Inevitable, A modern day Reylo AU

Chapter 17 - Transitions - Part I

A/N - Hello there my Lovelies!  Well.....things are finally starting to move along for these two.   But alas....we still have some percolating to do..... Remember, all good things.... 😜.  I feel like its starting to drag out a bit - so I'll try to hit the gas pedal a little (but I don't like to rush the relationship...). Thank you so much to everyone for reading!  I love your comments - they make me update faster - so let me know your thoughts!  And please, don't forget to vote!  Enjoy!

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Ben tapped his pen on the desk in irritation as he re-read the same paragraph in the report for the third time.  Giving up, he let out an exasperated breath and lightly flung the pen across his desk.  For some reason, he couldn't concentrate today.  His thoughts weighed heavy, intruding on the focus he needed to finish editing the progress report he was working on for Blutech.

Since Kay had ended things a couple of weeks ago, he'd felt a bit more free – lighter than he had in a long time.  He hadn't realized it at the time, but her slow, subtle and constant rejection of him had really been preying on his mind. Now that he'd had some time to think about everything, he could see that the signs were always there.  While they'd known each other's habits fairly well – how could they not after technically being a couple for so long - their relationship had been superficial at best.  They'd never really connected – not on any significant level.  Because of that, they'd never really been all that close.

For that reason, Ben had been finding it relatively easy to put that part of his life behind him and move onto the future.  And a part of that future involved building his business.  He'd been toying with the idea of opening that office in L.A. for some time now, and the more he'd thought about it, the more it just seemed to make sense.  His client Dantooine Industries' head office was located there, and without having to consider Kay – and how she might feel about him travelling more, now seemed like the best time to do it.

He wondered what Rey would think about his idea for an office in L.A., now that Kay wasn't in the picture.  He'd mentioned it to her briefly once, but they hadn't really spoken about it since then.  His mouth twisted into an involuntary grin as he thought of her.  She was away in Houston this week, and would then move onto New Orleans next week, training her new assistant.  They'd still been in constant contact, texting each other every night.  She'd even called him twice last week – just to talk.  He suspected that she was doing it so he wouldn't be lonely and brood over Kay, but in truth Kay had been relatively absent from his life for months, so there was nothing new about the situation for him to obsess over.

Before she'd left, they'd gone to dinner and hung out at a local pub, drinking beer and eating gooey chicken wings.  She'd been in a fantastic mood, happier than he'd seen her in a long time – almost exuberant.  It was as if she was shining – glowing from within – and she literally took his breath away as he'd sat across from her.  When she was like that, it was especially hard for him to hide his feelings for her, but he made sure to keep things light, treating her exactly as he always did.  He wanted her never to know – unless one day he thought that she might feel the same. Then he'd tell her.  No – he'd show her.

However, much of her good mood that night had seemed to stem from the fact that Finn was in a good mood too.  He was okay with her two-week trip, and didn't appear to be simmering below the surface in anger, like she'd expected.  Finn had also had to work late that night, and she said he didn't even seem phased when she mentioned that she was going to hang out with him.  She'd been quite literally bubbling with happiness, telling him that Finn's change in attitude had led her to believe that they'd finally turned a corner and that things were now getting better between them.