Love, Utley (Love Letters #1)

And I’m over him.

It was one stupid week.

One stupid week, a lifetime ago, that I clung to for way too long because I was struggling.

Because I wanted to believe in a different outcome.

Because a stupid, foolish part of me held on to this sliver of hope for years that he might call.

That one day, my phone would ring, and he’d apologize for not calling sooner. That he’d explain how he read the note so many times the numbers smudged on the page. How he tried every combination until he finally got me.

I blink again.

It was irrational.

After the first two weeks passed without a word, I should have let it go.

But I was young. And I wanted someone to save me.

I blink again and remind myself that I’m past all that.

Because I am.

I just never thought I’d have to see him again.

And certainly not like this. Interviewing for my own job.

Taking another breath, I accept the humor in my situation.

I followed Maddox’s career in the media for so long. Stemmed from some sort of masochist nature, I guess. And it wasn’t until he retired that I decided I needed to stop. Needed to stop caring. Which was good for my mental health. I haven’t thought of him in… I don’t know how long. But had I continued to follow him, my unprepared ass would’ve known he was the owner of MinneSolar.

Or, at the very least, I should’ve spent some of the last two days researching the company rather than being so focused on double-checking all my previous work, wanting my records to be squeaky clean.

A door shuts somewhere down the hall, reminding me of where I am. And what I need to do.

I force my shoulders to relax.

I have a bit of savings now. Not much, but enough to get us through a month or two if I lose my position.

Shaking my head, I take one step, then another, and exit my office.

Maddox isn’t going to fire me on sight.

Something hot flares in my chest.

He might not recognize me.

He might not even remember me.

Turning, I walk toward the elevators in our main lobby.

As part of the merger, we’ll need more office space, so we’re moving up a floor. The employees who already worked for MinneSolar, and the executives, are already moving in up there. And that’s where they’re having the interviews.

The elevator doors slide open the moment I press the call button, and when they slide closed after me, I stare at my reflection in the polished metal doors. It’s not a perfect mirror, but the blurry image is a reminder of what I’m wearing. What I look like now.

My wide-leg black pants are fitted around my waist and ass. My white tank top clings to my curves and is tucked in, showing off the belt detail on my pants.

And showing off the fact that I’m bigger than I used to be.