Page 43 of Stay With Me
Chapter 15
Roman
“Roman.”
Blinking a few times to get out of my inner thoughts, I turn my attention to my office door. One of the partners at my law firm, Christopher, is standing there with a folder in his hand.
“Christopher, hello. Sorry.” I clear my throat as I sit up straighter in my chair. “Come in.”
“I have the information you requested for the Robbin’s case. Are you sure about this?” he asks me, stepping into my office. “This is a big case. A lot of money.”
“I’m sure.” I nod, grabbing the piles of paper I’ve prepared, and open the folder, sliding them in with the others and closing it before handing it back to Christopher. “I’ve got more money than I know what to do with. What I need is time. Time, which I’ve been wasting by drowning myself in my work for years. I’ve missed out on a hell of a lot of things in life. What’s the point of having all this money if I don’t spend it and live a little.”
“Good point,” he chuckles. “I’ve been wondering when you were going to slow down. There’s so much more to life than work.”
Yeah, like a gorgeous blonde woman who has been the object of my dreams for the past two weeks now. With each passing day, nothing gets better. The pain of being away from her and the need for her is stronger than ever.
After I left Tasha’s apartment, I searched all over Philadelphia for Ava; searched all the places I know she goes to, and even went to her work. Nothing. I went back to the apartment, hoping she would turn up, but she didn’t.
When I tried calling her, it went to voicemail. The idea of her blocking my number fucking gutted me. Then I texted her and saw that my messages were at least getting delivered.
If she wanted nothing to do with me, she would have blocked me, right?
I’ve become a pathetic man, resorting to stalking her social media, as well as my daughter’s, in the hope of seeing something, anything new, like a love-sick puppy. But nothing. She hasn’t posted since a few days before everything went to shit.
Even more sad is the fact that I’m not taking time off of work to go on some relaxing vacation, I’m using it to go back to Philadelphia and find my Princess. I meant what I said, I’m not giving up. Not until she says that we’re done for good, and she never wants to see me again to my face. And let’s be honest, I’d probably just resort to stalking her because, the fact is, Ava owns my heart and soul.
I could never be with another woman. To me, they no longer fucking exist. There’s only her. There will only ever be her.
Just as Christopher leaves, my phone rings. Looking down, I see that it’s Tasha calling me. We haven’t talked since the day she found out about Ava and me. As much as it hurts to have this rift between the two of us, I can’t justify her behavior. She has called and left voicemails apologizing and sent text messages as well.
Sighing, I lean back in my chair and accept the call, knowing I can’t avoid her forever, and I don’t want to. I miss her too much.
“Hey,” she begins tentatively when I don’t make a move to speak first.
“Tasha,” I reply.
“You’re still pissed at me, aren’t you?” she asks but keeps talking before I can respond. “And you have every right to be. I was a major bitch, and I said some pretty messed up shit. I was taken by surprise and really hurt that you both kept this from me. But that doesn’t excuse my shitty behavior. I love you both so damn much, and knowing I caused you two to feel pain and misery hurts my damn soul. So, please forgive me. Please don’t hate me, and please get your damn ass back here and get your girl. She’s absolutely miserable, and you would be a damn fool not to snatch her up and keep her forever.”
Lips parting, I just blink at the phone, not sure what the hell to say.
“Ah, Dad?” she asks a few seconds later. “You still with me?”
“Yeah.” I clear my throat. “I just didn’t expect all that when I answered the phone.”
“Well, you know me. Expect the unexpected and all that jazz.”
That makes me bark out a laugh. “I should have known.” And then what she said has my hackles rising. “Wait, what’s wrong with Ava?”
“There he is,” she laughs. “Ava is fine, physically. Emotionally? My girl is a wreck. Look, this is going to take some getting used to, but I want you both to be happy. If that’s with each other, I will not be the one who stands in your way.”
“Where is she?” I ask, leaning forward in my chair.
“She’s back at the apartment. I’m on break right now, almost done with my shift, then heading to LA for a few days to stay with a... friend. So, if you want to come back here and win back my best friend, you have the apartment all to yourselves.”
I don’t miss the way she hesitates at the mention of this friend. But I pay it no mind as I grab my phone, keys, and folder. “Is she still at the apartment?”
“As far as I know. If she isn’t, I don’t think she would have gone far. She’s not working today.”