Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 75152 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 376(@200wpm)___ 301(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75152 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 376(@200wpm)___ 301(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
“No, but I will be.”
“Who was that?”
“A ghost from my past.” I dropped my head into my hands as I muttered, “I can’t believe he came here.”
“Should I call Quinton?”
“No. I’ll call him after I check in with my other table.”
“Call him now,” he ordered. “I’ll take care of your table.”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive.”
“Thanks, Flynn.”
I rushed back to the staff break room and grabbed my phone from my locker. I called Quinton’s number several times but didn’t get an answer. I left him a message, then texted him several times. As much as I wanted to wait for his response, I had to get back to work, so I put my phone back in my locker and headed back out front.
When I got over to my table, Flynn was just finishing up their orders. He handed me the ticket as he asked, “You good?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
“Did you get in touch with Q?”
“No, but I left him a message. He’s finishing up a big project with the guys, so I’m sure he’s busy. He’ll get back to me when he can.”
Flynn nodded, then said, “Let me know if he doesn’t.”
“Will do.”
I was an absolute nervous wreck as I headed to the kitchen and turned in my table’s order. I needed to get a grip on my emotions, but my worst nightmare had come to the surface, and I had no idea what I was going to do about it. For now, I simply had to keep my shit together and finish my shift. After that, I’d give MJ a call and get her advice on what I should do.
By then, I hoped Quinton would be done with work and I would be able to talk to him as well. I had no doubt that he would be just as upset as I was about James’s unexpected arrival. I also had no doubt that he would make sure James didn’t do anything stupid, which helped ease my mind as I continued with my shift.
Thankfully, things picked up, and the early dinner rush helped distract me from the knot in my stomach. When my shift was over, I grabbed my things from the break room, then started out back to my car. I was eager to get out of there, so I didn’t even bother checking my phone before rushing out to my car. I’d barely made it outside when Flynn called out to me. “Hey, Jules!”
I stopped and turned to face him. “Yeah?”
“Did you ever hear back from Q?”
“Not yet, but I’ll call him again when I get home.”
“I’m not sure that you should be leaving here until you’ve heard from him.”
“I’ll be fine. I’m going to go home and change, and then, I’ll head over to his house.”
“Good deal.” I could hear the concern in his voice as he said, “Just give me a call if you need anything. I’ll be around.”
“Thanks, Flynn. I really appreciate that.” I continued towards my car as I told him, “Have a good night!”
“You be careful, you hear?”
“I’m gonna try!”
I was feeling a little apprehensive as I pulled out of the parking lot and started home. Seeing James had made it a nightmare of a day, and I had a gnawing feeling that the nightmare wasn’t over. Maybe it was the fact that it was dark or simply the fact that I hadn’t heard from Quinton, but something just didn’t feel right.
I thought back to my conversation with James, and I was still astounded by how calm and soft-spoken he was. It wasn’t like him to be so rational. It made me wonder if he’d been honest about changing. I so wished I could believe him, but I was a firm believer in ‘a leopard never changes its spots’.
When I pulled up to my apartment, I was eager to get inside and put this day behind me, so I grabbed my things and rushed up to the door. I’d just put the key in the lock when I heard, “Jules? Is that you?”
I quickly turned to look over my shoulder, and just as I feared, James was standing right behind me. “What are you doing here?”
“I came to talk to your lawyer,” he answered calmly. “But I haven’t been able to track her down. Apparently, folks around here don’t keep normal business hours.”
“No, I guess they don’t.”
“It doesn’t matter.” He took a step closer. “She wasn’t the one I really wanted to talk to.”
“We’ve already said everything that needed to be said, James.”
“No, that’s not true. Not by a long shot.” Emotion filled his eyes as he said, “I don’t want this divorce. I love you, Jules. You mean everything to me.”
“James.”
“You just left. You didn’t talk to me. You didn’t tell me you were even thinking about leaving.” He almost made me feel guilty for leaving when he said, “You didn’t give me a chance to make things right.”