Chapter Fourteen

Irene

The time of day that Irene hated most was getting up—especially when she had to get up early. She just really wasn’t a morning person.

So when her alarm went off the next morning, she let some profanities leave her mouth before slamming her alarm clock to hit the snooze button. She really, really hated getting up, and today was no different.

After her lunch with Ethan and Joanna yesterday, she’d had to work her shift at the restaurant. The last customers were done late, and the restaurant was a mess, so it was late when she got home.

As she turned over to her other side, she thought about what day it was. Today was Wednesday. Was there a certain reason she’d set her alarm this early?

She jolted up. Yes. Today was the day that Joanna would leave for West Shaw Heights.

Her mood immediately changed. She really was happy for her friend, but on the other hand, she was not. She really wanted to be selfish and ask her friend to stay here. But that wasn’t what a true friend would do, right?

A true friend would always put the happiness of a friend before their own. She threw her legs to the side of the bed and sat up. She stretched extensively, then got up and strolled to the kitchen.

“Morning, sunshine.” Luca smiled when he saw her tired face. “Did you sleep well? I didn’t hear you coming home last night.”

“I didn’t really sleep much.” Irene yawned. “Had a long shift last night. And I got up early just so I can say goodbye to Joanna.”

“That’s right, she’ll be leaving today. I almost forgot.” Luca stopped smiling. It seemed like he was having a hard time with Joanna leaving as well.

“I’ll miss her,” Irene said quietly. She grabbed a cup from the cabinet and poured in some coffee to keep herself busy.

Later, Irene arrived at Joanna’s apartment. She sat for a moment before she got out of her car. She was dreading this moment. It wasn’t like Joanna was off to the other end of the world, but still…

Just as she slammed her door shut, Ethan came out of the apartment building with a big duffel bag.

“Morning.” He smiled, then threw the duffel bag in the backseat of a rental van. He shut the door of the van, locked it, then turned around and looked at her. “Are you alright?” he asked. He frowned. “You seem quiet.”

“I’m sorry.” She looked at her toes. “It’s nothing personal, but my friend is moving away. I am just a little sad.”

Ethan stepped in front of her and lifted her chin so he could look her in the eye. He gave her a sad smile. “I saw this conversation coming. I’m the one who should be sorry. I am taking your friend away from you.”

“It is her own decision, isn’t it?” Irene shrugged and looked down again. “You aren’t responsible for her decisions, are you?”

He lifted her chin up again, but this time he continued to hold it. “Then why do I have the feeling you blame me? You know I’m trained to read people—I can sense these things.”

She sighed. “I don’t blame you. I’m just sad, honestly. She is my best friend. We met when we went to the same high school. She was there for me when my parents died.

“She was there when I went to college, she was there when I got my driver’s license, she was there when I bought my first car. I am just so sad that she won’t be here for the rest of the things I will go through.

“Besides Luca, she is the only family I have left.” A tear escaped her eye.

He let go of her chin and wiped the tear away with his thumb. “I didn’t realize you were so close,” he said quietly. He looked sad.

“Yeah.” Irene didn’t know what to say.

“You know, I really am sorry. I know it isn’t the same thing, but you can always come and visit us in Redwater Creek. Joanna can visit you if she wants. You can have video calls. I’ll do everything so you two can stay in touch.”

He rubbed her upper arms comfortingly.

“Thanks.” She gave him a sad smile. “I know you’ll do anything for her. She couldn’t have found a better man.”

She stepped away from Ethan to walk to the door of Joanna’s apartment building. “Let’s get inside, see if there’s something useful left for me to do.”

A couple of hours later, the van was fully packed, the apartment was empty, and everything was clean. Joanna handled everything with the janitor, and now the only thing left to do was to say goodbye.

Ethan, Joanna, and Irene stood in front of the building in an awkward silence. Ethan was the first to break the silence.

He said goodbye to Irene first, so he could get in the van and give Joanna and Irene some privacy. He realized how hard this was for them.

“I’ll miss you.” Joanna gave Irene a hug. She didn’t let go, and silent tears started trickling down their cheeks.

Irene let Joanna go and wiped away her tears. “I’ll miss you more.”

They both smiled.

“Let me know when you arrive. And call me when you’re settled in.”

“I will, if you’ll let me know what the result is of your interview.”

“I will.” Irene took a step back as Joanna walked to the passenger side of the van.

“I’ll text you when we arrive,” she shouted, as she opened the door and got in. Ethan let the engine roar and took off. Irene got into her own car and pulled out her keys.

Tears started streaming down her face, and she finally let all her grief out. Her heart hurt. Although Joanna hadn’t left her life for good, it still felt like something had ended. Joanna leaving left a hole in her heart.

The same morning, Zach decided to take a shower after not sleeping all night. He kept tossing and turning, thinking about his destined. This hide-and-seek game she seemed to be playing with him was driving him insane.

She might not be doing it on purpose, but it was still frustrating. He needed to get this situation under control; otherwise, things would get out of hand. He kept thinking. He needed to track her down.

Irene. Her name was Irene. The fact that she was one of the candidates for the job offer was a good start, but he needed to find a way to get in touch with her.

He couldn’t just call her and say, “Hi, I think you are my destined. Let’s live together for the rest of our lives.”

He stepped out from under the water and grabbed a towel to dry himself off. He needed to wait. When Christian decided that she was the best candidate, he would meet her once she was working as Christian’s PA.

Maybe that was a good strategy. He walked back into his bedroom and pulled out one of his suits. He threw it on the bed and sighed. He really didn’t want to, but he had to go back to the office for a last meeting with Mr. Mercer.

He hoped Mercer would be a bit more indulgent today. His phone rang, and he walked to his nightstand to pick it up. When he looked at the screen, he saw it was Ethan. “Ethan,” he said, answering the phone.

“Hey, Zach, I just wanted to let you know that we just left Joanna’s apartment. We are now on our way home.”

“Okay.”

“Are you alright?” Ethan sounded a little worried.

“Yes, I am,” Zach said evasively. “I just didn’t sleep very well, that’s all.”

“Is it because I didn’t sleep at your place? Did you miss me?” Ethan just loved to tease him way too much.

“No, I’ve learned to live with that.” Zach smiled—what Ethan could do, Zach could do too.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Ethan was serious again; he knew something was up with his friend.

“No, not right now. Your attention should be on the road, not on me. I’ll tell you tonight, or maybe tomorrow. Depends on when we see each other.”

“Are you going home as well?”

“Yes. I have an important meeting in an hour. After that, I’ll pack my things and I’ll be on my way. I need to blow off some steam.”

After that, they said their goodbyes and Zach continued to get dressed.

The meeting with Mr. Mercer was tough. Mercer really didn’t want to give in. Zach got that strange, uneasy feeling again, but this time it was even worse. Possibly because Mercer brought another man with him.

He seemed to be some kind of partner. Mercer didn’t tell them who the man was, just that his name was Angelo Romero. He still couldn’t seem to figure out where he recognized this feeling from, as if his instincts were warning him about something he should know.

Just as he couldn’t figure out where he had seen the eyes of this Angelo before. He just knew he had seen those piercing green, almost yellow, eyes before.