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Your assistant says you’re free.
Until then.
Sincerely,
Mr. River Beau
Chapter Forty-Two
Deanna
All day, the wheels in my head turn. What the hell is River doing? I have no idea. I pack in a blitz, I drive too fast, I toss and turn all night, I run for too long, I shower and dress and arrive at work early.
Our office is a rented space in a big building. Pink walls, white desks, room for a dozen people, even though it’s usually the two of us, our assistant, and Lexi’s marketing trainee, plus any contractors we have on hand.
There’s the conference room, too, which we share with another start-up, one in the health space. They do some sort of sleep tracking. I’m not really sure.
Neither of us uses the conference room.
All day, I try to work, but I keep staring at the room. The glass walls, the long desk, the projector, the expensive ergonomic chairs.
When I try to shift my gaze to the view—the mountains in one direction, the ocean in another, all blue sky everywhere—I only manage to hold it for a minute or two. My thoughts keep returning to River.
Then it’s two, and I’m frozen in anticipation. Nothing distracts me. There isn’t a single thing in the world more important than this.
At ten to three, the elevator dings. River steps into the lobby in a sleek black suit and a pink tie. With his ink covered, he looks the part of the tech investor or maybe tech CEO. He’s not too tall or too built or too meek. He’s just right.
Lexi greets him with a hug, gushes over how well his tie matches the walls, leads him into the room. They set up something. A computer.
A computer with a…slide deck.
Is he seriously using slides?
But he’s an artist. A creative. He doesn’t make arguments with slides. He doesn’t make arguments, period.
What the hell is happening?
Lexi bounces to me. She knocks on my door once, then she pulls it open. “Your meeting, Ms. Huntington.”
“You’re being weirder than normal,” I say.
“I love you.” She pulls me into a hug.
It feels good. Safe.
“And I’ll love you wherever you are. You know that, right?” She squeezes me again. “Whether you’re here or in San Francisco or New York City or London. We’ll still see each other all the time. I promise.”
“Why would I be somewhere else?”
She doesn’t respond. She releases me with a smile and leads me to the conference room.
She motions for me to sit at the head of the table. “Ms. Huntington, this is Mr. River Beau.” She smiles warmly. “Your three o’clock. He has a proposal for you.”
“Unfinished business,” he says.
His voice sounds the same. Not too deep, not too high, sincere and musical, with that strange mix of firmness and wonder.
He knows there’s magic in the world.
