Soulmates are Overrated

Chapter Sixteen

Before I met Julian, I never came to the family Christmas dinner with a plus one. There were never any guys fighting over who got to take me out that night. I was never stuck in a love triangle.

Yet, I am pacing my office on the verge of a nervous breakdown because of a guy that is not my husband, a guy who is asking me to choose between my "soulmate" and my best friend. A man who might be my only path to true happiness, whatever that is.

I close my eyes and rub my temples. My head hurts in this mind numbing way that I can't shake off.

Another man just confessed his feelings for me, and I am just standing here like an idiot, considering life without Julian.

I pick up my phone and I place it against my ear and rest a hand on my hip. It rings and rings and rings. I pull the phone away from my ear and check to make sure I have the right person.

Why isn't he answering? He always answers on the first ring.

It rings again, and I bite my lip.

He knows. He knows. He kno-

"Hey, Al," his rushed voice comes through the line and I release a breath. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, I just-"

A woman laughs in the background, and Julian whispers something inaudible to her. "Julian, come look at this." she says. There's something familiar in her voice.

"One second, Brittany. I'm on the phone," Julian whispers.

My heart sinks in my chest. My shoulders slump.

"Al, what were you saying?" He's with Brittany. "Al?"

"I-I just wanted to see what you were up to."

"Oh, um, just doing some stuff at the bakery."

"Oooh, that's beautiful!" Brittany exclaims.

"What's beautiful?" I ask as I try to swallow the queasy feeling in my stomach.

"Nothing. I have to go, Al. I'll see you at home."

"O-okay. I love y-" the line beeps. My words fall flat.

I slowly drop my hand, the phone falls out of my grasp. Julian always says "I love you." He's always the first to say it. He said that after losing his sister he decided that no matter what, no matter how much he hates the person in that moment, he will always say "I love you" to the people he cherishes.

My chest aches and my eyes start to sting. Why am I worrying about Hudson when Julian is off with another woman?

"Davis!" Mr. Bucher hangs in the doorway of my office, a stern expression on his face. His tone tells me that it's not the first time he's called out to me.

I forgot to shut the door. I look out the windows, meeting all of the nosy stares outside.

"My office, now." He rushes down the hall.

I straighten my spine and blink away the water in my eyes. A few teardrops escape, so I quickly swipe them away and take a few deep breaths.

1...2...3...

My body tells me I need to keep going, keep counting and taking deep breaths, but when Mr. Bucher calls my name again, I ignore my body's demands and slowly make my way to his office. There's no time for emotions.

He is seated in his desk chair, a stack of papers in front of him. Hudson sits across from him, and when his eyes land on me, there's some secret message written inside them. I can't be here. I turn to walk out.Mr. Bucher can just talk to Hudson and I don't need to be involved.

Before I have a chance to recite an excuse, "Sit down, Davis."

I turn around, but I don't sit. "I'm okay standing, Sir."

He eyes me suspiciously, but eventually shrugs it off. "Whatever. Look, the two of you need to come up with a pitch and you need to come up with it fast. Corporate will be here in the next few days, and they want to see this big idea you two are supposed to be brewing. Because of this, we're pushing the meeting date up to Friday. This way it will give Cunnings the weekend to think over this great idea. We need to wow him and corporate."

My extra week to work on this project, to figure out what's going on between Hudson and I, has now been changed to four days. It's hard to imagine anything else going wrong right now.

"My question to the two of you is: how far along are you on this?" I feel Hudson's eyes on me, but I don't move my gaze an inch from the floor. "That's what I was afraid of. Look, all I'm going to tell you is to have a big idea by Friday morning. If you can't do it, then we'll have to let you both go."

A swift blow straight to my gut. Everything is falling apart. My eyes start to water, and my chest feels hollow.

"Are you okay?" Hudson whispers to me.

I open my mouth to answer, but a choked sob tries to escape. I quickly bite my quivering lip and avoid his gaze. Seconds tick by, and I fear that he will never leave. My feet are glued to the ground.

"Davis," Mr. Bucher cuts in, but I keep my head down. "Stay back a minute. Thomas, please leave us."

Hudson stays next to me for a moment longer, trying to meet my eyes. I keep my gaze dropped until he finally sighs and walks out of the office.

"Shut the door." I shakily do as I'm told. The blinds are already closed and I'm thankful no one can see the state I am in right now. "Sit down, Davis." His tone is softer than seconds before as he gestures to a chair.

"Look, is something going on? Is Thomas harassing you in any way because if he-"

"No, no, no. No," I am quick to stop his assumption. "Hudson isn't harassing me."

He sighs and assesses my face. "Listen, maybe you should take a few days off."

"What?" I clear my throat. "With all due respect Sir, the project is due in a few days. There's no time for me to take off."

"Davis, do you remember the last time you took off work?" He stands and pulls open a drawer from his file cabinet.

"Yes, it was a little bit ago. I was sick."

"It was two years ago." He opens the manilla folder and reads the contents inside. "You came into the office looking like death itself. You didn't call in sick, you came to me yourself and gave me every reason to not give you a day off." He puts the file back inside the drawer and the cabinet slams shut. "You only stayed home for one day, but by my records, you logged in from home."

"I'm sorry, but why are you telling me this?"

"Not one employee I have had before has had perfect attendance or has apologized for catching a cold. Look, it's alright to take some time off work. It's okay to have some mental health days as well as sick days. In fact, I am making it mandatory for you. Take the next few days off. I don't want to see you until Friday morning in the meeting. I do still need this project done by the deadline, though. So, work from home and make a great pitch for me. Don't worry about contacting Thomas. I changed my mind: I want the two of you to work separately and the person with the best pitch will get the job." He sits back down in his chair.

He wants us to work separately. A part of me aches for the extra assistance on a big client like this, but the other part is thankful to not have to face Hudson every day, especially after a day like today. Now I am being sent home to work independently. Home: where Julian is probably getting too comfortable with Brittany. Even the voice in my head spits her name like a curse. Is that why he was in such a good mood this weekend?

"Why are you still sitting there, Davis?" Mr. Bucher asks as he returns his attention to the paperwork on his desk.

I jump up, sheepishly. "Right, sorry."

As I open the door, Mr. Bucher lifts his head back up, "Go home, Davis, and get some rest. Make a good pitch."