The CEO's Secret✔️

v: T R U T H

August 2018

T R U T H.

Colin's face instantly lit up at the sight of her, as if he was seeing her for the first time again. He had his doubts, in fact, in order to avoid getting his hopes up he tried to imagine Katie not showing up at all that day. But she did, and he was overjoyed. She could see it and it only made her feel confused guilt.

He stood up as she got closer to the table he was sitting at but didn't know what to do with himself once he was standing. He surely couldn't hug her, and shaking her hand would only make it feel like some sort of business meeting, so he lingered for a moment, a wavering smile on his face. She stood too, irresolute, not wanting to sit down and not wanting to remain standing either.

"Have you ordered yet?"

"Yes, mines on the way. You can leave your stuff here while you order if you want."

"Sure." She tried to force a smile before putting her things on a chair and going up to the coffee shop counter. Within a minute or so she was back and sat across from him, a comfortable amount of distance for Katie.

"I'm so happy you came." He couldn't lie and needed to voice how grateful he was for her appearance.

"I'm glad I came too. I think we need to have one last talk so that we can put things to bed and get on with our lives." Her words sank in to his heart, engulfing it, ripping it apart. He tried not to let it show but it was proving to be tough. "So you're clean now?" she had been wondering the story behind this ever since his admission the first time she saw him a couple weeks ago in her office and surely she would get one now that they had time and she wasn't pushing him out the door.

"Yes, I have been for a whole two and a half years now. I kind of went off the rails when you left but after a while I tried my best to get back on track again- with some slip ups of course." Slip ups- she remembered so many of them during the time they were together.

"That's really great Colin. I can't express how happy I am for you." Her genuine smile was dimmed down a little, she didn't want to seem too eager but he could see it in her eyes, her true feelings beaming through despite how professional she was being about all of this.

"I know I did a lot of bad shit four years ago Katie. I know how much I hurt you and I know sorry isn't enough right now for you but I hope one day it can be."

"You hurt me Colin but I'll survive. I've gotten over it, I've gotten over you." Her words held finality that was actually non-existent. What she was saying were lies, she hadn't gotten over him at all.

"I'm glad to hear that." He didn't know what else to say. What could he say? There was a short silence before he thought aloud. "So why are you here then?" she looked directly at him for the first time during their short conversation and took a minute to answer.

"I guess I need closure."

Closure.

He had hoped for a resurrection but what she wanted was to finally end everything.

"Andrew told me to say hello. Hazel too." He saw how a smile tugged on her lips at the mention of the young girls name.

"How are they both doing?"

"He still hasn't grasped fatherhood quite like he guessed he would but he's been doing fine. Hazel's certainly a handful but the good kind."

"I'm sure she is." Katie chuckled then, she was instantly brought back to a couple of years ago when things were going great between she and Colin. It made her think differently, it made her realise again that although Colin had brought her a lot of grief, he had also made her feel so many highs too. Nostalgia took over, wrapping itself around her worries and thoughts about saying goodbye to Colin that day forever, it changed her outlook and before she knew it, she suggested something she never thought she would.

"Hey do you want to just take these to go? Maybe a walk would be better than sitting here." Colin was confused, but went along with it. If she had have suggested bungee jumping over their coffee he would have agreed. He could sense some sort of forgiveness in her voice, as if some walls she had built up were beginning to fall only an instant ago. He had not realised her discovery of truth in this short encounter.

The truth was, Katie didn't want to say goodbye to him forever that day. She wanted to know about everything that had happened in the four years of her absence, the good and the bad. She wanted to forgive him, she wanted to forget and start fresh. But she needed time to think it through, prolonging their goodbye would allow her to make a decision on whether it would be a final goodbye or just a goodbye for now.

The truth was she had been lying to herself ever since he walked through the door of her office again after four years of being gone. He had stuck to her heart, stuck to her brain, and she didn't want to ever forget him.

"Sure."