay here. It would be easy to avoid me.”

“So you’re really doing it? Going to leave your practice and move to Atlanta?”

“What choice do I have? I’ll appeal, but there’s no guarantee it’ll change anything. Beck feels the limbo I’m in. I can’t live in a hotel room—he’ll never settle without being able to have his own place to sleep and keep his things. He needs to feel like he’s at home, that I’m there if he needs me—school events, doctor’s appointments. He just made a pee-wee hockey team. What would I do when his games were on days I was in New York every week? Plus, I can’t go back and forth fifty two times a year, cramming forty hours of work in two days. It’s tough after a while.”

“How long is the lease at the house you found?”

“A year.” My shoulders slumped. “Figure it’ll take nine months before I even get a date for oral arguments on my custody appeal.”

“You sign it yet?”

“Not yet. Meeting with the landlord when I go back down at the end of the week.”

“Good. Give me a few more days.”

“For what?”

“I got a guy down in Atlanta working on something for me.”

“Do I even want to know?”

Roman smiled. “Fuck no. Then you can’t be implicated.”

It was the first time I’d laughed since…I wasn’t sure when. That was Roman—a man with a plan who always had my back.

“Well, whatever it is, thanks.”

“So what do you want done on Emerie? Just tail her? How about a hint on what I’m looking for?”

“I just need to know she’s okay. See if she found office space and if it’s in a safe neighborhood.”

Roman raised a brow. “So you don’t want me to find out if she’s fucking someone?”

I clenched my jaw so hard I nearly cracked a tooth. “No. If you find that out, don’t even tell me that shit. Especially if it’s that asshole Baldwin—because he’ll just screw her over.”

“Like you?”

“What the hell does that mean? I didn’t screw her over. I got screwed over. I’m doing what’s best for her.”

Roman stood. “Not gonna fight with you, buddy. I’ll tail her if that’s what you want. But maybe you should ask yourself if what’s best for Emerie might be letting her make her own decision on how to handle your relationship.”





Emerie

“You were amazing,” Baldwin said from the doorway.

I looked up from packing my lecture materials. “How long have you been standing there?”

“I caught the last five minutes.”

“You’re being kind. I was a nervous wreck.”

He smiled. “It gets easier. But seriously, it didn’t show.”

Two days ago Baldwin had called to say one of the department’s TAs had to leave unexpectedly and asked if I wanted to fill in. It would practically assure me the adjunct faculty position I was interviewing for tomorrow, so I agreed, even though I had zero desire to do anything these days. Getting out of bed was an effort.

After I finished packing, I walked to the door. “Are you heading to a class?”

“Nope. Just finished grading papers and wanted to check in on you. How about some lunch? There’s a great little bistro a few blocks away that makes the best ahi tuna salad.”

For the last month, I’d been avoiding Baldwin out of deference to Drew, but there was no reason to do that anymore. Even though I wasn’t much in the mood for company, I knew locking myself in my apartment and being sad wasn’t really healthy.

“Sure. I’d love to.”

Baldwin and I ate lunch outside next to the heat lamps since it was a beautiful afternoon. At one point, I got up to go the ladies’ room, and I spotted a man sitting in a car parked half a block down. The car was at my back while I was eating, so I had no idea how long it had been there, but I could have sworn the man inside was Roman. After we finished lunch, I looked for the car again, but it was already gone.

Later in the day, after running my afternoon errands, I went home to do an online counseling session. I couldn’t even open the front door all the way because my apartment was crammed with office furniture. It probably wasn’t the smartest idea to leave before finding new space, but I just couldn’t stay there anymore. Even when Drew wasn’t around, all I could think about was him. I’d thought ridding myself of having to see the desk we’d had sex on and the copy room we’d first met in would help me think about him less. Unfortunately, my thoughts traveled with me instead of staying behind at the office.

While I was setting up my laptop so my patients wouldn’t see the crazy room full of office furniture, a knock came at my door. I hated that I got my hopes up, thinking maybe it was Drew. I was confused when I saw Roman through my peephole.