Chapter 28

TWENTY-EIGHT

SOPHIE

5:00 a.m. was stupid early. Sophie squinted into the dark, slapping at her phone to hush the alarm. The shower wasn’t refreshing. Her bones ached, her head hurt, her eyes were sawdust. She hadn’t worn makeup for a week, she hadn’t eaten a proper breakfast in five days, and her outfits this last week were jeans and whatever T-shirt passed the sniff test.

But 5:00 a.m. was essential to get to Ella’s house and then to work on time. On the road by 6:00, Sophie joined the smattering of commuters on the 405, pushed aside all work thoughts, and freed her brain to think about Ella. From that first day in her sharp business suit, glaring with that pretty mouth and pouted face, to the level of grace Ella showed her after Sophie allowed the prejudiced demons to cloud her judgement.

Then her mind drifted to the hot tub, to the golf course, to Ella’s laugh, to the way Ella’s body felt in her mouth. She wanted to bring Ella a cupcake and watch her smile, and taste her lips. God, she missed her so much.

But as she stood outside Ella’s house, her hand balled in a fist to knock, she realized how completely invasive standing uninvited and unannounced at 6:45 in the morning might be. What if they were sleeping? Nah . George was usually in the office by seven. But he hadn’t been there for several days.

Grrr. Nope. She was not thinking clearly. All she needed to do was be patient and wait for Ella to call. She stepped down to the driveway when the door clicked open.

“Sophie.” George’s voice was less booming than normal, and not very welcoming.

Flames rose to Sophie’s face. Did Ella tell her dad that Sophie had banged her ex? Yes, George was Ella’s family, but he was her boss, for God’s sake. But King George knowing about her sex life made her cringe. “Um, hey.” She raised her hand in the most awkward half wave of all time, then dropped it. “You look different.”

Ugh. What a ridiculous thing to say, but it was true. Besides the time she and Ella stopped by and he was wearing slacks and a polo, she’d only ever seen him with a five-piece suit. So, it jarred her to see him in joggers and a zip-up sweatshirt. “Um, I didn’t knock. How did you know I was here?”

“We have alarms everywhere. When you pulled up, I got a notification. I saw you standing there and decided to put you out of your misery.”

Finally, the faintest smile came through his voice, and the awkwardness cracked. “Ah, is Ella here?”

He crossed his arms, and his mouth turned flat. “She is.”

Jesus. She had her wisdom teeth pulled with nothing but local anesthesia when she was sixteen. This felt like a similar experience. “Can I talk to her?”

George shook his head. “She doesn’t want to see you.”

This moment just won the award for her most humiliating time. Her boss was blocking her like a bouncer sneaking into a members-only club and she wanted to dive into the lake and never emerge. Even though she wanted to see Ella, she wasn’t going to confess her undying love at his feet. So, she just nodded, but her chest burned hot and the blush on her cheeks grew to a fever pitch.

“If it makes you feel any better, she doesn’t want to see me, either.” George smiled now, and these words did, in fact, make her feel a little better. “Walk with me.”

George turned and Sophie followed, strolling down the courtyard, toward the water. He kept his hands in his sweatshirt pockets and remained silent, minus the heavy breathing. The slight chill in the late spring air popped goose bumps on Sophie’s arm, and she snugged her short cardigan across her chest. George opened the gate and motioned for Sophie to sit on the chair, as a whiff of fresh mineral smell from the lake floated to her nose.

She slunk on the chair and stared at a seagull flying overhead, the squawking breaking up the silence. Silence—with George. If she wasn’t so tired and distraught, she’d probably crack some joke about how the apocalypse must be near. But today, she had no life and no energy. She was empty.

A bucket of rocks sat between the chairs. He dug in and handed her one.

“What are those?” Sophie flipped the smooth marble-sized stone in her hand.

“I call them my thinking rocks.” He tossed one in the water and his eyes followed the ripples. “Sometimes when things seem… unsalvageable… I toss them in there until I get some clarity.”

Who was this dude? This loud, boisterous, voice-could-crack-cement man was sitting like a wise retiree on his dock. He nodded his head, indicating for her to try it. She tossed one in with a satisfying plop and exhaled as the smoothness of the water got interrupted by the perfect circles of the ripples. When the calm returned to the surface, she tossed another.

“Do you think Ella will ever talk to me again?” Sophie focused on the water and not George’s eyes.

“I hope so.”

Yikes. Not an “of course” or a “turn your frown upside down” or “put your nose to the grindstone” type of pep talk she’d grown accustomed to. Her belly sunk.

