I ran to my room and tore off my clothes. On my way to the living room, I stopped by the guest bedroom where I had been sleeping, and pulled off the blanket and a pillow. I refused to sleep in my bed. It smelled of him, and I didn’t have it in me to change the sheets.

I crashed on the couch, grabbed my phone and pulled up Andrew’s name to text him and let him know I was home safe.

I flipped through the channels before settling on a horror flick. It didn’t take long before my mind shut down, and I welcomed the emptiness that came with sleep.

CHAPTER 25

I was having trouble concentrating on the document in front of me and decided perhaps a cup of coffee was in order. The smell of the coffee would help to override the permeating scent of Nathan.

The hair-raising, cackling sound of the Boob-Squad’s laughter could be heard before I made it into the break room. I didn’t want to see them right then, but the need for coffee prevailed. I wasn’t in the mood to put up with them.

“Oh, hi, Delilah,” Jennifer said as I entered.

I walked up to the cabinet and pulled out a clean cup. “Morning, Jennifer.”

There were four of them standing around. I couldn’t help thinking they should be working.

“So glad to see you finally decided to return to work.”

All of the sudden, I felt like I was in high school, being ganged up on by the popular girls. The difference was there was no stepbrother named Adam to lead them like when I was younger, just a warped sense of entitlement.

Ignoring them, I poured the liquid into a cup. My hand reached for the creamer, but it was blocked by Tiffany.

She refused to step aside. “I can’t believe you left Nathan to do all of your work. Do you have any idea how swamped he was? He worked like a dog all day and then left, to sleep.”

I sighed and pushed a strand of loose hair behind my ear.

“We offered to help, but he was too nice to accept it,” Jennifer said. “He knows what his responsibilities are and doesn’t go gallivanting around for days”

At that I laughed. It was almost maniacal, but I already knew I wasn’t mentally stable anymore, so I paid no attention to it. They all stared at me.

Yup, I’ve gone insane. Fuck you.

“I’m so sorry to hear he was having such trouble handling things for three days while I was hospitalized,” I said, sneering at them all. “Your concern is touching as were your offers to help. Amazing, isn’t it, that I did it all by myself for over four months and not once did any of you even attempt to assist me or see if I was okay. Huh.”

My hand flicked, spilling the coffee all over the counter, splashing onto Tiffany, before pushing past them and back out the door. I stormed back into the office and sat down. I heard Nathan make a sound like he was about to speak, but then changed his mind. I didn’t look at him or try to find out what he wanted. I didn’t give a damn what he thought anymore . I couldn’t afford to. The cost was too high.

The combination of my outburst and Nathan’s mood kept the Boob-Squad away from our office for the remainder of the week. It was in the rare instances that they actually did need help, that they would brave an entrance into our cave. Not only had the mountains returned and we were drowning in work, but Nathan was not being his usual friendly self as well. He wasn’t being off-putting either, though. He was just…there.

A ploy so he could ignore me easier, at least that was what I thought.

I’d been back a few days when Jack Holloway called me into his office. Upon entering, I found it vacant, so I waited for his return. I perused his bookshelves, admiring the collection, when my eyes landed on a photo frame.

I picked it up off the shelf and stared at the photo it held. It was Jack; his arm was around a woman in her twenties. She was tall with blonde hair past her shoulders and blue eyes. Plain, but beautiful all at the same time.

“My daughter,” Jack spoke from next to me. I hadn’t even heard him enter the room, let alone walk up to me.

“She’s beautiful,” I replied.

“Yes, she was,” he said, taking the frame from me. A look of longing and sadness filled his eyes, and I felt guilty for bringing her up. “Grace…passed away a few years ago.”

I felt awful that I’d forgotten. “I’m sorry.”

He gave me a small smile. “Thank you.”

He returned the frame back to its rightful place. “Delilah, please sit.” He directed me to take a seat in one of the leather chairs in front of his large mahogany desk. “I called you in because I’m concerned. I don’t mean to pry, but something or someone put you into a catatonic state last week. Since then your attitude has soured.”

“I’m sorry, Sir, I don’t mean to be disruptive.”

“That isn’t why I called you in here. I’m worried about you. While your work has remained in its stellar state, I worry about your health; mental and physical. I’d like to suggest, and I only mean this as a suggestion, that you see a therapist. I know of a great one—”

“I already have a therapist,” I said, interrupting him. “I just haven’t been to see him in a while.”

“Might I suggest giving him a call? You’ve been with me for five years, and I’ve never seen you like this.” He looked at me like he actually cared, and then he said words that made my chest clench. “You know you’re safe here. Protected. I care about all of my employees, and I make sure they’re comfortable at work.”

There was something about the way he’d said I was safe. It made me wonder just how much Jack Holloway knew of the truth.

“Please, know I’m here for you if you need anything, Delilah.”

The week had been difficult.

Get up, go to work, maybe eat lunch, go home, crawl into bed, rinse and repeat.

I never ate dinner anymore, so it didn’t surprise me that after a week, my clothes were starting to fit a little loose. Not falling off me, but it was easier to button my tailored suits than it had been.

I didn’t care. I stopped caring. Caring took too much effort and caring for someone took everything.

Andrew, Caroline, and Ian had begun referring to him as “the asshat.” They didn’t talk about him much, which was okay because I didn’t want to talk about him or talk at all.

So I stopped.

No more talking.

No more smiling, no more caring, no more mask.