5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Meghan

T hat evening, I poured a lavender bubble bath into our large claw tub and in the shared bathroom. Lighting a few candles, I delved myself into the warm water and closed my eyes, relishing in the calming and relaxing fragrances filling the air around me. My body was stressed from work and sometimes, a nice bath would be the perfect way to rejuvenate my system.

A light knock was heard on the door, interrupting my tranquil moment.

"Yes," I sighed.

"Can I come in?" Stacy asked.

"Sure," I said, sitting up and making sure the bubbles covered all of my necessary parts.

Stacy walked into the room and leaned against the wall. "Sorry to interrupt, but I just checked my work email, and guess what?" she asked, her eyes glowing with excitement.

"What?" I asked, not in the mood for her games.

"The company was invited to a charity gala next Friday. We will be doing a feature on it in the magazine and several of the authors we publish will be in attendance as well. Those hot guys from today, they will be in attendance and… will be the new face of the cover," she said.

Stacy loved attending the lavish parties and galas that we were frequently invited to. Melanie had created a well-known name with MLA Publishing and she loved to feature the good that people in the community were doing. Several of our authors also liked to attend and donate books to silent auctions.

"I already knew that," I reminded her. "I was there when it was announced," I add, trying to sound like I remembered all along.

"Yes, but did you know that we would get to use those handsome faces in our Marketing? They are basically whoring themselves out for the greater cause," she mused.

"Great. That sounds fun," I said, rolling my eyes at her.

"Yeah, well I bet that hottie that was eye-fucking you earlier will be there," she said, winking just before closing the door and leaving me alone again.

My heart rate increased at the mention of the men from earlier attending the gala. Especially, one man in particular. To be honest, his face had been locked in my mind all day. I just couldn't get him off my mind and it was very troubling. I didn't need to be swooning over a man who I didn't even know. I had a plan and a man wasn't part of that.

Sinking further into the tub, I tried to wash away the memories, but his eyes haunted me all night long.

The next day at work, the office was buzzing with excitement about the upcoming gala. Attending a company party happened almost monthly, so it wasn't like this was something out of the ordinary. However, having SEALs in attendance definitely was new for me.

An email had gone out that morning with a list of everyone who would be in attendance at the event. We each needed to ensure we mingled with all guests. I would more than likely be asked to write an article, so I needed to know the names of everyone. On that list was the group of men that Cole had brought to the offices, but I had no idea it was the mysterious man who I had locked eyes with. Maybe I would never know.

I spent the rest of my time working on a fun young adult novel that one of our authors had sent for editing. It may not be how most publishing companies handled business, but I loved how Melanie gave us free rein to pick what aspects of the job we wanted to do. I mean, I had a literary degree so I was fully capable of performing both editing and writing, but still, knowing I could do both was exciting to me. Satisfied, I headed off to complete a few more tasks and tried to forget about the man who I couldn't seem to forget.

Sometimes in life, we have to go through turmoil, in order to appreciate what we are given. For me, I felt like I had been through more than my fair share of turmoil. For someone, not even thirty-years-old, I had lost a parent and that was beyond devastating. Thankfully, I had found a way to salvage my heart when my boyfriend died, because I wasn't really given any other choice. His mom had shut down, like her life had ended, too. I had tried so many times to reach out to her and the rest of his family, but they had moved away.

I had somehow found a way to busy myself with tasks, which had rolled into adulthood. When I was busy with work, I didn't have to think about that raging fire that took away Wade. I didn't have to remember all of our belongings and memories left in ashes. And, I didn't have to remember how painful it was for my parents when I had to move away. I could no longer live in a town that constantly reminded me of Wade. None of that mattered when my mind went into work mode and the world around me was long forgotten.

Right now, I have never been more grateful for my busy life. The anniversary of my Wade's death was in two weeks and I never did well during that time. My mom would be even more distant than ever and I would usually spend time alone. After the Gala was over, I would take some much needed time to head home and visit Wade's gravesite.

The week was going to be one of my busiest times as I would juggle additional roles at work as I prepared for the gala for the upcoming weekend. I just needed to get through the next week and then I could take the time necessary to mourn my old life and the life that could have been.