“I just need money to keep me going until revenue starts coming in. That could take a while.”
He told her then about his plan, about the contacts he’d made, about how he’d approached many of them about whether they’d use his services and how he’d felt confident he had a good start on a client base.
“There you go. You could totally do it.” She paused. “Look at what happened to Adam.”
“What do you mean?”
“He was only a few years older than you.”
“I know. It’s scary, isn’t it?”
“But in a way, it makes you think. What if we only had a few years to live? How would you want to spend it?”
He gazed back at her and then his eyes closed and his arms tightened around her. “Yeah,” he said, raw emotion roughening his voice. “Yeah.”
The next day both Jake and Shelby returned to work full time, ready to get caught up. In his office, that feeling of a new beginning stayed with Jake. He remembered how Shelby’s faith in him when they’d talked last night had made his heart squeeze, how he’d gazed back at the beautiful, loving, supportive woman in his arms, and how that sensation of falling had come over him, and how he’d grabbed on to her and held her tight.
He also recalled the conversation he’d had with Drew.
Having just attended the funeral of a thirty-three-year-old man must have shaken him up a bit, made him think of all kinds of shit. Shelby made him think of all kinds of shit. The bigger picture of his life. He was usually so good at seeing the big picture. But now he saw how for the last year he’d been so narrowly focused on how wrong he’d been done, rejected, abandoned, full of self-doubts, that he’d lost sight of his goals and plans and hopes and dreams.
He went back to the file he’d kept on his USB drive for the last year. The business plan for the consulting business he and Andrew had been starting he’d told Shelby about. The financials. The market research. The list of potential clients. The economy was picking up. Things were a lot more positive than they’d been a year ago.
She’d been right. He didn’t want to sit there working for someone else for the rest of his life, all safe and secure, but bored and frustrated. He’d never been afraid to take risks.
He thought of Shelby getting fired from her job for something she hadn’t even done, how she’d been kicked in the teeth, but hadn’t let it get her down, how she’d gone on with dogged determination and optimism that everything would work out fine. And how when he’d been kicked, he’d let it drag him down and keep him there.
He wasn’t going to be like that anymore. He closed his eyes briefly as he considered what he was about to do. Yeah. He was going to do it.
Then he rose to go into his boss’s office.
“You’re kidding me,” Tom said, moments later, staring at him. “You’re quitting?”
“Yeah.” Jake ran a hand through his hair and gave a weak smile. “I’ve given this a lot of thought and it’s what I want to do.”
Tom leaned back in his chair. “We’ll miss you, Jake. You’re bright and talented. Could I convince you to stay? Is it more money you want?”
“No. It’s not the money.” He briefly explained his plans to Tom, who, despite their different styles, had been good to work for. “The usual notice is two weeks, but if you need me to stay longer while you find a replacement, I can be flexible.”
“We’ll see, thanks. Maybe we have someone internally we can move into your position.” He shook his head. “Wow. That takes some guts. I wish you well, though.”
“And keep me in mind if you need a consultant.” Jake grinned.
His boss laughed. “Yeah. I’ll do that.”
Jake returned to his office, excitement building in him now that he’d done it. Holy shit! He’d quit his job. He laughed out loud, alone in his office, eager to share his news with Shelby. He didn’t want to tell her over the phone though. He’d go see her later, tell her in person, and celebrate with some sheet-twisting sex, maybe. He knew she’d be happy for him, after her encouragement last night, and he wanted to see that approval on her face, to know she had his back.
Oh man. He was in deep, no doubt about it. It was terrifying. Exhilarating. But terrifying.
He worked late, emerging onto the sidewalk in the evening sunshine. Much of the rush-hour traffic had disappeared, although the downtown street was still busy with people going for after-work drinks or dinner. His eye was caught by a woman standing at a parking meter, fiddling with it.
She looked up and saw him. His footsteps slowed but he kept walking toward her.
Her smile was lovely, if a bit hesitant. “Hi.”
“Hi, Gianna. What are you doing here?”
“Just…um…parking.”
He lifted an eyebrow.
“I never heard back from you,” she said in a rush. “You said you’d think about it. I’m going crazy, Jake! I wanted to see you!”
“I’ve been busy.”
Her eyebrows slanted down. “With that girl? The one who works for Andrew?”
“Yeah.”
“Are you in love with her?”
He stared at her, unwilling to go there even in his own mind.
“Just have a drink with me,” she said, laying her hand on his arm.
Were they really having problems, her and Andrew? He searched her face. Maybe he should talk to her, find out what was going on. Maybe in some way this would help him help Shelby.
“Okay.”
“It’s late and my mind isn’t working.” Andrew leaned back in his chair. “Let’s call it a night and talk more about this tomorrow.”
Shelby nodded and gathered up her papers. “Okay.” But even though her head was pounding and she was so, so tired, she wasn’t finished. She’d shared with him what she’d learned about the intake process and changes that needed to be made to it, and how it impacted the new payments system project. She’d wanted to make sure she had all her facts and figures straight before she talked to him. He liked facts and figures. Now she and Andrew had spent hours going over everything, and she sensed his concern about the project. But she still hadn’t shared her potential solution.
It was late. She rubbed her throbbing temples, still tired from the funeral and everything that had happened, and then catching up with work.
“Go home,” Andrew said gently. “Better yet, let’s go get a drink. You could probably use it.”
She bit her lip and looked away from him. How many times could she say no? He knew she had a boyfriend now. She’d made sure to mention Jake as much as she could when he’d asked about Adam’s funeral and how Kiara was doing. She was tired and all she wanted to do was go home, but maybe she could still talk a little business and tell Andrew she thought she knew how to fix things so the project could move forward.
“Sure. Okay.”
They left the office together and walked down the street and around the corner to the small bar they sometimes went to for happy-hour drinks, Callahan’s, a popular after-work place.
They walked into the dimly lit bar, and the noise of voices talking mingled with music and clinking glasses surrounded them. Shelby blinked. Why had she agreed to this? She really just wanted to go home. And see Jake. But Andrew was her boss, and her job was important to her.
She scanned the room for an empty table, and they walked a little farther into the room. Booths lined one wall, but they were all full too. “Maybe the bar?” she said, going on her toes to speak into Andrew’s ear.
“I guess.”
They moved toward the long bar of polished oak and glass, a huge mirror behind it. They found two stools near the end of the bar, and Shelby climbed up onto one. The mirror behind the bar reflected the room back to her. Reflected the image of a man who looked like Jake. A smile breaking across her face, she swiveled on her stool to look at him in person, to make sure it was in fact him, ready to go over to him.