He Thought I Was Being Good, I Was Just Getting Ready to leave Chapter 10

Back at the office, I didn’t look up from my desk all morning.

I was in the final stages of a huge project, almost ready to sign the contract, and I couldn’t afford to stop.

Before meeting with the client, I drank two cans of iced coffee just to keep my exhausted brain sharp.

Their office was downtown. When we arrived, they were already waiting.

The presentation went smoothly. The communication, the negotiation, everything clicked.

The man signing on behalf of the client was young, their CEO. His name was Marcus Shaw.

I looked at him. Something about his presence felt oddly familiar.

Then Harrison walked in, and I understood. Marcus had that same rich kid swagger. They ran in the same circles.

Marcus ran his company casually. He didn’t care if outsiders walked in during client meetings.

He and Harrison greeted each other. From start to finish, Harrison didn’t look at me once.

Marcus invited him to look over the proposal. Harrison sat down like he meant business and flipped through it page by page.

I held my breath, my palms sweating.

I knew these people better than anyone. Out of politeness, or maybe out of friendship, if Harrison said one bad word about this deal, it was dead.

This was my last project before I planned to resign, and it would be the best thing on my resume. I didn’t want to lose it.

I stared at Harrison’s hands. My mind raced through every possible backup plan I could think of.

Right when I thought I was going to snap, Harrison closed the file with a sharp click.

He summed it up in one sentence: “Not bad. You’ll make money on this one, Marcus.”

Marcus laughed loudly and invited him out for drinks.

I exhaled. In that small moment, Harrison looked up and glanced at me.

After the meeting ended, I walked out behind everyone else. Harrison fell into step beside me.

“You thought I was gonna be a heartless bastard and sabotage you for revenge, didn’t you?”

He nodded and smiled at Marcus’s employees as they passed.

Then he glanced at me. “I might think your job is a joke, but ruining someone’s livelihood is like destroying their only lifeline. Poor people work hard for their money. I have at least a little decency.”

I stopped walking and turned to face him. “Do you expect me to be grateful?”

Without you, I wouldn’t have had to go through any of this. Who are you to look down on me from your high horse?

“That’s not what I meant.” He clicked his tongue. “You came back from your trip. Where’d you put your luggage?”

“Oh, right. We had a break-in. I forgot to tell you the new code. Why didn’t you just ask me? You work yourself half to death for pennies and still can’t even call.”

Harrison rarely lowered himself like this, extending an olive branch.

In the past, I would’ve played along, pretended nothing happened, and we would’ve gone back to normal.

But I was tired, too tired to keep acting like I was in love.

He could see it. So he kept talking. “Those women you don’t like, I deleted all of them.”

Before he could finish, his phone rang. He silenced it fast.

I gave a bitter smile and said nothing. I kept walking toward the door.

He grabbed my arm. “Enough, Ella. Don’t take this too far. I actually tried to make an effort here. What more do you want?”

I looked at him calmly. “I don’t want anything. I’m just reminding you again.”

“I already broke up with you. Unilaterally. Stop pretending you don’t know.”

There was nothing left to say anyway.

His phone rang again. Right on cue. He answered it in front of me. A sweet, unfamiliar female voice came through the line.

Maybe the college girl Derek mentioned. Maybe someone else. Who cared anymore?

Harrison looked me in the eye and said to the person on the phone, slowly and deliberately, “Wait for me. I’ll be right there.”