Eternally Yours

Pace A-picking

An entire week went by and Josh and Isabelle didn't speak throughout. Well, Isabelle didn't speak to Josh and not the other way around because he called her several times but she wouldn't take his calls.

He wanted to fix things with her and get back together but she wasn't giving him a chance to. He even went over to her apartment but she would always never open up her door. Her constant rejection made him feel so bad that he decided to just give her some time to evaluate her feelings and calm down. He was sure that if she felt for him the same way he felt for her, they would find a way to get over this hurdle.

Josh decided to also try and get his mind off Isabelle as well because it was hard to get anything done with him constantly pining over her.

He focused a lot of his time and energy on his work and spent a lot more hours in the office, which Jennifer didn't seem to mind as she was always there with him even after it was the end of the day. Sometimes, he'd have to forcefully send her home before she'd leave.

It was clear that she was smitten with him and he tried his hardest not to lead her on but it didn't matter what he did; she still liked him. And although it was a bit inappropriate, he didn't see it as a good enough reason to fire her for something as innocent as a crush.

He also began to spend more time with his bachelor buddies, Frank and Chris. He would follow them to late-night parties and strip clubs just so he could forget about Isabelle but it was never enough as he'd go to bed every night with her on his mind and would wake up every morning with her still on his mind.

.

.

.

"You gotta forget about this woman, Josh. It's not good for you," Chris said.

He had invited them over to his place for some guy time and they were advising him on what to do about Isabelle but he didn't like what they were saying at all.

"Yeah, man. There's more fish in the sea," Frank concurred.

"Have you guys forgotten that you were the ones who told me... No-- pressured me into going out with her in the first place?" Josh asked and they became silent.

"Well, that was before we knew she was going to break your heart," Chris answered.

"She didn't break my heart, guys. I'm the one who screwed up for mentioning my assistant's name in my sleep, knowing fully well that Isabelle felt threatened by her," Josh said.

"Well, I understand why you'd say your assistant's name in your sleep. I mean, have you seen the curves on that girl? Damn!" Frank replied.

"That's not helping, Frank," Josh yelled at him.

"Sorry, man," Frank apologized.

"You don't have anything going on with your assistant, right?" Chris asked.

"No," Josh answered.

"Well, if your girl doesn't trust you, then there's no hope for your relationship," Chris said and Josh hated to admit that he was right.

How could he have a relationship with someone who didn't trust him? It was a question that had only one answer; He couldn't.

*******

Isabelle was also completely destroyed by her breakup with Josh. She missed him every single day and was always thinking about him although she tried to act tough.

Avoiding his calls and refusing to open her door to him was one of the hardest things she'd ever had to do but she did it anyway, too stubborn and proud to give herself another chance to be happy with him.