“I don’t know what happened with you all, but I think she just needs a little time.”

She’s had time . Sophie refrained from protesting this out loud, and instead nodded. She tossed in another rock when she felt her lips tremble. “I can’t lose her. I think I’m falling… I’m, ahem. I really like her so much. She just makes my heart happy. And I can’t lose this. I finally have this, for the first time in my life, and I can’t lose it.”

George didn’t seem surprised by her words. He made no sound, except for the clanking of two rocks he rolled in his palm. “Ella had a seizure that afternoon when she left the office. She was hospitalized for a few days.”

“What?” She gripped the side of the chair. “Is she okay? Why didn’t anyone tell me?” When? How? Was she home? Did someone help her? A crushing weight pushed on her, and Sophie buried her face in her hands. She bit back the brimming tears. “This is all my fault.”

“You may be pretty powerful, Sophie. Scrappy as all get-out. But even you could not create epilepsy in my daughter.” He tossed both rocks in the water and dusted off his hands. Leaning back on the chair, he shoved his hands back in his sweatshirt and took a deep breath. “Claire and I… we didn’t listen to her. We don’t listen. We think we’re doing the best for her, but now I’m not so sure. She told me she took this job so she could save money for an apartment, just to get away from us. I forced her into this, threw her into a high-stress position. I should’ve just given her the goddamn money.”

The self-loathing surprised Sophie. She wasn’t sure if she should reach out and touch his arm, or say something soothing, or agree with him. So, she remained silent.

“So, if it’s anyone’s fault, it’s mine.” He took a deep breath. “And even I know it is not totally my fault. But she was so goddamn determined to prove she could make it in the business world. She pushed herself too hard, not getting enough sleep, so much stress, eating bad, everything. But even saying all that, it may have happened anyway. We will never know.”

Sophie straightened and tried to read his face. “But she’s okay, though, right? I mean, she’s had a lot of these before?”

He nodded. “Yes. She will be. On the way down, she hit the kitchen island, and got pretty banged up—a shiner and a solid goose egg. We had an MRI done and thankfully everything was okay. But it’s pretty devasting to everyone. She hadn’t had a seizure for so long, we thought the meds were all under control…”

Sophie needed to do something. Run into the house, confirm Ella was okay, check her wounds, call the doctor to confirm her status, something . “Please, please, can I just see her?”

George tossed Sophie a sympathetic frown. “I really can’t let you. Also, I don’t think you want to. Ella’s not herself after a seizure. I’m gonna give it to you straight—she’s not pleasant. She’s angry, irritable, hates everyone. And it’s hard to not take it personally. I’m her father. I’ve seen this a hundred times. I’m made of steel right here.” He tapped his heart with a chuckle. “And her words still cut me. I’d hate for her to say something to you that you can’t recover from.”

As much as Sophie wanted to run into the house, a part of her filled with warmth. King George was protecting her, and protecting his daughter. She kind of wanted to hug him. She leaned back, watching as a bird swooped to the water and caught a fish. Things were not all right. Not at work, not in her personal life, not with anything at this moment. At the same time, it was the most relaxed she’d been in a very long time.

“Every time something happens with Ella, I re-evaluate everything. Ella’s going to move out someday. I know this, Claire knows this. And I’m spending all my time running this company, which is so self-sufficient it doesn’t need me. Time for me to seriously consider retirement.”

A flicker of panic rose. Not hearing his cheesy jokes, or terrible business jargon, would uproot everything she’d grown accustomed to. Who would clap so loud she’d knock over her coffee? George couldn’t leave.

At the same time, she hoped for his sake that he did. “We’re not going to make the Devil’s timeline.”

“I know.” George shifted in his chair. “But you all did your best. I’m really proud of you and the team.”

Wow. Those words filled her in a way that she didn’t know she needed. After tossing in a few more rocks, Sophie lifted herself from the chair, and walked back to the car with George. “Can you let Ella know I stopped by?”

He nodded. “I’m really rooting for you two.”

Her heart pinched. She wrapped her arms around his waist and gave him a hug.

“Well then.” He patted her once on the back with a chuckle and took a step back. “I’ll double-check with HR that I don’t need to file a report for this.”

Once she was down the driveway and out of eyesight, tears fell. Maybe she and Ella would be okay. She at least had hope.

She glanced at her watch. It was after 8:00 a.m. and she was late. Did it really matter, though? They couldn’t finish the campaign. Not unless the mother of all agency Hail Mary passes landed in their inbox.